Chance Encounters

“Luke, come on, get up,” I heard a soft voice mumble and a couple of knocks on my door. I opened my eyes, not realizing where I was at first. But when I looked around, I saw a room that was bigger than my dad’s house. Then I remembered that I was now living with Ellie. It was such a strange feeling, living with someone my age in a huge house. Even though I didn’t yet have a bed, sleeping on the floor in Ellie’s old dark room felt much comfier than being stuck in a shack.

I groaned and sat up, glancing at the clock. It was 6:15 in the morning, meaning that it was Monday and we had to get ready for school. Ellie knocked harder, probably because she thought I was still sleeping and she didn’t want to walk in and see me half naked. But, being the tease that I was, I opened the door, revealing my messy hair and nothing but boxers. Ellie’s eyes widened as she focused her gaze lower than my face, studying my stomach. I smirked as she tried to cover her stare. “Come on Luke, seriously?” She said, waiting until I had a pair of skinny jeans and a shirt on to look at me again.

“Better?” I asked, motioning towards my torso. Ellie rolled her eyes before stomping out of my room and down the stairs. I promptly followed, running my hands through my hair because I was too lazy to take a shower.

“Actually, no,” she said a couple of minutes later, catching me off guard.

“What?” I asked.

“Your clothes. You need some that don’t make you look like a sewer rat,” she joked.

“I don’t have money,” I said.

“Aunt Mary would definitely give you one hundred dollars to spend on a couple of jeans and button downs,” Ellie mentioned, grabbing some cereal from her shelf in the cupboard.

She started to pour me a bowl, but I shoved it back and waved my arms around. She took some pieces of the cereal and forced them into my palms, making sure I ate them. Since I was starving, I ate a handful of the sugary flakes. “No Ellie. That’s not happening,” I mumbled through my full mouth.

“Yeah it is Luke. We’re going shopping after we work on the project later today, okay?” And that was the end of the discussion.

Mary slid down the stairs a couple of minutes later in a lavender colored robe and striped pajamas. “Good morning kids- Whoa!” She jumped back, staring at Ellie’s face bewildered and astonished.

“What in the world happened?” She asked, walking closer and studying her cheeks. Ellie turned her face away from Mary.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice raw. Mary looked at me, knowing that I would be forced to tell her what was going on. I understood that there would be no reason to lie, so I confessed.

“My …-“ I started, but was fiercely interrupted by Ellie.

“His window broke…and …uh ….several shards hit my face,” she lied, gulping for air. Mary rested her hip to one side and gave Ellie a skeptical look.

“And how did the window break?” She asked.

“Some kids were…playing baseball and the ball went straight through the glass. I was standing right next to it,” she said again, this time sounding more confident. Mary sighed, knowing that Ellie wouldn’t lie to her about a bunch of scratches on her face.

“Well I’m at least taking you to the doctor. They could be infected,” she suggested.

“No, it’s all right. Luke applied a bunch of antibiotics to my head and arms to make sure I was good,” Ellie said.

Mary then looked at me and smiled widely. “Thank you Luke. You’re a great help,” she said. I simply grinned.

“Well, we better get to school,” Ellie cut in, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the kitchen. “Oh! Aunt Mary?” She called.

“Yes?” Mary replied.

“Could I borrow some money to take Luke shopping for new clothes later today?” She asked.

“No, Ellie, come on, it’s fine,” I said.

“Yes, I suppose so. How much do you need?”

“Would $100 be too much?” She asked.

“No, that’s okay. But you better get some good deals. Gosh, you kids are going to make me go bankrupt,” she laughed, opening her wallet and putting money on the counter. “It’s here for you for later today. Have fun!” Mary waved enthusiastically at us as we closed the door and walked to the car.

“Why did you lie to her about the cuts?” I asked.

“She would’ve freaked out and sued your dad,” Ellie predicted.

“And that’s a bad thing how?” I asked. Ellie sighed.

“Can you drive today?” She ignored my question.

“I need to cover up these scrapes.” I nodded as she tossed me the keys.

I started the ignition and drove off. Aside from Ellie opening a make-up product and swiping the cover up on with a large brush, we were silent the whole ride. “How do I look?” She asked when we got to the school, showing me a somewhat darker face. There were a couple of indents and red marks. But she did look much better. It was still obvious, but she was as beautiful as always.

“You look great,” I said, handing her the keys. Ellie blushed and closed the car door.

When we walked into the school, people started to turn. I had no idea why, but it was like we weren’t invisible anymore. I didn’t know if it was the fact that we were entering together, or that Ellie looked like she had been attacked. A couple of girls glared at me, and I quickly realized that rumors were going to start.

And sure enough, by third period, even the teachers were talking about how I had hurt Ellie. I didn’t want it to phase me, but people really thought that I would hurt her. I wasn’t my dad. I was not a terrible person. Or, maybe I was. But I would never hurt Ellie.

~~*~~

“So, did you hear?” Ellie asked as we got into the car after school and drove back home. “You apparently raped me last night and slammed a vase against my body because I wasn’t screaming loud enough,” she laughed. I groaned. “Oh, and that’s not the worst one. We had a nasty break up and you showed up at my house drunk with your friends and you all attacked me,” she said.

Of course Ellie would find it funny. She wasn’t the one being labeled a rapist. “The teachers are giving me looks. I had to go to the counselor’s office today. They thought it was bad for me to be stuck in a room with fifteen other females,” I grumbled, gripping the handle of the steering wheel so tight that my fingers turned white.

“Come on Luke,” Ellie said calmly, noticing my irate state. “Who cares what they say? I know you didn’t do those things to me. They just don’t know you,” she comforted. I wanted to yell at her and tell her that it didn’t matter. But I didn’t. Ellie was the only one that could help me to compose myself again.

“How about we go shopping first? We can work on the project later,” she said.

“Okay, but we still do need to get some work done,” I requested.

~~*~~

“You are so getting this,” Ellie told me as I walked out in a pair of 50% off last season designer jeans and a button down flannel.

“I look so ridiculous,” I huffed. She simply shook her head.

“No you don’t! You’re getting it,” she said.

We had been shopping at the mall for hours and even when I told Ellie I wasn’t going to get something, she got it anyway. We had forty dollars left to spend, so we bought the jeans and shirt and left the store carrying a bag on each arm. “I think we did good,” she admitted, nudging my arm and smiling. I looked at her, and it was impossible for me to not smile back. I had never seen her like this. Despite what had happened the night prior, she seemed like the happiest person in the world. I got butterflies in my stomach just watching her eyes brighten at my glance. I forced myself to look away.

We shoved the bags in the back of the car and got in, laughing to each other about some silly joke a comedian mentioned. We drove home in peace, enjoying each other’s company. I felt like I could actually be myself around Ellie. It was like she didn’t care who I was, she just wanted me to be cheerful again, like the night we met at the carnival.

“Okay, I’ll be back, I’m going to go put these clothes upstairs,” I said, opening the door for Ellie and running upstairs. I heard Ellie mumble something and walk into the living room to get out our project. We were almost done. All we had left to do was write out the final draft.

I stumbled into my room and flickered on a switch, instantly making the room not dark. I was feeling a little light headed so I tossed the bags onto the floor and held my hand against the wall, trying to stabilize myself. I instantly felt a stabbing pain in my stomach, and I couldn’t breathe. The nauseas side effect I had earlier tried to ignore came back, and my vision turned black. My neck tightened and everything spun. I walked forwards, attempting to find a good place to sit down, but ended up pushing a book shelf over and onto the ground.

A sharp pain stabbed through me and I fell to the floor.

The last thing I remember is hearing Ellie scream.