Chapter 10
The rest of the day seemed to go by in a weird blur. I felt disconnected from my body as I left school before my final class was finished and wandered in a daze to work as if on autopilet. Unfortunately, the moment I walked into the diner, Shirley took one look at me and sent me hore assuming I was lick
I wanted to tell her I wasn’t sick but scared yet no words came out as if I could no longer speak. I merely let Barry drive me home, unable to meet hie worried locks that he threw my way every now and then.
“What happened, Ellie?” Barry asked once we were parked outside of my house. I know you’re not sick.
Noah’s been allowed to come back to school. I finally admitted, my voice sounded so far away that for a moment I didn’t think I had spoken at all.
Barry sighed and gave my hand a squeeze. ‘I’m sorry, kiddo. Do you want me to talk to Liam? Maybe he can speak with the school?”
I shook my head slowly. ‘It will just make things worse. I just need to make it through this year and then it will be over.”
I knew Barry wanted to help but there was little he could do. He wasn’t family, he had no business getting involved. The school would just dismiss him and Noah would simply take it out on me. He had already reminded me of what would happen if I did something he didn’t like. I was trapped yet again.
The house never felt as empty as it did when I stepped in that evening. I suddenly hated it. The emptiness seemed to close in oppressively and i wished that Liam was home or even Aiden and Tammy. Anything to break the feeling of isolation.
Get rid of him…
It dawned on me then that this was exactly how Noah wanted me to feel.
I had to leave.
Opening the door, I blindly stepped out, barely feeling the cool autumn breeze against my damp cheeks. Just being outside felt better. I took a shaky breath, letting the cold air fill my lungs and chase away the suffocating sensation.
I already knew where I was going before I truly thought about it. My feet carried me away from the house, following the all too familiar route. The only sound was that of my trainers on the damp pavement and my shuddering breath. Our street was set back from the main roads that fed life in and out of the city. The walk took me past the high school which now stood empty with everyone having gone home to eagerly enjoy the weekend. There was always something eerie about seeing the school so empty at night. It used to terrify me as a child and even now, while it didn’t send me into a panic, it did still leave me uncomfortable.
The bridge sat proudly over the Williamette River, beckoning me to it like a moth to a flame. I never could work out what it was about the bridge that drew me in and brought solace when everything else seemed to be in chaos. Even Noah’s threats and cruelty couldn’t take away the beauty and bliss I felt when I stood looking out over the river as it flowed below. The silence was only broken up by the sounds of nature and the occasional car going by, leaving me to sink into my own little world where I wasn’t being bullied and I wasn’t friendless.
It was times like this that I thought about running away. However, as quickly as thought came it would go when I remembered my brother, Barry and Shirley. Liam and I had already been abandoned by our parents and left to fend for ourselves, I couldn’t abandon Liam as well. Not after everything he did for me, everything he sacrificed. Even now he was sacrificing things for me including his life just so I had a roof over my head and the chance to go to college.
All I had to do was deal with one little bully. It seemed insignificant when I compared it to things like that.
I must have stood there, gazing out into the darkness for nearly an hour. By the time I decided to move, I was freezing and my limbs were stiff like stale gum. Pulling my coat around me more tightly, I turned back towards home, feeling calmer.
That was until I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end.
