Derek has come out of his first night in the household of Wren and Ellie alive, but with every triumph, there must be set backs. That very morning, Wren came in and told Derek of their decision. He will have to leave immediately. His actions were too extreme to be looked past. Derek then informs the two of his broken leg, and his inability to leave. Ellie is able to calm Wren down enough for her to agree that Derek can stay until he is healed. Now, Derek needs to get his lost necklace back from Wren and she just walked out the door wearing it around her neck.
Chapter 4: On Account of Stolen Items and Holding Still…
Light penetrated Ellie’s curtains, stretching across the room and over her bed. Soon, music from her alarm clock accompanied the light. Ellie opened her eyes and ears to both sensations and when she stretched out her arms and legs, a smile came to her face. October 25, 9:00 AM. One and a half miles away from San Andreas Lake, south of San Francisco. Ellie loved waking up this way, because it was never abrupt or startling. A soothing way to start the day. The light coming in through the window lightened her sleep just before her alarm clock went off. Plus, her alarm clock would always play a soft melody to open her eyes to. Ellie stretched out one more time before kicking her sheets off. She rolled out of her bed and pulled up her sagging, cotton-soft pajama pants. She yawned hard, turned off her alarm clock, and opened up her blinds to check the weather. The day was already bright and there seemed to be a gentle breeze about. Suddenly, the outside began to blur. Ellie’s eyes were watering heavily. Ellie rubbed them, remembering that she once again forgot to remove her contacts before going back to bed. Ever since a few months back when she switched to contacts from her unappealing glasses, she settled into a bad habit of keeping her contacts in when she slept. Every time she left her contacts in, her eyes would water fiercely in the morning. After enough rubbing, Ellie’s eyes stopped watering and her contacts felt normal again. She opened the door to her room and stepped around into the bathroom. A horror awaited Ellie inside. An unspeakable fear for Ellie alone. A terrible atrocity for Ellie to witness, and she unknowingly gripped the door handle, turned the knob, and pushed the door open. The interior of the room exposed itself dramatically to her pair of unknowing, unprepared eyes. First, the sink came into view. Then, along with the sink, the cabinets below and mirror above came into view. Ellie took a step back. Ellie’s vision tightened; her retinas diminishing. She wished to go back in time and never open this door. The walls were red. Blood held every crevasse of the bathroom. The rug was prisoner to an invasion of blood. The right wall was marked where Derek must have touched last night. Or it could be projected blood from some wound? The top rim of the tub was stained, including the white wall tiles above the tub. The tub itself was only clean where the showerhead’s spray could reach. Ellie could only express her feelings verbally. “Damn it, Wren! Wash your goddamn make-up out of the sink!” She yelled, walking in to the sink, unknowingly missing the rug, and started running the water. She scraped at the sides with her hands, trying to wash flesh colored make-up down the drain. “Grated I don’t keep this place clean, I do clean up the places that matter, but no matter what I do or say, I still cannot get through to her that she should clean up her make-up!” To irritate Ellie more, the make-up was proving more resilient than usual. Coming to her senses, Ellie calmed down. “Well, I guess she doesn’t have much time in the morning…” Ellie turned around to find a cleaning scrub. By doing this, she made a big mistake. She found herself stepping right down onto the rug. The sound that step made was indescribable to Ellie’s ears. A similar indescribably sensation attacked her foot. Instinctively, Ellie looked down to find what the sensation was, and with the shock of five dirty sinks, the realization hit her. Through only half-dry, the blood still found a way in between her toes. “Oh… my…” Ellie said as her stomach keeled over. In disgust, shock, and bewilderment, she surveyed the rug up onto the wall. Ellie took a step backwards into the sink. She could still feel the blood clinging to the bottom of her foot and leave a red footprint on the floor tiles. Ellie’s mind race to the sink behind her. She lifted her foot up and placed it under the facet. With her one free hand, she turned on the facet. With the other hand, she desperately tried to remove the blood. She attempted her best to get the blood off with her eyes closed, but it was very difficult. She knew that anywhere she looked red would assault her eyes. She wildly imagined the mess behind her, but forced herself to concentrate only on her foot. After a minute of scrubbing, she slowed her rate of rubbing. Her foot felt both clean and raw. Sighing in relief, she brought her foot back down to the floor. She coaxed herself to open one eye and stare at herself in the mirror. Her imagine in the mirror looked like a picture of herself superimposed onto a wall of blood. Her body looked outlined in blood and she concluded one thing. She would not shower in this bathroom and felt grateful that her house had two bathrooms to choose. Moments later, Ellie opened up the downstairs bathroom and stood in the doorway. She laughed aloud. The contrast between the upstairs and downstairs bathroom was so evident she could not help herself. She stepped in, locked the door, undressed, and took her shower. The shower felt fantastic! After her shower, she stood back in her room, hands on her hips, trying to decide what to wear. The weather was pleasant out, so she decided to go with her navy blue skirt she bought last week. For a shirt, she grabbed a loose-fitting tank top. She always loved this top because of the cute, cartoon-like design of a rabbit eating flowers. Lastly, Ellie pulled her hair back and tied it with a blue ribbon. Right when the ribbon tightened, her stomach growled. “Uh… time for some breakfast I’m thinking.”
Same day, 9:16 AM. Ellie enters the kitchen. Contemplating, she stood in front of the stove. Taking in the white oven top, she tried to find the answer to her question in the metal. After a short while, nothing came. She thought harder, but her thoughts produced only a yawn. During her thinking, she unconsciously unstuck her feet from the linoleum floor and shuffled around. She had yet to put on socks. “Hmm…” She thought aloud. Her mind shot from her feet back to the range. She realized her answer would not come from the oven top. After surveying the counter-tops, she gave up on thinking. She could not remember for the life of her what Derek wanted for breakfast. Even worst, she could not decide a meal for herself. She wanted Derek to sleep, but she had no choice except to ask Derek what he wanted. Then, an idea dawned on her. A brilliant, stupendous idea that made her smile with anticipation and excitement. This idea seemed so hilarious and fun to Ellie it almost made her laugh. From in front of the oven, she looked right to the stairs leading downstairs. A mischievous giggle escaped her mouth.
