The next time Elissa woke up, it was 6:03 in the morning. She was breathing heavily from a dream she had. She hurriedly got out of bed, and started getting all of her things together. Once she got through packing everything up, not realizing she was still in her tank top and her pajama bottoms, went out of his room, downstairs, and she almost made it out of the door. But she was stopped by an, "Elissa...?"
She closed her eyes, sighed, and let go of the door handle. She turned around, seeing Rae standing there.
"Elissa, where are you going?" Rae was standing there with shock.
"Im sorry, Rae, but I have to l--..." Elissa started.
She was interrupted by Matt saying, "Wow...you're even cuter in the light. Except for that one hell of a scar on your back, and...you cut yourself?"
"Will you just shut up and go away?!" Rae shouted at him.
"Fine..." he sighed, and took one last glance at Elissa before leaving.
Elissa dropped her things, and fell to her knees. "Rae...I'm so sorry...I just...it's just that..."
"It's okay, Elissa, just...what made you decide all of the sudden to run away?" Rae said, coming to her side, and putting his arm around her.
She looked up at him, and whispered, "I shouldn't have told you anything at all about my life."
"Why not tell me?"
"I had a dream last night that reminded me of what my dad had told me before..."
"What had he told you?" Rae asked, starting to become confused.
"When we first moved here, he told me that if I ever told anyone here about one single thing that happened back in Chicago, then he would beat me senseless, and if he gets thrown in jail by that person I told, then I most likely won't be here anymore... And just to make sure I didn't tell anyone, he told me if they did throw him in jail...then...he would...kill them as well..." Elissa started crying. "I shouldn't have gotten close to you...and told you everything I have. Now, I'll probably just cause you heartbreak because if my dad ever finds me, you'll probably never see me again...and if he finds out that I told you...you wouldn't..." Elissa couldn't think about what would happen if he did find out about Rae, and she cut herself off because she was crying so hard.
"Elissa..." Rae started as he bent over, and hugged her. "I love you too much to just let him come and take you away from me. I would never let him come near you, remember? I told you I would protect you, and I always will for as long as I know you."
Elissa looked down at her feet, and then said, "But Rae..."
"No buts about it, I will, whether you want me to or not. There aren't going to be anymore scars like the one on your back anywhere on you for as long as you live."
"I don't want you getting hurt though..."
"He won't be," a voice came from behind them.
Elissa and Rae both turned around, seeing Matt standing there.
"Matt...? What do you think you're doing?!" Rae yelled at him.
Elissa just stayed looking up at him, and then she smiled. "Rae...he wasn't trying to be rude when he said that. He meant that he was going to be protecting you. Am I right?"
Rae looked at Elissa, then back up at his brother.
"Yeah, that's what meant by it. Even if you are a little, annoying brat, you're still my little brother."
Rae smiled, and said, "Thanks, for once."
Elissa was looking at Rae, and thought, "I really am in good hands..." Then she felt a finger touch her back.
"So, how'd that happen?" Matt asked her.
Elissa looked up at him, then over to Rae.
Rae shrugged, and said, "If you want to, then go ahead."
"We'll just put it this way, for every scar or bruise on my body, I didn't do, except for the scars I did last month," Elissa said, pointing to where she had cut herself. "Though my dad was the cause of them..."
"Well, just tell me if you ever need me to beat him up for you," Matt said, walking off.
Elissa looked at Rae, and smiled. "Your brother really is nicer than he looks."
"Yeah, I guess so...but he only started acting like that just now. He's never been like that before..." Rae trailed off very confused. "I wonder what made him change."
Elissa shrugged, and leaned her head on Rae's shoulder. "Rae, you have the best family. You're lucky to have your brothers, a mom, and a dad. You really don't know what it's like having no one, but a controlling, drunk dad..."
Rae pulled his arm around Elissa, and sighs. "Elissa, I'm so sorry..."
Elissa looked up at him, and says, "I didn't mean for you to feel bad or anything..." She looks down and pulls away from him.
"Elissa, it's all right. Besides, you won't have to worry about just having a controlling, drunk dad anymore. You have a great family now," Rae said, putting his arms around her.
Elissa looked up at him, and tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"
Rae laughed, and kissed her forehead. "Just look around you. Everyone here cares about you. You know my mom does, and you just found out that Matt did. Who knows what Robert thinks though," Rae smiled.
"Robert...? Is that your other brother?" Elissa asked him.
"Yeah, that's the one who threw your things out of his room," Rae explained.
"I could have sworn that there was someone else who cared about me..." Elissa trailed off.
"Really...? Oh, yeah, I forgot about my dad. He probably will once he gets to know you," Rae told her.
Elissa sighed, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "It's amazing how oblivious you can be sometimes," she sighed.
"What do you mean?" he asked Elissa, looking down at her.
"I wasn't hinting about your dad...there's someone else in this house that I thought cared about me," Elissa explained.
Rae smiled, and whispered in her ear, "I figured you already knew that I would throw away my life for you." Rae held her close to him, and they sat there for while, snuggled up next to each other.
