They finished as quickly as possible and headed out to their lockers. Phoebe slung her backpack over one shoulder, grabbed her phone, and turned to see if the others where ready. Jane was already waiting for them by the front doors, checking for teachers every now and then.
Elide very quickly put her excess things into her locker, grabbed her backpack and headed back to Phoebe, nodding to say that she was ready. She glanced over her shoulder once to make sure everything was fine and they weren't going to get caught.
They slipped out together, running around the side of the school so that they were out of sight from the field and the junkies that hung around the back. Phoebe's brow stayed creased with worry, a slight headache building. Josh… oh god, Josh…
Elide swallowed a lump in her throat, climbing over some rubbish in the middle of the pathway. Once all three were over and on their way, she took Phoebe's hand in hers, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles reassuringly.
Phoebe squeezed Elide's hand tightly, bumping shoulders with Jane. Jane smiled down at the two's intertwined hands, nodding reassuringly at Phoebe. "Where to?"
"We could always go back to mine," Elide suggested, shrugging, "No ones home so we won't get caught."
Phoebe and Jane both nodded, happy with the suggestion even as their shoulders bore an unseen weight. "Good idea… I'll try to call Josh once we get there. Then we can just relax… I'm so tired…."
Elide nodded slowly, “Yeah. You guys can sleep if you want to, do whatever really I don’t practically care.”
They soon arrived at Elide's familiar front steps, and Phoebe sank down on the couch as soon as they were inside, sighing exhaustedly. Jane took out her phone, dialing Josh's number.
Elide sighed and took of her jacket, worry embedded in every feature, “Do you- Do you guys want anything to eat or drink?”
"Just water," Phoebe said, going over to Jane with a thankful smile at Elide. After seven rings, someone answered.
"Jane?"
Elide bit her lip and quickly scurried off to the kitchen. She sighed and grabbed a few glasses for some water, filling them up.
Josh's voice sounded hoarse, rough, like he'd just been crying. Both girl's crowded around the phone.
"Josh! Oh my god Jane just told me– holy sh*t are you okay??"
Josh took a moment to respond. "No," he replied honestly. Jane chimed in. "Josh, what did they do?? What did they say??" There was no more clarification needed.
"Mom– mom wasn't happy. Neither was dad. I'm locked in my room right now, they're only out for five minutes so I'll have to hang up when they come back. I'm not allowed to eat until tomorrow."
Elide very very nearly dropped the glasses she was holding at what Josh said. But she took a breath, biting her lip and headed back to her friends, placing the glasses on the table.
"What?????? That's ridiculous!! Josh, you've got to let us—"
"No. I can tell what you're thinking, and the answer is no. I can't leave my little brother alone with them, and if they get in trouble with the law it means we go to my aunt, and you know how much worse they are. And I'll be fine, they haven't beaten me yet."
Jane was close to tears. "Josh, how many times do we have to tell you that you're in danger there! Please, just–"
Elide sat down next to Phoebe, taking a breath and giving the two a small look as if to say, We’ll get through this, everything will work out. She didn’t know if it would but they had to hope that it might.
Josh cut them off. "We can talk about this later–" His voice broke, and Phoebe took the phone. "Hey, listen to me. I want you to take care of yourself, okay?" He hesitated, and Jane spoke into the receiver. "Please, Josh. If you can't do it for yourself… then do it for me?"
Finally, Josh relented. "I won't do anything past scratching. That's all I can promise."
"Oh thank god. Have you–" Phoebe bit her lip, squeezing Elide's hand in a silent thank you. "Have you already— you know?"
"No."
"I don't believe you."
(sorry for the heavy topic. I can stop if you want)
(No, you don’t have too)
Elide swallowed and spoke up, “Josh? It’s Elide. I-“ She sighed, “I know I haven’t known you for long but— harming yourself doesn’t get you anywhere, trust me. It may feel like it, might feel like a release to help with the other pain but… it will only make things worse in the long run. All I- we ask is that you try to not go to far, please.”
Phoebe's eyes found Elide's, brow creasing with worry. What had she been through? Maybe their experiences weren't all that different….
Josh was silent for a moment. "Hey, Elide. And thanks. I— I won't do it again today." Jane and Phoebe both tensed. "Again??"
Elide released a breath, “Okay, thank-you, Josh. Stay as safe as you can and call us when soon, alright?” She tried to ignore the feeling of uneasiness that became known to her, and crossed her arms to stop herself shaking.
Josh began to reply, then cursed softly and hung up. Phoebe and Jane stayed silent for a moment, their minds running wild, but then Phoebe noticed the subtle shaking of Elide’s shoulders and wrapped her and Jane up in a tight hug. “I’m sorry for dumping this out on you..”
“It’s not your fault, Phoebe. Don’t blame this on yourself.” Elide said, letting out a small sigh through her nose.
Too late
Phoebe said nothing in response to that.
Jane cleared her throat, holding her trembling hands in her lap. “Right. We should— we should try to relax.”
Elide nodded, “Yeah good i-“ She was cut off by a ringing. She stood and made her way over to her phone, frowning down at the name on the screen.
Phoebe hugged Jane, watching Elide. "What's wrong? Who is it?"
“Damien…” Elide muttered, picking up her phone and sitting down on the coffee table.
Phoebe bit her lip, staying silent for a moment. "Any idea why?" Jane shot her a questioning look. Who'as Damien? she mouthed.
Elide shook her head, “No.” She took a breath and answer the phone, placing it to her ear but it was still loud enough for Phoebe and Jane to hear.
Elide? The school just called and apparently, you didn’t show up to class.
“Wh-What do you mean? I’m standing in the hallway talking to you right now.”
Don’t lie to me, I know you aren’t really at school.
“I’m not lying, I’m at school. The school must have made a mistake…”
Phoebe and Jane both tensed immediately, able to hear both sides of the conversation. Phoebe leaned forward to squeeze Elide's hand comfortingly, biting her lip anxiously while Jane wrung her hands.
How could the school have made a mistake? You’re lying, Elide, I know you are.
“I’m not.” Elide’s jaw clenched.
Fine. If that’s the way it’s going to be then you’re grounded.
“What! I haven’t done anything!”
Lying and skipping school is something. I’ll be talking to your mum about this.
“Giselle isn’t my mum, neither are you my dad so don’t call yourself that to make yourself feel better.” Elide was visibly shaking again.
Elide Richards how da-
Elide hung up the phone before Damien could finish. She was very tempted to throw her phone at something but she placed it down as gently as she could.