The door of the flat swung open, Matty hurried to the bedroom and Ellie followed. He went through the closet and threw four of eleven pairs of the same exact jeans into his bag, snatching random shirts from their hangers after. Ellie couldn't take the rush, every second of it drove her mad and she desperately desired for normality to make its way back. She pulled him close as he turned around, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt.
He kissed her quickly and broke away from her lips as he went through the drawer for more of his things. Ellie sighed and waited for him to come back around, "Matty, I think you should slow down."
"I nearly killed somebody, don't you mind? Ellie I can't, and neither can you. You might as well just grab some of my clothes to wear too for the meantime." He said, focused as he zipped his bag.
Ellie took a deep breath, looking around the room. It was crazy, the whole idea of being on the run. Packing the smallest things and leaving all the biggest behind...their hopes, their dreams, their friends and their family. She couldn't do it, and she wouldn't. She walked out of the room, Matty watched after her.
"Ellie, there's no time to get sad now, I know this is scary but-" He walked in after her, to see her pulling out scissors and a hair clipper.
She plugged the clippers up, her heart racing as she clicked the switch to see if it worked. As it did, she looked up at Matty, her eyes trailing to his hair.
"Fuck no." He shook his head.
"Sit down." She put the toilet cover down for him, waiting.
"No, Ellie. You're not cutting my fucking hair." He protested.
"It's either the hair, or you getting fucked in the ass in jail somewhere down the line." She snapped.
He looked at her in pure anxiety, before taking a seat. She sighed, running her fingers through his dark locks one last time before they'd soon fall to the ground. He watched each one fall where he sat.
"You know they say that when you cut your hair, all of the worries they grew from go away." She said quietly.
"So the worries from my head?" He asked.
Ellie laughed softly, "I guess, yeah."
She unplugged the clippers and set them on the counter, taking one more look at him. He looked exactly the same to her...only with nothing hanging over his face. She didn't have time to talk about it, she grabbed the scissors and immediately began to chop her own hair from its long length, up to her neck. Matty stood up, looking into the mirror and rubbing his head which still had a very short amount of hair on it.
He watched her as she finished one side of her own. No longer able to sweep her hair across her neck to the other side, but instead pushing it behind her ear before he planted a kiss against her cheek while she cut the other side. She smiled slightly.
"We're not leaving, okay?" She said, "you were having a moment of panic, and having unwise ideas...I think its best if you stayed with one of the guys for a while...and get rid of the van, sooner or later."
"Right." He said.
Ellie set the scissors down as he looked at her poorly cut hair in the mirror. It was the worst thing she could have done to herself but the only way out of the chaos they'd created for their selves.
"How about staying with you?" He asked.
------------------------------
Not having a key for the first time sent an apprehensive feeling through Ellie as she and Matty waited at her front door, both covering their ghastly new hair cuts with beanie caps. Alex opened the door at last, looking at them both with a face of rage.
"What is he doing here?" He asked, looking at Matty, "and what the hell did you do to your hair?" He looked at Ellie also.
"What's the matter with you?" Matty asked.
"He needs to stay with us for a while..." Ellie made her way through the door, Matty close behind.
"Stay with us?" He turned to Matty, "After what you did?" Alex raged in quiet, as their parents were sound asleep upstairs.
"What?" Matty asked.
"Don't act stupid, you know perfectly well what." Alex paced the floors, "I'm on my way to the store and all of a sudden the police stops me to ask about a million questions of where I was the day they got robbed and the last time I'd bought something there." He said.
Ellie's heart raced, she began to feel uneasy, pulling her beanie off.
"I was in the fucking hospital when that happened and I have proof, they left me alone and now I know who fucking did it. You're not staying here tonight to hide from the fucking police-"
"Alex what the hell?! He's your best friend!" Ellie's voice grew louder.
"He's a criminal!"
Matty pushed Alex as hard as he could, fed up and tired of his shit. Alex flew back, stumbling over his own two feet yet still managing to hold his balance.
"What the FUCK!" Alex pushed him back and they soon found themselves in the middle of a tussle.
