The Elites

Lego House

"If you're broken I'll mend you
And keep you sheltered from the storm
That's raging on now"

"Lego House" – Ed Sheeran

I glance up when I hear someone knock on my door. I haven't left my room since Melissa told me off, I know she'll take a while to cool down, then she'll probably decide on my punishment.

"Come in" I say. William walks into my room and comes and sits on the edge of my bed. I'm not sure if Melissa would have sent him to talk to me, or if he wanted to talk to me.

"What you did was really wrong, I know you know better" William tells me, he sounds surprisingly calm, I thought he would be just as angry as Melissa. The two of them always stick up for each other, they're very loyal to each other.

"I wanted to help Hope, I know that's not a good excuse, but I didn't mean to hurt Melissa or break her trust" I tell William. I feel like I'm in a bad place, I don't want to let Hope down, but Melissa might never trust me again.

"Finding out who kidnapped Hope might not help her as much as you think" William informs me. I frown, it will help her. When Hope's kidnapper is in jail, she'll know she is safe again. It won't fix everything, but it will help her heaps.

"She'll be safe when her kidnapper is in jail" I tell William. I feel obligated to help Hope now, I care about her. 

"Hope knowing she's safe and feeling safe are two different things. No one can imagine what she's been through, it will take time for her to work through it." William has a point. "Do you really think you can solve this faster than your aunt or the police?"

Is this worth it? I decide it has to be because otherwise I can't justify what I did. "Maybe we can solve it. Hope knows what happened better than anyone. I know she would have told her parents and the police, but she's the only one who was there."

Hope looked so scared in the picture that was on my locker. She wouldn't have known if she'd live or when she'd be free, she wouldn't have known anything. I can't imagine being at someone else's mercy, having to depend on someone else for basic survival needs. I have to do this for Hope.

"We'll come back to this. Were you planning to tell us about the photo that was stuck to your locker? Ashton Rivers did the right thing and altered the principal. He's a good kid, you could learn from him" William tells me, sounding a little cross. Ashton wanted them to check the cameras, he didn't do it because it was right. Ashton is the golden boy, no matter what he does it's always right.

"If Ashton jumped off a cliff, would you want me to do it as well?" I snap, I've never seen the point of comparing children, it doesn't do anyone any good. William and Melissa have never been shy in telling me when they think I should act more like someone else, but they don't always get it right. They used to think I should be more like Eleanor, because she seemed so sweet and studious. Eleanor wouldn't have gotten away with her perfect image if she didn't have a sister who covered for her.

"No, I would not. I'm not going to fight with you, but you should apologize to your aunt and not invade her privacy again" William stands up and walks out of my bedroom, I think he knew that the conversation wasn't really going anywhere.

I head downstairs to find Melissa, not exactly to tell her how sorry I am. I'm not really sure what I'm going to say to her, but I'll make it up on the spot.

I head into the living room and see Melissa sitting on the couch reading. She glances up when I walk in and gestures for me to sit next to her on the couch.

"I know it was wrong to sneak into your office when you were away. I just wanted to help Hope, but William made me realize that it might not help her as much as I thought." I fiddle with my sleeves as I wait for Melissa to start talking.