9:17 AM. A minute later, Ellie stood in front of Derek’s room. Ellie knocked on Derek’s door lightly and listened for some sort of response, but none eventually came. She knocked again and waited. The same response soon answered her. Ellie’s smile increased. She silently gripped the doorknob. Slowly she turned the knob and she gently pushed the door open until Derek’s bed came into view. A large lump resided under the bed sheets that Ellie took to be a still sleeping Derek. With Derek still sleeping, her plan could go forth. She slipped into the room, making as little noise as humanly possible. To Derek’s sleeping ears, only the air-conditioning that kept the house at a constant temperature made sound. Ellie tiptoed up to the side of his bed with caution. She saw his eyes were still shut and his mouth unmoving. He was sound asleep and despite his bandages and the black eye Wren had given him, Ellie found him to be quite attractive. Her smile grew ever more. With this new observation in Ellie’s mind, her plans felt even better. If Derek had been awake, Ellie’s plan would not have nearly been as satisfying, but now that she confirmed that he had simply not ignored her knocks to begin with, she returned to the door and executed the first part of her plan. Taking the doorknob into her hand, she started to move the door back and forth gently. Finally, in accordance to her plan, she tempted the door to squeal enough that it would rustle anyone from their slumber. Derek reacted and shifted in his bed. Ellie’s giddy smile returned, but she controlled herself and had her face create a half-drunken pair of eyes and a seductively sober expression. She advanced on him. “Derek… Wake up…” Ellie whispered gently and seductively. He shifted again in response. “It’s morning… the sun’s out… so you gotta wake up.” She supported herself on bed and leaned over him, bringing her face to his. Her loose shirt fell away from her as she leaned over him ever more. “Sleepyhead, it’s time for breakfast… Tell me what you want for breakfast…” She said as sincerely as she could. Her insides held back a huge fit of laughter. Derek shifted again and pulled the blankets more onto himself. Then, as he noticed a second presence in the room, he opened one eye. “Hello,” Ellie said as calmly as she could. He looked at her in puzzlement, and then he eyed her shirt. Then he realized who and what he was looking at, in a fit of bewilderment, he opened both eyes. He tried to move quickly to recover himself, but with the bandages, he failed in the quick aspect of it all. Intense pain hit him as he tried to kick the covers off and to place as much distance between himself and her. Flailing, cussing, and clenching his teeth, Derek slowly calmed down enough to give Ellie a horribly confused look. She returned a more worried look. “Oh my God, are you okay?” Ellie asked sincerely, dropping her amusement out of concern. She attempted to calm him by grabbing him, but her current position over the bed caused her to fall. She caught herself with one hand by placed much of her weight onto Derek’s abdomen. In pain, Derek’s look changed to ask, “What the hell?” She pulled herself off him. He gripped his broken leg tenderly, and Ellie began the apologies. “I’m so sorry! Oh, God, I didn’t mean to hurt you! I mean, I was just… and well…” Ellie stammered, becoming flustered with Derek’s accusing looks. “If you’re sorry, what made you think that was a good idea to jump onto me in the first place!” “I wasn’t jumping onto you. I was just trying to wake you up!” “Wake me up! How was that waking me up? What the hell? What the hell was that!” Ellie blushed profusely. She had not planned for this at all. “–Shit– I was just trying to wake you up… you know… nicely… and, you know, just get a good laugh… Damn, no, I mean not make fun of you or anything… God… but just to wake you up like a… … would wake you like… or, yeah… But don’t get anything out of it… oh, shit; I’m just making this all worst, aren’t I?” Derek said nothing, but nodded slightly. “What?” “Nothing. I’m sorry, normally people don’t wake me up this way. Sorry for snapping.” Derek gripped his leg and tried to settle it back to its original position in bed. He slid back under the sheets and onto his pillow. “I just came down to ask what you wanted for breakfast, that’s all” Ellie said more cheerfully. “I remember you saying what you wanted, but forgot it, like I said I would.” Derek finished getting back into a comfortable spot. He was breathing heavily and his pain had blurred out most of what Ellie had said, but he figured on what she wanted to know. He groaned heavily at her reason for waking him up; that caused him so much pain, but then also regretted groaning aloud. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, passing his bitchiness off from being in pain and the current time being the morning. “I would love some pancakes, please. If it’d be no trouble for you. –Though it might be for someone who cannot remember ordinary pancakes as an order for breakfast…– “ Ellie, more relaxed from his apology, fixed her shirt more and nodded. “Pancakes it is then,” she said, then added “and I’m really sorry…” “Ellie…” Derek said, sitting up, bearing only a slight pain, and staring at his sheets. He remembered something he wanted to tell her. “Yes?” “Thanks for this morning.” Derek said sincerely, but also in hope of passing her uneasiness from his apathy towards the pain she caused. Ellie said nothing for a while before smiling. “You’re welcome. It was really nothing.” Derek said nothing further. “Your pancakes’ll be up shortly,” Ellie said, awkwardly smiling and leaving the room. Derek slid back into his spot for the third time and pulled the covers to his neck. He studied the ceiling. He felt terrible and weak, but he decided not to fall back asleep because Ellie might wake him up again…
Ellie walked upstairs feeling a lot worse than she had when she woke up. Her regret for waking Derek up felt like a huge drill boring into the back of her head. When she hit upstairs, the bore only felt deeper in her skull. To her, Derek’s room emanated a terrible feeling. She had to remove the bore. She needed to make it up to him and there was no better way than to make him an excellent breakfast. If he wanted pancakes, Ellie would cook him up some fantastic pancakes. Ellie pushed open the Lazy-Susan pantry located in the corner between the oven and the sink. Placed inside were the foods that could not be stored in the fridge and that were not in a can. Pancake batter would be there, but Ellie’s hopes were dropping fast as she spun the pantry around and had yet to find the batter. Incidentally, the batter was located at the very end of the cabinet rotation, making Ellie miffed about not spinning the cupboard the other way. She removed and set the batter onto the countertop above its home. Soon, a clear blue bowl for mixing and a measuring cup sat next to the batter’s box. Next, mixing spoons and a frying pan were added to the kitchen line-up. The pancake assembly line became complete when the oven’s range lit up with a blue flame; the oven was an old fashion gas range. Ellie snapped her fingers. Two things were missing: one being the butter and the second being syrup. She retrieved the butter easily and placed the small tub at the end of the line-up. She next spun the cupboard again in search of the syrup. One rotation passed and the final item was nowhere to be found. Ellie spun the cabinet round and as they spun by, scanned every item even hard. Syrup was unaccounted for. Her eye twitched slightly at the thought. “Pancakes without syrup is blasphemy,” she said, slamming her clenched fist down on the counter-top. “This is completely unacceptable!” Ellie contemplated her current situation. “With Wren having the only car, and me being too lazy to go walk to the store, where the hell can I get syrup?” Her hand cradled her chin in thought. The answer dawned to quickly Ellie. Her idea forced a heavy sigh out. “Better get this done quicky before he becomes too impatient. –Though, really, he’s the one that should be worrying about angering us… but I love humoring people-.”
