Edie's POV
"So what happened?" Elsie asked.
I was sat in the living room in Elsie's apartment. It took us twenty minutes to get from the hospital and I'd never been to this side of the city before. Her apartment was not what I was expecting at all. It was a small, cramped space that was full of junk. Everywhere.
I imagined Elsie to live in a stylish apartment over looking central park, with huge glass windows that brightened up the space and it was furnished with a hard oak table and chairs, along with a soft white carpet.
"I got into a car accident" I tried to smile hoping it would hide the fact that my whole world has just come crashing down around me. "I've injured it badly, I can't dance anymore"
"So no more Julliard?"
"I don't know, probably not"
"Sorry to hear that Edie" She sighed. Her reaction to it wasn't what I wanted and it made me realise that she wasn't my Mom, she was my biological mother but not my Mom. I haven't even told my Mom about the accident. I have no idea if Ross has been in contact with her, but if he had I hope she would be here now. I wanted Elsie to hug me and tell me everything would be okay but she hasn't and she isn't going to. Because she didn't raise me, she wasn't there till 10pm at my dance rehearsals, she wasn't there when I would make up routines to random songs on the radio, she wasn't there when I cried, she wasn't there when I cut my knee or when I was ill. She wasn't there, she isn't my Mom. And I hate myself for believing that she might take over that role.
"Is there any chance you could drop me at Julliard?"
"I'm not sure I can do that" Elsie stumbled, she walked towards her window.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'm fine" She snaps. In just a few moments Elsie had paced back and forth from the window, pulling back the curtain to look outside.
"I can go if you want, I can call..."
"Shit" She cuts me off. "Shit, he's home. You need to hide" She stumbles over her words while pushing my bag into my arms.
"Hide? But, why, what's going on?"
"He can't see you! You have to hide!" Everything was happening so quickly that Elsie pushed me into the small cramped bedroom and shut the door, telling me that if I made a sound I would regret it. Once the door closed I heard another one open.
"Babe!" I hear Elsie cheer, but fear laced in her voice. Obviously her boyfriend or husband, she neve mentioned one to me when we've talked before but then again why should I expect her to tell me anything.
"I didnt know you would be home this early"
"I can come home whenever I want" A deep voice boomed through the walls.
"I know, I just wasn't expecting you that's all" Her voice was much quieter then before and I was scared to think what would happen if I'm discovered.
If I make a sound I would regret it
"Why? You got someone back there again?!" I jumped at the sound of his raised voice directed at the bedroom door. This is not the best time to be stuck in a wheelchair.
"No! I just wasn't...Frank no! Don't go back there" Loud footsteps made their way towards and I couldn't even move because my chair was wedged between the bed and the wall. My heart was beating out of my chest when the door handle rattled.
"Open the fucking door!!" He roared and I could here Elsie whimper from behind the wood. The door flew open and a tall, fat man stood in the doorway, holding Elsie's sleeve firmly in his large hand. "Who the fuck is this!" He hissed pushing Elsie into the room with me.
"She's a friend Frank, just a friend" She whispered. I could see the rage in his eyes, he was fuming. I couldn't even speak, I was defenceless.
"I've never seen this friend before" He steps towards me, pushing Elsie onto the bed next to us. His breathe smelled of whiskey as he brought his face closer to mine.
"She travelled...to see me" Elsie looked at me, almost begging to go along with her story.
"Well?" He glared.
"Yeah, I, I came here to see her" I gulped. "I was early"
"Early?" He laughed. "Well you can't be here. Leave"
"Frank, please. Let her stay just for a little while, just to-" Elsie's brave words were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Who the fuck is that now?! What are you doing? Inviting the whole fucking neighbourhood to tea?" His harsh words make me flinch as he bounds towards the door.
"Does Elsie live here?" His voice made me heart beater faster then I thought possible. How the hell did he find this place?
"Who wants to know?" Frank hissed. He would be towering over Ross right now.
"She know's my....friend. I think she might be here"
"Blonde? In a wheelchair?"
"Yes, that's her"
"She was just leaving" I could tell he was smiling by the sound of his voice, it becomes louder as he walks towards the room. Elsie still stayed sat on the bed. This strong women I'd met a couple of weeks ago was no where to be seen now.
