𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 ☁𝙛𝙚𝙯𝙘𝙤

chapter 8 (aka episode 7)

The family ate their dinner in respective silence, only broken when Stephan did the usual 'tell us something you liked about today' icebreaker.

Ethan said something about programming club at school, and while their parents tittered excitedly Eleanor glared down at her untouched plate, swirling around the peas and mashed potatoes. "Eleanor, dear, don't play with your food," Judy reprimanded, shaking her head at her daughter.

"I said I wasn't hungry," she muttered, and her mother shot her a disapproving look. "No need to be rude, kid," Stephan said, eyeing her mother with a look Eleanor didn't even bother to read. "So, tell me the best part of your day."

It took her a second to realize he was talking to her, and when she glanced up from her plate everyone was staring.

" Um, I don't know," she said, continuing to nervously swirl her food around the china dish in front of her. "C'mon, try!" He said excitedly, and Eleanor pursed her lips, desperate. It was like her mind had gone blank.

"I, um, liked English," she mumbled, turning her eyes away from the curious gaze of Ethan and her parents. That was a lie, in English she had zoned out in class until she was called on, and was humiliated when she didn't have a clue what the question was.

Stephan just nodded, taking in the information. "Well-" he began, but Eleanor stood up abruptly. "I'm full," she said, and took her plate to the kitchen while her mother watched her, shocked.

"Eleanor! What is with all the attitude?" Judy cried out from the opposite room, but Eleanor ignored her. She stormed out of the kitchen, walking back up the stairs to where she locked her self back in her bedroom, and abruptly broke into tears for the sixth time that day.

✧✧✧

Eleanor was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing, its desperate trill shocking her away. Her head still hurt from all the crying, and she had fallen asleep on the floor that night after continuously listening to every voicemail Nate had left her (there were 14).

She groaned, fumbling around for her phone before turning it on. It was a call from Maddy, and she begrudgingly accepted it before realizing what she had done.

Eleanor had been avoiding everyone from the Halloween party, Fezco included, so when approached by anyone at school she would disappear as soon as possible. But Maddy was persistent, and it was the fourth time she had called that week.

"Elle!!! You're fucking alive?" Maddy's voice shouted from the other side of the phone, and Eleanor groaned. "I guess," she replied, and she heard Maddy laugh.

"I missed you so fucking much! You like died on Halloween."

"Mm, it was great."

"Shut up, bitch. Wanna do something?"

"Um, I don't know I kinda-"

"Too late. I'll be at your house in five."

"How do you even know where I live?"

"Dont underestimate my abilities!"

That was all Maddy replied with before she hung up. Eleanor let out a lengthy sigh, knowing that Maddy wouldn't budge. She sat up from the floor, wiping the crust from her eyes before trudging into the bathroom to shower.