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O6

I gulp as Edward stares up at me. Richard looks confused.

"What do you mean I'm in trouble" I tried saying innocently.

It did not work.

"Don't play dumb with me Ellen. You ran away from home!" Edward accused me, pointing his finger at me.

"Ran away from home?" Richard asked, confused.

How did Edward know this? He would tell my parents and Richard would think bad of me. I lower my head. What was I going to do?

"I overheard your mother saying that you were home alone when she was talking to a group of ladies-"

"You're stalking my mother?" I said horrified.

"No! I was simply-"

"Man," Richard said. "Stalking Ellen's mom is not cool.

Edward fumed at the backlash he was getting.

"I was overhearing! Besides, I've been keeping tabs on what Ellen for a while now. She is a very troubled young woman."

"Ew your creepy. You're not only staking my mother but also me?" I murmured.

"No I-"

"Ellen is right. You're a creep. I'll get the police involved if I ever see you around Ellen again!" Richard threatened.

Edward gave me a hard stare. He seemed to hate me more than Richard.

"I will personally tell your parents Ellen! You will be shamed" he retorted raising his fist in the air.

"Why would she believe you? Your the one staking her," Richard noted.

Edward stared at Richard in anger, then turned to me.

"This is not over Ellen. You will not get away with this!" He denounced. With that he turned and stomped away.

silence follows. Does Richard now know? What will he think about how I ran away against my parents order?

"Are you ok?" he asks, looking at me with his blue soft eyes. I look at him in surprise. I did not expect that to be his first thing to say after all that happened.

"I'm fine" I muttered.

"Listen Ellen-"

"I understand," I said. "You're mad at me for running away."

Richard looked taken aback. "No that was not what I was thinking. I was thinking: how could I help Ellen?"

"What do you mean?"

Richard put an arm around my back. The warmth immediately feels better, even though I was not cold, and it was the afternoon. I lean my head onto his shoulder. Immediately my cheeks blush up as my heart beats faster. I pull away.

"Ellen, you are a strong, independent person. I don't need to tell you this because you already know" he began.

"You really think so?" I said. Sometimes I didn't believe it myself.

"Absolutely! If you need any help, with family or anything, I'm always there." he whispered.

We sit there for a few minutes, feeling each other's heartbeats. Slowly, I noticed the sun fading. It meant I had to go.

"It's time for me to go," I said solemnly. We then clambered down the tree. I had to admit, I enjoyed climbing the tree. I hoped to do it again.

"May I walk you home?" Richard asked, holding out his hand.

"Not this time. I will walk home" I replied.

"Then when will we meet up again?" He asked.

"The day after tomorrow" I said smiling. "See you soon!"

I walked down the hill and away from Richard, who still stood near the tree.

I quickly walked down the street towards my house. I was late and I prayed my mother hadn't come home yet.

I opened the front door of my house and was relieved to find it empty. I then threw off my clothes and changed into the ones my mother last saw me in. I grabbed a snack (Apple) and sat on the couch, waiting for my mother. Shortly after, my mother arrived.

"I had a great day!" my mother gushed as she hung her coat on the door knob.

"How was your day, Ellen?" she asked, sitting down besides me.

"Meh, it was ok," I said, taking a bite of the apple. My mother would never know. The thought made me smile.

➵➵➵➵➵➵➵➵➵ Thank you for reading!

Sorry for the short chapter! Thanks for all the great feedback! Love you all <3

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