When Storms Arrive

My Fall Is When I Fear

{Ellie's P.O.V.}

I wake up with an abrupt knock on my front door. My body aches as I sit up. A feeling of stinging still lingers in my eyes. I go to check my phone but it doesn't light up. It's dead. I kick my feet down and laugh at myself. 

"What an idiot. No wonder why I wasn't getting any bloody calls." 

Slowly I make my way to the door - which, by the way, still had a determined knocker at it. I look through the peep hole. 

"Hey," a quiet voice says. I open the door and pull Codi into my embrace. 

"I got worried because you still weren't answering my calls when I woke up, so work let me go early to see if you were alright." 

We stood in the doorway together in each others embrace for a good minute. I pulled away and held Codi's face in my hands. She leaned up to kiss me and I turned my head so she could kiss my cheek. I could feel Codi's stare. 

"Come in, I'll make us some tea." 

She reluctantly came in to sit on one of the bar stools. I quickly go to my room to fix up my hair and put a bra on. When I come back out she hasn't moved at all. She hasn't even changed her facial expression. I laugh as I go to start the water. 

"You okay?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

I put both of my hands down on the counter in between us and look at her. My eyebrows raise and then go down. 

"What do you mean?"

"You don't answer my calls, you don't answer my texts, and you don't even let me kiss you?"

I walk around the counter to hug her. She's not amused and doesn't hug back. 

"My phone was dead. Believe me, I stayed up all night worrying about it. We're good, it's good."

The teapot screams out and I walk over to pour our cups. 

"What's your good news you had to tell me?"

She brushes some hair out of her face, "oh, it's nothing. Just some stuff. Nothing important."

We look at each other in silence. I feel horrible inside. 

*Flashback* 

"Lynn, come on, please! Just stop it already!"

She stumbles over to me, bottle in hand. I'm pushed against the wall. Her face is the closest it's ever been to mine in a while. 

"If only you knew, Ellie..." her finger glides across my cheek. "If only you fucking knew." 

As 'fucking' came out of her mouth, she smacked the wall aside my head. The bottle in her hand flies across the room. I sink down to the floor, crying. I shake my head back and forth in my hands. 

"I can't go on like this, Lynn. I fucking can't."

Just like all the countless times before, she leans down to me. She attempts to wrap her arms around me. She coos in my ear, letting me know the first wave of anger is over. Being the naive stupid arse I am, I accept her hug and wrap my arms around her. 

We get up together and she leads me to our bedroom. 

"I'm sorry baby," she says as she rubs my sides. "It's okay now."

Things begin to get uncomfortable with me. 

"Lynn, stop. I want to go to bed."

But she continues. Two cold hands attempt to go up my shirt. I push her hands out. She looks at me aggressively and pins my hands down. Her chapped lips begin leaving love bites along my collar bone. She stands on her knees to take off her shirt and I see my chance. My knee shoots up and hits her in the ass. 

Her body falls over to the side and I got off the bed faster than I ever have before. I look back and see her eyes fill with rage. I can't grab my jacket and shoes fast enough because before I know it her hand glides across my cheek with a sting like never before. 

"You bloody cunt!"

I push back this time, making her fall into the night stand. My knees feel weak as I go for the bathroom. I hear Lynn struggle to pull herself back to her legs. The bedroom door nearly comes off its hinges when I slam it shut behind me. A glass bottle smashes against the door and I hear Lynn scream from the room. 

"Don't let me go, Ellie. Don't let me go." 

My cheeks are now like the miles of sand waiting for the tide to come in. I'm just waiting for the tears to start to flow. But this time, they don't. I sit on the bathroom toilet, emotionless. 'Don't let me go, Ellie'. 

*Flashback ends* 

My hands tremble as I hold my cup. A vein filled hand snaps away in front of my face. 

"Ellie, helllllooooo?"

I look at Codi's face and nod while taking a sip from my cup. 

"Did you hear any of what I just said?"

"Yea, yea. I just uh - I gotta use the bathroom. I'll be right back." 

Codi shrugs as I bring my tea to the bathroom with me. My head leans against the bathroom door as soon as it closes and I set my cup down on the counter. 

"What the fuck am I doing?"

A/N

It's okay if you're confused by this chapter. I am too. I went into writing this one not having a plan and this is the result.