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saturday finally rolled around in hawkins, indiana and mike was so fucking ready. he couldn't sleep last night, because he was thinking about the girl who just moved into the grey house.
who was she? who was the guy with the grey hair? what grade was she in? he thought as he played with a loose thread on his comforter. the boy sighed and rubbed his eyes to wipe away the sleep.
"micheal, come down here!" mike's mother called, and he groaned, sitting up and telling his mother that he'll be right down. after pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater, the boy jogged down the stairs and kissed his mother's cheek and wished her a good morning.
"mikey!" holly, mike's little sister, cheered as she ran into his arms. the nine year old loved her brother to death, and she looked up to him. mike gave her a big hug and picked her up. "what are you doing today?" she asked, putting an arm around her big brother's neck.
"well, there's a new girl in town, and i'm gonna bring her brownies to see if she wants to be friends." he told his little sister. holly's eyes lit up and she smiled.
"mikey's got a girlfriend!" holly shrieked, slipping out of his arms and began dancing around the kitchen. mike rolled his eyes and grabbed the plate of brownies that were on the counter. he told his family that he would be back soon and left the wheeler home. the teen walked down the street to the grey house and knocked on the door.
"hello?" someone from inside squeaked, opening the door slightly to look at the boy. mike's eyes widened when he saw that the girl answered the door. she was wearing a sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and the tiny girl had a bruise on her cheek.
"um, hi. my name's mike, i live down the road. i brought you brownies." he smiled, holding out the plate of brownies for her. the girl bit her lip and opened the door a little more.
"thank you. my name's elle short for eleanor, by the way." she smiled shyly, taking the brownies and putting them down on the table next to the door.
"mike, short for michael, nice to meet you." he smiled, holding his hand out. elle smiled and shook his hand gently. "would you like to hang out with me?" he asked. "i'll show you around the town and we can go to the diner for like lunch." as he talked, he saw elle's face fall.
"i'm sorry mike, i-i can't go. maybe another time." the girl smiled sadly, and mike nodded.
"that's okay-" mike began to say, but then there was a giant crash that rattled the grey house. someone screamed for the girl to 'get her ass over here!' and she jumped with panic in her eyes.
"bye mike." she said quickly, slamming the door in his face. mike stood there, confusion evident on his face. the boy began walking home, thinking about the events that happened.
why did she shut the door on me? what was that noise? why was she so afraid? he thought, kicking a stone on the sidewalk. holly was playing with chalk in the driveway. she was drawing a cat and dog with purple. the tall boy picked up yellow and began drawing the girl who overtook his mind even though they've met once.
"is she pretty?" holly asked, drawing a pink bird next to her other animals. she knew her brother well enough to know that he was thinking intently about something.
"she's really pretty holly. her hair is short and brown, and her eyes are like...like mars. she had a bruise on her cheek, but she was still a really beautiful person holl." mike gushed, now doodling a tiger next to the girl.
"well then, why didn't you ask her to play with you?" the younger girl inquired, moving so that she could draw a butterfly on her brother's tiger. mike wrapped an arm around his little sister and squeezed her gently.
"well, something happened in the house and...and...she couldn't come. i think she did something wrong, and that guy that she lives with yelled at her to go to him." mike sighed, putting the chalk down on the driveway and clapped the dust off his hands.
"well mikey, do you think that there's something wrong with the girl in the grey house? like is that man nice?" holly asked, then stood up, wiping chalk dust off her yellow dress. "i'm gonna take a nap, bye mikey." the little girl skipped off, her pigtail swishing as she threw open the front door and went inside. mike's eyes widened as he took into account what his baby sister just said.
mike sat on the driveway and watched the cars speed by. he kept thinking about what his little sister had said. what is she wasn't alright?
