Everlong

| Seven: Ellie |

"He's been doing this years?" Charlie asked. Her voice wasn't wobbly anymore from crying, though she hadn't let go of me. We'd come down after some time to ourselves, but the questions she was asking needed the boys. We'd found them in the house, Jack perched on the edge of the lounge and Miles stiffly reclined in the armchair. We'd joined them, Jack immediately wedging me between himself and Charlie before we started talking.

            "Not this shit." Jack's lip curled. "It wasn't this bad when I was there. The fucker was too pussy to try anything."

            "So it got worse after Jack left?" Charlie's voice gentled, directed at me. I nodded mutely, leaning into Jack's shoulder. His and Charlie's arms overlapped a bit over my shoulders, but I was glad they hadn't let go. I felt like I couldn't fall apart between them.

            "How bad did it get, Ellie?" Miles' voice was low and smooth. I met his eyes, reading the sad anger there, and knew he'd get his dad involved if he thought there was something he could do.

            "He wouldn't hit her again." Jack was following my train of thought. "It'd leave evidence, and he was being watched after I was charged. Your dad wouldn't have anything to work with."

            Miles' father had been the lawyer who helped dad gain custody of Jack. He'd tracked down Jack after he was released from juvie, leading to Miles and Jack meeting. Miles, who had a thing for leather bracelets and had a spare, gave it to Jack as a sign of friendship, of loyalty. Jack had scoffed in his face, but he hadn't taken it off since.

            "He just became more... controlling," I admitted quietly. It felt both damning and relieving to tell them everything. "He stopped mum getting a job. We're completely reliant on him. He started... monitoring how much we– how much we eat, and... and threatening mum more and more."

            Jack's arm tightened around me while Miles' jaw clenched and Charlie inhaled sharply. Feeling their warmth, and the safety tucked away in my chest from being with my family, I felt my fears begin to resurface. The reality once again hitting me that I was Joel's girlfriend, and that I knew he wasn't good.

            "Jacky." My voice cracked as the tears flooded back. My chest shook. "I don't want to– Joel– Jacky, I'm scared of what I've done."

            He gathered me against him, breaking Charlie's hold on me. He hauled me onto his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around me and leaning his head against mine. My hiccupping breaths inhaled the smell of his deodorant and faint salt where I'd already cried against him.

            "You didn't do anything, Ells," he swore fiercely. "You did nothing. That– that fucker cornered you, and he knew it. You felt pressure. You did nothing wrong. We're going to help you dump his sorry ass as soon as possible."

            My fingers curled into his shirt. I heard Charlie behind me ask, "How? None of us have any classes with both of them, and he'll pressure her in class to stay with him."

            "I do." Miles spoke up before I could correct her. "We have history. I can make sure he doesn't talk to her, and she doesn't give in to him." I raised my face from Jack, my watery eyes meeting Miles'.

            I smiled shakily. "Thank you, Miles. That really means a lot, you don't have to–"

            "I do," he interrupted me, a gentle smile pulling at half his mouth. "I'd be happy to."

            "You could help a lot, actually," Charlie said, almost to herself. We turned to look at her. I slid off Jack's lap, facing her with furrowed brows.