I shivered and pulled the blankets up around my chin. There was a slight draft in the big living room and my hair was still wet.
It wasn't until night that I completely let my guard down. My whole body relaxed under the sheet of darkness as I settled into not having to pretend that I was okay. I wasn't at all surprised when a tear streaked down my face. I blinked as another and another came down, then burried my face in a pillow as a shrill sob escaped my throat. .
I curled myself into a ball, crying silently. I rocked myself , wishing I could cry out for someone to come save me.
But of course, I didn't. And I knew no one would come if I did.
........
I was running. I'm not sure where or why, but I was running. My legs burned. The only noise was the slap of my bare feet against asphalt and my own ragged breathing. My lungs stung to the point of tears.
I ran all the way to a shady looking alley that practically screamed at me to run away as far and as fast as possible.
But instead, my feet carried me into the alley.
There was a tall slender sillhouette at the back, leaning against the grafhittied wall, smoking something or another. I walked towards the figure, my stomach exploding with dread.
"Hello, Abbs."
My heart rate quickened. Only one person called ever called me Abbs. And she was dead.
"Maya?" I squeaked. She stepped into the dim light with a cheshire grin that made my skin crawl. Her cloudy grey eyes bore into me.
"Miss me?" she purred, making me cringe. She tossed whatever she had been smoking to the ground, putting it out with the toe of her combat boots.
"What are you doing here Maya?" I willed my voice to come out strong, but it cracked halfway. Maya laughed.
"Now, is thay any way to treat your poor, dead sister, hm?" she pouted. I wanted to run, but my feet were glued to the spot. Maya? My stomach fluttered at the thought of my sister standing beside me, until suddenly, she pulled out a gun.
"May, what are you-"
"You stupid bitch. You killed me, you know that?"
"May, you killed yourself-"
"You could've fucking stopped me! You could've and you didn't! And now you get to watch ever damn person you've ever fucking loved die!"
"May! Stop!"
Suddenly our father appeared before us and without skipping a beat, without taking her eyes off my face she shot him square in the chest. He fell to the ground with a thick thud.
"Dad! Oh my god, Maya what are you-"
Just like dad, several of my old friends appeared.
"No!"
She shot each one of them, terrifying, raving laughter bubbling from her pretty lips. I fell to my knees as each girl fell to the ground.
My mother's familiar scent came into focus. A scream bubbled in my throat as I watched my mother's smiling face crack against the concrete, the ring of a bullet ringing in my ears.
"Please! Maya, no more! I understand! Please!"
"You think that's good enough, you little cunt!? No fucking way! I'm going to put you through the same hell I went through!"
Looking up, my eyes blurred with tears, Avery's dopey face was all I could see. My chest tightened as I noticed the little boy in his arms. Sam.
"NO!!!!!!!"
........
"NO!" I screamed, my voice raw. The blankets were twisted around my chest, suffocating me.
"Elliot! It's okay! You're okay! You're okay! Shhh!"
"Please don't let her! Please!
."Shh, you're safe. I promise, you're safe."
And everything went black again.
........
I awoke to golden light streaming from the broad skylights in the Jenkins' living room. I opened one eye groggily, flinging my arms out to stretch.
"Ow! Damn it, Elly, watch it!"
I sat up quickly at the sound of his voice, trying to process what just happened. Avery was on the gound, glaring up at me and rubbing the back of his head.
"Avery? What? What are you- wait, did I hit you?! Shit, I'm sorry, I wasn't-"
"It's fine, Elly."
"..and then you.. What are you doing down here Avery?" I asked, accusingly, regaining myself. He looked back at me.
"Taking care of you. You started screaming in the middle of the night and you wouldn't let go of my arm when I came down to make sure you were okay." He ran a hand over his face and it was only then I noticed the bags under his eyes. I felt a pang in my stomach but chose to ignore it.
"Stop, would you? It's not like I made you let me sleep here. Sh-"
"Would you two both just shut the fuck up?" interrupted a very grumpy looking Tory while trudging down the stairs. Avery and I glared at eachother in response and I could practically hear Tory rolling her eyes as she mumbled something under her breath. Avery stood and I followed as they both headed into the kitchen.
"Well, uhm..." I began awkwardly. Both Tory and Avery glanced over at me but quickly went back to what they were doing. "I should probably get going. My parents are probably-"
"No." Avery didn't even turn around. I blinked.
"What?" was my witty response. He huffed.
"You're not going back to that house."
"Wait.. I have to? I have to tell my parents, they're probably worried sick-"
"Oh, right, your parents." He laughed coldly, making me wince. It was so out of character for him. "Like they give a fuck, Elliot. Like you won't go home to another black eye from your father and your mother pretending not to see it."
"Don't talk about-"
"You. Are. Not. Going. Back. There." he whirled around, pinning me against a counter. My eyes burned with tears. Avery noticed this and his eyes softened around the edges. He reached up, brushing his hand over my cheek. "Elly I-"
"I leave for ten seconds and you two are all over eachother." We jumped apart as Tory spoke, my ears pricking with heat. Avery averted his eyes and grumbled something uninteligible before scampering out of the room like a deer in the headlights. I sighed, running a hand over my face.
"He's only like that with you, you know." Tory said, studying my face. I blinked at her.
"Huh?"
"I've noticed. It's like he has a soft spot for you. He doesn't even treat me like-"
"A soft spot?" I nearly choked on this. "Are you kidding me?"
"Look, I don't know what it is, but normally, when he brings a girl home, Avery gets them to leave as soon as possible. Apparently, you're something special, Elliot. Keep that in mind."
