Alone

Chapter 35

"Fucking hell, Eli. I'm so fucking sorry you had to go through that." He whispered. His voice wavering as he spoke, horrified at what I was telling him.

"I'm not finished." I breathed out harshly.

My gut twisted in fear as I recalled all the deep, dark buried memories. It was unnerving to open up after keeping everything locked up inside for so long. The constant trepidation that one way or the other he might appear out of nowhere and take me back to that hell-hole didn't help at all.

I let out an unamused laugh at what my life had been and continued, "The universe seemed to think that my life wasn't as entertaining. Turns out, Oliver wasn't passed out, he must have heard me leaving."

"He got his buddy, James Park, the same maniac that he used to bring every day, to search for me. That psychopath was an ex-police officer who was dismissed in disgrace. The two of them caught up to me sooner than I had expected, forcing me to take shelter in an unknown person's home. I woke up later, in a new set of clothes and most of my body freshly bandaged."

"Grace was an old woman and she took me in. She provided me with a roof over my head and food. She knew I had gone through something traumatizing, and she helped through it."

"Without her, I wouldn't be here. I owe her my life. Before leaving that place, I left her some money as a small 'thank you' even though it didn't suffice what she did for me." I concluded, my voice trailing off.

I desperately waited for him to say something, but all I was met with was my own heavy breathing and his silence. I slowly glanced up at him to see him trying to grasp everything that was just unloaded on him.

Different emotions flitted through his eyes as he gazed straight ahead into the darkness, a frown on his face. "I guess that was too much for a first date." I joked, dryly.

His gaze snapped to me, "I d-don't know what to say, Eli. The pain and abuse you went through for years is fucking traumatizing, and you still manage to smile and live life. You're so fucking strong. I don't deserve you." He said, pulling me into a tight embrace.

I let out a muffled yawn, my eyes heavy with sleep which made him chuckle. He placed a small kiss on my forehead, "Go to sleep Eli. I'll keep you safe." Were the last words I heard before I was pulled into a deep slumber.

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The first thing I see when I open my eyes is Greyson's head looming over mine and his lips were moving, like he was saying something, but the words weren't registering in my brain. I looked around to see trees everywhere and suddenly yesterday's events came back to me, but before I could even think about it, I was lifted up into a sitting position.

"Earth to Eli." He snapped his fingers in front of me bringing my attention to him.

"We are going to miss the fucking sunrise if you don't get your ass up." I just looked at him in confusion. "For fuck's sake. Eli, are you alive?" He sarcastically asked.

"What?" I questioned back in my sleepy haze.

He just let out a sigh and motioned for me to stand up. Once I was up, he gripped my hand and tugged me along somewhere while I blindly followed him. It was hard to keep up with him in my disorientated state.

We trudged through a small path and came out to another clearing. Since I was focused on trying to not trip, I didn't realize that Greyson had stopped until I bumped into his back.

I let out a groan and rubbed my forehead. "Eli, look up." Greyson murmured.

The moment I lifted my head, I think I stopped breathing at the staggering and phenomenal sight that my eyes beheld.