Beneath Your Beautiful

Eleanor

I'm in the middle of watching American Horror Story when my cell phone rings. I grab the remote and pause the show just before they light the red headed witch on fire.

"What's up, Belle?" I say as I answer.

"Let's do something," my best friend says.

I groan and she sighs.

"Come on, Eleanor. It's the last week of summer vacation. You need to do something besides sit home and watch Netflix all day!" Annabelle protests.

"Do not," I argue. I am perfectly okay with doing nothing all day. "Besides, we live in Indiana. There's nothing you could possibly drag me to that doesn't make me want to kill myself," I add.

"What about a movie? 22 Jump Street is playing and who doesn't want to see Channing Tatum as a crime fighter?" she suggests.

"Valid arguement, but those movies are too long. I can't sit still in a theater for an hour and a half."

"You've been sitting still for hours on end for the past 2 months and you're still alive," Belle says and I can tell she's getting annoyed. She's used to it though. I'm almost always a lazy ass.

"Barely," I reply to her last comment.

"El, I'm just trying to help here. You never leave your house and I'm starting to worry about you again," Belle utters.

I say, "You don't have to worry about me," but as the words leave my mouth, I know they aren't true.

The line is slient for a while. I begin to knaw my fingernails on the hand that is not pressing my phone to my ear.

"Fine, I'm coming over," Belle says after a while.

"What?"

"I'm not letting you watch a single other episode by yourself," she declares and the line goes dead.

***

The next morning, I wake up before Annabelle to go shower. I grab a pair of capris and a yellow short sleeve shirt as well as some fresh undergarments before entering the bathroom. I take an extra long shower and let the hot water roll down my back.

I think about what Belle said on the phone last night about my busy schedule filled with nothingness.

'You're still alive.'

'You're still alive.'

I can't seem to stop repeating those three words in my head.

I take a deep breath and look down at my arms which are covered up to my forearm in bangles. I slip them off one by one and let them fall into the water pooled at my feet. Every removed bangle is replaced by a scar. Each scar is a different size, a different emotion, a different story.

Before I know it, I'm crying and the puddle at my feet must be 25% water and 75% sorrow.

***

When I get out of the bathroom, Belle is waiting for me downstairs in the kitchen.

"Hey," she says without looking up from the stove where she is flipping pancakes.

"Hey," I reply as I take a seat at the island in the center of the kitchen. I grab a Seventeen magazine from the rack next to me and flip through the pages, not really paying attention to anything I'm reading.

Belle slides a plate of pancakes and bacon across the counter and I stop it just before it plummets to the linoleum floor.

"Bon appetit," Belle says with her best French accent.

"If you're trying to act French, you should've made some French toast," I tease.

"Actually, French toast was not orginally invented in France. It was actually first created in Rome," Queen Smart Ass responds.

"Those freakin' Romans can't let anyone else take credit for something for once?" I chuckle as I take a bite of bacon.

We continue to eat our breakfasts with no awkward silences which is nice for a change.

As I load our plates into the dishwasher, the doorbell rings.

"I got it," Belle announces from the living room.

The front door opens and I hear a male's voice say, "Um, hi. Do you live here?"

"Hi, um uh...no I don't. El does though, um... wait right here?" Belle slams the door without waiting for an answer.

I round the corner to the living room and nearly ram into a sprinting Annabelle.

"What the hell?" I demand.

She's out of breath from the short run to the kitchen.

"Hot guy... at the door... wants to see you," she pants.

My eyes widen and I yank my pink bath towel off of my head. I hustle to the mirror in the hallway and comb my matted hair with my fingers.

The doorbell rings again just as I swing open the door.

A stranger with too-good-to-be-true blue eyes stares down at me. I step back; partially to admire his dreamy figure and partially because his height intimidates me.

"Hi," I wheeze.

Oh shit, that was embarrassing.

He smirks, probably noticing how uncomfortable I am, which only makes me more uncomfortable.

"You live here?" He asks as his eyes bore into mine.

"Yeah," I respond, not able to look away.

He's tan, like he spends most of his time outside; the complete opposite of me.

His Superman bro-tank shows off his defined arm muscles and his dirty blonde hair is pushed back into a perfectly styled quiff.

"Well, this," he hands me an envelope that I hadn't even noticed he was holding, "was delivered to my house instead of yours."

Confused, I ask him, "Where do you live?"

"Just down the road. My family moved here last week," he says, turning to point in the direction of his house.

I take the envelope and try to recall seeing anything that resembled the possibility of a new family moving to the neighborhood.

He chuckles and my eyes snap back up to watch him.

"You didn't notice the moving van three houses down?" He grins and his dimples pop out of his cheeks.

I shake my head, "No. I'm not what you would call very observant."

We both laugh and I realize this is the first conversation I've had with someone, besides my family or Annabelle, the whole summer.

"El is it?" The handsome boy squints.

"Eleanor, yeah," I reply. "And you?"

"Charlie. Charlie Hammond." He reaches out to shake my hand and I oblige.

"Nice to meet you, Charlie," I grin and I let go of his hand.

"Same to you, Eleanor," he turns on his heel and begins to walk towards his house.

I step inside and shut the door softly.

Annabelle is sitting at the window and she watches him until he is out of sight.

She sighs and pretends to faint onto the couch.

"Shut up," I say nonchalantly.

"Hey, don't be such a downer," Belle stands up and places her hands on her hips. "We have a new neighbor!"

(Bonjour! What do you think of Eleanor? What do you think of Annabelle? What do you think of Charlie??? Hope you're liking the book so far! Comment + vote + tell your friends :) Thanks!

*I will be switching off POVs by chapter for Eleanor and Charlie*

*Next update before Friday, July 18th* )