"Edie?" Ross was now visible, dressed in black jeans and a grey sweatshirt.
"Get her out of here, me and my girlfriend need to have a little chat" Frank's eyes never left Elsie. She sat there, small and weak in front of him. I'm not witnessing what she must have to deal with everyday and today it's my fault that she will have to deal with this awful, vicious man.
Suddenly my wheelchair was pushed out of the bedroom and forcefully rolled out of Elsie's apartment, Ross not far behind me.
"And if I catch you here again, it won't be just Elsie who I will need to have a word with" And with that he slammed the door in our faces.
"What the hell are you even doing in a place like this?" Ross hisses, pushing me out of the apartment building. Once Ross has moved s around the corner I quickly pull on the brakes of the chair and stop us both.
"We can't just leave her there Ross" I turn around as best I can to get a good view of his face but I couldn't rotate my body enough. He notices my struggle and walks around and crouches down in front of me.
"We can't" He sighs. "You heard what that guy said"
"So we'll just leave her there with him? Ross she's not safe there!" I try and turn myself around but he grabs my hands and brings them to his lips. I flinch at the contact but he doesn't let them go.
"You have her number, call her later and if she needs help we will help okay?" I felt like I was being treated like a child but in a way it made me feel safe. I'd been alone for the past couple of weeks and suddenly Ross was back in front of me.
"Why are you here?"
"What?"
"Why are you here? You left me on my own in that hospital. You just stopped coming to see me. Everyone did" My voice cracked and I mentally slapped myself for breaking down in front of him. Showing him what he'd done to me, how he made me feel.
"Lets go home" He sighs, standing up and unlocking the breaks.
"What home?"
"My apartment and then we'll go to Julliard in the morning" He says. I'm glad he didn't bring up moving back to California because after today I don't think I can handle it.
...
"Do you want anything?" Ross asks, wheeling me into the middle of the living room.
"Can you get me out of this thing?"
Ross leaned down and scooped his arm underneath my leg and pulled me up from the horrible contraption. He lifts me effortlessly and places me gently on the couch.
"Anything else?" He asks.
"No" I reach over and grab the blanket, hiding my legs away from his view.
"So" He says as he sits down next to me.
"So" I respond. This was extremely awkward.
"I'm sorry" Ross blurts out. "I'm sorry for not coming back to the hospital"
I stayed silent, he clasped his hands on his lap. He couldn't keep still.
"Edie, I mean it. I never planned on just leaving you there. I thought it was the best choice"
"You thought?" I snap. "You thought it was the best choice?!"
His head hung low as I raised my voice.
"You left me on my own for weeks! While I was in hospital having major surgery. I needed you there Ross. I needed you to be there to hold my hand, to tell me everything would be okay, because you're the only person on the fucking planet who could of helped me. But instead you left"
"Don't say that, don't make me feel even worse then I already do" He pushes his hands through his hair.
"I will make you feel bad, because you should feel bad! You know I have no one here but you. Only you" My voice becomes quiet. "I have no parents, no siblings. I have a few friends but none that would know me well enough to want to take care of me"
"I know I should have stayed. I'm sorry" He looks over to me and for a second I think his eyes begin to gloss over.
"I wanted you to have time to think. To make sure you knew exactly what you wanted" He says.
"What? I, what?"
"I needed to make sure you would choose me. To know that you would want a future with me, back at California"
"To make sure I wanted a...what?!" I shout. "What gives you the right to make that decsion? To think that you leaving would make me want you more?!"
"I thought I knew what I was talking about! But it turns out I was wrong okay?" At least he can admit that. "You're right, I should of held you, I should of told you that it would all be okay. That I was never going to leave you"
By this point Ross was right in front of me. His hands onto of my thighs.
"And I will never leave you again, I promise that" He smiles weakly.
I finally updated yay!
I'm feeling more confident about this book now!
Anything you guys maybe want to see happen between Ross and Edie?
More drama?
More romance?
A new beginning?
Or maybe something else?
Let me know!
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ALSO I really want to upload some photos to my stories but it never seems to work! Does anyone else have that problem? If not can someone help me please?