Plus Sign
El woke up. Mike was snoring lightly. She still had her arms around Mike, and he was still holding on to her tightly. Her dad must have thrown a blanket over them before he left for the weekend.
She sighed deeply and snuggled up closer to Mike nuzzling his neck.
She was going to tell him everything today. The lab, her abilities, everything.
She fell asleep again for a bit and finally was woken by Mike stirring. She looked up at him.
"I love you, El." he said and tightened his arms around her slightly. El thought she would die on the spot, her heart fluttered wildly.
She nodded and gave him a closed mouth kiss, "My breath must be horrible, I love you too." Probably smells like ass, but I want to kiss him, she thought.
Mike laughed, "ok, of all the things I thought you were going to say, the first thing was not one of them."
"Am I…" El closed her eyes. She had to ask, she was not quite sure of what he would he say, "am still your girlfriend?"
"We just spent our third night together, El. I think that counts. And with our clothes on. Again."
I'm going to change that tonight I think, she was pretty sure she was ready, if Mike could handle what she was going to tell him today, that would be her sign.
El smiled at him. "I have to tell you something Mike. It's not going to be nice… and some of it is going to be very hard to believe." Mike didn't look worried at all. In fact he seemed to be happy just being here. She hoped that wouldn't change once she finished.
"Let's go outside for a walk." Mike said.
"Walking in the rain?"
"Well, you aren't driving a car so I think I'm safe." Mike gave her a radiant smile. Her heart melted a little bit.
They put on their rain gear and walked outside of the cabin.
"Um, El? Where am I."
She grabbed his hand, their finger easily intertwined. She took a deep breath. "Mike, you know about Hawkins Lab?"
"Lucas told me that it's run by the Department of Energy or something?"
"That's a bullshit cover story. Oh, sorry Mike, I'm not usually a potty mouth, I get that from my dad who is." El couldn't help herself blushing a little.
"You and your dad know this for a fact?"
"From the time I was born to when I was about ten or eleven years old. I was experimented on at the lab."
She could see Mike was about to laugh but then she saw his eyes change and knew that she was telling the truth. She could see his beautiful eyes start to water.
"No… El." The rain falling on his face was not able to conceal the tears that started.
"I escaped, and my dad found me in the woods, we lived in this cabin for close to two years. It wasn't easy." She led Mike through the woods. I need to show him she thought.
"It was really bad wasn't it." He made more of a statement than ask a question. El could see the tears flowing freely down his cheeks, she wanted to kiss each one away but she wasn't done telling him everything."
"They made me kill animals, if I wanted to eat, or sleep on a bed."
Mike nodded, unable to talk.
"They wanted me to kill people."
Mike dropped to his knees with his face in his hands. This is hurting him. El knelt beside him keeping a brave face to him. "I'm sorry Mike, if we are going to be together... I still have nightmares about it. Fewer than I used to, but you needed to know, when we are… sleeping together."
Mike looked at her hair but then he looked back into her eyes. He didn't say anything but she figured he made the connection anyway.
"I have to ask again… I think I know the answer…" El thought, I hope I know the answer. "… am I still your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, El… I understand now. I'm so sorry…" She put a finger on his lips.
"It's over… I have my dad, I have a safe place… and I have a boyfriend who loves me…" She surprised herself by bursting into tears.
Mike hugged her in the rain. "You are always going to have that now El."
"There's one more thing."
El could see his stunned face. She could see he was preparing himself for something really bad. He looked terrified.
"This one isn't so bad, Mike. I used to think it was, but it's not really. I just have to be careful. Look over there." El looked at a large tree stump to their left and nodded towards it.
Mike looked confused.
"You have no idea what's coming next do you?" She smiled at him.
He looked so relieved that what he was about to hear might not be so bad, she felt her heart squeeze a little. Was it possible to love someone this much? Yes, because I do. I hope he feels the same way. Maybe this will help a little bit.
"You know how hard those are to remove?"
Mike looked at her, not quite comprehending what she was getting at, "um, this is a little weird El, I don't know what you're getting at."
El tilted her head forward towards the stump. Mike's eyes widened when he saw the stump move. The ground made ripping and snapping sounds as the stump lifted, trailing roots underneath. It rose ten feet, then twenty feet, then forty feet. Dirt was falling from the stump, now close to what had to be one hundred feet in the air as the last of the roots pulled from the mangled ground. She flung the tree away from them and it crashed to the ground about a hundreds yards from them. It sounded like a train wreck.
She thought his eyes almost bug from his head when he turned to look at her. She was about to be bombarded with questions she wouldn't be able to answer.
Instead Mike just said, "The girl I love has super powers. How cool is that?"
"You are ok with that?"
"Are you kidding El? I'm… you can't let anybody know you can do that. You'd have the government… oh…" He turned solemn. "You already know how to hide yourself. Your secret is safe with me."
Mike grabbed on to her hand and let her towards another large stump, he crouched down and took something silver out of his pocket.
"What are you doing Mike?"
Mike woke up. El still had her arms around his middle and he was still holding on to her. They had fallen asleep that way. He tried to adjust without waking her up, but he was unsuccessful. She looked up at him.
