Saving Eli

Chapter 32||*

Guys this chapter gets pretty heated so read with caution. I'll  indicate with (***) when it begins and when it's over for those who aren't comfortable with those types of scenes. Also, this is my first time so please, forgive me if it's bad.

"Are you sure that your parents won't be home tonight?" Elijah asked in caution as we approached my front door after the hour drive back home.

"They won't be home for the entire weekend," I assured him as I retrieved my keys and unlocked the door. Elijah followed closely behind me as I made my way towards my bedroom, the ache in my side and face making my body protest in pain from all the movement.

"Fuck," I cursed as my hands clamped down on my ribcage, a few tears gathering in my eyes from the intense pain.

"Tess?" Elijah called in alarm as he approached me in a few quick steps. His arm curled around my shoulders as he guided me over to my bed to sit.  He kneeled, hands reaching up to push my shirt upwards to reveal the ugly bruise to my side.

"Trying to undress me, Eli?" I joked weakly, not daring to chuckle in fear of the pain it would cause on my facial muscles.

It seemed that Elijah didn't find any humor in my statement or the situation as his eyes remained locked on the discolored skin. He remained completely silent, his hands gingerly reaching up to trail lightly on the tender area. I fought the urge to flinch, wanting to diminish the inner turmoil and worry that was brewing in his head. 

"This is all my fucking fault," He cursed, hands crashing against his face in frustration. "I'm so sorry, Tessa."

"Hey," I called softly as I removed his hands from his face. "I'm fine and it's not your fault. You didn't do this to me."

"Yes I did. I fucking did this to you, Tessa. I did this to you because I'm a selfish son of a bitch." His fists clenched angrily at his sides as he spoke with furrowed eyebrows. I could sense that he was upset, more so with himself than anyone or anything actually.

"Elij-"

"No," He protested, cutting me off. "From the minute I chose to stay, I practically signed your death certificate. I couldn't bring myself to leave because I love you and now look, you're hurt and I never wanted to see you hurt, Tessa."

My thumbs brushed against his soft  cheek, our eyes locked on eachother. "Then I guess it's my fault too because I asked you to stay. You wanted to leave but I'm just as selfish as you and I didn't want you to go so I guess I'm at fault too."

"That doesn't make sense, Tessa." His head shook in denial of my statement.

"Well, now you see where I'm coming from. Neither of us are at fault here, okay? If anyone should be blamed, it's your father. Do you understand?"

Elijah remained silent for the longest while before he finally spoke. However the words spoken weren't the ones I wanted to hear.  "Where's your first aid kit?"

"Elijah," I called after him as he stood to his feet and moved away from me.

"You've got one right? Is it in the bathroom?" He ignored my call as he disappeared into the bathroom. I frowned at his retreating figure as I sighed. I could tell he blamed himself for what happened but I didn't want him to. I'd come to realize that when Elijah cared for someone, he really cared. That person became his responsibility and anything that hurt them or caused them pain seemed like his weight to carry, even when he wasn't at fault.

He blamed himself for what happened to Emily, although that was clearly beyond his reach. He couldn't just fix that. I knew he blamed himself for not being able to protect his mother from his father's rage earlier on in their lives. I also knew he blamed himself for not being able to give Tommy a better life and now, he blamed himself for what happened to me today.