Clare signed. He was falling apart right in front of her. She couldn't help but think about how strong and guarded Eli was when she first met him. She couldn't believe that he was the same boy. Clare wished she could hold him. She wished she could wrap her tiny arms around his body and comfort him. But she couldn't. After all he was just a spirit.

"It doesn't have to hurt, Eli. If you tell me, I can help you." All Clare wanted was for Eli to believe her. She meant what she said.

"What do you mean help me?" Eli questioned.

"Do you want to stay like this forever Eli? Do you want to be a lost spirit anymore?" Clare looked at him.

Eli starred down at his transparent body. She knew the answer to her own question. Clare knew he didn't want to be a ghost anymore. He never wanted to be a ghost. But she needed him to say it. Out loud.

"No. I don't want to be like this anymore." Eli said. He looked up and met Clare's gaze.

"I can help you Eli. We can figure out why you're stuck on Earth. I can save you Eli. But you need to trust me." Clare said.

She saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"I'm not your parents Eli. I'm not going to push you. I'm not going to make you be someone you're not. I'm not going to hurt you. Ever. In order for me to help you though, Eli you have to trust me." Clare pleaded. She walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Eli turned around so he could face her.

"I have a hard time trusting people Clare. It's not…easy for me to do. So many people have hurt me. I've just trained myself not to trust." Eli said honestly.

"You trusted me with your notebook." Clare said.

"That's different. That's a notebook." Eli's eyes wondered the ground. Where his black journal sat in Clare's back pack.

Clare shook her head. "It's not different, Eli. That notebook is a part of you. It holds your stories, your life." She reached down and pulled out the leather coved notebook. "You poured your soul into this Eli. And I know you know I'm right. You must have trusted me a little to have let me read your journal. I know you must have. But now. Now you have to trust all of me."

Eli closed his eyes.

"Please." Clare whispered.

Eli stayed still what seemed like eternity to Clare. His body was stiff and his eyes stay shut. He looked as though he was deep in thought. It was as though he and Clare were in a war and he was internally debating his next move. Keep fighting or surrender? If he kept fighting he could live on as he is. He would never have to talk about his death. He would never have to face his fears of reliving that night. But if he waved his white flag and surrendered. Clare could save him.

That's all he wanted from the beginning. From the first time that he realized he truly was a ghost, all Eli wanted was to be saved. And here his savior sat. In front of him, asking him to trust her, offering her help. He needed her. He didn't want to admit it out loud. But, he truly needed her.

Eli opened his eyes. His green eyes look scared and nervous.

"I've never…told anyone about that night. And to my knowledge, neither have the people who were involved. So only two other people I know what happened that night Clare. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone. Not your mom. Not Adam. Not KC." Eli said. Clare bit her lip. Eli almost sounded jealous of KC. She quickly shook that thought out of her head. Right now was all about Eli. Not KC. Eli.

"I promise Eli." Clare said.

Eli signed. "I trust you." His words sent a ripple of joy down Clare's back.

"Thank you." She said.

Eli ran a hand through his hair. He pulled at his inky, black hair.

He was going to tell someone about what happened. He was actually going to relive that night. He was going to see the blood again. Feel the pain again. Hear the screams once more. He took a deep breath. This was going to be a very long night.

"You don't have to tell me now Eli. We can do this tomorrow. Or even the day after that. Whenever you're ready to tell me. I'll be ready to listen." Clare smiled warmly.

Eli shook his head. "I'm ready. It's better just to rip the bandage off, right?" He tried to lighten the serious mood that hung between the two.

Clare politely chuckled. "I suppose." She answered.

Eli lied down on Clare's bed. He patted the area next to him, motioning her to lie down. She granted his wish and lied down next to him. She turned on her side so that she faced him. One hand tucked under her pillow to support her head. The other lay flat against her bed spread.

Eli stayed quiet for a moment. He moved slightly on the bed. His hand reached for Clare's. He intertwined their fingers. Her hand stayed on the bed while Eli's white mass hovered over hers. Pale against transparent. Clare couldn't feel friction between the two hands. But she could see the gesture. And that was all that mattered.

As Eli began to speak, Clare closed her eyes. She started to picture the scene that Eli was setting. The large office. His father ignoring Eli as he tries to talk to him. The raised voices and yelling of the two males fill her head. Clare feels herself falling into Eli's world.

Eli walked down the hallways of his house. His fists were stuffed in his pocket. All he really wanted to do was punch something. The wall. The floor. Anything. But his father would hear it and yell at him again. Complain about him being difficult again. Eli didn't want that. There is only so much verbal abuse a kid could take in one day.

"Elijah!" He heard his mother yell from down the hall. Her heels clanked against the wood floor as she walked quickly down the hallway after him. Eli didn't stop walking. He insisted on ignoring his mother. If his parents could ignore him, he should be able to ignore them. His mother caught up to him. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and brought him to a halt.

"I heard you and your father yelling. What happened?" She questioned. Eli shook his head. "It was nothing. Just a…it was nothing." He said.

"You know how he is Elijah. His house, his rules." Eli's mother said. Eli sighed.

"I know. Can you let go of my wrist now?" Eli looked at the tight grip his mother hand on him. She released his hand.

"Thank you." He mumbled before walking into his room and shutting his door.

He needed to leave. He couldn't live under his father roof He couldn't be a prisoner of his own house anymore.

Eli opened his closet and pulled out a bag. He shoved a few pairs of clothes, a book, and money into it.

He made up his mind. He was going to run away. He pulled out a sheet of paper from a school notebook that lied forgotten on the ground. He scribbled a note to Felicity on it. Saying that he loved her, but he had to get away from his parents. He placed the note on his bed and quickly looked around the room, making sure he had everything that he needed.

Without a second glace he opened his bedroom window and climb down the fire escape. Into the cold February afternoon, he walked. Never looking back at the grand house he's live in for his entire life.

Eli was about two blocks from Goldsworthy Manor when he realized that he left his notebook in his desk down in his room. But he decided that he didn't need it. That notebook held his old life. And now he was on his way to a new life. So he would just have to start a new journal.

Eli stopped by the bookstore and he stopped by the park. He felt free. He didn't have to worry about being late to dinner. He didn't have to worry about his father yelling at him for spending to much time at the bookstore. He was on his own time now. No on told him what to do. He was Elijah Christopher Goldsworthy, the independent.

He stayed at the park for awhile. Until the sky began to darken. He decided that he's better start walking again. So he did. He pasted house and buildings that he's grown up seeing. He mentally said goodbye to them. He was going as far away from Emprieville as humanly possible.

He started to walk past the Empireville woods, but them he heard a voice.

"What are you doin' out so late, Goldsworthy?"

Eli rolled his eyes. Just his luck.

Tyler Hamilton emerged from the woods.

I actually liked how that chapter came out. Hmm. (:

So author's notes can be used as harmless advertisement right? Okay.

I wrote an oneshot. It's called "Mannerisms Of A Fifteen Year Old Boy"

Please read it and tell me what you think (:

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