“Seriously, what was that all about? Why would she do that? What reason could she possibly have to come down and wake me up like that? What reason at all…” But Derek could not conjure up a reason. None at all, save one annoying reason. One that he himself thought impossible. “Could it be love at first sight? With me?” Derek opened his eyes. He then shook his head. “No, that cannot be right. Why would she fall in love with me at first sight?” Derek felt ever more certain that he was wrong, but with every inch of feeling he had about being wrong, the idea would press ever more into his mind and insisted on being right. Now he was confused about the whole idea. Whether she liked him, or he liked her. “She reminds me of Naomi so badly…” Thinking of Naomi caused that deep void within Derek’s heart to come back. Crushing and sucking in his wounded soul. Derek avoided the pain, but soon his mind could not help it. He made eye contact with the face of the ceiling. For what seemed like the hundredth time today, Derek stared down the imperfections within the face. However, what made this hundredth time worse than the past ninety-nine times was that it was not even ten in the morning. A person walked fast and heavy down the steps that lay beyond the far wall. The thumping of the footsteps interrupted Derek’s staring and he listened as the footsteps descended the stairs, walking around the foyer, moving to the door, the door being pulled open, the screen door pushed open, and the loud bang as the screen door closed violently. Derek blinked hard. He lay perplexed as to why Ellie had left the house. Was she not making him breakfast? Derek sighed. “I guess she had to be somewhere… and now both of them are gone…”
9:24 AM. Wren’s place of employment. Wren sat down at her desk and leaned heavily back into her chair. She longed for this Monday to be over. The beginning of the week always sucked and to make this beginning worse was that she had lost the business cards she needed to pick up for today. Wren’s strategy was not to mention the cards, so hopefully her boss would forget all about them until tomorrow, thus saving Wren from trouble. Currently, Wren was going on three hours strong without being asked for them. Problem was, though, that she still had five hours to go. Wren kept herself busy, out of sight, and out of mind. She moved around the papers and pens on her desk. She arranged and rearranged her decorative pictures. She removed the garbage from her garbage bin, only to fill the garbage bin up again, then leave to empty it once more. “You’ve the right attitude…” A voice came from the left of her, interrupting her current droning. “I really hate Mondays as well…” Wren looked over to see her co-worker Kathy McGrau looking at her from above a huge stack of papers. A stack so huge that it had hidden Kathy from Wren’s view the entire time. “Ms. McGrau, you look awful,” Wren said amusingly to her. Kathy’s attitude did not surprise Wren. Wren, for the few weeks she’s been working with her, found Kathy to be a very quiet girl that seemed to always be behind her work. A kind of girl overwhelmed by even the simplest of things. Wren guessed that Kathy was behind again, looking at the amount of papers on her desk and that her round glasses were sliding down her face from a gentle sweat. Given her state, Kathy must have been running around working too hard for her own good, otherwise her hair must have defied grooming in the morning.
Kathy smiled at Wren’s comment, then frowned. “I’m being worked to the bone…” “Too much paperwork?” “That and Mr. You-Know-Who is personally overseeing my performance today,” she sighed, leaning harder on her stack of papers. “That has to be rough. He certainly can ride anyone’s rear.” Kathy giggled. Wren looked at the door between Kathy and her own, then back to Kathy. “Speaking of You-Know-Who,” Wren whispered, leaning over in her chair toward Kathy. “You know the business cards I was picking up for the boss over the weekend?” “Yeah,” Kathy nodded as person passed between Wren and Kathy’s desks and through the door into their boss’s office. “What about them?” Kathy asked, already leaning towards Wren. “Well, I sort of lost them.” “Oh, you did, did you?” Wren and Kathy gasped as they realized the voice emanated from inside the office. Their boss was advancing with a frown upon his face. “Wren, I would like a word with you inside my office.” Wren’s stomach attacked her insides, while she blushed heavily in embarrassment. “–Of all the times to open my mouth!!–” Kathy just looked at Wren and tried to tell her silently that it would be all right. Their boss caught wind of her and glared at Kathy. “I need all of those copies organized and stored before the end of today. Wren, my office,” he sternly said. “Yes, sir,” Wren complied, standing up and entering his office behind him.
