Serenitatem

Chapter 8

Elle was fuming. Uncle Axel decided that work was important and left, leaving her alone with Tal. She would come up with several scenarios that would prove that this was a bad idea on many levels. They knew nothing about this boy, they found him on the beach for goodness sake! Elle knew that if her mother was here, this never would have happened. If she didn't have to come, this never would have happened.

Elle stormed into the living room where Tal was sitting quietly. He was perched on the edge of one of the armchairs like he was afraid to lean back into it, as if it would swallow him up. He kept looking around the room like it was the strangest place he'd ever seen. Now that he was cleaned up and actually dressed, he looked like a normal person. His shoulder-length blond hair was clean and his pale skin was smooth. He would have been kind of cute if he wasn't completely weird. She stopped in front of him and cleared her throat. "Okay, listen here," she began. "I don't know who you are-."

"I'm Tal," he interrupted. Elle didn't know if he was genuine or was being sarcastic. Either way, she wanted to strangle him.

"My uncle won't explain the story so now its your turn."

"For what?"

Elle crossed her arms to show she meant business. "To explain what happened to you. Who are you and how did you end up on the beach?" There was a long silence as the two stared at each other. Tal had a suspicious deer-in-the-headlights look that told her that he did not look forward to answering this question. She could almost see him thinking of a cover up.

"I w-was out at sea on a boat and I f-fell off and the waves carried me to the beach."

That was the lamest story she ever heard and she spent a lot of time as a library assistant hearing all the apparent calamities that befell the books that were supposed to be returned on time. Elle narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer. Tal's bright green eyes widened and he leaned away. He was obviously uncomfortable in her presence and she wondered if she could worm out the truth if that. "You're lying," she said in a low voice. "Where are your parents? Why have't you called for anyone to take you home?"

He was actually shaking. "Please stop asking me questions. As soon as my leg heals, I'll go. I promise."

That was what she was ultimately hoping for but she had a feeling he wasn't going to give her the answers she wanted in the meantime. Tal was either going to cry or run away and then she would really get it. She was still humiliated over the incident earlier. The look of pity that Tal gave her was the worst part. It made her angrier than being called out in front of him.This ragged, naked boy had the audacity to feel sorry for her?

"I'm going upstairs and you stay here and try not to do anything destructive," Elle ordered. A part of her felt a little awkward telling a teenage boy what to do, but she felt she had to lay down the law or this would not go well. If she had to stay here, he wasn't going to make it any worse than it already was.

Tal wrinkled his brow. "What am I supposed to do?"

Elle let out a frustrated noise. "I don't know. Watch TV, read a book, do a puzzle! I'm not here to entertain you as I have more important things to do." With all the excitement, she had nearly forgotten about her mission to learn about her father.

As she walked up the stairs, she could have sworn Tal asked himself, "What's a book?"

She decided the best place to start was the room with all the boxes. Maybe she would find letters written between her parents, hopefully with his name on them so she could track him down. Elle had only gone through one box when she heard a loud, high-pitched noise coming from down stairs. "What the-?" The noise came again, sounding like a shrieking dolphin in pain. Elle thundered down the stairs and saw Tal leaning out one of the windows. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Elle screamed.