The Forgotten Ones

Chapter 19: Sanity

Saturday...
7:10 am...

As his eyes slowly peeled open, Eli was thrown by the tickling sensation from his eyelashes as they brushed against the thin film of white above his face. With a quick morning breath, he instantly waggled his head as the film was sucked down, blocking his nose. Snatching it away, he could see it was a sheet of paper. When his eyes finally made sense of the lines, he realized it was a sketch. There was no mistaking that it was Cush's work; with it's smooth style and unparalleled, thorough shading.

It didn't take him long to recognize his face. It was almost unbelievable how accurate Cush was. He had his facial structure down to the most subtle and abrupt curves of his jaw. He captured the nature of his wild and messy hair and even gave the right amount of attention to the lashes upon his closed eyes. Saying he was impressed by the detail of the skin would be an understatement. Elias smirked at the slight opening of his lids. Cush didn't overlook a thing. Studying the sketch a bit longer however, caused his lips to purse into a tight line.

He didn't like it.

The drawing was perfect. There was nothing about the piece of art that he could criticize. Everything was impeccably placed and connected, creating a faultless picture. It wasn't the drawing that he didn't like. No. It was him. Elias rarely ever looked in the mirror. He always found the reflected image of himself to be a disappointment. Though he was aware of his blessed features, unlike the outsiders, he saw himself beyond that. He wasn't as lucky as they were to look upon his face and see someone worth knowing. See, he knew his weaknesses and failures. He knew the limit of his strengths and cowardice. He bathed in the feeling of insecurity. He was an afterthought to his father--a pitiful smile to his sister--an inversion of who people thought he was. He didn't see it. The beauty, the leader, the confidence; everything everyone else claimed they saw in him was inconceivable. That's why he didn't like it. It was missing the regret in his jaw, the frustration in his brows, the cry from his mouth, and the embarrassment all over.

Sunshine had a hint of who he really was the night before; angery haste and ignorant allegations. He was wrong in his deliverance and wrong to question Sunshine to begin with.

As the events from last night began to invade his mind, he sat up, dragging his hand down his face as if his hand could wipe away his mortification. He quickly put the drawing down, being sure to flip it over so he couldn't see. It was then he could notice the short footnote at the back consisting of the letters C and U with a number 6 next to a small sketch of a clock. Once Elias understood, he stretched before standing to his feet.

Cush had already left with the blankets he used neatly folded and stacked against the wall. The boys had already planned to get to work later today which would have normally made Elias thrilled, but instead he felt a strong sense of loathing. He was positive Sunshine didn't want to see him, and with everything going on between him and Cush, Elias didn't know what to do.

The slight whiff of bacon haulted his thoughts as he inhaled deeper. The house never smelled like this, and for a second, Elias was excited. Exiting his room, he looked down the hallway surprised to see toys of pink and purple sitting idle without Ava. It was very quiet. Furrowing his brows, he slowly made his way down stairs immediately looking at the living room only to see it empty along with the kitchen.

"Hello?" He called. "Ava?"

There was no reply. The house was completely vacant with only a lone plate of breakfast and a small note on the side. Making his way over, he read the note saying,