The Elites

Nobody's Home

"She wants to go home
But nobody's home
That's where she lies
Broken inside"

"Nobody's Home" – Avril Lavigne

I glance up from where I'm seating on the couch when I hear the doorbell ring. I groan, I just sat down. I get up, grumbling to myself, and open the door.

"Hey" Hope says, looking a little awkward. "Can I stay here tonight?" She's confronted her parents and it hasn't ended well.

"Sure, you're lucky Melissa isn't here tonight" I don't know where Melissa is, I came home from school with a note that said she'll be back Sunday evening, it didn't mention where she is going. I have a feeling it's something to do with the case, but I could be wrong.

"Where is she?" Hope asks and she follows me into my bedroom. I grab her bag from her and place it in the corner, she'll only be here tonight. William will let her stay for the night, but tomorrow he'll tell me her parents are worried and she should go home and fix it.

"I don't actually know. Look, William will let you stay here tonight but tomorrow he will call your parents" I inform Hope, she can either go to Ashton's tomorrow or she can go home and try to work through this with her parents.

"It's fine, my parents will guess I'm here anyway" Hope replies, her eyes are red and she looks tired. I think what she found out this morning and her having trouble sleeping are starting to take a toll on her. I wish I could do more.

"What happened?" I ask, it's four-thirty pm, so her dad must have left work early. Susan probably rang him, they figured out what to say to Hope, then returned home and had a conversation that obviously didn't end well.

"They didn't even apologize for suspecting me, they just said that they were desperate and desperate people consider all options, no matter how farfetched they are. They said that they never wanted to tell me I was adopted so I didn't feel left out or less important, but I had a right to know" Hope tells me and she sits down on my bed.

Desperate people can do shitty things, but believing your child is a murderer is just cold. It's inexcusable and it can't be justified, no matter how desperate they were to find Hope and Eleanor. I can understand that they didn't want Hope to ever wonder if she was less loved, but why didn't they tell her when Eleanor found out? Wouldn't they have worried that Eleanor would tell Hope the truth? It would sound best coming from them. 

"I'm sorry" I tell Hope, wishing I could do or say more to help her. I wish I could more than just listen and say the occasional reassurance, but I can't. I don't know how to help Hope through this, I don't know how to make her realize her parents were so, so wrong for suspecting her of murder.

"I'll get over it, I just need a little bit of time" Hope replies, trying to sound casual. Will things ever be the same? I don't think I could look at Melissa the same if I knew she thought I was capable of murder.

The front door opens and I sigh, now I have to explain to William how Hope is staying over tonight and he can't tell Hope's parents because they'll come and force her to come home. Hope's phone rings and she rolls her eyes. I call at the caller ID, it's Mason.

"Sorry, I have to take this" Hope sighs, she stands up and answers it. "What the hell do you want?" She snaps. I guess it's sort of comforting to know she's rude to everyone, including her family.

I walk downstairs and see William in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water. William frowns as he sees me, we can both hear Hope talking upstairs. "Who's over?" William asks me, already looking annoyed at me. I haven't even done anything yet!

"Hope Flynn is staying here tonight, she had a fight with her parents and she just needs a night away from them to think everything over" I tell William, really hoping he'll let her stay for the night. He sighs and looks annoyed.