In Your Eyes

XI

Mom wasn't home when I got there, making me breathe a sigh of relief. I checked my phone to see a text from her telling me she had to stay at work longer today. I sent her a quick reply in return. By the time I was done with my school assignments, took a shower and dried my hair, it was 06:30 pm. I finally decided to look for a movie to watch, when I heard a noise outside. I looked out of the window, only to see Lucas of all people standing there, looking up at me. He had thrown a snowball at my window, of all things. Where the absolute hell was Eli when I so desperately needed him? I whirled back around, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath to calm myself down. After I put on sweatpants and a hoodie, I made my way downstairs. I was not about to let Lucas into my home when I was dressed in only my shorts and a tanktop. I slipped into my shoes and opened the door. He wasn't there.

"Lucas!" I hissed. Where was he? Walking outside, a thought popped into my head. What if he was still in front of my window? Sure enough, he was trying to climb up the tree, and he had already made it halfway up there, grumbling profanities under his breath as he tried to get a better view of my room.

My teeth were chattering as I grumbled, "W-What are you d-do- oh, shit!" That wasn't the right thing to do. Lucas jumped in surprise, losing his footing. He landed on his feet, but not without scratching his hand on a tree branch. "Damn it." I muttered under my breath. Why did everybody around me somehow get hurt? "Are you okay?"

"Oh- yeah, I'm fine," He said, hiding his wound from me. "Can we talk now?"

"I'm letting you into my house, aren't I?" I couldn't help the snappy remark. I was anything but excited to talk about my personal life with this asshole. "My mom isn't home. You don't have to climb in through my window like some creep."

"Right. Sorry." Lucas shook his head.

I almost felt bad for being mean to him with how oddly innocent he looked. Then I remembered that he deserved no better treatment. I trudged upstairs, immediately warming up inside, but also feeling very self conscious with Lucas Jennings right behind me. Shutting the door behind him, he let out an exasperated sigh, looking in pain.

"How is it that you can see Elijah?" My eyes narrowed in on him as I sat down on my bed and watched Lucas lean against my closed door. The final confirmation that Elijah was real and not just in my head felt almost overwhelming. I tightly shut my eyes for a moment, willing my emotions to leave.

"It's not like he's the only one I see," Lucas explained sheepishly. "There are many of them. They're from the underworld - or at least that's what they call it. His name is Ilyas."

"Do you know him personally?"

"I've heard some talk, but no. As you've probably gathered, he could sense that I saw him. I was too obvious about it." His face contorted into one of regret.

"I didn't notice it." I said.

Lucas chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't notice much of anything, Chloe."

A drop of blood ran down his fonger and splattered onto my carpet, and I was instantly reminded of his scratch. Walking to my bathroom, I quickly grabbed some disinfectant and a bandage, motioning for Lucas to follow me. I ignored his hurtful words, too tired to put up a fight. I was so used to the insults this person I barely got to know was throwing at me. It was sad, really.

Lucas gave me a blank stare as I wrapped up his wound. "When did it start for you?"

He took another breath, his fingers brushing against the palm of my hand, making a shiver run down my spine. "I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened. I was little when my mom told me that I needed to stop talking to my imaginary friends. I thought they were real people."