I am beyond excited with all the reviews I got. I would of never thought I would of gotten over 30 reviews just for one chapter! That's fucking amazing ya'll (: I tried to post this chapter as quickly as possible, but I didn't want it to seem rushed so I hope you guys are all satisfied.
Soon Enough…your review was amazing. You honestly gave me so many ideas to go with this story. And since I said in my last authors note that I don't really know where I'm going with this, it was nice to have some fresh ideas put into my head. Just on your request, I'm keeping the Fiona and Clare friendship. Thanks for your lovely review, really, it meant a lot.
Oh and I forgot to mention. Eli is going to be 18 in this story, which means he would have been a senior this year if he wasn't in rehab. And Clare is obviously a Junior in this.
Disclaimer- I don't even come close to owning Degrassi.
From the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew getting to know Eli was going to be immensely frustrating. Looking at him broke my heart. His eyes were deep and hallow, and it was almost has if they had no life to them at all. He looked lifeless. His body was there but not his mind. I would try and bring him up as a topic to talk about with Fiona but she was always seemed so enigmatic about it. I chalked it up as her just being generous for his sake and not mine.
I felt a wave of relief come over me as I checked my watch. Only 10 minutes left before the school transportation van was coming to pick me up. Since the rehab facility isn't in the best neighborhood and is too cold for me to ride my bike, Simpson arranged for a van to come pick me up when my three hours were over.
After I said my goodbyes to Fiona, I stepped onto the elevator and waited patiently for it to reach the main lobby. Once I stepped out, I amicably walked to the front desk to check out and I saw Eli's thin, broken figure leaning against the front counter. He had an irritated look on his face and I felt my body tense up as I made my made way closer to them.
"Why can't I just go out for 5 minutes to smoke this cig?" His voice was acidic, and I could basically see the lady rolling her eyes at him.
"Mr. Goldsworthy, you already know patients aren't allowed to be outside without any supervision. And none of the security guards are around." She explained. Annoyance was coursing through her body, but her expression changed when she spotted me coming up. "Oh, wonderful. Clare is about to leave, she can just watch you as she waits for her ride. Do you mind, Clare?"
I felt myself blush as Eli looked my way. I worked to modulate the volume of my voice so I didn't sound too eager. "Sure" I insisted with a shrug.
I trudged to the front door and I felt his presence behind me the whole way. I spotted a bench a few feet away and I immediately felt the coldness enter my body as I sat down. Of course, he was really there. He stood against the wall not far from me, and propped one foot up against it. His face was hard and his posture was tense. I could feel him glaring at me wordlessly, but I didn't want to look over.
"You want to hit this?" He asked, as he lit it up and took a long drag from it.
I shifted in my spot uncomfortably as he continued to blow out smoke. "N-no. I don't smoke." I tried to make my voice firm, but it only came out shaky.
"Yeah, you don't look like someone who would." He almost laughed at his statement, and he looked at me with dark amusement.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He pushed himself off the wall and made his way toward the bench. He sat down right next to me and immediately stretched his arm out across the top of it. I instinctively scooted forward so I wasn't much in his embrace as I would have been. I looked up at his face, at his eyes. They were a lot greener than I thought. The rings under them were a deep purple and I couldn't help but notice the pain in them.
He hit his cig once again, and let the smoke out slowly. "You're too cute for that."
I felt my throat become so swollen that I had to swallow down twice to clear it. Before I could respond, a security guard walked out and looked right at Eli.
"Eli, you're 5 minutes is up. You need to come in." His voice was firm and authoritive.
Eli shook his head and continued to stay where he was. "My cigarette isn't gone yet, I'm not going anywhere."
The security guard approached Eli, standing directly in front of him. I scooted away from him and it wasn't until then that I noticed our proximity. The strong figure placed a hand on Eli's arm, showing him that he was serious.
"Don't fucking touch me." He immediately stood up, coming face to face with the guard.
I tried not to be critical but, truthfully, I was terrified at the moment. Eli had such venom in his voice, that I couldn't help but cringe at the way he raised his voice at the security guard.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Eli." His voice was more relaxed than before.
Eli's breath quickened and I saw his hands form into a fist at his sides. He looked over at me and a growl came from his chest but his expression didn't change. He threw his cigarette down irritably and he walked passed me, as I received a nudge from him. The security guard looked at me sympathetically before walking in.
Luckily, the van pulled up right after. The drive home was what I expected, silent and long. The stillness was peaceful, a drastic change from the previous situation I was just in. I couldn't figure out what had caused him to freak out like he did. I guess with drawling can cause erratic behavior, but the look in his eyes we're telling me something different from that. I felt like he was hiding a lot more than addiction.
The van pulled up in front of my house and I thanked the driver, telling him I would see him tomorrow. Once I was inside, the warmth immediately took effect of my body and I easily relaxed. I took off my coat, and hung it on the rack. I yelled for my parents but there was no answer so I figured they went out without me- again.
I went up to my room and turned on my laptop. If I was going to be with these teenagers for 15 hours a week, I needed to know what they were going through for me to fully understand and help. So, I researched all night. Finding out anything I could to make this journey a little more easily for me. Simpson always told me therapy was my forté which is why he signed me up for this, but this was…different. This was something so much more complex and extreme. He was expecting me to do something I couldn't possibly wrap my mind around. It seemed as if he wanted me to treat their addiction.
It wasn't going to manageable but anything to get me to graduate, right?
Alright, so there was chapter two. I understand it was very short, but I did what I could with it. I wanted to put in another part, but then it would of been too long and I hate extremely long chapters. So, ya'll should please still review and tell me how you liked it, or didn't like it. I always love constructive criticism, since I'm no perfect writer. And sorry about the long authors note at the top, I usually wont make them long unless its necessary.