9:25 AM. Ms. Ridge’s dwelling. Her quiet suburban house was quite ordinary from the outside. The house’s setup nearly copied Ellie and Wren’s house. The only differences between the two structures were so minute that describing them would be futile. Ms. Ridge, however, found different uses for her many rooms. For example, two rooms were solely dedicated to growing indoor plants. Plants of every shape, size, and kind. For ideal growing, Ms. Ridge monitored the plants meticulously each day. Another room was dedicated to many paintings and art crafts. The crafts could be both constructed and displayed without leaving the room. Each room was self-contained. There was a bedroom, of course, along with two bathrooms and a kitchen. Identical to Ellie and Wren’s, there was also a junk room and a study, two living rooms, and the foyer. However, unlike the girl’s dwelling, each room was cleaned thoroughly and obsessively everyday, whether the room was soiled or not. By 10:30, each room was clean, and never a day passed that this timing was broken. Everyday, the room cleaning began the schedule of an unwavering and controlling individual. Imagine the surprise and annoyance that a visit from Ellie around 9:30 would cause for a forty-year-old woman. Soon after the doorbell rang, Ms. Ridge opened the door to find Ellie standing on her front step. Ms. Ridge frowned. “Child, what on earth do you want?” “Well, I was wondering if you had any syrup,” Ellie said, saying more of a statement than a question. Now, this statement perplexed Ellie’s neighbor. Questioning in silence Ellie’s reasons for wanting syrup, Ms. Ridge eyed the syrup-less beggar with much suspicion. Ms. Ridge retorted Ellie’s statement with a question. “What kind of syrup? Corn syrup? Maple syrup? There are very different kinds of syrup, child.” Ellie hesitated in annoyance, and then said, “Maple, please.” Ms. Ridge instructed Ellie to stay put. She slowly, but elegantly, turned around and walked up the stairs to the kitchen. Along the way she passed a china hutch. A perfectly ordinary china hutch, with nothing worth noting, except upon the shelf of the hutch there were three pairs of binoculars and two small notepads. Unusual were these items to place on a china hutch. During her ascent, Ms. Ridge silently grunted at her inconvenience. Lending syrup to new neighbors hardly made her to-do list, but she decided to make an exception. Scheming within her mind was a plan to uncover more details about the disturbance that occurred last night. Ever since the cops came and left her neighbor’s house, Ms. Ridge had been pondering endlessly as to what caused the police to investigate. She watched the morning news, but they proved to be unknowing of the situation. More than likely the incident was far too insignificant for the news. Irked by the mystery, the news only fueled her burning desire to know the details. Now, the details were within her grasp. In exchange for some syrup, Ellie would have to divulge some information. However, this plan was flawed and Ms. Ridge foresaw it. She knew Ellie would lie about what happened and Ms. Ridge found that acceptable. Ms. Ridge planned to drop in at Ellie’s house later unannounced, to both recover the syrup and investigate personally. Ms. Ridge opened up one cabinet door, removed an item from its chosen place, retrieved the syrup from behind the removed item, and placed the relocated item back. Syrup in hand, she descended the stairs and walked to the front door. She extended the syrup to Ellie, but as soon as Ellie went to grab for it, Ms. Ridge pulled back. Ellie became concerned. “You know…” Ms. Ridge started saying, keeping the syrup just out of reach. “I could not help but notice that police officers were over in your driveway last night.” Ellie tensed up quickly, but she hurried to relax, determined not to let Ms. Ridge know she hit a spot. Derek quickly came into mind. “May I ask what went on last night, child?” Ellie’s eyebrow twitched and a disgusted look came upon her face. The look came too quickly for Ellie to stop it, but she determined she could care less. “Nothing happened. They came looking for a certain person and happened to question us if we had seen anything. We hadn’t.” “Oh?” “Yes. That’s all. It wasn’t anything we did,” Ellie said forcibly. Ms. Ridge frowned. “I see,” she said, doubtful in tone. “Anyway, if it isn’t too much trouble, may I please borrow that bottle of syrup you’re holding?” Ms. Ridge looked at Ellie hard. She pushed the bottle into Ellie’s hands. “Fine, child, take it and be done with it!” “Damn, I was just asking for syrup! No need to snap,” Ellie retorted, but before Ellie could finish her sentence, the door slammed shut in front of her. Ms. Ridge felt no need to say good-bye to Ellie. She walked up the steps miffed. “The nerve! Just a little respect is all I ask.” Ms. Ridge dismissed that insult with the fact that she would soon know the true reason why the cops were over. All for the sake of gossip. She laughed lightly and went back to cleaning.
Ms. Ridge’s attitude confused Ellie, but it did not surprise her. Though, was wanting to borrow syrup too much trouble for certain people? Instead of dwelling on the question, Ellie dismissed the whole event. She had syrup now and there were pancakes to be made. Ellie headed back to her house, determined not to let Ms. Ridge get under her skin. When she entered the house and headed straight to the kitchen. She lit up the oven top. Placed a frying pan on the fire. Mixed up the pancake batter. Poured the batter onto the pan. Flipped the pancake. Placed the cake onto a plate. And finished by placing syrup and butter on top. Before long, Derek’s door swung open and Ellie entered holding a tray full of pancakes. Derek sat up as painlessly as he could. Ellie placed the plate down in his lap. “Here you go, as promised,” she smiled. “Eat up cause I made a hell of a lot.” “Uh… thank you,” muttered Derek. “It’s no problem. Just feel better.” Derek dug in and Ellie left. The pancakes tasted good.
10:43 AM. Ellie tended to her flowers and admired them for the third time this week. Ms. Ridge did not comment on them this day.
10:52 AM. Staring at the ceiling, Derek sank deep in thought. Embracing them as his only means to dull the pain.
11:10 AM. Ellie tries to clean up a majority of the mess made by Derek. However, she is unable to clean up the bloodstains. During this time, Derek slept.
