Chapter 5
I woke up, back in my house, laying on the couch. I felt something warm on my arm and tried to look over. My head was numb so I lolled over a lot. My vision cleared a little bit so I could see a figure kneeling near me. I looked around some more and saw another figure but it was smaller. My sight got better and I could see the smaller one clearly. It was a dog sitting patiently but it looked weird. That smiling dog! I looked over at the other figure and saw dark hair and a white hoodie. But through that dark hair I saw a little peek of a wide smile. I screamed and yanked my arm away. I got up jumped over the other side of the couch. I headed for my room but immediately stumbled and hit the floor. I looked and saw my feet bandaged. That's right, they were cut up and swollen from running on twigs and rocks. But that didn't stop me from trying to escape. I crawled, hulling my entire body with my arms only. This was getting me no where.
The dog came around and looked down at me. I ignored it and kept trying to move. The dog grabbed my shirt collar in its mouth and dragged me back around the couch. I tried to whack it but I was still a bit weak. Curse my flimsiness! The smiling dog dragged me to that Jeff guy, who was sitting patiently on the floor. The dog let go of me and I sat up. I eyed it and it just growled slightly. I looked back towards Jeff and sneered. "Come to kill me again, I see," I grumbled. He wasn't phased. He just kept staring blankly at me which was kind of creeping me out. It was quiet in the room, the only sounds were that dog scratching itself and getting fur all over the damn carpet! I sighed. I'm gonna have to clean that up later. If there is a later, that is.
I looked at my bandaged feet and then back at Jeff, who was still staring. I relaxed a bit then asked, "Did you fix my feet?" He looked down and said, "I had to...they were in pretty bad shape."
"The irony that you'd fix them up after I used them to step on your face last night," I teased. He frowned and growled, "Shut up!" I kind of jumped when he said that in that tone. A loud and harsh tone like that scares me. He realized that I got uneasy and sighed. "Give me damn your arm," he said, "I wasn't done with it yet." I was hesitant to do it but I reached it out anyways. He grabbed some bandages that were placed next to him and started cleaning my wound. As he did I got some time to look at the dog. It was sitting there, staring at me too. It wasn't the prettiest the hound, I'll give you that. I always liked Huskies...but this was no Husky. It may have some features but it's definitely no Husky. I grew uneasy as it kept staring at me, like I'm dinner or something. I decided to figure out what the hell that thing was. "Is that...a dog?" I ask. Jeff nodded and didn't say a word. "What's...wrong with its face?" I ask. Jeff looked up at me and said, "He's just like that. Don't stare if you don't like his look."
"Well, I'm just asking. He's kind of like you." Jeff shrugs. "I guess," he mumbles. He started putting some cream on the wound now. "Where is he from," I ask Jeff. He stops and looks over at the dog. "I'm not sure myself," he says, "I just found him out on the streets with no home so I took him in. He's my pet now." I actaully found that sweet. He'd do that for a dog like that. I'd be afriad of it. But I guess since they're the same in a way Jeff isn't bothered by it and neither is the dog. "What's his name," I ask. Jeff looks over at it and gives the dog a warm look. "His name is simply Smile." That is a simple name. Smile, because he has a huge smile? Seems obvious enough. If anyone asked why Jeff calls him that they must be stupid not to see.
Jeff reaches over and pets Smile gently. The dog brushes up against his hand and licks him. It's actually quite cute in a way. Despite the weird smile he seems to be a nice dog. Jeff looks at me and asks, "Would you like to pet him?" I immediately get the feeling that if I try Smile will bite my hand off. But Jeff keeps beckoning me and I have no choice but to pet him. I slowly reach over and hover my hand near his head. Smile sniffs it and eyes it suspiciously. I'm just gonna say good-bye to my hand real quick now. I close my eyes and as soon as I do I feel something against it. I squeak a little and look. Smile just had his head under it is all. I start to scratch him gently and Smile doesn't seem to bite me yet. Then he licked my hand too and suddenly leaped onto my lap. He licked my thigh and rested his head there. I put my hand on his back and pet him for a while. Before I knew it Smile had fallen asleep.
