"Fuck, we forgot you were out there, man." Rocks told Elle.
This fleeting attempt to defend his friend backfired on him big-time.
Elle turned her gold flecked eyes towards him, they narrowed.
As soon as she had turned her focus to him, Rocks felt guilt dive into his stomach.
"Don't kick me." He said in his best peace making tone while he backed away from the young woman glaring at him. Her angry eyes made him want to look away, but he didn't dare. Instead he stood before her, drawing his shoulders upward, preparing himself for an assault.
"I told you to stay in the car." Ed barked.
Rocks closed his eyes. It was almost painful knowing how much worse Ed had just made things for himself. Ed seemed to of realized it too because his tone changed slightly, he made an attempt to do a quick verbal U-turn.
"…Until we came to get you- OW, stop kicking me!"
Backtracking never worked much with Elle.
Rocks gave his friend a sympathetic look, all the while thinking 'better you than me, man'.
Ed glared, and backed away as Rocks had.
Elle stared at her brother for a few moments, frustrated and not breathing. Finally after several seconds her breath came out in one short puff, it blew a wet string of hair out of her eyes. Slowly she took a couple steps backward until she was standing next to King. Her eyes drifted towards the tall man beside her and she suddenly looked embarrassed.
Rocks' eyebrows twitched upward, was Elle blushing?
"Why did you leave her in the car?" Kevin asked suddenly, swiveling on his stool towards Ed. The portly man looked thoroughly confused as get began to light a fresh cigarette.
"So she wouldn't get hurt." Ed responded bitterly.
"Well, that plan worked out well." King's voice was laced with open sarcasm. He tilted his head to the side slightly towards Elle.
The look that Ed gave King could have neutered a dog.
"If she had stayed in the car, it would have." Ed stated.
"Unless the dude, you know, smashed through the windshield and then tried to strangle her to death, man." Rocks said, moving his hands around as though acting out the entire horrific scene. He immediately regretted having his hands held up in front of himself as though strangling someone when he saw Elle's reaction.
Her soft eyes had widened and her lips hung open ever so slightly. It was an expression of absolute alarm.
One thing ran through Rocks' mind and that one thing was that he was a stupid dick-face.
"Stop traumatizing her." Ed warned, smacking his friend in the arm.
Rocks ran his hand through his short brown hair. His chocolate eyes flickered between Elle and Ed, who stood on opposite sides of the medical room. He held up his other hand in silent surrender.
"It's not his fault." Elle defended, shifting her weight from one foot to another.
"No, it's yours." Ed said quickly. "You got out of the car."
Rocks sighed, these two would still be arguing about this in thirty years.
Ed glared at Elle.
Elle looked the other way silently.
Ed scowled and rapped his knuckles aggressively on the counter.
Rocks watched them carefully from where he stood as did King and Kevin. He had an advantage over the other two men however, because Rocks knew how the fight would play out, he'd seen far too many of them in the past not to.
Elle would have a small outburst on occasion, much like that of a five year olds. She'd kick her brother or smack him in the head with a grapefruit from a great distance when she was furious with him before running off.
Rocks was grateful Elle's child like tantrums were reserved exclusively for her brother. Sometimes however he would have preferred the kicking to the silent treatment he was currently receiving. Though he was a man who not fond of physical pain reasonably would not try to mess with the balance of things.
Ed was the kind to make the first truly aggressive move. He would be the one who would turn things around so he looked right and she looked wrong, no matter the nature of the disagreement.
Elle had the perfect counter attack though, because it wasn't an attack at all, it was a simple non communicative punishment. She just wouldn't speak to people who truly upset her, she would not go as far to ignore their existence. She would still cook them breakfast and pack them lunches, she would do something if someone asked, but she just would not speak to them until she had forgiven them. It wouldn't have been as bad if she was silent for only an hour or so, but that was not the case. The girl was stubborn and would go days without saying a word. It made both Ed and Rocks furious when she did so.
In Rocks' mind few things more sense than the relationships between brothers and sisters…other than the relationship between cats and dogs. Still… he knew how to diffuse the situation.
"Elle?" Rocks asked. "Sorry we forgot you…"
Elle tilted her head towards him slightly.
Rock's gave her an expression which made him resemble a guilty puppy who had just piddled on the carpet. Elle could never stay made at him when he made that expression.
He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and lifted his shoulders into a shrug as if to say 'go ahead, smack me with the newspaper, I deserve it.'
"It's okay." Elle responded softly, a forgiving pout on her lips. Now she focused her attention on the rip in her dress; her fingertips encircled the tear in the fabric. Through the hole in the wet cloth he could see small patch of her pale thigh.
Rocks swallowed, looked away, and then back and found himself staring at her calves, then at her bandaged knees. His gaze traveled upward more to where her hands lifted her skirt just a few inches above her thigh so she could toy with the cloth.
"What are you doing?" King asked suddenly.
Rock's head snapped to the man beside Elle and for a moment he was sure someone was going to shank him in defense of Elle's honor. Quickly however he noticed everyone's eyes were not on him, instead they focused on a new face.
"What's going on?" Asked the small girl, no older than eleven was standing behind Rocks in the doorways had asked
"Grown up stuff." Kevin said, putting his cigarette out on the bottom of his sneaker.
Rocks scratched at the heat on the back of his neck and looked down. He felt like an absolute pervert suddenly for gawking at his friend's sister. He needed to get laid, and soon otherwise no woman would be safe from his eyes, even Elle, but when had she become a woman again?
"Shouldn't you be sleeping kiddo?" King asked.
"Shouldn't you be killing vampires?" The girl responded in a cranky tone. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and then stared up at Rocks.
"This is Zoe, she's cranky when she wakes up." King informed everyone. "And when you drink her last juice box."
"Who was screaming?" Zoe demanded, still staring at Rocks.
"Me." Elle said, stepping forward sheepishly.
"Are you okay?" The girl inquired, turning her attention to Elle. She padded barefoot into the room.
Elle nodded.
"Was it a vampire?"
Elle shook her head no.
"Okay." The girl said, seeming momentarily satisfied. She then looked up her nose at the older girl, an air of authority about her. "Who are you?"
"I'm Elle. That's my big brother…Ed."
Rocks couldn't help but smirk, it seemed as though Elle had found a new friend, someone on her level.
"I thought I heard you." Abby said from behind Zoe.
"Busted." King sang.
"Damn it." Zoe muttered.
"No swearing." Abby said. "You need to go back to bed."
"Why? You're all up." The child asked.
"I'm tired though." Elle said, rubbing her knee.
"Me too, and if you don't get in your bed I'll go get in it." King stated, lifting his eyebrows in utmost sincerity. "And I have to fart."
Silently Elle took a sideways step away from King, she hoped no one noticed this. King did, and he smirked.
"Ugh." Zoe seemed to cringe at the thought of her bed smelling like King's farts for a few weeks. "I'll go…" She pushed herself off of the couch and padded across the room and down the hall, Abby joined her. "Why does his farts stink so bad?"
"So deaf people can enjoy them too." King called to Zoe.
Elle just couldn't help it, she grinned up at the large scruffy man beside her.
An alarm went off in Ed's head. His eyes flickered from King to Elle, from Elle back to King. His nostrils flared slightly, his shoulders squared. He could practically see little hearts floating up around Elle's head as she gazed at King with utmost adoration.
"We need to go." He announced suddenly, crossing the room and grabbing his sister's elbow gruffly.
"Really?" Kevin asked, he seemed disappointed.
"Yes." Ed replied shortly.
"What about saving the world?" Rocks asked.
"What?" Elle squeaked.
"Another night." Ed stated.