1:12 PM. Derek’s room. Derek jumped awake, tensing every limb on his body. His knees, elbows, shoulders, and everything in between those joints caused indescribable pain. A sound of pain escaped through his clenched teeth. He tried to settle himself down and calm the pain. He settled and after a while the pain eased to a dull roar. Derek had awaken from a terrible dream, but of what currently eluded him. The door swung open and Ellie walked through the door with a box in hand. She smiled and stopped halfway to Derek. “I’ve found something for that leg of yours.” Derek did not say anything and looked at the box. Her timing told Derek that she waited outside his room until he woke up. He felt a little guilty. Derek guessed that she would never wake him up again. Or at least for a while, anyway. “Um… I found some things you could probably use as a splint. Wren happens to have a shit load of rulers, so just grabbed those. We don’t need them and we’ve like forty of them. They may not be the sturdiest, but… it should work.” Derek sighed and laid back onto his pillow. “Did you bring some gauss for those rulers? If I am to use them, I’ll need some gauss.” Ellie’s ridiculous idea caused Derek to smile. “Yeah I brought some. And I actually found some old crutches under the steps. They’re wooden, but they work.” Ellie set down the box at Derek’s feet and retrieved the crutches from the hallway. Derek stared at them. They indeed were old and dusty, but seemed sturdy enough. “Were they yours?” asked Derek. Ellie looked at Derek blankly. “Ah, no. I don’t know whose they are. They belong to Wren, so I don’t know.” “Oh.” “Yeah. Probably a family member’s that had no more use for them. They seem fine enough.” Ellie tested their durability by leaning heavily on them. “See? Lucky I found them, ‘cause we can’t have you in bed. We’ll need you up and walking around by tomorrow.” “Want me out of here that quickly, huh?” Derek said. “No! Oh my God, no! It’s not like that,” gasped Ellie, trying quickly to take back her statement. Derek’s straight face caved. He broke out into a loud laugh. Even more when Ellie gave a confused look. “I was kidding. What’s going on tomorrow that you need me up and walking around?” “Well, certain people will be coming around tomorrow and we can’t have them find you.” Ellie said, setting the crutches down against his bed before walking out of the room, leaving the point to hang.
2:05 PM. Wren walks into the foyer, home from work. “I’m home!” announced Wren. Ellie appeared at the top of the steps. “Welcome home. ‘Bout time you got here. I’ve had to wait hand and food on our damn house guest!” Ellie complained, smiling. Wren returned Ellie’s smile. “That hard work is good for you.” “Heh,” Ellie said with a smirk. “How was your day at work?” Wren’s look after the question told Ellie to retract it. “That terrible, huh?” “Yeah. My missing business cards were due today. So I got yelled at for losing them.” “How shitty. Think you know where you might have lost them?” “No, not a clue,” said Wren, setting her shoes to the side and walking up towards Ellie. “It may have been when I went grocery shopping, but I’m really not sure. Could have been before that, or even earlier.” “Yeah, maybe…” “Ah! I see that you did not clean up any of the stains since I was away.” Wren said in mocking excitement, moving to the kitchen and slightly brushing Ellie when she passed. “I tried!” Ellie retorted. “Not hard enough, I guess,” Wren accused, but lightening her tone. Ellie followed her into the kitchen and watched Wren pour a glass of milk. “The stains are already a part of the carpet,” her excuse continued. “We might as well leave ‘em be and clean them up when we have time. Well, more like when we want to, I guess.” Wren stopped drinking. “Ellie, you cannot be serious… We can’t leave bloodstains in the carpet! What if someone found them, huh? Or found our unwanted houseguest? What would we do? We’d be dead! Ellie, believe it or not, but he is not supposed to be here. If someone found out… like, oh, let’s say Ms. Ridge found out. Ellie, you of all people should know that she would call the cops or tell our fathers. You know she would! Then you would hate her even more than you do now. I just figured you would stop your phobia of blood if it was for your own sake. The police, Ellie!” “Well… I guess you thought wrong, Wren.” Ellie said straight-faced and serious. Wren sighed, expecting this response. She cooled down. “Figured that would be the case as well. I guess it is a very good thing our fathers come around tomorrow and not today. If they would have come today, we would’ve been dead. At least we have time to clean up the bloodstains before tomorrow.” “They only come Tuesdays, Wren. I know that and you should know that. I’m not worried about them showing up out of the blue.” “I’m saying what if they did?” Wren asked, finishing her glass of milk and slamming the glass on the counter, creating a loud crack that filled the kitchen. “They just wouldn’t.” Wren realized Ellie was not accepting her point and stopped pursuing the subject. Instead, she busied herself by cleaning up the mess that Ellie had left on the kitchen counter. “Well, I’m still not letting the stains stay. I’ll clean them, but you’re going to help.” “No, I’m thinking not… and you know, it isn’t just these stains, there’s still his damn clothes. Like his coat.” “Ellie… I can’t do everything myself,” said Wren, grabbing the syrup to place it away. She opened the turntable cabinet before Ellie interrupted her. “Oh, leave that out. I made pancakes for Derek this morning and I had to borrow that from Ms. Ridge.” Wren stopped abruptly. She denied what she had just heard, but she knew Ellie did what she said she did. “You didn’t let her in, did you?” Wren said grimly. “No. I went over to her house. You know, actually, you can put it in the cupboard. I don’t really plan on giving her syrup back to her.” Wren sighed and said, “We’ll have to give it back to her someday.” She set the syrup onto the counter and walked out of the kitchen to the hallway closet. She opened the closet door. “-Cleaning supplies… cleaning supplies…-“ “Wren,” Ellie yelled from the kitchen. “I put them in the other closet. You know, the end one.” “What?” Wren said, not fully hearing Ellie. “You’re looking for the cleaning supplies, right?” Ellie said, peering around the corner from the kitchen. “I put them in that closet.” Ellie pointed to the smaller closet at the end of the hallway. “Oh, okay.” “You want a sandwich or something? Something more than just milk?” “Sure,” Wren said, opening the other closet door. At the top shelf were the cleaning supplies, still horribly arranged within the carrier when Ellie attempted to clean. Wren removed the basket and shut the door. She walked into the kitchen to see Ellie working on her sandwich. “I’ll clean after lunch.” “Good idea,” Ellie replied, diving the knife deep into the peanut butter. Wren sat down into a kitchen chair and watched Ellie work. “Sure glad you can cook,” Wren commented. Ellie paused and looked at the sandwich perplexed, wondering how sandwich making constituted cooking. “Granted…” Wren continued, reading Ellie’s pause. “Making a sandwich doesn’t really count. I’m talking about the pasta we had a few nights ago. And the fish the night before that. Those meals. That’s cooking. You know, I never really learned how to cook.” “Well, to tell you the truth I didn’t really learn. I was taught, certainly, but my dad wanted me to know how to cook and what he wanted, went,” Ellie said, pausing slightly. “It’s not that hard,” she said, redirecting the topic. “You should learn; share some of the cooking ‘round here.” “Hey! ‘I clean, you cook.’ Remember?” Ellie laughed, which made Wren laugh. Ellie gave Wren’s sandwich to her and she took a huge bite out of it. The pickles were an odder choice that usual, but still tasted fine. Wren complimented Ellie again. “Glad you like it,” Ellie said, sitting down at the table. “So, what happened at work? They cannot be that pissed over some stupid-ass cards, can they?” “Oh, my boss, being the only one who really cares, is pretty steamed over the whole thing.” “You’re kidding me! Are the cards that fricken important?” “Well, he has a new client stopping over,” Wren explained, trailing off before taking another bite of her sandwich. “Oh, so he would need them for his new client?” “Yeah. He’s real excited about this client. We have many expectations with this one. Guess I just need to go get them again later.” Wren finished her sandwich off and removed herself from her chair to put the plate away. She resumed her cleaning and Ellie flipped on the television, disconnecting herself from Wren’s chores. Both of them went about their activities for sometime. The two were in the same room, but there was a very detached silence in the air. The silence filled from wall to wall between the two. Around this mid-day time, both fell into this state of meditative relaxation, extenuating the boredom the girls experienced. Finally, like a crack of thunder, Wren broke the silence when she spoke: “So, how’s our new roommate, slash, invader, slash, stranger, slash, man doing?” Ellie smirked after a slight startle. “He’s feeling better, I think. I got him some crutches and stuff to use as a splint. Though I don’t know if he has them on yet.” “You didn’t help him?” Wren asked, surprised by Ellie’s lack of help for the man. “Hey, I’ve no idea how to tie a splint!” Ellie stated, staring down Wren, who glared at her excuse. “It’s a fricken miracle he survived as it is with our medical help, okay? I don’t think he needs my help,” Ellie laughed. “I’d probably just end up hurting him some more.” “Actually,” Derek butted in from the steps. “It wasn’t that hard to tie, anyway. And I you probably would.” Ellie peered around the kitchen corner at Derek while Wren looked up from the bloody carpet. “Speak of the devil.” Wren muttered. “Christ, you could have come up wearing something,” Ellie exclaimed. Derek turned at the top of the steps, crutches in hand and carefully suspending one leg into the air. He wore nothing but a large amount of bandages. “Sorry,” Derek said, not caring. Wren looked away and resumed her cleaning. Ellie turned to the television while Derek hobbled into the living room and plopped down onto the couch. Derek surveyed the room until his eyes landed on the stains in the floor. “This is one of the many messes you made last night,” Wren said, catching wind of his sight. “The blood has stained very well into the carpet,” said Wren, scrubbing harder to emphasize her work. “Wren…” Ellie said, knowing exactly where she was going and trying to stop her from commenting any farther. “I probably won’t be able to get these out. In fact, I’ll probably have to replace the carpet and I expect you to pay for the damages.” Ellie knew that Wren purposefully said that as unneeded punishment for Derek. Ellie frowned at Wren, then looked at Derek. “I have no money with me,” Derek replied quickly and quietly. “Isn’t that convenient?” Wren snapped back, just as quickly. “Wren, stop it!” Ellie demanded. “Derek, I don’t expect you to pay for anything.” Derek kept his mouth shut. “Well, if you have no money, no bags, no real anything, then why don’t you just go home? And if you have nothing, just what could you possibly have to give me?” Derek and Ellie’s attention tracked back to the morning. “-Oh yeah…-” Ellie said to herself. This morning Derek said he had something to give Wren. If he had nothing with him, what did Derek have to give Wren? Ellie nodded to Wren’s point. “Do you know where my coat is?” Derek asked calmly and quietly. “Yeah,” said Wren. “It’s in there. Or just bring me my coat and I’ll get it.” “No,” Wren said. “Tell me what it is first.” Derek said nothing and waited for someone to retrieve his coat. The friction between Wren and Derek rose and Ellie could feel it in the air. She waited for one of them to break, but neither one gave up an inch. Soon, the tension straggled Ellie so much she snapped. “Good God! I’ll fricken grab it!” shouted Ellie, standing up and going downstairs. With Ellie presently gone, Wren and Derek were alone. She frowned at him and voiced her interrogation that ran through her head all day: “Why did you come to our house? Just what were you thinking when you crashed into our backyard?” Derek did nothing to react to her. Wren’s patience ran dry. “Why did-?” She began. “When I get my coat, you’ll see,” interrupted Derek, remaining calm. “That won’t explain anything! How will that explain any-“ “Where is my necklace, Wren?” Derek demanded coldly. Wren’s thought train halted and shivers ran though down her back. “Your necklace?” Wren asked, confused. “Yes, my necklace. This morning, I saw my necklace around your neck when you left for work. I would like to know where it is. So that I may have it back.” Wren’s hostility dropped instantly. Her face turned slightly red. She dropped her head in guilt and went silent. Seeing her reaction and struggle for an excuse made Derek regret asking her harshly. However, if she was not going to be nice to him, neither would he to her. Luckily, Ellie came up from the steps and interrupted the silence. “Found it! Here…” she said, handing the coat over to Derek before looking at Wren. She quickly realized what was transpiring and her smile vanished. “I hope whatever you have to give Wren will end this goddamn bickering between