"He likes you," Jeff said with mischeivous amusment. I chuckle and just keep petting Smile. I was right. He may look strange but deep down he's just a nice, loyal dog. Eventually Jeff is putting bandages on my wound. He wraps them tight and then pins it together so it will stay put. I put my arm down and sigh. "Is your head feeling okay?" he asks. Oh yeah, that's right, I hit my head against a rock. I reached up and felt bandages where to injury was. I nod and say, "Yeah, I think you patched it up well enough." He chuckles and says, "Good! Now...where's the food around here? Jeffy's hungies!!!" I roll my eyes. I knew his serious demeanor wouldn't last long. "Food is always in the kitchen idiot. Feel free to get whatever. Just don't trash the place or raid our while refrigerator. If you do I'll be held responsible."
"Then I'll be sure to leave a mess!" He chimes happily. I glare at him. "Don't you dare!" I warned. He stuck his tongue out at me and sprinted for the kitchen. Jeez, he's like a child! He better not mess the place up. I sat in the living room floor with Smile still sleeping on me. I didn't want to get up and disturb his slumber. Not because I'm afraid he won't like it but because he look kinda cute when he sleeps. And I'm still pretty cold so Smile's warmth is keeping me cozy. I look at my arm. I hope that dog didn't have rabies or something. I'm sure it's a nasty bite. I examine the bandages and see that Jeff did a pretty good job. He didn't seem the type to know how to fix wounds, only inflict them. I looked up to see my mark. I still don't know what it is. Maybe I can ask Jeff about it now. I look into the kitchen to see him struggling with pots and pans that were about to fall from the cupboard. What a dunce. "Hey!" I called. Apparently that surprised him and he let all the stuff fall and create a bunch of noise. Sadly it woke Smile up and he went from sleepy to on guard.
I roll my eyes and sigh. "I got it!" Jeff yells, "Don't-don't worry Ellie!"
"You better clean it up-wait...how do you know my name?" Jeff looks up from the counter and says, "I've always known your name. Actually I'm supposed to." I eye him suspiciously. He's supposed to know who I am? How is he supposed to? "Why," I started, "are you supposed to know who I am?"
"Because," he says as he puts the pots back up, "you're the proxy."
There's that word again 'proxy'. And what bothers me is that he says 'the' before it, like I'm some special person. "Don't you mean a proxy?" I ask.
"Nope," he says as he puts the last pan away. "Who am I exactly?" I ask him. He goes quiet and turns to look at me. "Honestly Elizabeth," he says, "I don't know." That makes me afraid and disappointed at the same time. I always knew I was different, but...I didn't think I would be so different that I ended up with Jeff and Smile. I want to know who I am. Or what I am. But not that I know that I'm different I feel restless. I already feel shaky.
Jeff came back this time with a jar of peanut butter. I looked at him. "Were you intending on making a PB&J sandwich?" He shook his head and said, "No not really." I didn't know what he meant until he brought out a butter knife and opened the jar. He dug out a dollop and then ate it. I facepalmed myself and looked at him. "You serious? After all of that rummaging around you eat a jar of peanut butter? A new one in fact that my family and I were going to eat at some point." He stared at me for a while then went back to eating the peanut butter. I sighed. I'm gonna have to buy some more now. I'm sure he'll eat it all. Smile gave him a pouty look and he dug some out with his finger and fed some to the dog. This was annoying me so much. I decided to try and walk off the pain. I only limped from my cut up feet but at least I'm moving around. I went up to my room and checked my phone. Damn. My parents called about a billion times! They must be worried now. I'm gonna have to talk with them once they get back. I hope they aren't too mad at me when they see I'm okay. I try walking downstairs but I fall and stumble. I nearly fall all the way downstairs when Jeff suddenly sprints up and catches me. He chuckles but then we both go crashing down. When we get to the bottom he had broken my fall. I got up and thanked him while he just groaned and sneered at me. I laugh nervously at him. Smile bounds to him and licks his face while he's still down. "Smile! Come on bro! What the hell?!" I laugh until I heard door being unlocked. I gasp. It must be my dad. He's usually the one to get out of work first. I grab Smile's collar and Jeff's hood and hull them upstairs. When I get to the top I open my room and throw them in there. I shut the door and quickly head downstairs to my dad. He's barely walking in and I greet him. "Hey daddy!" He turns and smiles. "Hey Ellie. You seem...energized." I nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He notices my bandages and asks, "What happened to you Ellie?" Crap, I forgot about them. I had to lie to him. "Oh yeah I had tripped downstairs and had gotten a bit scrathed up. But I patched myself up. No worries dad!"
