The Sun And The Stars •completed•

Phoebe Fletcher

Eli woke groggily the next day. He lifted himself to sit, and looked around. He was alone on the bus. Even Audrey was gone. He yawned and checked the time. It was 11 AM. He couldn't believe he'd slept so long. How long had he been alone? He stretched and wiped sticky hair off of his forehead, already sweating from the heat of the day. 

Suddenly, Audrey walked up the steps onto the bus. "You're up!" She smiled, walking towards him. "I haven't slept that long for a while." Eli admitted. Audrey giggled and tucked her hair behind her ears, "Yeah, I figured as much, that's why I left you." 

"Anyways," Audrey sighed, "As you can probably already tell, today's a scorcher. It's so hot, I'm wearing my lightest dress." She pulled on her straps with her thumbs, "Spaghetti straps and all." Eli raised his eyebrows. Somehow, Audrey was even prettier than usual. Her hazel eyes were bright, her skin perfect and tan against her white dress. 

"My point is," Audrey continued, pulling Eli back into focus, "I got you something." Eli finally noticed the small plastic bag in Audrey's hand. She handed it to him and waited with bubbling anticipation as he looked inside. 

He laughed shortly. "Wristbands?" He asked, pulling out the black pieces of fabric. 

"Don't laugh," Audrey said, starting to laugh herself, "It's a genius idea. This way you can cover your wrists without dying from heat exhaustion." 

"So, you expect me to just casually wear wrist bands?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow up. 

"If anyone asks, which they won't, we'll just say you're really sporty." She smiled brightly, making Eli's heart skip a beat. She pouted when he didn't respond. "Come on, I want to go get brunch without you collapsing on the way." Eli rolled his eyes and complied.

When he came out of the bus station  washrooms, a black t-shirt on, Audrey clapped when he held up his arms to show her his new wristbands. His arms felt strangely tingly and exposed in the sunlight. "Isn't that better?" She asked.

A surge of affection overflowed inside of him. Instead of answering, he leaned down and kissed her. She curled her hand around his t-shirt collar and he tentatively put his hands on her waist. 

She couldn't help but smile at his gentleness and tentative hand movements.

****

"Okay, so why not tell your parents?" Audrey absentmindedly picked up a strip of bacon. Eli shrugged. The two were sitting side by side in a booth, arms sticking to the leather cushions.

"Just didn't want to." 

Audrey frowned as she chewed. "Are you- going back home?" She asked quietly.

Eli shook his head. "Not-" He bit his lip and looked down at the table, "Probably not."

"But, what will you do? I mean, in New York, all alone?" Audrey shifted and tried to catch his eye. Eli's stare remained on the table. "I don't -" He took in a breath, "I don't think I can talk about it right now." He felt humiliated at the lump in his throat. It wouldn't get out there, this  story, without tears. And in Eli's mind, tears were bad. Tears made him weak. 

Audrey tucked her hair behind her ears and nodded. "Okay," She said softly, watching the constellation of stars on his cheeks and nose move as his nose crinkled.

Eli couldn't believe that she was real. He looked into her bright, piercing eyes and wondered why he hadn't met her earlier. Before it got bad. Or, worse. Why couldn't she have looked him in the eyes two or three years ago and understood?

She knew nothing, and yet, it felt like she knew everything. And for the first time, Eli thought he might be able to tell someone some things.

"Do you have any siblings?" She moved on swiftly, trying to sneak bacon off of Eli's plate. He moved his plate closer to hers to make her endeavors easier.

"One sister."

                                                                             ****

Phoebe was sat on the battered and bleached leather couch, watching him. Eli could feel her cold gaze as he had his back to her, reaching on top of the fridge to grab the first aid kit. He landed on the sofa next to her, unzipping the bag. Her head snapped over to him. 

Eli moved his eyes up to meet hers. Her eyes were icy blue, cold and unforgiving. She was all sharp angles and pale blonde hair. "Phoebe-" He started. 

"Shut up, Eli." She hissed. Phoebe looked up to the ceiling, willing herself to keep the tears inside. "He didn't mean it. We aren't going to talk about it." Her bottom lip wobbled and she took in a small, curt breath. "You shouldn't have..." Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut, clutching the sofa as two hot tears rolled down her cheeks. "It would have been over if you hadn't..."

It was odd, seeing her cry. Eli hated it. But it was over as quickly as it started. Phoebe grabbed the first aid kit and then grabbed his hand. "No, it was for your cut." Eli corrected, pointing his free hand to her forehead, starting to pull his hand away from hers. Her grip tightened. "It's just a cut, Eli." She looked into his eyes, and then shook her head as she looked back down to his hand. "Look at you." She murmured. 

When Phoebe became his sister, Eli was excited. He was a quiet child, but all kids like a play mate. Especially only children. She was only a year younger than him, and at the ages of five and six, the two of them were thrown together. Two halves of two families became one. 

Phoebe's Dad was a large man with dark hair, but eyes as blue as his daughters. They were just as cold, and much more unforgiving. Mitch Fletcher was a violent man, but he'd never laid a finger on his daughter, his Phoebe, until that night. 

Eli was sat in his room, reading, when he heard the shouting. It had escalated quickly, as it always did with Mitch. But, when he heard the sound of a slap, he jumped off of his bed and into the living room. Mitch stood, spitting and yelling over a cowering Phoebe, TV remote raised over his head. 

After shoving Mitch into the dining room table, the aggression was off of Phoebe and onto Eli. Eli was used to it, and took it gladly in place of Phoebe. Porcelain, untarnished, Phoebe. She simply watched and yelled for her Dad to stop. Distraught, Phoebe grabbed the phone. Eli's Mom tried to take it away from her, but she ran into the bathroom and locked the door to call 911. 

It was a rule in the house. DON'T INTERRUPT LESSONS. Lessons always meant beatings. If someone tried to interrupt, it only made it worse. Eli used to take them for his Mom too. He still would, on occasion- when he could feel something especially bad brewing. But, it became difficult. As the years went on and his Mother refused to protect him, it became harder for him to find reasons to protect her. 

"Dammit, Eli." Phoebe whispered, dabbing the rubbing alcohol on his hands. "What's gonna happen to us?" She dabbed around the cuts on his eyes and mouth. 

Watching his sisters teary eyed expression, Eli made a decision. As the alcohol stung and sunk into his wounds, he decided to get out of that house. And he was going to take Phoebe with him.