you two. I mean, so what Derek came here. I don’t care! Wren, stop bitching, and Derek, stop causing trouble. I might be nicer than Wren-“ “Hey!” Wren objected. “- but I also don’t trust you. I know you mean well, but still. I cannot expect too much grace and trust from us. I’m sure you understand…” Derek nodded, but said nothing. He plunged into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, white, shiny block. He looked at Ellie and Wren, tossing the block up lightly into the air, repeatedly catching it. “You wanted to know how or why, or whatever you asked me; why I came here, to this particular house? Well, here, take a look,” he said, suddenly tossing Wren the block. She caught it, though startled, and examined the block. “These are…” “I came here because I knew your address. I was around here and saw your street name, followed the street and arrived at your house. You dropped these back when you and I collided at the park.” “These are my business cards…” Wren said with a tone that belied her shock. “You’re kidding. Really?” Ellie chimed in. The cards rendered Wren speechless. She recalled her boss yelling at her about the cards. Derek had them all along. If only she had listened to him this morning. Her boss’s shouting came into mind again, reminding her of the embarrassment she felt. Then the oddity of circumstances worked there way into her mind once again. Wren became confused about how she felt at the moment, and could not make up her mind as to what to feel. “Secretary and chief-editor, Wren Lydel,” Derek spoke, interrupting Wren’s concentration. “Printed below your name is your address. Since I had seen you one other time, I decided come here. A slim chance I would be welcomed, but I gave it a shot. I think I picked wisely, or I was just lucky. Though why you have your home address on a business card is beyond me.” A brief silence followed. “What?” Wren said, looking at her address printed right below her name. “Oh my God… you’re right. My address is on here…” “So?” Ellie asked, feeling slightly left out of the conversation. Wren looked at Ellie in disbelief. “These cards are incorrect. They would’ve had to be redone anyway… I must have written down my own address and not the company’s when I was ordering them.” Wren, again, seemed unable to react in any particular manner. A couple tense seconds passed as Derek and Ellie waited for her to do something; anything for that matter. A laugh fluttered out of her lips. Small at first, but her laughter grew larger and Ellie gave off a sigh of relief. “Geez, I must have been spacing out when I did them. I guess it was good within bad that my boss didn’t see these cards, otherwise we would’ve been receiving a lot of interesting calls on our home phone!” “Well,” Derek spoke up. “Good thing you were spacing out. I was near the printed address so I figured I would either come across your home or your work. And that’s why I picked this house in particular. I think it would have been slightly too coincidental for me to find the exact house of a person I randomly ran into at the park without actually knowing where they lived. It was luck alone I found your street, actually.” “That makes sense,” Ellie said, giving the two an intriguing look, but she wondered about different problems to herself. Problems like why Derek had not noticed his missing pistol, and if he had noticed, then why has he not said anything? Would it be that the gun needed to be hidden from everyone? These questions would go unanswered today, for Ellie questioned herself and dismissed the notions of voicing them as the television played innocently in the background.
2:55 PM. Wren cleaned and Derek watched television. “Wren,” Derek unexpectedly said. “Yes?” She replied, looking up yet again from her cleaning. “My necklace. I’m sorry to ask for it so, but it means a lot to me.” “Oh! Yes, no problem, here…” said Wren, kneeling upright. She reached up to her neck to grab the chain, but instead of removing a necklace, she just began to feel around for one. The chain was absent. Wren’s eyes widened as she searched desperately for the chain and soon those eyes turned to guilt. “What’s wrong?” Derek asked. “Oh my god… Derek, I’m so sorry!” Derek sighed, instinctively knowing where this topic was headed. “What is it?” “I’m so very sorry…” She apologized. “You… lost it, didn’t you?” Derek guessed. “Derek! I’m sorry! I don’t lose necklaces. I don’t know how this could have happened!” “I’m sure-“ Derek started. “I’m so sorry!” Wren interrupted. “-sure it’s somewhere around. I’m sure if we look, we can find it.” “I’ll look! Tomorrow, I’ll look around work, if we cannot find it here! Oh, wait, I don’t work. Well, I’ll look the day after tomorrow, okay?” “Okay, you’ll look the day after tomorrow.” “Yeah, my father is…” Wren drifted into silence, looking as though she recalled a forgotten idea. “What’s the matter now?” “Nothing, it’s just that no -and I mean no one- can find you here. Absolutely no one, and every Tuesday both Ellie’s father and my father-“ Wren trailed off when she discovered her voice went unheard. Derek had stopped paying attention to her and was staring intently at the television. “Hey,” he said, not breaking his stare. “I think I’m on TV.” Wren turned around to the television. There played a short news story. The headline consisted of extravagant phrases like “shooting bloodies city” and “suspect still at large.” Video footage was repeating in the background. The black and white video depicted a man running down an alley, and this individual happened to be wearing Derek’s distinctive coat. Obviously, a surveillance camera filmed Derek as he sprinted away from something. Wren repeatedly read the headline, taking in the news info. After a third quick skim over the captions, the headline changed. “Suspect still at large.” “Suspect?” Wren exclaimed, half-bewildered and half-questioning Derek to explain himself. “Trust me; I have nothing to do with it. Nothing.” Derek calmly reassured her. “I can’t even remember running down that alley.” The newscaster chimed in, “More on that story soon. But first, we have a very nice day on our hands, don’t you agree…” “Are you kidding me? I don’t care about the weather!” Wren noticed that she was standing now. She yelled for Ellie, half-worried. “Get up here, now!” Wren received an answer. “There’s no need to yell, Wren! What the hell do you want?” “Just get up here now!” Then, breaking up everyone’s thoughts, the doorbell rang. Derek and Wren both perked up and looked at the door, then looked befuddled at each other. “Who could that be?” Wren asked, with no intensions of answering the door. “How would I know or care?” Derek returned. “You should care because-!” Wren