Chapter 3: Crimson Tears of Regret
"Ellie, wait up!"
The young teen smiled when she heard the familiar voice. Ellie turned around to see Craig but her excitement quickly faded when she saw Manny Santos walking besides him.
Oh God, please let a bus hit her...
Unfortunately for Ellie, the two made it to her.
"Hey Ellie, how's it going?" Manny asked her excitedly.
Ellie Nash plastered a fake smile on her porcelain face and then turned to Craig.
"So El, what are your plans for later? Manny and I were going to go hang out at the mall."
Ellie looked back at Manny, imagining her head blowing up in her mind.
"You know, Craig. I'd love to except...I have a load of homework I have to do." Ellie lied.
"But Ellie –"
Ellie started to back away. "Call me later, alright?"
She gentle placed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"Bye..."
She knew he was disappointed but there was no way Ellie would be able to put up with Manny. She had trouble putting up with the wench since junior high.
She started to walk home when she realized that Ellie would have work in only a few hours.
"It's so not worth it to go home." She replied to no one in particular.
She looked around the school parking lot, hoping to find a ride. No such luck. Ellie walked for about ten minutes until she heard a car behind her.
"Are you stalking me?" Ellie asked, looking at the person she least expected.
"Yeah, I'm stalking you. Get in the car, Nash. I'll drive you wherever you need to go." Alex Nuñez replied as she stopped the car.
It was totally out of Alex's character to offer a ride to anyone, but there was no way in hell that Ellie would turn it down.
"Take me to The Dot, Alex. I have to work my shift."
"Three until nine? Are you some sort of night owl or something, Nash?" Alex asked as she turned the corner.
"I need the money. Of course, it would help if my mom stopped spending it all on alcohol..." Ellie replied, rolling her eyes.
She wasn't aware that she had let one of her secrets slip of her tongue, nor did she care. Whenever she was around Alex, she felt comfortable telling her anything. For some reason, Ellie got a small feeling that she could relate to her in some way.
"At least you see your mother."
"Please Alex; I might as well not see her at all. It's like she's never really there. She spends most of her day passed out on the couch."
"Did she ever try getting help?" Alex asked curiously, glancing quickly in Ellie's direction after stopping at a stop light.
There was a short pause before she spoke up.
"She did. My mom went to rehab for four weeks. She promised me she'd stop drinking. Of course she continued to drink, though..." Ellie confessed, looking down.
Alex sighed. "Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. I forced Jay to go to rehab a while ago, but I know that he sneaks liquor breaks every now and then. I love him, for some bizarre reason."
"Why don't you dump him? He obviously loves his booze more than you." The teen said lightly.
Alex shrugged. "I don't know, Nash. He hasn't stepped his boundaries yet, and until he does, I'm sticking by his side." She parked her car in front of the coffee shop.
"That was a cheerful ride, eh? Get out."
Ellie got out and headed towards the door. "Are you coming in?"
Alex shook her head and put on her denim jacket. "No, I'm working at the movie theatre around the corner. I get out around the same time as you so I figured I'd take you home. Hey Nash, you should work with me at the movie theater."
Ellie almost laughed. "I'll pass on that one. Me and hot butter do not go together. I'll see you later."
The two said their goodbyes and parted their separate ways.
Ellie walked into the shop, aware that she was five minutes late.
"I don't care that you're late, Ellie. Just get working..." her boss scolded as she entered the door.
Ellie agreed and was able to serve five customers before her clumsiness kicked in. In the six hours she worked, she successfully dropped and broke ten cups, two plates and accidentally spilled coffee all over the front of her shirt. It wasn't until she spilled coffee on one of the customers when her boss had decided to fire her.
"Oh God, please Jess. I need this job more than you can imagine. Please don't fire me." Ellie begged her boss.
"I'm sorry, Ellie but this isn't the first time you've been accident prone. I can't afford to lose any more customers."
Finally, Ellie gave in and then headed to the bathroom to change her clothes, small tears escaping her eyes. She had gotten most of her normal clothes when she looked at her naked arms. Old scars could barely be seen and she had been clean for about a month.
"No, Ellie. Don't do it. You've quit. You promised Craig you wouldn't hurt yourself anymore."
Yeah, right. Easier said than done. Cutting's an addiction and once you start, it's hard to stop.
Her fingers had won the fight with her mind when Ellie took the box cutter that
conveniently rested on the sink.
"God, Nash...you're such a coward. Forgive me, Craig..."
With that, Ellie took the box cutter and made an incision on her forearm. She winced in pain as crimson blood seeped through her broken skin.
Ellie walked out of the shop just in time to see Alex start up her car. She got in and hid her arms in her hoodie and looked at Alex.
"Alex, I think I'll take you up on that job at the theater..."