downpour / mileven au.

eleven.

CHAPTER ELEVEN;
BROKEN HEARTS CULB.

el appreciated saturdays mornings.

she knew the vast majority of her schoolmates probably spent their mornings sleeping in, but it was the one day of the week she didn't mind waking up with the birds. there was something so comforting about having the whole day to do as she pleased, not confined to a classroom for nearly eight hours.

of course, it was now november and the indiana air was far too cold to brace, so she opted to stay inside. she waddled down the stairs, still dressed in her pajamas though she added a pair of furry socks when she noticed that the crisp air from outside had infiltrated her home.

she let the familiar smell of waffles guide her to the kitchen. there, a robe-adorning joyce stood, refilling her mug with coffee. she looked up to find her step-daughter lingering, "good morning, sweetheart! are you hungry?"

el nodded, "hell yes."

joyce scowled. "el, watch your language. you know your father doesn't like when you swear." el rolled her eyes, knowing joyce didn't truly care if she said 'hell.'

"speaking of, where is dad?" she asked, grabbing a plate from the cabinet and making her way to the stack of warm waffles.

her step-mom leaned against the kitchen island. "he had to go to work extra early. apparently, the grocery store on elmer street was robbed late last night, so he went to check it out."

the brunette nods, not surprised by the information. "and will? is he still sleeping?"

she shook her head. "no, actually he left pretty early this morning, too. he said he was meeting some friends for breakfast at the diner. i assume he's with mike and the boys," she said with a shrug. again, el nods and begins pouring a fair amount of syrup over her eggos. "you know, that's something i wanted to talk to you about, actually."

her wrist stops just before she could scoop her fork into her mouth, "huh?"

"mike wheeler," joyce simply replied with a knowing smirk -- a motherly smirk to be exact.

feigning to be clueless, el furrowed her brows. "what about him?"

"don't play dumb with me, eleanor jane. i've known you for ten years, young lady. i know you," the woman said laughing before sipping her warm beverage. "i figured it out a few nights ago when i saw him dropping you off in front of the millers' house."

el sighed. "please tell me you didn't tell dad."

she shook her head. "don't worry. for a cop, he's alarmingly clueless." the teenage girl giggled because she was right. her dad was clueless. "however, if he does find out, he would be pretty upset with you for lying."

"hey, i'm not lying. i'm just not openly disclosing everything to him, there's a difference," she muses, taking another bite.

joyce's dark brown eyes narrow. "a lie by omission is still a lie, you know that."

"mike and i aren't even serious, joyce." it wasn't a lie. they'd only been doing this for two months. and, el had only (secretly) liked mike for about a month. that's not serious.

joyce purses her lips, releasing a soft hum before speaking, "i don't suppose you two were together when he picked you up for that party around two months ago, were you?" the girl's caramel eyes widen before a guilty smile sweeps her lips. "two months is serious when you're in high school. definitely long enough for him to meet your father."

"that's the thing, mike's already met dad. mike's practically his third son," she reminds.

"well, how do you think he would feel if his son was dating his daughter?"