Water

Chapter 3

Hey guys! Sorry, I would have updated sooner, but my internet wasn't working.

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We sat around the fire enjoying its warmth. I sat next to Josey on the ground. I guess that's what you get when you use your chairs for firewood. Wait, how would you start a fire in the pouring rain? I look up to see a full sky of stars. When did it stop raining?

Then, I decide asking myself probably won't help, and ask Josey, "Has it been raining any here? At my home, it was horrible."

She looked at me with sympathy, and said,"No, all of the flooding has been coming from the east." The town was west of my house. It must have been raining hard for hours before I woke up.

I knew I would need to meet the rest of the group, so I scooted more away from Josey, towards the huddled girl and man. I looked deep into the girl's sad, dark brown eyes and wondered what she'd been through. She looked about thirteen, and had very short, dark colored hair.

I then quietly said, "Hello?"

The girl looked at me, and the man kindly responded saying, "Oh, hello Lillian, my name is James Wite. This is my daughter, Elizabeth." James said, confirming my suspicions.

I could tell Elizabeth was either very shy, or something bad had happened. I stayed quiet, not wanting to pry, and scooted back over to Josey.

I couldn't keep my curiosity inside anymore and asked, "What happened to Elizabeth?"

The expression on her face became saddened, and she took a second before saying, "Her mother got pinned under a fridge and was left there to drown because no one could help her out from under it."

She paused as she sorrowfully told the story. "She didnt have a good chance of living anyways because of the weight of the refrigerator. James hasn't heard Elizabeth speak ever since."

I held back tears at the end of her story. Wait, I hardly knew these people, and for all I know, my mom could be dead. Then, I realized that I didn't just feel sad for Elizabeth, but for myself too. But I wasn't about to cry in front of some people I haven't even known for thirty minutes, so I just held my tears inside and looked into the fire.

I could see through the flames, that the elderly man was now asleep. Good. I didn't really like having to meet new people. It was just too awkward and I felt like I always came off as too friendly. But I still had to meet the guy who now had his cup upside-down and was spinning it around on his finger. I tried to avoid having to talk to him as long as possible and then it all dissolved.

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I wake up and I'm cold. The blanket offers me no warmth as I try to pull it over my feet. The pain in them have now gone numb. I eventually sit up and notice that the sun is rising.

Just to think, twenty-four hours ago, my mom would have been answering the phone from Amelia and handing it to me. Twenty-four hours ago, I knew my mom was alive, and I had really great friend who got woken by her cat and called to ask me if I wanted to go get some cat food. I wish that I still had that. So much did I wish that.

I guess that he noticed I had been staring at the sun for so long, that he asked full of concern, "Are you okay?"

Having broken me out of thought, I quickly looked away and then across a pile of coals, towards the guy, with spots covering my sight. Now I know why It's so cold.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied still a little frazzled.

"Good, it looked like you were purposely trying to make yourself go blind." He said with relief.

I tried not to stare too much at him. His hair was a cute, light-brown tangled mess, and his young, hazel eyes looked down as he waited for me to get the joke. Wait, Was that a joke? I sat there looking around because I decided that it would be better if I acted like I didn't get it, than to offend him with his possibly legitimate worry.

Thankfully, James breaks the awkward silence by saying, "Well, Elias, Lillian, sorry about the fire going out, but it couldn't last forever."

I felt confused for a second and then understood that Elias must be the guy's name.

"Especially on a chair." Elias said.

I again wondered if this was a joke, but I gave up my silence and joked anyway, "Yeah, that chair never had a chance." I was now sitting criss-cross applesauce. Elias and I laughed, and then realized that we were being a little too loud when we heard the "Shhhhhh." of James.

After about ten seconds of quiet, I yawned and Elias said, "I guess it's a little early to be up, but I don't think I could go back to sleep in this temperature."

Hey, at least it isn't as cold as it was. Right now, I was just a little too chilly to go to sleep, so I stood up, with the blanket on my shoulders. The light breeze hit my dry jeans and went straight through them. I knew my legs had goosebumps all over them. I promptly walked over to the pile of bricks I sat on last night, and slumped down beside them, leaning on the stack. I then covered myself with the blanket and shut my eyes.

In the background, I could hear slowly moving water, and James and Elias having a very quiet conversation about something. Huh? I think it was about Elizabeth. Poor girl. Poor James. Poor me. Oh, why is this happening to me again? The feeling then overflowed me and I silently felt the tears drip down my face and I tasted them falling into my mouth. Salty. I closed my mouth and heard myself breathing very heavily.

Then, I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder and get surprised to see Elizabeth's eyes deeply searching into mine as I stretched out my left arm, and patted the floor, motioning my allowance of a hug if she would sit down. She sat next to me, and I leaned onto her shoulder, crying silently.

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Hey guys, I know that this chapter was kinda slow and boring, but it had to happen. BWT, I hope to stick on a weekly chapter update schedule, but I'm not making any promises, and prbly will update a little extra to fix mistakes.

So what do you think of Elias? Is he cute?

What do you think is gonna happen next?