Chance Encounters

I woke up with my arm loosely wrapped around Ellie’s bare legs. She was pulled so close to me that my knees were pressed on her back. Her legs were warm and comforting, but I needed to avoid an awkward encounter, so I pulled my arm off of her and turned around. I heard her shuffle about and realized she was awake. I was too tired to say anything, so she got out of the bed, thinking I was still sleeping. Ellie opened and closed a couple of drawers, and then walked out of her room. She closed the door softly, and sauntered down the hallway. Her gait was quiet and not alarming, so I had no idea where she was going.

I rested my head on the pillow she had given me the night prior, taking everything in. I didn’t deserve to be in Ellie’s house. I didn’t deserve her gentle persona. That’s what baffled me about her. No matter how mean I was, she never hesitated to help me out in the long run. If our positions were switched, I don’t think I would be able to take her into my home. But that’s what was so different about us. Ellie was sweet, generous, strong willed, and stubborn. I was hostile, selfish, cruel, and a jerk. But for some reason, she saw the light inside of me. She didn’t give up, and I respected her perseverance.

After laying still for a couple of minutes, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep and rolled out of bed. I stretched tall, reaching my hands to the sky and bent backwards. When I was fully awake, I looked in Ellie’s full sized mirror to see if I looked pleasant or not. I jumped about two feet behind me when I saw my appearance. My dark brown hair was greasy and was sticking up in odd places all over my head. My eyes had a plethora of bags under them, making me look like I hadn’t slept in a thousand years. The sweatshirt Ellie had given me was ruffled and wrinkled. I pulled the fabric off of my sweaty torso, instantly feeling cooler. I folded the sweatshirt neatly and shoved it in a random drawer.

After situating my hair into a somewhat normal position, I decided to take a shower. I walked out into Ellie’s unfamiliar hallway and tried to remember where she told me the bathroom was located at. After going over the tour mentally from last night, I recalled that it was down the hall past a couple of rooms. The door was closed, so I assumed Ellie was in there. But when I looked around, I realized all of the doors were closed, so it could’ve just been a pattern. I heard the television blaring downstairs, so I assumed Ellie was in the family room.

I was about to go down the stairs and talk to her when I heard fumbling in the room across from Ellie’s. I panicked, knowing it was her aunt, Mary, and shoved myself in the bathroom. I closed the door quickly and turned on the light, thinking it was too dark. I was about to turn around and get into the shower when Mary knocked on the door. I completely froze, my feet plastered to the ground and my hands shaking by my sides. “Ellie, are you going to be in there long?” She asked. I knew there was no way out of this, so I opened my mouth to attempt and sound like her. I was positive it wasn’t going to work well, but it was worth a try. Right before I spoke, however, a voice behind me started talking.

“Yeah, I’m just getting in the shower,” the voice called. If it was possible, my body tensed up even more. I just walked in on Ellie. What if she was naked? As much as I wanted to turn around and look at her and express my deepest apologies, I knew it would just make more noise.

“Crap,” Mary muttered. “Well do you want me to make you some breakfast? I won’t touch your shelf, but I could make you some dairy free yogurt with some of the blueberries I got the other day,” she said.

“Yeah, sure, sounds great!” Ellie said enthusiastically, obviously trying to get her aunt downstairs so she could kick me out.

“Alright,” she said, strolling down the stairs. I hastily turned around and saw Ellie in nothing but her underwear. As much as I tried to respect Ellie, I couldn’t help but glance down at her body, noticing her small hips protruding naturally, making her seem more feminine. Her bra straps were hanging off of her shoulder. Her arm was holding up the clasps on the back, making sure it didn’t fall off.

“Oh God! I’m sorry!” I apologized.

“JESUS!” She yelled, glaring at me and wrapping a towel around her proportional body. Her cheeks instantly became red as a tomato.

“The light was off and I didn’t think anyone was in here! Then I heard your aunt and I didn’t want her to see me!” I said. Ellie shifted uncomfortably as her bra fell off underneath her towel. I tried not to notice.

“Out,” she asserted, pointing sternly at the door. I twisted the knob and walked quickly into her room. I shut the door quietly, making my being here unnoticeable to Mary.

~~*~~

Ellie walked into her room 40 minutes later with a yogurt, some fruit, and a muffin barely stable in her small palms. I sat up in the chair and looked at her, not knowing what to say. “I brought breakfast,” she said enthusiastically, trying to break the wall of awkwardness between us. She placed the food on the desk a couple of feet away from me and waited for me to reach for something.

