DELICATE / Brandon Darrow

eleven

eleven
the assembly from hell
FIRST PERSON

WE FIGURED OUT THE real truth about Elisia's parents and were sitting on her bed trying to guess who we think Monkey Man is.

"My guess is Brandon; he's a dick," Rowan suggested.

"Me too. He got aggressive with me the other day and then I got a note in my locker saying to not trust all," I confessed once more. "It's just weird."

"Then what if that means something," Rowan offered an idea to my suspicion.

"Yeah, what if Brandon is Monkey Man and is trying to help you figure it out?" Hailey added.

"Who knows," is all I said. "I don't see why he would want us to know if he was."

Hailey nodded in understanding before she straightened her posture in thought. "What about Jake?"

"No," Rowan defended almost immediately until she caught herself. "I don't really know," stuttering a bit.

"It's not Jake," Elisia confirmed. "He slept on the couch for a year so I could have a room."

"Everyone's a suspect," Hailey reminded her.

"What about your sister, Brie?" Elisia asked.

"Are you serious?" Rowan asked in disbelief.

And that's when they all started arguing.

"I'm with Ro on this one; I don't think it's Brie," Hailey tried to mediate the conversation.

"You said everyone's a suspect," Elisia repeated her words that made her argument valid.

"What about Ash then?" Rowan asked.

"You don't know him," Elisia shut her theory down.

"He seems kinda like a loser," Rowan instigated.

"Rowan," I stated sternly.

"Do you know what its like to live on the street?" Elisia asked, becoming upset by her accusation.

Rowan took a second before whispering in guilt, "no."

"Don't talk about him," Elisia warned her. "You wanna put me on the list too, Rowan?"

She didn't get any time to respond as her phone started to ring again. "It's my dad. Now I really have to go."

"Well, this has been fun," Hailey declared sarcastically.

"You're still staying at my house right?" Rowan asked Hailey, pausing to get her answer.

"You're gonna have to face your dad on your own. I can't," Hailey told her.

♡

I was a little nervous for today but when I saw Rowan and Hailey waiting for me, I felt better. It was nice to know I wasn't alone in all this paranoia and worrying.