Chapter 10: Danger
It was Saturday afternoon. Rick called Ellie.

Rick: Hello? Is Ellie there?
Ellie: Yes, it's me. Hi Rick.
Rick: How'd you know?
Ellie: Caller ID. So what's up?
Rick: Nothing much. Are you doing anything tonight?
Ellie: No. Why?
Rick: I was wondering if we could go to a restaurant tonight.
Ellie: Um, sure. Sounds cool. What time?
Rick: 7 pm.
Ellie: I'll be there. Bye.
Rick: Bye.
Ellie hung up the phone. This is a nice way to bond, Ellie thought, my
friends were completely wrong about him.

The day went by pretty fast. Ellie was getting ready for her date with
Rick. She heard the door bell ring. Rick came. Ellie and Rick walked to the
restaurant. They sat down and took their orders.

"How about the fettuccini alfredo?" Ellie asked.
"Sure ma'am," said the waitor. "And you, sir?"
"I'll take the fried rice with fish and a side order of garden salad with
light sauce."
"Good. Your food will be here in a moment. Here are some bread and butter."
He put it down on the table. He then left.

"This is a nice restaurant," said Ellie. "I really like it. This is a
chance for us to bond, you know."
"Yeah, I know. I thought this would be the perfect way to please you," said
Rick.
"You don't need a fancy restaurant to impress me."
"I know, but you're worth it." Ellie smiled at that comment.
"So let's talk about something else," said Ellie.
"Okay."
They continued to carry on a conversation as the time went by. Then Ellie
decided to bring up another topic.

"Rick, I know my friends don't like you. But I miss them a lot and wish I
could hang out with them the way I usually do."
"So you're saying you want to hang out more with them and less with me?"
"No, not all!" said Ellie.
"So you're saying you want to break up with me?"
"No! I just miss my friends."
"And you're going to dump me."
"What? I never said that!"
"Answer this question. Do you want to dump me?"
"When did I ever say that?" Ellie screamed.
"Is it so hard to answer that question?" Rick asked.
"No, it's just that you're going nuts for something so stupid."
"Excuse me? Are you calling me stupid?" Rick asked.
"No, I'm saying that you're just turning into a psycho."
Rick was really mad. He reached over to the table, and was just about to
slap Ellie. But Ellie moved her face and he missed.
"Ellie, I'm so sorry. That wasn't meant to happen."
"But it did. I'm leaving. Consider us over!" Ellie screamed. She got up and
left.

Rick ran after Ellie.
"Ellie! You can't run away from me! Get back here, right now!"
Ellie turned around.
"You know what your problem is? You're a psycho! No girl wants to be with a
guy that abuses her for calling him crazy or telling him he's wrong! You
have a problem and you need to get help!" Ellie screamed.
"You're just a dumb little girl!" Rick screamed back.
Ellie pushed Rick from behind. Rick turned around and smacked her real hard
in the face. He started to punch her non-stop. Ellie was screaming for
help.
"Somebody help me! Rick, stop it!"
"Oh, so you want more?" Rick asked. He started to punch her in the face and
even kicked her in the stomach. Then they both heard a police car behind
them. Rick ran away as fast as he could. Ellie was left on the ground,
bleeding.

"Are you okay, miss?" the police woman asked.
"My stomach hurts! I can't move!" Ellie cried. "I'm hurt!"
"We'll get you to the hospital immediately. Can you give us your phone
number? We will contact your family immediately."
Ellie gave the police woman her phone number. She was then put in the
ambulance car and sent to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Ellie's parents were sitting on the couch watching reruns of "I
Love Lucy." The phone rang. Ellie's mom picked it up.

Mom: Hello?
Police: Hi miss, are you the mother of Ellie Nash?
Mom: Yes. Why? Who's speaking?
Police: This is Officer James. Your daughter has been seriously hurt by her
boyfriend Rick.
Mom: Oh my god! What happened?
Police: According to what Ellie said, he was abusing her and it wasn't the
first time. But this time was serious. She can barely move and her stomach
is in a lot of pain. Please come to the Warren James Hospital immediately
to meet her.
Mom: My baby! We'll be right there!
Police: Have a nice and safe night.
Ellie's mom hung up the phone.

"Richard, Ellie's boyfriend abused her badly. We have to go get her."
"Oh god, let's not waste any time. Let's go!"
Ellie's dad grabbed his car keys and they left. They drove away from their
home. They were now in the car.

"Let's call Ellie's friends," said Ellie's mom.
"Use my cell phone," said Ellie's dad.
Ellie's mom called Ashley's house. Weirdly, Marco, Terri, Jimmy, Spinner,
Paige and Dylan were all at Ashley's house studying for school.
Mom: Hello?
Ashley: Hi, this is Ashley. Who's speaking?
Mom: This is Ellie's mom. You have to come to the hospital immediately.
Ellie's boyfriend-
Ashley: Say no more. We'll be right there.
Mom: Thanks so much, you've been such a great friend to Ellie and I'm sure
she appreciates it. Moving to a whole new neighborhood was hard at first.
Ashley: No problem. Bye.
Mom: See you there.
Ashley hung up the phone.

"Oh my god you guys! What did we say about Rick? We were right!" Ash
screamed.
"What happened?" Terri asked.
"It's Ellie, Rick did the unthinkable. We have to go to the hospital now."
"Poor Ellie. Let's go!" Marco screamed.
Marco, Ash, Terri and the rest of the gang ran to the bus. The bus was a
long ride, but they made it just on time.

They walked into the Warren James Hospital. They saw Ellie's parents
sitting in the waiting area.

"Ashley, you've all made it!" Ellie's mom screamed. "We're still waiting
for Ellie.
"Is she okay?" Paige asked.
"We hope so." said Ellie's dad.

Note: This chapter was pretty intense, wasn't it? Ellie was warned, she
learned her lesson. But I still feel bad for her. Stay tuned for the next
chapter! Please review if you want me to update!