Merely Us

The third child's name is Eli Carr-Davis. The reason he was alone wasn't because his parents were dead. At least, he didn't think they were. He couldn't be sure because both of them had left him. Eli scowled at the thought of his parents.
Eli's dad had left his mom when he was very young. "It doesn't matter. He's out of our lives now," Eli's mother would snap when he asked about his father. She said the same thing every time - "He's out of our lives now." So he moved on. Eli became satisfied with life with his mother. Apparently, his mother did not. Over the years, she had numerous boyfriends, all of which her son disapproved of.
Eli kicked a rock and counted the boyfriends on his fingers. "Bill, an alcoholic; Dameon, the crackhead; Owen," he paused, trying to think of why he didn't like Owen. "Oh yeah, he gambled with money he didn't have; Gabe, well, he was just a jerk." As Eli looked into a puddle, he noticed the finger-shaped bruises on his arms and neck. "But of course Adam, the one she had to marry and leave me with, was abusive," he muttered.
The sky was darkening quickly, but all Eli could think of was his mother. "I HATE YOU," he yelled suddenly, "I HATE YOU AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN." Eli dropped to his knees, pounding the ground with his fist as he screamed, "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" Tears streamed down his face, but for once Adam wasn't there to punish him. "I hate you," he whispered, wiping his cheeks with his mud-coated hands.
Eli rolled onto his back and wondered how his life had gotten to where it was. When Adam had blamed him for his mother leaving, something inside of him just snapped. He just couldn't take it any more. Before Adam could throw any more punches, Eli ran. Through the woods, towards the marsh. He didn't care where he was going, he just needed to get away. Away from Adam, away from his home, away from his past. Adam would never go after him - he didn't care that much.
Eli realized he would have to go back sometime. Unless he found food or somewhere to stay out in the forest, he wouldn't be able to survive.
Suddenly, something red and white caught his eye. Eli jumped up and jogged over to it. He pushed some branches and leaves off the object and a small smile crept onto his face. The object was a stuffed animal - a sock monkey!
The sock monkey was dirty and faded. Eli searched the monkey for a tag with an owner's name on it - not that he would be able to return it to them. He finally found the tag and moved out of the shadows to try to read it.
"Dude?" he read out loud. "Dude," he repeated, starting to chuckle. Then, he looked around for any more signs of other human life. Nothing. Eli walked farther into the trees, puzzled. The monkey didn't look like it had been there long.
CRACK!
Eli turned around, searching for the source of the sound. He saw a flashlight beam slicing through the dark and he made his way to a hiding spot behind a large rock.
"Liam?" A girl's quiet voice came from beside the light of the flashlight.
"Yeah?" The second voice was clearly the owner of the flashlight.
"I thought I saw something move. Do you think there are bears in here?"
"Uhh, there might be," the boy named Liam said.
"WHAT?!" The girl whispered, louder than before.
"Actually, probably not?"
For a moment, crouching in the dark, Eli yearned to be traveling with the other two children, to be their friend. He didn't want to be alone any longer. Then, he had an idea. He made a low rumbling sound in his throat.
The girl gasped. "Liam, that wasn't you, was it?"
"N-No."
"Then what was it?"
"I have no idea."
The pair stopped walking. Liam swung the beam of light around, trying to find out what made the noise.
Eli threw a rock towards the other side of the children, directing their attention away from himself. He then growled and stealthily moved towards Liam.
The girl whimpered, and Liam said, "Shhh, Ariana, I'm sure it's nothing."
It was the perfect time. Eli yelled and leaped right in front of the pair. Ariana screamed and jumped back, tugging Liam with her by the arm. Liam dropped the flashlight in surprise.
Eli started laughing. He laughed harder and harder, while Liam and Ariana just stared at him in shock. "Classic!" He exclaimed, "You should have seen your faces!" He took the light and aimed it at them.
Finally, when Eli's laughter had died down to just a chuckle, Liam spoke.
"What was that for?"
Eli raised his eyebrows. "Uh, my own amusement. Duh."
Ariana looked at Liam, but he was too busy glaring at Eli.
"Oh, sorry kid, I didn't realize I was interrupting your date." Eli laughed when he saw the two blush and move away from each other. Liam opened his mouth to protest, but Eli cut him off. "But why are you in the middle of the woods? OH! I know! You must have run away from Mommy and Daddy so you could be together. How cute."
At the mention of his parents, Liam had gone rigid. He looked ready to punch Eli. Ariana had looked at the ground and was clutching her braid so tightly, her knuckles were white.
Eli just rolled his eyes. "There's no need to be so sensitive." When he got no response, he went on. "Fine, then you can go back to where you came from, crying to your Mommy. I'm sure your Mommy cares about you. I didn't realize you were so fragile."
Ariana's head snapped up. She locked her teary hazel eyes with Eli's dark brown ones. "I am NOT fragile. And don't you dare start thinking you know me or my family. It's obvious from what you just said that you don't. Clearly you're just wallowing in self-pity and decided to make us feel bad because you thought we had better lives than you. Well guess what? We don't."
Eli was stunned. He never thought someone so small could stand up to him. He wondered if self-pity really was the reason he had said all that. Then, he rejected the idea. He had only said that because he thought it was funny.
Suddenly, Ariana's jaw dropped. "DUDE!" She exclaimed.
Eli looked around in confusion. He glanced at Liam to see if he was feeling the same way, but instead Liam was just surprised. Noticing that his gaze was on the sock monkey that was still in Eli's hand, Eli remembered the name on the tag.
"This thing is yours?" He asked, holding out the monkey.
"YES!" Ariana beamed. The sight of her beloved animal had changed her mood entirely. She grabbed it and hugged it to her chest.
"Okay, well now you've got, uh, Dude back so can we go check on our stuff?" Liam asked Ariana.
Eli grinned. "Sure! Let's go!
Liam and Ariana exchanged a glance. "Well - " Liam started, but was interrupted.
"SO!" Eli said loudly, as he put his arms over both Liam's and Ariana's shoulders. "Tell me all about yourselves!"