"Good. And why wouldn't you pick up the phone? I called you a bunch of times," he said. I lied again, "I was down here patching myself up. I guess I didn't have the ringer on. Sorry." He gives me a warm smile and ruffles my hair. But then his smile changes once he sees the living room. "Why is there a bunch of fur on our carpet?" He walks in and looks at the mess. "Your mother just cleaned it. And you ate all the peanut butter? Aw, Ellie, you got stains on the carpet too." Lies, lies, lies. I can't keep making up stuff under pressure! Jeff and Smile are gonna pay for this. "Uh, sorry, I was just really hungry for peanut butter. So much I ate the whole jar of it. And Addie gave me one of her boas so it must've gotten pieces on the floor." My dad sighs and says, "All right. You better clean this up before your mom gets back or else she won't be so easy on you." I nod and get some cleaning supplies. I throw the empty peanut butter jar and clean the stains. I brush away the fur and put some Frebreeze on the carpet. Once I was done I ran back upstairs to my room. I walk in and see Jeff ,on my bed, reading a Teen magazine Johanna gave me. He saw me and said, "Hey, Elizabeth, did you know that teens this year are more sexually active than any other year? Who's the lucky boy?" I growl and yank the magazine out of his hands. I roll it up and whack his head with it. "Ow! Just cuz no boy finds you attractive doesn't mean you have to take it out on me!" I hit him again. "Okay! Just cuz no boy 'fancies' you doesn't mean-!"
"Jeff shut up!" I yell. He goes quiet and stares at me. I frown. "You and your dog nearly got me in trouble! Next time you better not leave a trail behind or I'll be forced to lie to my own father again and God knows how hard that is for me!" He shifts his eyes around then mumbles, "Sooo...there is a next time." I growl and pull him up. "Listen I don't know what the hell your deal is but I don't want any part of what your doing! You're only causing trouble for the both of us! So just...leave. Please. I don't want anything to do with you. You're putting too much stress on me and...and..." I started hyperventilating and I fell to my knees. Ive told you I can't deal with pressure or else I'll panic. Jeff bends down and grabs my shoulders. "Hey what's wrong with you? Ellie? Elizabeth? What's wrong?" I can't talk from my harsh breathing. He looks around and grabs a paper. He wafts air to my face but that's not helping me. I shake my head and point to a drawer at my desk. He goes over and opens it. There's paper bags in there in case if I hyperventilate. And pills in case if I'm acting worse. He grabs both and hands them to me. I breathe into the paper bag but it's not helping. So it's this huh? I grab the pills and take one. Unfortunately I was panicking too much that I couldn't swallow it. I spit it back up and coughed. This didn't make my breathing better. Smile started barking and Jeff snapped at him to stop. I didn't have any other remedies so I stayed coughing and practically choking until I eventually fell across the floor and passed out.
*SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE MY WIFI WENT DOWN AND IT'S HARD TO TYPE ON THE PHONE BUT I MANAGED SO HERE AND SRY IF I SOUND ANGRY THERE'S NO BOLD ITALICS HERE SO RA RA RA AND STAY ACE*