Ellie attempted to break it up as best she could before her parents came rushing downstairs from all the noise.
"What's going on?!" Mrs. Moore asked, shocked as she watched the two fight.
Mr. Moore grabbed them by their collars, pulling them apart, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" He demanded an answer.
"Nothing, I was just leaving." Matty yanked himself from Mr. Moore's grip, panting.
"Matty robbed a fucking shop and wants to stay here to hide from the police!" Alex said.
"What?" Mrs. Moore asked.
"Alex you're a fucking moron!" Ellie snapped, "you're so selfish!"
Mrs. Moore looked at her with wide eyes, "Eleanor, don't talk to your brother that way-"
"SELFISH?! ME?! SELFISH WOULD BE FIRST SLEEPING AROUND WITH MY BEST FRIENDS' LITTLE SISTER THEN AFTER IT SLIDES, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR FAMILY FOR DOING SOMETHING FUCKING STUPID, BECAUSE I CAN'T RUN TO MY OWN-"
"I'm getting out of here." Matty went for the door.
"Is this true?!" Mr. Moore looked at Matty so devilishly it was as if he was soon to kill him right then and there.
"ALEX I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU! YOU'RE THE WORST BROTHER ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE! I DON'T KNOW HOW I EVER COULD HAVE POSSIBLY LOOKED UP TO YOU!" Ellie cried, "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" Matty turned around at the shaking of her voice.
"Get out of my house." Mr. Moore demanded him.
"James, it's late." Mrs. Moore looked at him, her voice solid in its tone, through disappointment and civility.
Ellie's words cut Alex like a knife, he looked anywhere but at her. He couldn't give in and feel sorry, why should he? He was just as mad as everyone else, and had the right to be. It wasn't fair. None of it was.
"FINE! HATE ME!" He shouted, looking at their parents, "SHE'S ONLY SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD AND SHE'S BEEN SLEEPING WITH MATTY, STOPPED GOING TO SCHOOL, DOING DRUGS, AND MATTY GOT HER TO ROB A STORE WITH HIM, HE DID IT-"
Mrs. Moore's jaw dropped, all the money Ellie was able to offer making sense.
"WE ONLY DID IT FOR YOU! I KNOW I'M THE FUCK UP OF THIS FAMILY OKAY, EVEN THROUGH EVERYTHING YOU DO I'M ALWAYS THE BLAME, MUM AND DAD GAVE ME HELL IN THAT GODDAMN HOSPITAL ROOM AND I WANTED TO HELP! I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING, ANYTHING TO HELP. WE NEEDED MONEY TO PAY FOR YOUR SHIT SO I WENT AND GOT IT. AND EVEN IF IT WAS THE WRONG WAY, IT WAS BECAUSE I CARED ABOUT YOU! AND NOW I NEED YOU, AND MATTY NEEDS YOU, AND YOU CAN'T EVEN BE HERE FOR US!" The tears which fell from Ellie's eyes were endless.
Ellie opened the front door, "Matty lets go, I'd rather be getting high than watching my family die." She glared back at Alex, referring to his exposure of her doing drugs.
He followed her out of the door, and no one dared to stop them in the heat of the moment. The wind brushed against her hair as they got back into the car. Matty looked over at her, unsure of what to say or do...seeing her cover her face with her hands as she broke down in tears. It wasn't enough just to tell her that everything would be okay.
"Ellie..." he said slowly.
"I want to die." She said, "I want to die, I want to die!" She shouted.
"Ellie, no-"
"I have nothing and no one, but you." She looked at him, he hated to see her that way. Though he knew how she felt...
He took a deep breath, trying to make sense of it all, "I know he hurt you...but I hurt your brother as well...its my fault-"
"It's not." She said, looking out of the window at the still streets. They both accepted the silence, it was oxygen from all the yelling in the house.
"What are you thinking about?" He finally asked.
"I was thinking bout killing myself...don't you mind." She said.
"I love you...don't you mind..." Matty said slowly, grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers with her's, "don't you mind..."