Chapter Three: some of us have our own secrets
The morning hours slipped away into the afternoon hours. Ellie was the first one to leave shift. She decided to take Susan by Helen's house first. Both ladies heard a crash coming from upstairs. "Trinity!" a voice called. A small girl came running out. She giggled looking back behind her at a distraught Mandy. "come back here!" Trinity shook her head. She stuck her tongue out at her before rushing out again. Mandy let out a sigh of annoyance. She picked up the pace going after her. Trinity ran face first into her Aunt. Susan caught Trinity in her arms. "gotcha!" Trinity struggled to get out of her arms. "no fair!" Susan smiled. "I hope you haven't misbehaved like that all day." Murmured Susan. Mandy shook her head. "no. She must have heard you and decided to come down the stairs to meet you." Trinity noticed that Ellie was standing close to her Aunt. She whimpered ducking down. "Trinity, this is Miss Ellie. We'll be staying with her until we get a place of our own." Trinity slowly looked up from her Aunt's shoulder. "is she nice?" asked Trinity. Susan gave a nod of her head. "yep. Miss Ellie is my friend. She won't hurt you I promise." Trinity glanced at Ellie again. She gave Ellie a shy smile. Susan looked past Mandy for Helen. "I take it your mother isn't home eh? Ah well. Mandy, can you help me get my stuff loaded into Ellie's car?" Mandy headed upstairs with Susan. She left her niece alone with Ellie who looked after her. Ellie let Trinity sit in her lap. Trinity played with her stuffed wolf quietly. Mandy helped Susan load her bags into the back of Ellie's SUV. Susan closed the trunk once they got the last bag in there. "take care Mandy." She ruffled Mandy's hair gently. "give your mother my love. I'll still come by to drop Trinity off so you can babysit her." Mandy smiled. "alright. I will. Bye Susan. Good luck."
Ellie's house sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It also had a nice view of the lighthouse. Ellie parked in the driveway. Susan looked at Ellie's house in awe. "nice place you've got Ellie. You've got a really nice view of the ocean too." Ellie nodded. "yeah. I wanted to be as close to the sea as possible." Susan glanced at the yard. "you also have a nice yard. Plenty of place for you to play in, Trinity." Trinity smiled happily. She wiggled around in her seat wanting to go out and play. Susan giggled. She went to the passenger side of the SUV to unbuckle her niece. Trinity bolted out of the car once Susan set her free. She squealed happily as she ran through the grass. She had her stuffed wolf by the paw. Susan opened up the trunk. She grabbed the first duffle bag that was within reach. Ellie unlocked the front door. Susan walked into Ellie's house. Ellie lived in a single-story house with three bedrooms. The bedrooms were in a hallway next to the kitchen. "My room is located all the way down the hall. The bathroom is to the right of my room." Susan nodded. "I really want to thank you for letting me stay here, Ellie." She whispered. Ellie smiled. "not a problem. Its what friends are for. I'll go get the rest of your things." Trinity was sitting in the middle of the yard. She laid onto her back sighing happily. Ellie smiled watching her. "I take it you like it here?" she asked. Trinity nodded. "yeah. The grass feels really nice!" she chided. Susan unpacked her bags once Ellie got the rest of them inside. She poked her head outside. "Trinity! It's time to come inside now!" Trinity sat up. "aww do I gotta?" Susan chuckled. "yes you do. It's time for dinner." Trinity got up. She dusted herself off. Susan watched her run inside. "go and get cleaned up." Trinity nodded. She darted past Ellie. Ellie walked into the kitchen. "I'll get started on dinner. You go into the living room and relax." Susan turned to look at her. "alright." She walked into the living room leaving Ellie to deal with dinner. Trinity finished cleaning her hands. She raced out to the living room to join her mom. She flopped down on the floor in front of her. "can we watch cartoons Aunty?" she asked. "I don't see why not. There's nothing good for me to watch anyway." Susan put on some cartoons for Trinity. Susan noticed the pictures of Ellie's mom sitting next to the TV. Ellie put dinner in the oven before joining the girls in the living room.
