The Skeletøn Bøy

THIRTY-SIX

++ C H A P T E R | T H I R T Y - S I X ++

It was the silence that Elliott hated most.

Laying in the hospital bed, she stared at the ceiling, wondering what she had done wrong. Wondering why life had it out from her since the beginning.

Her eyes crammed shut, tears threatening to spill. Brent knows. He knows, yet he isn't here right now. In Elliott's mind, that could only mean one thing. It meant that he hated her now, hated that she wasn't who she said she was.

She longed for Wes, the boy who had accepted her.

She longed for Adrian and Mat, the brothers that forever stood by her side.

She even longed for Anna, the foster mother who had shown nothing but love since the beginning.

But, no one was in the room. It was empty when she woke up, and had remained so. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, or whether or not it was the same day. She wasn't sure if Brent had told anyone. She wasn't sure about a lot of things.

She was, however, sure that she hated the silence.

The lights overhead blinded her. They were bright and unforgiving, but reliable. Just as reliable as the steady beeping coming from the machine beside her. Elliott took a deep breath and thought of all the constants in her life. So far, there was none.

So, Brent hates me. Probably. And he might tell everyone. It was something Elliott had to stomach. She didn't want to stomach it, but it was her reality. She liked Brent - she believed him to be her friend. She liked his enthusiasm for soccer. She enjoyed how he still talked to her, despite the fact that his girlfriend, Natasha, had broken up with him. For her.

Elliott liked Brent. She didn't like the thought of losing his friendship so easily because of this. Because she was born a female. Because she was covered in tattoos and scars. Because she wasn't Elliott, but Elle.

The lights in her room flickered. The steady beeping of the machine faltered. Then, without warning, the room plunged into darkness. It was eerie, and still silent. Even more now that the beeping was gone.

Elliott felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She laid on the bed for a moment, her heart beat the only thing she could focus on. She strained to listen, but it was no use.

She fumbled with the IV in her arm, but paused. She wasn't sure if it was safe to pull it out yet. She wasn't sure if anything was even wrong.

She heard the door open. It was almost silent, but not quite, and for a moment, Elliott couldn't breathe. The lights were off in the hallway, making it impossible to see anyone enter. All she could hear was the door open, and then shut.

She trembled on the bed, hoping it was a nurse.

"Hello?"

Her words were met with laughter. In that moment, she ripped the IV from her arm, and slid off of the bed. She couldn't see a thing, but she was sure she could escape.

"Mother, what do you want?" She nearly growled out, not moving.

"You, of course." Her voice was too close to Elliott. Way too close.

Elliott stumbled back. "Mother, you need to forget me. You need to leave me alone." Elliott felt for the wall behind her, slowly moving towards the door. It was difficult in the dark, but Elliott was confident she could make it.

"No, Elliott. I don't. You see, I've been waiting for so long to come and get you. So long. I've waited until the perfect moment, don't you know. When you're the most vulnerable. What better timing than here, in a hospital, where you're injured. How are your ribs?"