Annabel

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Annabel 

That night, I drove to the Grab and Go, got coffee, and found myself driving towards the beach. The boardwalk was empty and the shops were closed so I walked along the sand barefooted and watching as the waves lapped against the shore. Maybe I was looking for Eli but he was nowhere in sight. I sat on the beach watching the water anyway, mesmerized by the way it followed an unfaltering pattern. I pulled out my phone and laid it next to me. My mom hadn't called and I wondered if she was still mad at me for leaving, holding a grudge like she'd done for as long as I could remember.

Two states away she's in a hospital working overtime and probably doesn't have a care in the world. Here I am waiting on a stupid phone call that will never come.

I stood up and left, knowing that my dad a Lyla would get worried if I stayed out any later. They would just have to get used to my insomnia at some point because I knew it wasn't going away, especially after being in a new and unfamiliar place.

*****

The next morning, I almost made myself late searching for my phone. I'd had it at the beach but I was sure I'd had it in my hand on the way back home. Before school, I went by the beach but it wasn't there and the beach was pretty empty except for a few morning joggers, running along the boardwalk why the sun rose.

I sighed as I walked into History. Now I had to do this stupid project with a partner who had only said about two syllables to me. I sat down and picked up my bag to search for my phone one more time. I pulled the zipper open, checking in every pocket in the front pouch where all of my junk ended up being stored.

"Something wrong?"

With just these two words, I could make out that deep voice before actually looking up from my bag at Eli.

"Uh no...just looking for something."

I jumped as I heard a loud thump on my desk. I looked down to find Eli's large hand-a thick silver ring on his thumb-wrapped around my phone. I tried not to appear absolutely shocked, but I couldn't help it. I could tell he wasn't going to explain without me asking the questions, so I spoke, all the while looking into his piercing eyes.

"How did you get this?"

"I saw you. You were leaving the beach. I had just gotten there as you were leaving and when I walked on the beach, I saw it."

"I didn't see anybody...and there were no other cars parked nearby."

"I walked."

"From your house?"

"From my house." He answered dully.

I nodded. I could tell that he wanted this conversation to be over by the way he looked down at his hands, refusing to meet my eyes for a long period of time.

"Well...thank you."

He nodded and I got started on our project, not saying another word about it. I wanted to ask more, like why he was at the beach at night and why he didn't want to talk to me about anything, even our project. As Eli and I worked in silence, I could feel eyes on me. I looked up to find Mrs. Hanson staring at us. Maybe she was wondering why Eli and I had barely even talked, but I couldn't tell. I thought she was about to say something but she looked away, walking back to her desk.

In the courtyard during lunch, I sat on the wall again, a few feet away from Eli. He glanced at me as I sat down. He was expressionless and I began to think that this was just his normal expression, avoiding anything and everyone around him. As I sat on the wall, I looked away from my book and over to Eli. I studied his every feature, from the way his forehead creased up in between his eyebrows, to the way he nodded his head slightly as he listened to his music. I wondered what he was listening to. I assumed it was angry and dark, like his personality. Perhaps thrash metal or those depressing classical melodies that make you feel like crying. Everything about him was intimidating; his huge hands, his broad shoulders, and most of all, his dark personality. I must have been deep in thought because I jumped when Beth sat down next to me, cocking her head to the side when I narrowed my eyes at the sight of her.