stopped conscious of her booming voice. She lowered to a whisper, “Because I haven’t cleaned up the blood in the foyer yet. I’ve spent my entire day scrubbing out this single stain! Plus, no one can know that you’re here! And lastly, I wasn’t asking you. I asked that rhetorically!” “Oh,” Derek said plainly, moving his attention back to the television. “Wren, if you’re not going to get it, I will!” Ellie shouted from downstairs. She ran up the steps and into the foyer. She swung open the door and there stood Ms. Ridge. Wren groaned, slapped her forehead, and shook her head in disbelief. “Oh!” Ellie said surprised. “Hello Ms. Ridge…” Derek watched the news go into full swing. “Hey, my story is starting,” he said to Wren. “Then shut it off!” Wren whispered harshly to Derek. “Yes, hello. I came for my syrup and a lovely chat.” “Oh, well-“ Ellie said, blocking the doorway. “Now’s not the best time…” Ellie said futilely as Ms. Ridge let herself inside. A wicked smile crossed Ms. Ridge’s face when that bloodstained floor hit her eye. “My word! What happened here?” Ms. Ridge inquired, looking Ellie in the eye. Ellie’s, Wren’s, and half of Derek’s heart froze. Wren prayed. Instantly, like a stroke of pure genius, an idea reached Ellie’s mind. An excuse so brilliant and believable that to this day Wren tells it to be miraculous. “What? Oh! The blood… is for our Halloween getup. We’re putting together some spooks for the kids.” Ms. Ridge looked at Ellie, trying to divulge any mistruths, but after a short while of contemplating, she nodded her head. Ellie smiled heavily and Wren sighed, blessing Ellie. “Good thinking. Halloween is in a couple of days. Never thought you two would even care about Halloween. I’m glad to see you’re getting into the spirit.” “Thanks!” Ellie said, smiling. “It was a great idea!” Derek smirked at Ellie’s statement and resourcefulness. “Yes, excellent!” commented Derek. Ms. Ridge snapped to the upstairs, trying to spot the mysterious guest. Wren gaped at Derek, in disbelief that he obviously spoke on purpose. Soon, Wren’s dropped jaw turned into the most menacing face Derek had ever witnessed, but Derek just smiled back at her. “Ellie, dear, you never told me you had guests staying!” Ms. Ridge said delightfully, as though she uncovered something truly scandalous. “Well, he’s not-“ Ellie said, trailing off again as Ms. Ridge turned her attention to pry deeper into her household. She was already up the stairs when Ellie followed her. “-really a guest.” Ellie finished. When Derek came into Ms. Ridge’s view, she did not know what to say. To her, a man sat almost naked on her neighbor’s couch and neither Wren nor Ellie seemed to notice or care. Then the man spoke. “I’m going as a medical patient. Or a mummy, if you prefer,” he laughed. “It’s all the same with this costume.” “Yeah…” Ms. Ridge said, still awkward towards the man. “And hello,” Derek said cheerfully. “My name is Derek and I do not believe that we’ve met.” He extended a hand. “No, we haven’t,” said Ms. Ridge, walking over and shaking Derek’s hand. Ellie and Wren looked at Derek in disbelief. Not only was he shaking hands with Ms. Ridge, but he also belied no pain. Wren saw the terrible cuts and bruises on his hand, yet there he shook with no flinching or clenched teeth. Both Wren and Ellie stood amazed. “I’m “Cousin’s,” Derek offered and discreetly winked at Wren. “Wren’s cousin.” . “Cousin’s neighbor. Am I right to assume you came here to help them with the Halloween party?” Derek laughed. “You assumed correctly,” he said, smiling. Suddenly, the news broadcast stuck out above the conversation. Eight ears tuned to the newscaster. “Yesterday, a series of shooting have police looking for a man in east Derek continued over the television. “Well, we decided to give the kids a little treat when they are trick or treating.” “If many get out here, you mean?” Ms. Ridge stated. “Excuse me?” Derek asked slightly baffled, shifting uncomfortably. “Well, there are not many kids around here. Your cousin and her roommate,” Ms. Ridge said, looking at the girls, “are by far the youngest residents in the neighborhood.” “Oh, we know,” Wren stated bluntly. “Yes…” Derek said, adjusting the stance of his statement and noting the detail. “Police have been chasing this individual since last night. The suspect is wanted for questioning related to the disappearance and possible kidnapping of a young woman. The suspect is described at a white male with brown-hai-“ The television went black. Derek set down the remote next to him on the arm rest. Ms. Ridge’s attention turned back to Derek. “Sorry if the TV was interrupting us,” Derek said, smiling. The girls looked at each other and then at Derek. Derek decided there was no better place to end Ms. Ridge’s visit. “However, I was just about to change out of this costume. I thank you for allowing us to use your syrup. I’m sorry I didn’t come over personally to retrieve it, but I was tied up,” Derek smirked, standing up on both legs and walked normally and briskly to the kitchen. Ellie gasped and Wren grew concerned. Ms. Ridge stood there until Derek placed the syrup into her hands. “Well then, your welcome, boy; about the syrup. It was a pleasure to meet you,” she said, before departing down the steps. Ellie quickly followed her down and shut the door when she left. Derek sat back onto the couch and turned on the television. He listened intensely to the newscaster, but his story had come to pass. “Fuck,” Derek said. “I’ll have to wait for the later news…” Wren positioned herself in front of Derek, blocking the view of the television. She screamed out a slew of questions about some kidnapping and the police, but Derek ignored her. Derek’s leg shouted at him in the same fashion as Wren. The splint worked, but the trip to the kitchen still caused his leg to burn. The thought of his leg taking longer to heal passed through Derek’s mind, but he discarded it for a more important thought. Derek knew he missed his first chance to learn more about what happened to Naomi. He deeply regretted being unable to coax Ms. Ridge to leave sooner. Moreover, his anxiousness to discover the truth gnawed at him, causing him to be unable to sit still. To calm down, he focused his blank stare at Wren. She certainly was noisy, but he failed to hear her words. Naomi and his necklace beckoned him and cancelled out any other thought or feeling. Fed up with the shouting, Ellie escaped to the basement while Derek closed his eyes, pondering about what to do now.
End Chapter 4
Wren’s father is stopping by to check up on her. If anything would cause her father to disapprove, Wren and Ellie might have to pack up. And Derek had to leave his room. Bad move… Chapter 5: Very Tight |