Ophelia Drowned

Chapter 21

Ellie laughed to herself as she remembered it. I was decidedly less humored by the story.

"I was so gross and pathetic and... and he listened. Josh never listened, but Craig did."

Craig? Mr. Baker's first name was Craig? I wanted, very badly, to forget I had ever heard that name- especially uttered in Ellie's forlorn and wistful tone.

"I just told him everything and he said that if I ever needed to talk again I could call him..."

As much as I wanted to hate Mr. Baker, Ellie's story wasn't painting him as the villain I had expected. Or maybe he was worse- so manipulative that he could come off as genuine and caring.

"So I did." Ellie rubbed her nose with the back of her sleeve and I could see fresh tears in her eyes. "For a while things were great. I would find him after school and we would talk about things... at first it was just me doing all of the talking but then he started too and... we couldn't talk to anybody else like we talked to each other."

"Isn't he married?" I blurted. I don't think I managed to keep the disgust out of my tone.

Ellie laid her chin on her knees and shrugged.

"I guess. She doesn't treat him right, though. All she does is nag at him. I would never do that."

I rolled my eyes.  How could Ellie be so grown up about some things and so naively childish about others? How was it that I, of all people, was able to see how ridiculous this was and she wasn't? Between the two of us, I didn't usually feel like the rational one.

Ellie caught the motion and said, "I know what you're thinking, but you've got it all wrong. Craig isn't some pervert-"

I snorted.

"He isn't- it was all me," she insisted, with a little more heat. "When I told him how I felt he said that we should stop seeing each other- he was afraid of what people would think."

The more Ellie said, the more I started to think that Mr. Baker was just stupid.

"He stopped taking my calls,” she continued. “So I started following him. Once I figured out that he worked nights at that restaurant, it was pretty simple. The night.. that night that you jumped.. I had gone to see him at the restaurant so he gave me a ride home. You were just getting into the car when we got there. I made him wait until you were gone because I didn't want to get caught.

I saw the way you were dressed so I knew something was up. I told Craig that we had to follow you but he didn't want to at first- I don't think he believed me when I told him about.. what you do."

I couldn't quite pin the expression on Ellie's face. That loving glint in her eye that she had held, moments ago, as she talked about Mr. Baker was fading with every word. Maybe she was finally hearing herself.

"We almost got there in time... he even honked at you."

I could remember a horn, and screeching tires. Had that really been them? It all seemed fuzzy now.

"I think my heart stopped when I saw you drop- you were just standing on the edge and then you weren't. At first I thought you had really done it that time, that you were.. you know, " Ellie said. Her voice was quavering now and that surprised me. Only last night Ellie had asked me why I couldn't just die already, now she acted like she couldn't stand the thought of it.  "I should have stayed with you but you moved and I just.. panicked. I thought you were going to wake up and see him... so I called 9-1-1 and went back home and..."

Her words faded.

I could see where this was going and I didn't like it. The guilt in her expression was almost as annoying as it was misplaced.