Lonely

Day two

ELLIE:

The next morning, I woke up where I slept: the couch, my mom wasn't home and relief washes over when I didn't see or feel her presence.

It's six in the morning, which means I have to get up for school, I eventually do that even though I'm still tired as it is.

Getting up slowly, I made my way upstairs to my room, setting out my uniform before getting in the shower.

My stomach still grumbled, I haven't eaten anything but that half sandwich: it wasn't enough and I needed more.

I rubbed my stomach while getting dressed, hoping it'd calm down soon: no luck for me, I'll just eat something when I get to school.

I have noticed myself eating less, obviously, but I've been getting less hungrier than how I am today, whenever I'm around my mother and we'd eat food: I'd always say that I wasn't hungry.

That made my mother proud of me, it felt nice to know she was proud of me for at least something.

School was a distraction from my mother and I liked it but hated it, I'm so attached to my mother and love her so much I can't do anything but obey her.

I slid my black shorts up my legs and put on a belt, before grabbing my navy blue shirt and pulling it through the loops of my shorts.

That was the schools dress code, I'm in high school but we still have to wear uniform, I don't mind since I didn't have much good clothes.

I went to my closet and opened it, bending down to the ground and moving a painting out of the way to reveal my Nike shoe box.

Grabbing it, I took the shoes out and slid them on my feet, I hid them from my mom and told her my dad bought them for me so she wouldn't destroy them.

My dad always knew how to keep me occupied, especially when it came to school, he'd always help me and make sure I'd understand the lesson as soon as I tell him we had learned something knew.

It was a dream come true, sometimes I wonder how he didn't get custody of me — or how my younger siblings didn't get pulled with my mom and me since they were young.

Will I ever understand anything?

After getting ready, I heard my bus driver honk her horn, and I grabbed my backpack, slung it over my shoulder and headed out the door.

***

I strolled through the bustling hallways of Willow Creek High, the chatter of students echoing around me like a symphony of youthful energy.

As a sophomore, I had grown accustomed to the rhythm of high school life, but today held a different kind of excitement.

My first class, English, was usually a favorite: Ms Hawthorne's infectious enthusiasm had a way of making even the most tedious texts seem captivating.

Today, however, my mind kept drifting.

"Ellie!" a voice called out, and I turned to see Ida, my closest friend, waving at me from across the room, her bright blue eyes sparkled with mischief, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Ida! Come sit with me," I exclaimed.

During English, we whispered and giggled, our voices mingling with the sound of Miss Hawthorne's readings, as the bell rang: we gathered our books and made our way to the next class.

Math was a different story.

The equations that decorated the whiteboard seemed to swim before my eyes. "Ida," I whispered, "I think I'm going to flunk this test."

"Nonsense," she replied, her voice a soothing balm. "You've got this."

Ida's confidence gave me a glimmer of hope, we worked together on the problems, our heads bent low over our notebooks: by the end of class, I felt a surge of accomplishment mixed with the lingering dread of the upcoming test.

Next came history, where Mr. Davis's passionate lectures transported us back to the annals of time: as he described the rise and fall of civilizations, I could feel the weight of history on my young shoulders.

But I also couldn't help the looks he was giving me during the lesson: kinda creepy.

"Ellie," Ida asked during our lunch break, "are you coming to the dance on next Wednesday?"

"I don't know," I replied hesitantly. "I'm not really the dancing type."

"Oh, come on!" Ida insisted. "It'll be fun. I'll even teach you how to do the boogie."

With Ida's persuasive powers, I found myself agreeing to the dance, but had to get my mom's permission: which is going to be difficult.

She didn't noticed my lack of eating even though I said I was going to, I didn't touch my lunch plate and just left my stomach empty.

As I returned to my last class of the day, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation of getting home and I couldn't wait.

When I did, no one was there and I was happy to be myself again, I sighed deeply before going upstairs to my room ti get my bag ready.

My dad will be over to pick me up soon, for the weekend, and I was so excited to see him and my siblings once again.

***

I stepped into the empty house, my backpack heavy on my shoulders: the blessed day when I got to escape my mother's suffocating presence and retreat to the sanctuary of my father's home.

As I made my way to my room, I picked up my bag for the weekend, I kept on my school uniform, for some reason: I always liked going over my dads house in my uniform.

Looking inside the bag, I made sure I had everything I needed: extra clothes, my laptop, my phone charger, my phone itself, extra toothpaste, and my facial cream for my daily routine.

My jewelry and other stuff were at my dad's, my mom would destroy everything I bought for myself unless my dad bought it for me.

I texted my dad to see where he was.

Me: hey dad! u otw?

Dad?: yes I am, I'm bringing Elvira and Elija

Me: ?

I'm such a dry texter, but I didn't really care, I sat my phone down and turned on the tv, starting to watch my favorite movie.

A few minutes later, I could hear murmurs coming from downstairs, my heart skipped a beat as I paused, my ears straining to decipher the voices.

"Maria," the man's voice was smooth and alluring, "I can't wait to meet your daughter."

My stomach twisted into a knot, my mother, was talking to a man? I crept downstairs, my feet silent on the plush carpet.

As I reached the bottom step, my eyes widened in disbelief.

Mom was standing in the living room, her eyes sparkling with a peculiar gleam: beside her was a tall man with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Ellie, darling," Maria said, her voice dripping with false cheer, but looked annoyed seeing me. "This is Matteo. He's your new stepfather."

"It's nice to meet you, Matteo," I mumbled, forcing myself to look at him.

I felt a surge of nausea wash over me, Matteo's gaze made my skin crawl, but I shook off the feeling that he was a bad guy.

"You too." He replied with a smile, he was looking at me with an almost predatory intensity.

As I turned to leave, I heard a car pull up outside, I could feel Matteo's eyes burning into my back as I turned to open the door.

It was my father, he came in with my younger siblings, Elvira and Elija, his face grew confused as he saw Matteo. "Who's this?" he asked.

"It's Matteo," Maria replied, her voice filled with annoyance as she glared at my father. "My new husband."

My dad studied him before smiling. "Nice to meet you." he said.

Matteo simply smirked. "You too, nice family you had."

I watched in silence as my father and siblings eyed Matteo down, I could see the worry in my father's eyes as he looked back at me.

Elvira came and pulled on my arm, trying to get my attention, this is very uncomfortable and I want to leave.

Elija was being held on my dad's hip, his eyes never left me, I hid my face in my hands before looking back up.

"You ready to go?" My dad asked, snapping me out of my thoughts and I immediately nodded, my feet had got numbed for standing too long and I couldn't wait to start walking again.

Elvira had grabbed my bag and held it for me, the bag taking her whole tiny body as she held my hand.

"Uh, well, she'll be back Sunday for school." My dad said to my mom before gesturing me to follow him.

As I left out the door, I get a text from my mom.

Mom?: Don't eat nothing but rice, bananas and water. Got it?

Me: ok

I wanted to eat what I want but I knew she was going to check my weight when I come back to so use.