Elissa didn't move, and stayed quiet and still, not even trying to see who it was behind her. Tears came rolling down her face as she started shaking.
"Just...don't...you can't go..." the voice said again, but it was a little shaky this time.
Elissa felt the hand tighten around her wrist, and then she was pulled around to face Rae.
"Please...you just can't...leave like this..." Rae said.
Elissa looked into his watered down eyes, and then fell down on her knees from the shaking. "I'm..."
"Don't apologize...you've done nothing wrong...I'm the one who should be saying their sorry...sorry for yelling at you earlier...and sorry for making you want to leave like this. I promised you I wouldn't get mad, but I did anyway. Elissa...I'm so sorry..." Rae said, getting down next to her on the floor.
Elissa just sat there, crying and shaking, when she pulled her wrist away from Rae. "No..." was all she said to him.
Rae sat there, looking into her eyes, wiping away every single tear that slid down her cheek. "Don't cry...please..."
"Rae..." Elissa sighed, and then put her hand up to his cheek. "You're such...an idiot...you should have never came and...sat down with me at lunch...Because you now know my story...it will cause you nothing but pain."
"I'd rather be in pain...than not know you..." Rae said, his eyes darting back and forth between the both of hers.
Elissa leaned closer to him, and brushed her lips against his. "I really...shouldn't be doing this..." she said as she started pulling back.
Rae put his hand behind her head, and pulled himself forward, making the two of them lock their lips.
At first, Elissa tried pulling back, but then gave up the fight, and put her arms around him, passionately kissing him. "I can't be...but he...I don't know what to think or say...This feels so right, but yet...is so wrong. Because of me...Ryan's not here...but yet...I can't go on without Rae..." Elissa thought to herself. She finally pulled back, and looked Rae in the eyes.
Rae sat there, silently watching Elissa, waiting for her to say something.
"Rae...I really...love you...but your mom...and your dad...they..." Elissa started.
"It doesn't matter...I don't care about them. All I care about is you. If you leave now, my mind won't ever stop thinking about you. I will always be worried about you, and hope that you're okay and doing fine. If you stay, though, I won't have to worry about those things because I will be the one protecting you. I will make sure youre all right, and I won't have to worry about you because you'd be right here...with me," Rae told her, taking her into his arms.
Elissa stayed quiet, not knowing what to say or do. She just stayed in his arms, wanting to stay, but yet, knowing she needed to leave. "He'd be better off..." she kept thinking to herself, but then thinking, "But...he says he needs me. I must stay..." Her mind was filled with things that were just making her even more confused than she was before. She looked up at him, and whispered, "Rae, answer this question truthfully..."
Rae pulled away from her, still keeping his hands on her shoulders, and said, "I will...I will answer anything you ask me truthfully."
"Do you really think you would be better off with me here?" Elissa said, looking back and forth between his eyes. "And if so...then do you think everything would actually go back to normal with your family? They now know what I have to do with your little brother...well, I'm sure your mom has told your dad by now. So answer it truthfully...I have to know whether it's better for me to stay here or not."
"You don't know which is better?" Rae said, shaking his head. "What about me? Do you seriously think I would forget you? Elissa, you should know you mean the world to me..." Rae said, putting one hand up to her cheek.
"I do know, and you have told me over and over about how you would not be able to go on without knowing me...but what if my dad finds you and me? What would we do then?"
"We'll deal with that when the time comes...I've gone up against your dad before, and we both escaped alive, and just fine," Rae said.
"No, you had to go to the hospital because of it! It was my fault! I shouldn't have come inside when you asked me to. You've...changed my life Rae..." Elissa sighed, burying her head in his chest.
"Then why would you run off because of that?" Rae asked. "If I've changed your life, then why do you want to leave?" He put his arms around her, one hand on the back of her head, and hugged her tight and close to himself and to his heart.
"Because...I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt because of me," Elissa sighed. "I couldn't stand it the last time, and I wouldn't be able to stand it now. I care about you too much, Rae..."
"Then stay here, and avoid my heart from being broken..." Rae pleaded.
Elissa's eyes started watering, and she started nodding her head up and down. "Okay...I'll stay...But don't get hurt...just because of me."
"I wouldn't mind getting hurt by your dad. It would hurt worse if you left," Rae said, and smiled as Elissa picked up her head.
"I really do mean the world to you, dont I?" Elissa said as tears of joy started running down her face.
"Yes, you do," Rae whispered, kissing her forehead gently.
Mrs. Irving walked back into the room, and said, "Elissa...welcome to the family."
Elissa looked up seeing tears still running down her face. "You must have heard everything..."
Mrs. Irving nodded her head up and down. "I did...and I see now that everything that had happened when you moved here...was a thing of the past. Although, I do miss my little boy very much...I still feel the need to welcome you to this family. I don't think Ryan would want me to kick you out of this house if he were still here. After all, he did talk about you very often."
"I guess I just influenced him just by seeing him twice..." Elissa said, almost smiling.
"Why didn't you come over anymore? He would have really enjoyed it," Mrs. Irving asked.
"I felt that if I did my dad would get to him...he always gets suspicious when I'm at someone else's house," Elissa sighed.
"Elissa, there's only one thing we need to do," Mrs. Irving said.
Elissa and Rae both looked up at her in a confused way.
"What's that, mom?" Rae asked her.
"We need to call Child Protective Services...and get your dad arrested. If you explain to them everything that has happened, then he should get a lifetime sentence. You won't have to worry about him doing anything else to harm you," she explained.
"He'll probably find a way to get out...and then come after me..." Elissa said, starting to become a little scared.
"No, I'll make sure of it," they heard a voice coming from in the hall. Mr. Irving walked into the room, and stood beside his wife. "I'll make sure he doesn't ever get out, and come after this family."
"That includes you now, Elissa," Mrs. Irving said. "Did Rae ever tell you that my husband is close friends with the chief of police?"
Elissa silently shook her head, not believing that all of this was coming true. "I don't know...how to thank you...all of you..."
"Then don't," Rae smiled, and hugged her once more.