"so much has changed since the last time I've seen you." Whispered Susan. "I know. I'm so happy that the higher-ups moved me out here. PontyPandy is a wonderful place." Susan nodded. "as I've heard. I'm working as Helen's apprentice so hopefully we'll be able to work together more." Ellie leaned back on the couch. Susan hesitated before asking: "have you been by to see your mom lately?" Ellie frowned. "no. I've been meaning to but I've been so busy." Ellie sighed. "there's not a day that goes by where I don't think of her. You and Penny were like daughters to her too." Susan giggled. "yeah I know. I can't count the number of times she helped Penny get through her guy problems. Is Penny still dating that loser, Nathan?" Ellie shook her head. "nah. She's long since left him." Susan gripped Ellie's knee. "do you remember that one summer where you got your foot caught in the tree?" Ellie giggled. "I remember how she scolded me about that. I could have broken it." The rest of the night droned on. Ellie burned some incense in the window. Susan helped clean the dishes. She turned around to watch Ellie. "I've been doing this every night since I first came here." Whispered Ellie. "I find comfort in doing it." Susan placed the dish she was washing back down in the sink. She walked over to Ellie. She hugged her friend from behind. "I take it you really miss her huh?" Ellie nodded. She wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this now in front of you." Susan shook her head. "no. It's fine. I don't mind at all. You need to let it all out anyway." Ellie leaned against her friend. Susan checked the clock. "I have to go and check on Trinity. I'll be back." Susan pulled away from Ellie. She headed down the hall to check on Trinity. Trinity was in her room playing quietly. She looked up seeing Susan outside of her door. "hello Aunty." She got to her feet. She walked over to her. Susan hugged her gently. "it's time for bed kiddo." Trinity yawned rubbing her eyes. "okay." Susan tucked Trinity in for the night. She gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "good night." Trinity yawned again. "Night night." She cuddled down on the sheets.
Ellie was the last one to go to bed. She turned out all the lights in the house. The only light she had left to see was from the lighthouse outside. She checked outside one last time to make sure that the grounds were safe. She walked down the hall to her room. She turned on the light in her room. She went over to the bed and laid down. "mommy! Mommy!" yelled a young Ellie. She ran across the field to her mother who was sitting in the grass. Ellie had some flowers clutched tightly in her hands. Her mother turned around. "oh are these for me?" she asked. Ellie nodded. She handed her mother the flowers. Ellie's mother looked down at them. "this is very sweet. Too bad you couldn't save me." Ellie snapped awake. She panted looking around. She hugged her knees tightly leaning against the headboard. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Arnold's number.
Arnold: is there a good reason why you're calling me at three in the morning?
Ellie: sorry Arnold. I had the dream again
Arnold: again? Is the one where you're stuck in a fire or the one where your mother turns into a crazy monster?
Ellie: the second one
Arnold: damn. Looks like doing the essence every night hasn't been helping. You'll probably have to try doing something else. Remember Ellie, we're still going to find your father. I promise you that we won't let him get away with her death.
Ellie: I know, Arnold. Sorry for waking you up
Arnold: I'd much rather you wake me up and tell me about all of this. Try to go back to sleep if you can.
Ellie: I'll try. Thanks Arnold
Arnold: not a problem
She put her phone on her nightstand. She settled down on her side going back to sleep.
"Trinity! Come back here!" Ellie was woken out of dead sleep by the sound of shouting. She trudged over to the window looking out it. Susan was chasing Trinity half way across the field. Trinity giggled and took off again. She made it harder for Susan to catch up with her. Ellie shook her head. "oh dear." She muttered under her breath. She ran outside to help Susan. "we'll have to split up in order to catch her." Susan nodded. "if it's a game she wants it's a game she gets." Ellie ducked down into the grass. She began sneaking around Trinity. Susan moved into the position. She waited for Ellie to give her the signal. Ellie was the first one to make a move towards Trinity. She grabbed Trinity's arm. "gotcha!" she called. "aw no fair!" whined Trinity. Ellie giggled. Susan came out of her hiding spot. She picked Trinity up gently. "come on trouble. I need to get you ready for school." Susan looked at Ellie. "thanks for helping me catch her." Ellie smiled. "not a problem. She's a handful, isn't she?" Susan nodded. "oh yeah. She's been that way since she was born." She chuckled as she carried Trinity inside.
I hope you guys have been enjoying the story thus far. I'm sorry updates are not as fast as they used to be. I am trying to take a break from writing if I can. Like I said before in the past and I will say it again: I am open to requests at this time. All you have to do to request a story:
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Melonsworth