Finding Her Happiness

Chapter 7:

I push away from the table and get up as quickly as possible so Mr. Richards can't grab me. I start running about the house, desperately trying to find Eli, when I crash straight into him. My arms wrap around his waist tightly, my whole body thrumming with relief. Eli, after a moment of surprise, kisses the top of my head and pulls me closer.

"I'm not going anywhere. I had to check to see if it was my night for boxing."

"You have to leave tonight anyway?"

"Yeah, but I'll be back in three hours. I think you can handle it."

It takes a few moments for Eli to get ready, but he leaves quickly. At first I don't know what to do with myself, but I find entertainment by watching a movie with Kristin. About forty five minutes after Eli has left, I hear a knock on the door. Mr. Richard opens it, and when I hear my mother's voice, I quickly run to the door.

When I first see her, I don't see the duffle bag in her arms, so I think she's taking me home, but that's not what is happening at all. Tears fill my eyes as she walks away from me, not even saying goodbye. I run behind her, her name on the tip of my tongue as her car drives away. I scream and stomp my foot on the ground. It takes both Mr. Richard and Bethanne to drag me back into the house.

"Breathe. Colby, you need to breathe."

I scream at the top of my lungs--bloody murder-- as tears drip down my face like a river. Bethanne sits on the floor with me, soothing me when gentle motherly touches and a soft voice. Mr. Richard takes a deep breath, reigning in his emotions to take the best care of me. It takes about half an hour for me to finally be too exhausted to cry any longer. Mr. Richard carries me to the room across from Eli's and I fall asleep.

"Baby? Are you awake?"

"I am now."

"It's morning. Are you hungry?"

"Eh. I just want to stay in bed."

"No shower or anything? I heard you cried pretty hard last night. Do you need anything?"

"I need a hug."

Eli, which was confirmed by the 'baby', wraps me up in his arms before sitting down on the bed. I hold him close to me, his warmth making me fall asleep all over again.

"Okay, you have to get up now. It's been three hours. You'll never fall asleep tonight if you sleep now."

I groan, rolling over and landing abruptly on the floor. Eli starts to chuckle as I flail my arms around.

"Did you scare yourself?"

"Maybe...though I won't ever tell you the real answer to that question."

We spend the rest of the morning and day hanging out with each other. Getting to know one another. I get to know his whole family better, and I couldn't be more excited about what's to come. This could be a life changer. It already has changed my life, but it could be more than that. Being with the Clemens family makes me want to get better. It makes me want to prove to them that I can be better than what I am now.

And I guess, that's partly why I'm here. I need a change in my life to give me a reason to be better. It hasn't taken too long for that to happen. Yes, I still have a lot of work to do, but I already got over being scared of Lulu. If I can do that in one day, I can only imagine what I'll be able to do for the amount of time I stay here.