Promise

chapter 12

Avery

I told him. I cant believe that I told him what happened.  He was beyond angry but I knew it wasnt directed at me however it didnt stop me from taking a few steps back, I still didnt trust him and i still feared him. His dad didnt seem to impressed that I was here but he didnt say anything at least not in front of me.
Well all that happened a few days ago. Today was monday.  Yesterday we hadnt done much, which I enjoyed, I really liked that I could relax here and there was no consequences,  I liked how I was allowed food and sleep, I didnt get that before. It was 6am and I had been awake for a few hours, I was nervous about going to school especially after Aubrey came and tried to get Elijah to  take her which I was a little confused still at why he didnt, but then again she wasnt the nicest of people. After laying in bed for another 10 minutes I realized I wasnt going to get back to sleep any time soon so I got up, I chose out a simple outfit for today, which I was nervous about, I never had nice clothes like this before, they were all second hand and far to big for me.

After grabbing my clothes I go to the bathroom and do my morning routine. I had learnt to do everything at a abnormally quick pace and by 6 40am I was ready.  I decided to pack my school work in the new school bag Elijah had gotten me, it was just a simple plain black backpack with silver zips. 
"Breakfast is ready, you cant sleep in today sorry"  elijah says from the other side of the door after a quick knock. I open the door and he looks suprised that I'm ready. "Great you're ready, let's have breakfast and I'll go through a few rules with you" he says and I visibly gulp. Rules. I knew they were coming and yet breaking whatever rules he puts in place scares me the most, I've seen him angry and there is no way I ever want that anger directed at me. I had to follow these rules, whatever they were. I follow him to the kitchen and see breakfast already ppated and set out so I go and sit down on the seat that is in front of the plate that's clearly mine as the portion is smaller. We start eating, usually the silence is comfortable but today it wasn't,  I was too nervous about these rules.  "So what are the rules" I ask wanting to get it over with. "Dont worry nothing too bad, eat your breakfast first then we will talk about them" he says and I nod. I tried to eat my breakfast as fast as possible but it was impossible to do so.

As soon as we both finished breakfast he decided he wanted to wash up so I took the dish towel and tried up so it wouldnt take him as long, he was reluctant to let me help but eventually let me.
"Let's take a seat" he says and guides me to the living room where we sit on the sofa, I still was uncomfortable sitting on the sofa but I knew it would only upset him if I sat on the floor, it was like we had unknowingly compromised with each other, I would sit on the sofa but there had to be space between us. "Dont look so nervous" he said looking at me. "Well if you just told me I wouldnt be nervous" I say only realising how rude that must have sounded. Would he get angry at what u said? He didnt gave any reaction which I didnt know if it was good or bad. Instead he ignored what I said "so I know I said the phone was optional but I would really like it if you carried it eith you, when you're not with me, just so if you need me you can ring or message me" he said and I nodded. "Ok I will" I reply unsure if this was one of his rules. "Thank you" he said, his voice was filled with relief. "So the rules are as follows" he continues,  he seemed to be having an internal battle with himself. "They are very simple rules" he said, it seemed like he was trying to reassure himself rather than me.
"Ok please tell me them" I say hoping he would. I wanted this to be over with.
"Ok, rule 1, please dont lie to me, Rule 2, if you want to go out somewhere then please tell me where and when you are going so I know where you are. Rule 3, if someone hurts you, I want to know. Rule 4, if you arent feeling well please tell me. Rule 5 no drinking or drugs. Also weekdays I want you in by 10pm and weekends 11pm " He said causing me to be confused. These didnt seem like rules, usually the rules given to me were along the lines of dont touch anything that doesnt belong to you, dont speak or eat without permission.  I shudder at the memory of how they treated me. "Hey you ok, I'm sorry if they are too much, I just want you safe" he says seeing my shudder. "No the rules are fine, just a memory, I'm ok" I tell him and he looked angry but quickly masked it "ok if you are sure" he says and I nod. "What happens if I accidentally break a rule" I say knowing that telling him when someone hurt me would be hard to do, I didnt like telling people stuff like that. He looks at me with a concerned expression "and what rule do you think you will break" he asked. "The one were someone hurts me" I say and he nods and thinks for a minute  "if you don't feel like you can tell me something,  write it down and leave it for me to read ok" he says, I think writing it down would be easier as i wouldnt have to be there to witness his reaction. "Ok i will" i reply and he nods "as for consequences like u asked, well I havent thought that far, usually I give maisey a time out but you are too old for that, maybe I'll just  ground you for a while" he said and I couldnt help but laugh at how unprepared he was. "Are you laughing at me" he asked trying to sound serious and I couldnt stop myself from laughing more, I hadnt laughed in ages like this. "Jeez, if I knew it was this easy to make you laugh I would have laid out the rules on friday" he said and laughed too. After a few minutes our laughter died down and I felt happy, I hadnt been happy like this before. Even when he was giving me rules he sounded like he cared for me, no one ever had before. It felt nice, I finally felt wanted. "Elijah" I say and his concentration was brought to me in an instant "yeah Avery" he replied looking at me. "Thank you for everything" I say and for some reason a sad smile makes it's way onto his face "you dont need to thank me Avery, I only wish I could have done this sooner" he told me and there was something about it that made me believe there was a hidden meaning. "Its getting late, I should drop you off at school" he said with sadness in his voice. My smile faded at the mention of school, I would give anything not to go but sadly I had to. "Ok let me grab my bag and phone, you will have to put your number in and show me how to call and text" I say and he smiles "of course" and I go back to my room and collect both my bag and phone.

"So I put my phone number in, I saved myself as Elijah. I also put my dads number in, I hope you dont mind, just in case I'm unavailable you can call him but I'll make sure I'm available" elijah says as he gives me my phone back. I didnt mind his dad being saved in to it, in fact it made me feel a bit better, knowing if elijah didnt answer I'd still have someone to call instead, not that I particularly wanted to talk to his dad, he didnt seem to particularly like me from the look he gave me. "Ok so how do I text and call" I ask feeling slightly embarrassed that I didnt know but thrn again it wasnt my fault as I never had a phone before. "Like this" he said and showed me how to open the phone and message and call. "Ok you try" he said and I did. I was so proud of myself when I successfully sent a message and called him. "Great job, let's get going I dont want you to be late" he said and I nod, I can already tell I will be writing down how I was hurt today.

Elijah
She laughed. I dont care that she laughed at me. All I care about is the fact that she laughed. She was happy.  I was very hesitant to give her the rules because of her past but I had to, I couldnt loose her and these were rules to protect her. Right?  I added my dads number just incase I was unavailable and quickly messaged him, telling him I gave her his number, he was thrilled about it. When she is ready to meet my mum then I will add her number too. I hope shes ready soon though, I cant wait to introduce her to her family.
I could tell she was disappointed about going to school, I was too but I wanted her to do well in school therefore she had to go. I was considering changing her school as I saw how those boys treated her that day in the alley but that was after school and I would be picking her up, they wouldnt do it in school. Right? Now I was worrying. We were currently driving and my mind was filled with different scenarios of what could happen when I wasnt with her.
"Avery" I say to get her attention. "Yeah" she replies. "If something happens even if it's small message or call me, whatever is easiest" I tell her and she nods "you will get angry though" I really need to control my anger. "Ok, I can't say I wont be angry but I will try not to be angry when you're around" i tell her and that seems to be acceptable.

We arrived at the school and I was tempted to turn around and drive away but I was busy today, I had to go give Ed, my dads friend who was a judge , a copy of her birth certificate and a DNA test. Hopefully he can get it approved today.
I had a good feeling about today.