I stared at it strangely. I didn’t eat much, maybe a half of a banana or a couple pieces of leftover popcorn. But that was if I was absolutely starving. If I felt like I ate too much, I would throw it up. I didn’t do that much. I had only tried it once. But the point being, food was unfamiliar to me now that I hadn’t really consumed the daily value of things I was supposed to. “What, you don’t eat?” She said, grabbing a banana. She peeled the outside down and ripped off a chunk, handing the rest to me.

“I haven’t eaten much lately,” I confessed.

Ellie began to give me a pitiful look, but she knew it wouldn’t help, so she put on the strong exterior. “Well, I’m not letting you get up until you eat something,” she huffed, acting like my mother. I hated it at the time, but I would later appreciate it.

I sighed and picked up the plump red apple. I took a big enough bite and chewed, making it look believable. “Ellie?” Mary called from down the hall. “Could you come here for a moment?” Ellie glanced at me, making sure I swallowed the food before skipping down into the laundry room. As soon as she left, I forced the skin of the apple out of my throat and placed it in my palm. I jumped onto her bed, opened the window, and threw it onto the grass. When I was done, I stalked to the front of the room and opened the door a crack. I was curious to hear what was going on.

“Where are you?” She called.

“Laundry room,” Mary replied. My heart began to pound. My clothes were being washed. Did she find them?

“Yeah?” Ellie asked when she finally made it into the laundry room.

“Do you mind telling me why you have boys’ clothing in the dryer?” She questioned.

“Well…I …uh, it’s my…uh..” she stuttered.

“Ellie, don’t lie to me. Tell me the truth. I won’t get mad,” Mary reassured. “Well, unless you were having …”

“No!” Ellie interrupted. Ellie took a couple of seconds to calm herself down before speaking again. “I went to the grocery store last night to pick up my food and,” she started.

“How is this relevant?” Mary asked impatiently.

“Just a second, I’m getting there… Anyway, after I left the store, I was driving home. When I was at a stoplight, I noticed a figure walking across the road. I couldn’t really make out who it was, but I squinted my eyes enough so that it looked like Luke,” she paused.

“The boy you’re working on the project with?” Mary questioned.

“Yes. When I knew for sure that it was him, I forced him into my car. I told him I was taking him home, but he said he was…kicked out. There was nowhere else to take him, so I brought him here. I was going to tell you that Luke stayed here, but you were passed out on the couch when we got home,” Ellie confessed truthfully.

I crossed my fingers, waiting for Mary’s response

. “Did Luke sleep in your room?” She asked.

“Yes…but,” Ellie began, but Mary cut her off.

“Did he sleep in the bed with you?” She asked, her voice sounding harsh.

“I didn’t want him to sleep on the floor. I promise, nothing happened! We slept at different ends of the bed,” she said. Mary sighed loudly.

“So, how long is he staying?” She said unenthusiastically. Ellie squealed a high pitched thank-you.

“I don’t know. Luke seemed pretty fazed. It could be awhile. I think his dad really meant it,” she said.

“Okay. Where is he right now?” Mary asked. I heard a couple of combined footsteps as they neared the bedroom. The door opened and I peered up at both of them.

I didn’t know what to say, but Mary smiled at me. “Luke, I’m sorry for being so strict on Ellie. I had no idea what was going on,” she said. I started to apologize, but she simply shook it off.

“Luke, I wanted to personally say,” she paused. I braced myself for the worst. “Welcome to the family!” She exclaimed, wrapping her long, skinny arms around me.

When she pulled away, I couldn’t help but grin. “Thank you so much. I can’t even explain how much this means to me,” I said, appreciation pouring through me.

“No worries. We’ll get a room up for you pretty soon. You can either stay in Ellie’s room, on the floor, or on the couch downstairs until then,” she said.

“Thanks again,” I said, nodding my head sheepishly as Mary began to walk out.

“Oh, one more thing,” she said. “Later today, make sure you two go over to your house and get the rest of your stuff,” she advised, closing the door behind her. Ellie laughed and pulled me into a strong embrace. It was the first time we had actually touched since that night at the fair. The memories of her sank into me. Her warmth instantly collided into me, making me feel somewhat happy. She pulled back after a couple of seconds and smiled cheekily.

“Thank you.”

~~*~~
6 PM
“No one should be home right now,” I said, unlocking the door with the spare key I had stolen a couple of weeks back. Ellie hid behind me, hesitantly walking into my smug looking home. I took her hand in mine and pulled her into my room, finding a backpack and stuffing my shirts and shorts into the bag. Ellie turned around when I stuffed several pairs of plaid boxers into the rest of the pack.

I smirked. “Okay, let’s get out of here,” I said, zipping up the bag and leading her out into the front room. Before we could leave, however, the door opened abruptly.

“Whose fucking car is in my driveway?” My dad mumbled as he walked into the house, pushing Torri in front of him. “What the fuck are you doing here? And who is this tramp with you?” He spat.