Mike was overwhelmed at the sight of her large round eyes looking at him. "I love you, El." he said and tightened his arms around her. His heart raced. There. It was out. Now she know how I feel.
She nodded slightly, her lips pouted a little she kissed him. She turned her head. "My breath must be horrible, I love you too."
Mike laughed, "ok, of all the things I thought you were going to say, that first thing was not one of them."
"Am I…" she closed her eyes... am still your girlfriend?" Mike was about to ask her if they were still together but this confirmed it for him. She still wanted to be with him.
He made a joke about their third time spending the night.
El smiled at him. "I have to tell you something Mike. It's not going to be nice… and some of it is going to be very hard to believe." He had no idea what she was getting at. He needed some fresh air though. So he made a suggestions.
"Let's go outside for a walk." Mike said.
"Walking in the rain?"
Mike made another joke. He wanted to keep it light so she knew that he could handle whatever she wanted to tell him.
They put on their rain gear and walked outside of the cabin.
He was in the woods, apparently in the middle of nowhere. "Um, El? Where am I."
She grabbed his hand, their finger easily intertwined. He saw her take a deep breath. "Mike, you know about Hawkins Lab?"
"Lucas told me that it's run by the Department of Energy or something?"
"That's a bullshit cover story. Oh, sorry Mike, I'm not usually a potty mouth, I get that from my dad who is." El turned a bit red.
"You and your dad know this for a fact?"
"From the time I was born to when I was about ten or eleven years old. I was experimented on at the lab."
He was about to laugh but she looked deadly serious. Oh shit, this was going to be bad. The girl he loved was about to reveal her past, it was so bad she wanted to spare him this by ending their relationship, but now it seemed like she was going to trust him with her secret. At that moment he thought his heart would swell to bursting with the love he felt for her.
He wasn't going to be able to hold back. "No… El." The rain falling on his face was not able to conceal the drops of tears he felt sliding down his cheeks.
"I escaped, and my dad found me in the woods, we lived in this cabin for close to two years. It wasn't easy." She was leading him through the woods.
"It was really bad wasn't it." Mike felt stupid even saying it. He couldn't think of anything else to keep the attention away from his crying.
"They made me kill animals, if I wanted to eat, or sleep on a bed."
He nodded. He couldn't talk.
"They wanted me to kill people."
He felt his knees give out. Oh El. His chest tightened and his breathing quickened. She knelt beside him. Her face stoic as she continued. . "I'm sorry Mike, if we are going to be together... I still have nightmares about it. Fewer than I used to, but you needed to know, when we are… sleeping together."
Mike looked at her hair but then he looked back into her eyes. So that's why her hair was short. Who knows what else they did to her. She was probably keeping the worst from him. In time he would ask, maybe. But he knew this was hurting her just to tell him this much.
"I have to ask again… I think I know the answer…" Her eyes were pleading with him.. "… am I still your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, El… I understand now. I'm so sorry…" She put a finger on his lips.
"It's over… I have my dad, I have a safe place… and I have a boyfriend who loves me…" Her composure dissolved and she burst into tears.
Mike hugged her in the rain. He have squeezed too hard but she didn't seem to notice. "You are always going to have that now El."
"There's one more thing."
There's more? How can a girl, the sweetest person he'd ever known have more bad news? Oh, shit, this is going to be really bad. Mike was scared to death at the next thing El might say.
"This one isn't so bad, Mike. I used to think it was, but it's not really. I just have to be careful. Look over there." El looked at a large tree stump to their left and nodded towards it.
Mike looked confused.
"You have no idea what's coming next do you?"
She had smile on her face that made him so relieved he thought he was faint dead away. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but she caught him completely off guard when she said, "you know how hard those are to remove?"
Mike looked at her, where was she going with this? , "um, this is a little weird El, I don't know what you are getting at."
She tilted her head forward towards the stump. Mike's thought his eyes would pop out of his head when he saw the stump move. The ground made ripping and snapping sounds as the stump lifted, trailing roots underneath. It had to be one hundred feet in the air before it stopped, the last of the roots pulled from the ground. Suddenly flew away from them and crashed to the ground about a hundreds yards from them. The sound was deafening in the quiet woods.
Mike said, "The girl I love has super powers. How cool is that?"
"You;re ok with that?"
He gave her a warning about letting anybody else know, but now he knew that she was used to being careful. Probably had been for her entire life.
Mike grabbed on to her hand and let her towards another large stump, he crouched down and pulled out a multi-tool he used sometimes at the gas station.
"What are you doing Mike?"
Mike carved deeply into the large tree trunk.
M.W. then a few inches below that. E.H.
"I've always wanted to carve my initials into a tree trunk with a girl I loved." He looked back to where she was standing. She came forward and knelt beside him.
El beamed a smile at him.
"But there's more."
He carved a heart around their initials. He could see a tear falling from her eye.
"You carve it into a tree trunk, deep enough and it grows with the tree, this is a stump, so it's not going to grow anymore, but.."
He carved a plus sign between their initials..
"It will stay like this forever El. Because that's how long I'm going to love you."