tangled (mileven au)

keep talking

๑ 15 ๑

"You did excellent work again today, Eleanor." Papa so proudly praised El, as they both entered the cabin. "I'll let you stay home and rest up tomorrow, how's that sound?"

El turned back, giving him her best attempt at a smile in return. She didn't have the strength to even speak, not after all that she had been through over the last eight hours.

That day all her sneaking out with Mike had been discovered, she warned Papa that he was coming over, in hopes of keeping their confrontation as calm as possible. She had agreed to do anything he asked of her, just as long as he didn't hurt Mike when he arrived.

Well, "Max" as Papa knew him by.

And of course, Papa happily agreed to that, so his first request was that she'd have to cooperate at the Lab. No refusals to anything he asked of her there and as she expected, he really took advantage of that, today more so than the last few days.

"Go to your room. I'm going to shower, then we'll start on dinner." He said, before disappearing off into the bathroom without another word.

El did as told, the tears she had held in practically all day finally spilling out once her door was shut. At this point, she'd lost count of how many times she had bawled her eyes out. Papa had confined her to her bedroom for the past few days, only allowing her out to eat, bathe, and accompany him to the lab. Having to stay in her room for as long as she did was enough of a reason alone to cry about, but tonight she had plenty more to add to it.

He made her hurt someone today at the lab, someone she knew wasn't bad at all. They weren't trying to hurt her or anyone else, yet she was forced to do it and the damage she did would not be as fixable as a broken arm.

She could still see the man, could still hear the screams he let out from where he sat trapped in that big chair in front of her. The fear in his eyes flashed in her head, the fear that only went away when she snapped his neck.

El frantically shook her head, doing her best to rid her mind of the haunting memories from the day. She grabbed the stuffed animal Mike had given her from its hiding place behind her bed and held it tight, hoping it would help calm her down.

Mike.

Oh, how she missed him.

It had only been a few days, but she missed him more than she thought was possible. She missed his warm hugs and the beautiful smile he would greet her with the second she opened her front door. She missed the way he would always make her laugh or make certain that she was enjoying herself. She missed the way he makes her feel inside anytime he's around, which she knew would only get worse considering she'd never feel that way again... because she would never see Mike again. There was no way Papa would ever let that happen.

El shoved her head further into her pillow, wanting to scream until she no longer felt so awful inside. Before she met Mike, the loneliness she felt was bearable. She had grown used to it after all those years, but the loneliness she felt now was much worse, so much worse.

She wasn't sure how long had passed as she laid there crying, minutes, possibly hours, when a soft knocking suddenly sounded throughout her room. She jerked her head up off the pillow, eyes scanning all around her until she spotted a dark figure outside the window by her bed.

Slowly, she made her way over to it, her eyes practically bugging out of her head when she realized who it was.

"Mike?"

A foolish grin spread across her face, not believing what she was seeing. A small part of her even feared that she was dreaming, that she was only seeing what her mind so desperately wanted her to see.