My eyebrows burrowed together as I growled at him. “Don’t you dare insult her,” I said, realizing I was more protective of Ellie than I had thought.

“You still didn’t answer my question. Why are you in my fucking house? You don’t live here anymore,” he yelled, walking into the kitchen to grab a beer.

“I was getting my clothes,” I said, motioning to the backpack resting on my shoulders. Torri walked into my dad’s room, knowing she didn’t have a part in the conversation.

“Those are mine,” my dad sneered, his face resembling that of a very fat pig.

“Actually, they’re mine. Mom bought them for me a couple of months before she….passed,” I said quietly. I know it was stupid, but I would do anything to defend those clothes. They made me feel safe, like mom was with me when I wore them.

“They were in my house, so those shirts and pants that you have are mine,” he fought back, taking a deep sip of his beer and sighing loudly.

“Mr. Jeysen, with all due respect, Luke has no other clothes, other than these,” she pointed at what I was wearing.

My dad snarled loudly at her, walking a couple feet closer to her. I jumped in front of Ellie in attempt to protect her, but he easily pushed me onto the floor. “You aren’t in this conversation, you smart ass,” he said.

“Sir, please,” she said, her voice beginning to crack. “Just listen,” she tried to say.

“No, you listen!” My dad roared, walking back to the kitchen to take another gulp of beer. “This is my fucking house. You are trespassing. You have no fucking right to be in my house,” he said.

“This isn’t even a house. It’s a couple pieces of wood held together by several nails. It’s almost in as bad of shape as you are,” she mumbled under her breath. My eyes opened wide. Ellie was not someone that talked back. I was shocked.

My dad turned to her, his face red in fury. “You..Bitch!” He howled, throwing the bottle in his hands straight at her face. I leapt up quickly, reaching for the bottle, but was too late. The glass smashed into Ellie, shards sticking up all over her face and arms. Ellie let out a piercing yelp as I opened up the door and pushed her away from my father. I helped her to the passenger seat of the car, took her keys, and hopped in the front seat. My father ran outside yelling at me, but I started the ignition and drove off.

“Ellie, you’re going to be okay. I promise,” I said, looking at her. I wanted to hold her, but she looked so fragile. Her hair was frayed, her eyes were sore, and her face was covered in blood. She saw me looking at her and glared.

“I’m fine,” she said, wincing when she pulled out a couple of pieces of glass. I pulled up to her driveway five minutes later and opened the door for Ellie.

“Come on, I’ll help you clean up,” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist and helping her to the door.

“Mary!?” I called out as soon as we were inside.

“She’s not here. She …she..went… to ..w-work,” Ellie stuttered. I set her softly on a kitchen stool and grabbed a rag from a drawer. I found a tub of antibiotics and softly put them next to Ellie. I laid a bunch of paper towels on the counter to put the shards of glass on. After filling a small bowl with almost hot water, I pulled up another stool and sat next to her.

“This may sting, but I promise it’ll be over within a couple of minutes,” I said reassuringly. Ellie’s eyes met mine, and I could tell she was filled with fear and pain. “Hey, trust me,” I said, taking her hand. Her fingers wrapped around mine, slowly becoming loose and less tense. “Now close your eyes,” I said while squeezing her hand. Her eyelids closed gently and I moved my free hand to her chin. I tugged lightly on a large piece of blood covered glass. Ellie moaned softly but tried to compose herself. She dug her nails into my palm as I pulled it out and set it on to the paper towel.

The absence of the shard left a bloody wound on her chin. I pulled the rest of the glass out of Ellie’s cheeks and forehead before dipping the rag in hot water. “Okay, the hard part is over,” I soothed her. She opened her eyes and dropped her jaw when she saw the 20 pieces of glass.

“All of that was on me?” She asked breathlessly. I nodded.

Ellie realized her nails were still burrowed tightly against my skin. “Sorry,” she said as she loosened her grip.

“No worries,” I said, removing my hand from hers to squeeze the water out of the rag. She flinched painfully as I soaked the hot water onto her skin.

After all of the blood was cleaned off of her, I put some ointment on her cuts and wounds. “This will make sure that they don’t get infected,” I said, taking the cap off of the medicine and circling my fingers around her soft skin. Ellie looked at me, her eyes filled with an emotion that I couldn’t read. But it was hypnotizing. It was almost as if she wanted something to happen. Nervous, I looked down at my fingers and put the medicine away. She smiled.

“Thank you,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around my neck. I pulled her body into mine, feeling her heart beat lively again.

“Anytime,” I said casually.

That was the day when I realized I had feelings for Ellie.

And it was also the day I realized I would do absolutely anything to make sure she was safe and that no one could hurt her.