ELBINA

Chapter 14

"What on earth happened to your face!?" My eyes opened to June peering over me whilst I laid sprawled on my bed.

I twisted my face further into the pillow trying to hide it, ignoring the pain sprouting from the swelling.

"It's nothing."

"I know nothing and that is not it!" She scoffs, "What did that boy do to you?"

I shook my head; I didn't want her to know.

I was more than embarrassed, and just knowing Lucas saw it, made it way worse.

"He didn't do anything. I literally just got too close to these guys fighting and got slapped. It was my own stupid fault."

"I'm not an idiot."

I sat up in my bed, still having to look up at her as she stood by my bed with an unbelieving expression.

"I'm not saying you are, but this is what happened and if you decide not to believe it, then that's on you." I didn't want to go any further into it and thankfully she didn't say anything more, despite the fact I know the bite mark he made was deeply bruised and visible, just from the soreness on my neck.

"You better be home before nine every single night for the rest of your life, do you hear me?" I crack a small smile hearing that.

"You scared me half to death when you didn't come home." I gulped, filled with more guilt when she let out a big sigh, running a hand over her forehead and then through her hair.

My head drops, leant back on my hands when I lower my tone. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

But that's not enough for her, "It better not Ella. Anything could have happened,"

I gulp having heard her words, knowing exactly what she really meant and I hope that when I said it wouldn't happen again, that it was true because I won't let it.

It was too early for this, my head turning to look at my window, except it probably wasn't because the sun was already up and it was autumn so it was at least 8 am.

Thankfully, she left me to get up and changed, deciding to not push any further questions onto me.

Sometimes, and I mean only sometimes, I wonder what my parents would have done if they were alive. Would they have grounded me? Shouted at me or just never have let me go out in the first place.

I'm always going to be thankful to June, she's the best thing that could have happened for me... but I can't help but question where and who I would be, if they never died.

June never knew them, so it wasn't like she could tell me anything much about who they were. And my foggy childlike memories are useless when it comes to remembering them. I remember Fallen though, but I don't even know if he's alive and he clearly didn't care enough about me to stay anyway.

June's a fosterer, and when I was brought here for my own safety, not that I ever wanted to go into why it was for that, she decided to adopt me. And even after that close call, after that man grabbed me, they still let me stay and I'm glad. I couldn't have started all over again and nothing's happened since then, so they can't exactly say that I'm not secure. But I'm not going to go into that, I haven't had to have a meeting with them in a long while.

I guess, I wonder what my parents were actually like, any memory of them is pretty fuzzy but, I don't remember it being a bad experience and surely if they weren't great then I would remember some of the bad stuff?

I couldn't even remember Fallen's number anymore either, I used to try and ring it every time something bad happened, or when my night terrors were so intense that I couldn't sleep, but that habit teetered off once he cancelled that number.