The Room Full of Strangers

Chapter 3

Ellie blinked a couple of times before jolting to a seated position. She scanned the dark room that she had somehow fallen asleep in. The sofa she was lying on felt stiff beneath her, the fabric peeling off the armrests and the pillows flat - insignificant and useless furnishings that were only there to fulfil the expectations of a living room. 

She swung her legs off the sofa, in an attempt to cross the room and open the curtains; the darkness combined with the emptiness of the place was causing her skin to itch with unease, but her ankle screamed with indignation at the movement. 

Ellie groaned, leaning back into the sofa and shutting her eyes tight in pain and confusion - where was she?

"I wouldn't move if I were you," an unfamiliar voice slithered through the darkness. Ellie opened her eyes again and found a guy leaning in the doorway, his hands hidden in the tight pockets of his jeans.

Ellie scowled at the stranger, "Some context would be nice."

He looked at her blankly, so she clarified, "Where am I? How long have I been here? Who are you?" He swaggered over to the window and opened the curtains while she was talking, disinterested in her confusion. 

The blue skies and bright sunshine filled every crevice of the room, and Ellie couldn't help but smile. That smile turned into a quiet snigger when she saw the stranger's face; he was exactly her type, an inside joke that she had with herself. Every boy that Ellie had ever been attracted to had the same features: blonde sweeping hair, wide eyes and a narrow jawline. 

As she looked more at him, she noticed that the boy was scrawny, neglect seeming to radiate from his skin. It wasn't the neglect of others towards him, but the neglect of himself. She could see it in his stance, as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and kept running his fingers through his hair: a hatred of his own skin.

"This is my place - Fraser is asleep in the spare room. Don't worry he hasn't left you with a stranger. I'm Aaron, a mate of Fraser's. He called me cause my place is just round the corner from the school." Aaron spoke with a nonchalant and rambled tone, his eyes darting around the room, avoiding Ellie's gaze. She wasn't surprised that him and Fraser were friends, they both had the ability to make her skin curl. 

She tried, once again, to escape the confinement of the sofa, and, like Fraser had the previous day, Aaron was there in an instant. He offered his arm as support, but Ellie just stared at him, determined to work out why the duo were being so nice to her. She tentatively touched his bare arm and rose to standing, just as Fraser walked into the room. 

"She lives!" He joked, smiling at the sight of her. Nonetheless, Ellie's stomach clenched - an automatic response to Fraser's presence. 

Aaron guided Ellie over to the kitchen, another space that was attempting to imitate its expectations. The floorboards creaked, and there was a school desk in the corner, which Aaron referred to as the dining table. 

"Is my phone around here? I should get someone to take me home, I don't want to burden you two babysitters more than I already have."

Fraser reached for her bag, which had been left in the corner of  the room, and chucked it over to her. Ellie rummaged through the entire contents, checking that she hadn't been mugged by the two boys. 

Aaron and Fraser watched her intently as she did so, knowing how much distrust there was between them. She gave them both another exaggerated, fake smile and phoned her mum. 

Aaron escorted Ellie over to the door once the car had pulled up outside his building.

"Thanks for letting me stay." She had to pry the words from her throat, but once they had been spoken, she was glad, as Aaron's eyes showed life in them for the first time.

He handed her a post-it note with a number on, "Take this. Just in case you ever need it."

Ellie raised an eyebrow at him, "You're giving me your number?"

"Yeah. For emergencies, you know."

"I don't need a knight in shining armour to save me."

"Just take it."

He crumpled the post-it in his fist and pressed it firmly into her open palm, he then closed the door behind her, without another word.