Chapter Ten
870 Words
Ellie's P.O.V
Stepping out of the elevator, I sighed. That woman, Michaels girlfriend, She's the same woman who was giving me dirty looks earlier...Maybe that's why? Maybe I wasn't being paranoid and she really was looking at me.
Shaking it off, Knowing I'd done nothing wrong and she was clearly the one with the problem.
I didn't even manage to get back to the room, before my parents were out the door and walking towards me.
'Hey, Where you guys going?' I asked, confused.
'Dinner, you coming?' Meh, I had nothing else to do.
'Sure'.
We were all sat around the dinner table, Waiting for our food. I was completely in a world of my own... Until my dad coughed loudly to get my attention.
'Huh? Sorry, What?'
'I said, What did you get up to today?'
'Ohh, I just hung out with some friends'.
'Who? That older fellow?' I rolled my eyes at my mum. ''That older fellow?'' Really?
'Yes, Mum, His name is Michael. He took me for a drink and I met some of his friends. Nice guys'. They exchanged a look. Obviously, I told my parents everything about Michael... Well, Everything that I knew about him.
They didn't have a problem with me staying in contact with him, so this ''shared look'' thing confused me.
'I see... Ellie, Sweetie-'
'What?' Where was this going?
'Are you being careful?'
'What do you mean?'
'Well..' My mum trailed off and looked over at my dad.
'The last man you trusted, wasn't exactly honest with you'. I just stared at him, In complete and utter shock, was he serious? Was he SERIOUSLY bringing this up now? Like, Honestly?!
'Michael isn't like that!' I felt something inside me snap, and the need to defend and protect him and his name and intentions was my priority.
'No, No, We're not saying he is. From what you said, He's clearly a good man, But, Having said that, you need to be more careful.'
I just sat there, arms crossed, shaking my head.
How dare they!
I was trying to get back out there, learn to not be afraid of trusting people again, trying to enjoy myself, not let all this change who I was, and my parents are literally telling me to do the opposite... Or at least it's how it feels.
I opened my mouth to say something when the waiter came over with our food. Placing it down in front of us, he asked if we wanted anything else. Remaining silent, mum and dad ordered some more drinks and then it was just the three of us again.
'Ellie, We're not having a go'. I just grunted a reply and started eating my dinner. I didn't want to talk to them about this stuff anymore.
I certainly wasn't going to tell them about the episode I had earlier in the street, that would probably only worry them or encourage them to give up on the holiday even more, and If I didn't want to cut the trip short before, I certainly didn't know.
I kept my eyes on my food until I heard my dad sign, and they always meant it was the end of the conversation.
It was a little while later and no one had spoken since the food arrived.
Putting the last piece of Steak into my mouth, I was just glad that I could leave and go back up to our room to be alone.
'Can I be excused please?' I asked, Already getting to my feet before they could answer, but before I could make my escape, my phone rang.
Checking the Caller ID, It was the police.
I froze.
'Who is it?' My mum asked.
'Police'.
'Answer it!' Shaking my head, I pressed ''answer'' and held the phone up to my ear as I sat back down again. Mum and dad placed there knives and forks down and stopped eating.
'Hello?'
'Hello, Is this Ellie Dover?'
'Speaking'.
'Ah, Miss Dover, I hope you're well?'
'I'm ok' I lied.
'I'm glad to hear it'. I looked up at my parents, they were just as anxious as I was. 'I'm calling in regarding to some new information on your case against Mr Brent Franks'. My stomach dropped.
'Oh?' I heard my own voice crack and my mum reached out across the table to take my hand. I took it instantly and squeezed it.
'Yes, It would seem that He hasn't returned to his apartment in a while and we are unable to as far, locate him.' Nothing they were saying was making me feel better.
'So, what does that mean?'
'It means that we're not going to give up, but we need you to come down to the station and answer some questions'. I didn't have much hope to start with, but I had even less now.
'Ok. When?'
'Tomorrow?'
'Sure'. He gave me the location of the station, in case I didn't know it, and then he hung up. Why did I need to go and answer questions? I told them everything I knew! Sighing, I looked up at my parents who were clearly waiting for me to tell them everything that was just said...
- Writer
