Dear Reader.
I'm so sorry for the long wait. And any spelling/punctuation mistakes I have probably made and failed to correct.
Thank you to everyone who had reviewed/favourite/followed this story. I LOVE you all!
This chapter is all Bender and Elenore. So I hope it's ok?
It's a little shorter than I had originally planned though.
Please leave me your thoughts? I love reading them...
She really had no idea what she was doing. She had never really tried to cheer up someone who had been physically hurt by a parent before.
Emotionally hurt, yes. She had after all, grown up with Allison and therefore, knew all about that particular home life.
But not physically.
She took a deep breath as she reached the area of the staircase that Bender had claimed as his own.
"Room for one more?" She spoke up, worried that he would reject her.
"Fuck. Off." The hurt that she felt at his words enveloped her, but she would not let him know that he had affected her in that way.
"Alright." She shrugged a little even though no one saw it. "See you later." She turned to head back down the stairs when she felt a hand clamp around her ankle.
Bender, who hadn't realised who had been talking to him, had a rather tight grip. But he didn't realise just how tight a grip he had until she spoke again.
"You're hurting my ankle." He did not let go, but his hold loosened slightly. She looked over her shoulder at him. His side was practically touching the floor in order to reach her.
"Sit." He motioned the area next to him with his head. He would not let go until she moved towards him, and she probably knew it.
She turned back around moved towards him as he slowly let go of her. He thought she might have tried to make a run for it as soon as he had stopped touching her, but to his surprise she sat down in the space to his right, and let her legs dangle over the edge.
"You hungry?" She had left enough room between them to deposit her food.
"Thanks." He picked up a chocolate muffin and began to dig in. He didn't realise just how hungry he was until she had shared some of it with him a few moments ago.
"You should just ignore Sporto." She wasn't sure how to broach the subject, so she just dived right in. "I do. Most of the time in fact." She added before she ate some more Cap'n Crunch.
Bender only nodded slightly letting her know he got that, but didn't want to talk about it.
Instead of talking, the two continued to eat in silence. Elenore swinging her legs back and forward over the edge. Bender, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, admiring her legs as she swung them back and forth. Her dress had ridden up slightly. Not enough for her to notice, but for Bender, it was obvious. It was only then that he spotted the edge of something that looked like a plaster peaking out from the hem of her dress.
"What's that?" He indicated to her leg. She looked down and quickly pulled the hem down, hiding the plaster.
"My leg." She answered, not looking at him.
"What's that on your leg?" He tried again.
"Skin." She ate another handful of Cap'n Crunch as she shrugged like it was nothing. Bender sighed with a roll of his eyes and took his opportunity while she wasn't looking.
He darted his right hand out, lifted her dress a little and tore the plaster form her skin.
"OWW! What the hell?!" She practically screeched gaining the attention of the other detainees from down below. But she took no notice of them, the only thing that mattered at that moment was Bender. "You had no right to do that!" She hissed at him now, her cheeks flaring with anger.
"You wouldn't answer my questions seriously." He informed her smoothly. He dangled the plaster from his thumb and pointing finger as he looked at the now pinkish area where the plaster had been.
She attempted to cover it with her dress, but she wasn't quick enough. Bender had already seen enough.
"How did that happen?" She studied the mark on her leg that would be there for the rest of her life. Compared to the scar that the boy beside her had, it was nothing, but she still hated it. It was a reminder of a moment that she wished to forget.
She looked up at him and sighed. He had been truthful about the mark on his arm. Why shouldn't she be truthful about the mark on her leg?
"When I was five, my Mom held a party on the Fourth of July." She paused as if she wasn't sure wether to continue or not. But when Bender nodded she carried on. "She wanted to impress her new boyfriend. She was always trying to impress her boyfriends." She rolled her eyes. "When it was time to watch the fireworks, she handed me a sparkler and told me not to touch it with my hand, then went off to find her boyfriend. She hadn't bargained on me being a little frightened of it though. Now usually when you hand a kid a sparkler, you put a bucket of water or dirt near them so they can put it out. But my Mom was so focused on playing Tonsil Tennis with her boyfriend that she forgot. Anyway, she'd told me not to touch it with my hand, she never said anything about not touching it with my leg..." Her voice had faded to nothing more than a whisper as she spoke that final sentence. And she was blushing. Badly.
It took a moment for Bender to understand. "You... You tried to put a sparkler out on your leg?" He sounded confused. She nodded in response without looking at him.
"I was five." She mumbled as she started to play with the hem of her dress nervously, as if being five at the time was a good enough reason.
"What happened after?" Bender asked her as he inspected the scar from where he sat, he gently placed his hand on her thigh and traced his thumb over it.
Elenore was a little shocked when he didn't laugh at her. She snapped her head up and focused on his brown eyes.
"My Gran saw the whole thing. She put a cold damp towel over it and took me to hospital just in case. A week later I moved in with her. A few years ago, I asked her why she did that, moved me in with her I mean. She said that my Mom was negligent. Always had been." She didn't know what had made her say that last part. But it felt good to tell Bender. The only people who had known before had only consisted of a few people; Her Gran, Allison, Carl and obviously her Mom.
She managed to not blurt out that when her Mom hadn't even fought to get her back she had cried for months.
"You shouldn't cover it up." Bender informed her now. "It's nothing to be ashamed of."
She laughed a little. "I tried to put a sparkler out on my leg." She said in disbelief.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "You were five." He reasoned. He tapped the scar lightly before he removed his hand altogether and continued to eat. She watched him for a second longer before she finished off the bag of cereal.
She took another deep breath as she prepared to ask her next question.
"So... If Claire is a fat girls name, what's-"
"Elenore?" He finished her question for her. He smirked, already knowing the reaction he would receive from his answer.
"Elenore's a pretty girl's name." He wasn't disappointed when she blushed. Furiously.
Sincerely Yours,
A Fanfiction Writer.
