The Thing About Timing (The Becoming of Elliott Goode)

Chapter 24

After a crazy few days and a couple of days off, the council and Elliott finally returned to the coven, the flight back being much easier than the one to California. The girls returned early in the morning and as Elliott walked up to the house she was greeted by Max, who had nearly doubled in size again. "Hey little dude, you miss me?"

Max jumped at Elliott's legs then fell, rolling onto his belly, signaling he was in dire need of being pet, so Elliott laughed and leaned down to scratch his belly as Cordelia smiled. "He's not exactly little anymore. How big is he going to get?" Cordelia said as she hugged Misty and Mallory who had come out to meet them.

"At this rate we might have a Clifford on our hands." Elliott joked as Max looked up and barked.

"Ya are never allowed ta leave again. Max was miserable, he just laid by the front door all week, waitin' for ya and cryin'. It was terrible." Misty said seriously to Elliott, causing the younger girl to almost burst into tears.

"That doesn't make me feel any better!" Elliott yelled playfully as she sat down on the ground, letting Max lick her face as tears fell down her cheeks.

Cordelia chuckled, "Elliott, it just rained, the grounds soaked."

"I don't care; do you see how happy he is? Poor baby." Elliott responded, looking up at Cordelia while Max ran around wildly.

"You can apologize to him inside where it's dry." Cordelia said, grabbing Elliott's hand and pulling her up.

"Ugh fine." Elliott responded sarcastically, the two of them grabbing their bags and heading in with the rest of the girls, Max trailing behind them.

The witches all settled in the kitchen and were catching up, Misty and Mallory pestering the girls with a million questions about their trip, wanting to know everything that happened. Madison, as usual, was a smartass, her filter completely gone due to the early hour the witches woke up at. Zoe and Queenie did most of the talking, each throwing a glare at Madison. "Girl, go take a nap." Queenie finally said after Madison's antics had gotten to be too much, causing the girl to roll her eyes and stalk off to her room, making everyone else chuckle.

Elliott excused herself and went to lay down, she was exhausted, falling asleep almost instantly. Cordelia came to check on her later and smiled when she saw Max asleep with her on the bed, practically laying on her, Elliott's arm draped over top of him. The supreme snapped a picture of the cute scene, then headed to her office to work. While Max had taken really well to everyone in the coven, it was obvious he was in love with Elliott, acting like her protector, and Cordelia was grateful she chose to keep him.

Elliott woke up a few hours later when David sat on her bed, causing Max to bark at him aggressively. "Settle down killer, I'm not going to hurt her." David said, holding his hands up in surrender, which made Elliott laugh.

"What time is it?" Elliott asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"2:30. You've basically slept the entire day away Elle, that's not like you." David said teasingly.

"Oh shut up, I was up at 4am for the flight. I get to sleep." Elliott retorted, rolling her eyes. "So you settled in here?"

"I mean I guess. My room here is bigger than my entire apartment. How long do I have to be here for?" David asked, obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"A while, probably forever to be honest." Elliott responded, knowing David still had no idea what was going on.

"Elle, I can't stay here." David said.

"Yes you can, it's not a big deal. Not to mention it works out perfectly, now you don't have to worry about paying rent so you can focus more on school." Elliott replied.