A Moment with Her

Goodbye Elia

Elias felt bad. He felt so bad that he couldn't help but throw up into his toilet because of the stress. He hated the way he reacted, and he hated the way he spoke to her. The words he said were cruel and cold. He had to make it right if nothing else in his life he could at least try to make this right.

Elias texted her he needed help with the project (which was true) and if she was available to Face Time him. 

'That's good, shell respond right?' He asked himself. 

'What if she doesn't answer or if she went to bed early? but then he heard a bing from his phone?

Ripley:

Yeah, I'm free.

Relief broke out across his chest.

Elia:

Okay! I'll call you In a minute.

Then he opened the tab on his computer and began calling her. Not even a second passes when she picks up. Her hair was wet and combed back and was wearing an oversized black T-shirt and thick-rimmed glasses. If she wasn't upset with him, he would have told her she looked cute.

Ripley remained silent with her brows slightly furrowed. 

"Hey, so I have a question on this problem..."

After helping him on the project he made sure to type away into his google slides, she then asked;

"So is that all?" by this time her mood had lightened but only by a bit.

"Um, I have something I want to say to you,"

Ripley crosses her arms and stares at him through the screen as she waits for another poor excuse.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that you had to see that side of me. I'm sorry that you had to hear those words and see my anger. I'm sorry that after saying sorry all these times I still mess up."

Ripley stares at him for a moment before saying.

"Are you though? Are you sorry? or are you just saying that to make yourself feel better?"

"What?" He asked in disbelief.

"I feel you have a lot of things you have to sort out before we continue with this friendship. I also suggest that you express whatever you need to with Sarah and Jason because you're all becoming so toxic that it's even affecting the surrounding people".

Elia's felt uncomfortable at her words, and then she continued.

"Elias, I will not push you away because you're going through something, but I also have to take care of myself. You need time to go through this part of your life and the additional stress is making you act cruel. Elias I don't enjoy being yelled at and it hurt me when you said you couldn't stand the sight of me… but maybe you were right-"

"No, wait" Elias interrupted "What I said was wrong. I was mad at the fact that you had to learn about one of the worst things I have ever done and I'm still so ashamed by it, but now I know that you were just trying to watch out for me."

"No, Elia you listen to me. I mean what I said I'm not anyone's therapist I refuse to be that for anyone. If you need a friend that's fine but I'm just a senior in Highschool going through things just like everyone else and I refuse to have people take advantage of that especially when I myself am in such a situation".

He was scared. He wasn't pleased with what she said but he knew that him being vulnerable was the only way to reach the truth from himself. The entire time she spoke he knew what he was going to tell her but that did not stop the small voice from the back of his head kept telling him to 'Never share this'. But he wanted to share this piece of his life with her. 

"I just feel like I'm always disappointing the people around me and when I'm with you it's like all my secrets come out. I mean I've told you thing's I don't even tell my therapist" He said with a shaky voice as he held back his emotions.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because he will think I'm unstable and I don't want to go through that".

"What if it helps?" She asked.

"What If they lock me away and I never get out?" he cried.

"Your feelings are valid and even though I don't know the complete story, It sounds to me that the guilt Is eating you up. So wouldn't it help if you say what was bothering you?"

He looked up and thought about what she had said. The funny thing is his parents have been telling him the same thing, but it wasn't until she said that it had made sense. Then he forced out a humorless laugh;

"I thought you hated me?"

"I wouldn't hate you," She blurted.

"Sarah hates me".

"That's true" She agreed.

"How am I supposed to talk to her without her slamming me against the locker again?"

"The what?!" Ripley shrieked.

Elia's ears perked up. 

"You didn't know?"

" When did this happen?"

"Friday…"

"and? is there an, and Elias?" She said panicked.

"There are a few things that she does".

Ripley's hands flutter to her chest as pain formed across her face. 

"Have you told anyone?" Se whispered.

"No, just you," He said softly.

"Oh, Elias did you think I knew?"

"I thought you just wanted to stay out of it…"

"Elias I would have never! That breaks my heart!" she said sympathetically.

"It's okay," He said bashfully.

There was silence between them that stretched for what seemed like an eternity before she said;

"But it's not. People shouldn't treat people that way".

Elias felt a bitter humor towards her response.

"People have always treated each other that way. You've just never seen it."

Pain spread across her face once more at the sound of his words.

"How would you know?"

"Because you're always happy and cheerful. People who are in pain aren't those things".

He said matter of factly.

"You're wrong Elias. People show pain differently. I show pain differently".

He then looked up and she began to cry. Elias began to panic 'What did I say?' he asked himself.

"You know you've told me a lot so I'll share with you something".

"I had to move here because a boy I didn't even know took a picture of me".

"A picture?" He whispered in confusion.

"It wasn't a nice picture…" She took a shaky breath before continuing "I looked like I was doing something and I wasn't, but by then it didn't matter anymore".

Despite the blurry quality on the screen, Elias didn't miss the tears flowing down her face as the painful memory brought her back to a time she rather not remember.

Elias's pain along with hers made him realize the importance of her words.

Alone and yet together… the tears of the compassionate shed in silence with only the glow of the screen illuminating that of which misery seeks a companion for.

"Goodbye Elias".

... and she hung up