Chapter 3- Flash to the Past

It was strange; Elli had to admit, living in her hometown again. She and Jay had shown up at the Mineral Town shore the day before, but Elli was having trouble adjusting to her old lifestyle, as strange as it sounded. Naturally, after all the bad experiences it had brought on, Elli flinched as she past her old living quarters- the Clinic. After a static call from Stu, Elli was hurrying to his house.

All she had gotten out of it was, "Elli…hurry…Grandma…" Whatever the message meant, it wasn't good. Elli rapped on the door, anxiety rushing through her.

"ELLI!" Stu cried, opening the door and clinging to her leg.

"What happened? What happened?" Elli yelled at her brother, who was clinging to her jeans. She attracted so much attention, since all the other women, excluding Karen, wore long, heavy skirts or dresses. Elli wore a powder blue T-shirt and jeans, eccentric among the old-fashioned village.

"It's Grandma! Doctor Sprig says to come right away!" Stu yelped, rubbing his eyes.

"Let's go." She coaxed the boy to get off of her leg, and she held his hand as they walked to the Clinic next door. Elli hesitated as she reached for the brass knob. So much misery had come from this place that Elli wasn't sure she wanted to go back in.

But it wasn't her decision. This was for Grandma, and for Stu, not her. Swallowing her worries, Elli opened the door, to find the Clinic having been completely renovated. Instead of the pearly white interior Elli had been expecting, she found it looked more modern. The sofas were a dark green velvet material, and the floor was tan with an Oriental rug spread across most of it. The blue curtains had been removed, and in its place was an off white wall.

A city girl had her feet propped on the nurse's desk, and Elli instinctively opened her mouth to reprimand her, when she remembered she didn't have the authority to. The girl looked up from filing her perfect nails, and she flipped her blonde hair.

"Can I, like, help you?" She asked snottily, raising her nose at the pair. Elli almost forgot why she had gone there.

"My grandmother, Ellen, is here, and Stu got a message to come." Elli explained slowly.

"That's, like, totally Doctor Sprig's business." The girl rolled her eyes. A young man who looked to be only a few years older than Elli, poked his head out from behind the wall.

"I heard my name." He offered, before seeing Stu and Elli. For a moment, he seemed stunned, but he pasted on a smile and continued warmly. "You must be Stu. I don't believe we've met before, Miss…?"

Elli froze. Could she trust the man that had a blood relation to her insane, love sick, stalker?

"We're here to see my grandma." Stu butt in timely, and Elli, relieved, managed a smile.

"Ellen, right?" Doctor Sprig seemed to have forgotten his unanswered question, since he didn't pester them with it. Maybe Doctor had just been different from his brother. Maybe Sprig was trustworthy after all. "I'm Jonathan Sprig, in case you're wondering." Jonathan added suddenly.

"Nice to meet you." Elli bowed politely, and Stu nodded.

"Ellen is upstairs." A lump rose in Elli's throat. She had left all of her belongings in her room. What would have become of them? Almost afraid, Elli followed her brother and Jonathan upstairs, and into the second room, her old one.

Elli was relieved to see that the desk was still in place, and a few random belongings were scattered, but none that were hers. But, on the wall, was a photo that Doctor had taken of her before he had become obsessive. Elli managed to suppress a gasp, but she looked the same in the photo as she did now, and surely Jonathan would see the similarity.

"I notice you have your eye on that picture." Jonathan said casually. "It's of a girl who moved to Sea Salt Village. My brother is bent on marrying her, but she's taken. He was always stubborn. I pity her." Jonathan shook his head sadly, but Elli was still skeptical. It was easy to lie.

"Oh," Elli responded. Ellen was lying in the bed. "How is she?" Elli gestured to her grandma.

"For a while, it wasn't looking too good." Jonathan admitted. "But she's doing much better now." Elli sighed.

"That's wonderful." Stu yelled, clapping his hands.

"Shush, now." Jonathan laughed. "He's a handful. My brother mentioned that that girl, Elli, would sometimes complain about him. I wish I could have met Elli. She sounds nice, you know?" Maybe Jonathan hadn't figured it out, after all.

Elli didn't respond. What could she say? "When will Ellen be able to return home?"

"Hopefully, soon. But to speed up the recovery process, I would suggest visiting her often." Jonathan suggested mildly, shrugging. "I believe that seeing a familiar face might help."

"Thank you. Stu, we'd better go." Elli called, and Stu left his place by his grandmother's bedside and followed his older sister. There was silence between them as they returned home.

Elli had been swept back to the past by Jonathan's warm tone. After all, she had met him as a young girl, right after she met Jay.

"Elli!" Jonathan yelled, chasing after a younger Elli. She giggled, and pushed him away. "My brother really likes you."

"Really?" Elli seemed intrigued. Elli wouldn't know about Doctor's obsessive ness until she was older. She just thought of him as a friend who spent too much time with one person.

"Do you like him?" Jonathan asked, cocking his head.

"As a friend," Elli replied. Later, she visited Doctor, seeing him slightly different.

"Doctor, do you like me?" Elli asked bluntly and he seemed to be taken aback by the question.

"Yeah. Who wouldn't? You're so nice, and pretty." Doctor confessed. "You are the only one I could ever care for."

Doc had remained true to his word. No matter how beautiful someone who came into town was, he only had his eyes on Elli. Love drove him to the brink of insanity, just like love had driven Elli and Jay to break the rules and get married early.

A strange feeling of sadness enveloped her. Had she made the right choice? No on in Mineral Town thought of her the same way, except for Stu, and people avoided her. It was a lonely existence, and while Elli had been hoping for a warm welcome, she should have known better. She had broken the rules, and the people would undoubtedly hold that against her.

Elli shook her head. What was she thinking? Would staying in Mineral Town have helped her? She knew for a fact that marrying Doc was never an option. She had done the right thing, in her mind.

"Elli?" It was Sasha, who was leaving the Poultry Farm as Elli passed by on her way home. "You looked troubled."

"Oh no, I'm fine." Elli lied quickly. There was no need to trouble Sasha with this.

"Welcome back, Elli. How's Ellen?" Jay asked, pausing from watering the crops.

"Better. But Doctor Sprig says we should visit often." Repeating Jonathan's words, they seemed strange. Jay noticed it as well.

"Visit often?" Jay repeated.

"That's what he said." Elli replied uncomfortably.

"Does he know who you are?"

"Thanks to Stu, no." Elli responded.

"Good. But maybe it's best that only Stu should watch her. You can't get dragged into that." Jay told her.

Elli could feel her temper rising. How could he say that? Ellen was her grandmother too!

"Are you saying that Stu should bear this alone? I can't believe you! You were the one who saved me from the Doctor in the first place! You of all people should understand what it's like to feel alone!" Elli yelled hotly.

Jay frowned. "Do you want Doctor to find out where you are? Sprig is probably helping him! Do you want to endanger everyone?" Jay argued. "You need to watch what you do! Somebody's going to let it slip."

"Do you even know what you're saying? That my little brother should bear his dying grandma alone? Have you ever lost anyone close to you?" Elli demanded.

"Yes." Jay replied quietly. "My parents." Elli opened her mouth to say more, but Jay cut her off. "Go see your precious grandma; I can see she matters more than I do, or than our child does."

Turning on his heel, Jay stormed into the farmhouse, slamming the door in spite. Tears stung Elli's eyes.

What had she done?

A/N: Julie: Happy birthday! Count this as part of your gift:) I'm kidding, don't worry.

I hope you like how it's come out so far, faithful readers! KLS