Innocent

Chapter 6

“Let go of me, Daniel,” I told him. “You’re hurting me.”

He loosen his grip on my arm, but still held onto it so I couldn’t walk away. “Just so you know Mom and Dad are pissed at you.”

“That’s not new about them.”

“Ellie, you know you can’t leave the house on your own.”

“Well, sorry, but I had to go to work.”

“Mom was supposed to drive you.”

“What’s the point of me having my own car when I can’t even drive myself to work or to anywhere?”

“To protect you, Ellie.”

“You or anyone can’t protect me all the time. You have to at least trust me that I can look out for myself.”

“Really, Ellie? You couldn’t look out for yourself when that bastard attacked you.”

“Don’t call him that, Daniel.”

I turned to walk away towards a table where I saw a family of four dining and staring at their menus.

“Well, what am I supposed to call him? There aren’t any other words to describe him.”

I ignored him and walked over to the family, taking down their order. I don’t know why my brother was here. Can’t he see that I’m working? My boss would kill me if he sees me speaking to my brother rather than working. He can at least wait until my break to hassle me.

I ripped out the order from the notepad and placed it with the other orders. I could feel Daniel’s eyes on me, watching my every move.

“Can you please stop ignoring me?” He grabbed my arm and made me face him.

“Is there a problem here?” I heard my manager, Gale, asking me as he approached us.

“Yeah, I just need to talk to my sister about something,” Daniel replied. “It’s important.”

“Okay. Don’t keep her for too long.” Gale walked away.

Daniel grabbed my arm again and dragged me over to the same corner again.

“Why can’t you wait until my break?” I asked him.

“Because I know that as soon as it’s your break, you will take off.”

“What do you want, Daniel?If it’s something to do with James then I don’t want to hear it. I’m fed up hearing about the insults you say about him.”

“It’s not really about him. Maybe half of it is.”

“Then I don’t want to hear it.”

“Well, you are going to whether or not you like it. Mom and Dad have decided to move because they’re worried about your safety. They’re worried about what James will do to you.”

I stared at him, not sure if I was hearing right. No, there’s no way I’m moving even if my parents makes me. I grew up here. Beverly Hills is my home. And no, my parents aren’t moving because they want to protect me. They just want to punish me for sneaking out of the house. If only they knew I snuck out to see James, they would definitely made sure that I move far away so I couldn’t see him again. I couldn’t stand to be far away from him. Spending two years away from him was long enough. Eternality is something I don’t want. James and I have both been through the same thing and no one understands us, and we needed each other to get through.

I shook my head. “No, I’m not going.”

“Ellie, I understand you don’t want to move, but it’s for your protection.”