Terrible Fates (BEN Drowned story)

Chapter 45

[Eyyyyy first update of 2018! Haha.

TRIGGER WARNING: Like chapter 17, this one includes acts of abuse through Reese's POV. Read at your discretion, and rely on your fellow readers if you want to know of any advancements in the plot without having to read through the hard stuff. Thanks :)

Take care, stay hydrated, do some squats, eat some ass, enjoy the update (can you really enjoy it??). Love ya!]

Stay Creepy, My Friends!~

Chapter 45

Jeff's POV

It seemed as if the space in my room wasn't big enough, the air not plentiful enough for me to breathe. All thoughts and emotions in me seemed to stutter for the seconds I spent staring up at Ellie's alabaster face.

The face I hadn't seen for a little over a year smiled down at me. Her pink lips looked as pristine as I remembered, when all I had to have Ellie with me was her memory. Even with little lighting, her eyes still illuminated with a new light behind them. Though it's been so long since I've seen her, I recognized that pure look. I wanted to reach out and snatch her up in my arms. I wanted to grab that light in her eyes and bathe in it forever. Yet I remained speechless, gaping at her in awe and utter shock.

"It's me, Ellie," she whispered, sensing the disbelief in me. Carefully, she raised her left hand, her palm facing me. She seemed to beckon me without uttering a command, and I slowly lifted my hand from my blanket. It felt like such a far reach for her hand but our palms met sooner than I anticipated. I almost flinched away. Her skin is so warm, and yet it feels strange to touch it, so foreign and almost taboo.

Ellie kept her smile on and gazed deeply into my eyes. Something about that look made me breathless all over again. The disbelief came back. I can't believe she's here after all of this time. She's here.

Then, her lips straightened as she cast her eyes down. She retracted her hand from me and rubbed her other arm with it, uneasy. She pursed her lips for a moment before looking at me again and saying, "I'm sorry for never coming back sooner."

A newfound guilt crossed her face. "I know I left you without warning or excuse. It was a terrible move on my part, but one that I had to take. I can explain if you let me."

I hadn't recognized that last sentence as a question so the both of us had remained in silence for several seconds. I finally eased her concern and nodded. My mouth wouldn't open when I thought about speaking. Ellie took a seat at the edge of the bed, quiet and graceful. There was plenty of space between us and I wasn't sure if I should close the gap or just be patient.

"After the battle with Zalgo at TIRACorp," she began softly, "I became...unstable. I wasn't in the right mind to see you or anyone. I was afraid I'd cause more trouble than relief, so I stayed away so I could deal with my instability on my own. It worked for the most part, but I still found myself doing stupid things, hurting myself mainly. And I wish I could've recovered sooner, wish I was strong enough to will myself back to normal, but the process took its course anyway. It took a little over a year to get better, alone, with no one to help, and I couldn't help but feel like shit knowing you were worse off. I'm sorry. Sorry must not even cut it..."

Inside, I felt awkward, because it took the both of us over a year to "get better", but the difference was that I had plenty of help, plenty of resources, plenty of moral support from everyone, and it still took me about as long when it shouldn't have. Yikes.

"Jeff," she called to me so softly. It sounded too intimate to be for me. Almost like her voice is too sacred for me to listen to, like I don't deserve to. But I've waited so long for it. I looked at her, gazed into her eyes, imprinted their glittering imagine in my mind. Sapphire and gold. Beautiful. Ah, she's saying something—stop spacing out!