“Huh. Why?” I questioned, walking over to my closet and putting the hanger on the rack.
“Are we playing the ‘Why Game’ now?”
“Uh… sure,” I said, slowly moving back over to the disorder in the middle of my floor.
“When I was younger, I had this stuffed animal. It was an elephant. His name was Eli. Every place I went, Eli came with me. I was attached to him,” he told, continuing to organize the contents of my floor.
“Aw! That’s so cute!” I exclaimed.
“Right. Well anyways, one day I was playing outside with my brothers and Talia. My mom had made me leave Eli inside, saying that he might get dirty if I brought him along. I hid him someplace in my room. I didn’t want anyone to take him, and I wanted to keep him safe,” he paused, as I dunked a sweatshirt over his head and into the laundry basket. “After we were done playing, I went up to my room to retrieve Eli. I couldn’t find him. I started to panic. I ran downstairs to tell my mom. She started to look for him. With each minute, I became more stressed. I began to cry.”
“Since when does Chase Ryan cry?” I laughed.
“Shut up,” he said, throwing a pair of shorts at my head.
“Hey!” I said, lobbing them right back at him.
He sighed, flinging them into the laundry basket. “Talia and my brothers helped in the search for Eli, as I became more anxious by the minute. After two hours of looking, we couldn’t find Eli. I was sad for days. My mom got me a rhino who I later named Spike as a replacement, but he wasn’t Eli,” he finished.
“And when did this all happen? Last year?” I snorted.
“When I was four,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Uh huh. So how the hell does this touching story relate to you having OCD?” I asked, not understanding.
“The reason we couldn’t find Eli was because my room was such a mess. I lost him in a sea of toys and clutter. Since then, I’ve always been moderately neat and organized,” he said, drifting over to my desk, and sitting down in the chair. He started to arrange various objects on it in a more ordered fashion than they were.
“I still don’t get it,” I muttered.
“The reason I’m this way is because I don’t want to ever lose something I love again,” he said, letting out a breath.
“Oh,” I said quietly, comprehending the story’s relevance.
“So, since we’re playing the ‘Why Game’, I believe it’s my turn,” he said, switching subjects.
“Oh no. Do I have to answer?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Fine, what do you want to know?”
He thought for a brief moment before a light sparked in his mind, and he turned to face me. “Why do you hate drugs so much?” he inquired.
I shuddered at the question, unsure if answering truthfully was the best idea. “They’re bad for you,” I said.
“Yeah, I know that, you know that, Talia knows that, the who flipping world knows that; what’s the real reason?” I avoided his gaze, as memories clouded my thoughts. “Have you ever… tried them? Is that why?”
I shook my head. “No; I may not be the smartest person academic wise, but I’m not stupid enough to try smoking,” I said seriously.
“Jules, if you can’t tell me it’s fine,” he said, recognizing my discomfort with the topic.
YOU ARE READING
Back Again
Teen FictionJulia Tylers was gone for two years. She hadn't been in contact with the people from her old life. To her, they were gone, and she would never see them again. She unexpectedly came back-- back to the place she swore she'd never return. She changed...
Chapter Thirty-Two
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