Chapter 3- My Meeting With His Family

“There you are. I was wondering where you had wandered off too.” Elliot said as he came and sat  right next to me on the bed. I scooted over as I brought a hand to my chest, it felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest and start running a marathon.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I paused as it all replayed again in my thoughts,” just a weird dream.”

A wet dream where you kissed the stranger that saved you. 

“Sorry for waking you. I can leave if you want to go back to sleep.”

“No, I’m okay. Besides, I think this is your room and your bed. I’ll return it to you now,” I try to stand up on my own, but the pain from my ankle causes me to lose my balance. I fall and Elliot suddenly catches me and we both go back on the bed.

A nervous chuckle escapes me as I mentally chastise myself for being so embarrassing.

“Are you sure? It isn’t a problem.”

I nod my head and he helps me up. “Back to the couch it is.”

When we finally made it back downstairs, Elliot brought me a mug of hot cocoa with a plate of toast, bacon, and eggs.

My stomach became very vocal again once it smelled food in the perimeter. The food wasn’t on the plate very long as I ate it quickly. I looked around the living room again as I slowly sipped on my cocoa. My eyes landed on the mounted tv above the fireplace, which seeing the piece of technology, made my mind wander to the thought of my phone.

“Have you seen my phone?” I asked as I patted the couch around me, while simultaneously recalling it not being in my clothes or with me at all when I showered.

“No, I don’t think so. There isn’t any good cell service out here anyway, if that helps.” 

Shit.

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Great, I’m stranded in a small town without my cell, with a stranger I just dreamt of kissing, and my family has no idea that I almost died.

“Thank you for the food, clothes, and everything, but I think I’ve been a burden to you long enough” I say as I get up once again, limping towards what I thought was the front door.

“You’re injured, and you definitely aren’t being a burden.” Elliot steps in front of me and blocks me from the door.

“Listen,” I began sternly,” Injured or not, my family doesn’t know what happened, and I need to get back to them. So, please kindly move out of my way.”

The big burly man did not move. I tried to shove him out of the way, but the aftershock of the sudden movement caused me to crumple to the floor in pain. I let out a sharp cry as I clutched the injured appendage. Eli scooped me off the floor and brought me a few feet back to the couch.

“You’re not in any condition to leave, Tamara. Like I said, my aunt is a nurse, she can help take care of you. Stay, at least until you’re healed enough to walk properly.”

I let out a heavy sigh as I weighed my options- like I actually had an option. “Fine.”

He nodded his head triumphantly as he reached for the tv remote off of the coffee table. He turned it on and a random news station played. The news woman was reporting on the massive mudslide that swept through the area last night. Elliot left me to rest and watch tv while he fucked off to some other part of his house I hadn’t seen yet. I ended up dozing off again, no weird dream this time, thankfully.

I woke up to the front door opening. A brown haired woman in a pair of blue scrubs stood in the doorway as she stared at me, confused. Two children, a boy and a girl, stood behind her, equally confused. “Shit, Aunt Viv” he muttered to himself as he quickly got up and rushed the three of them back out the door. It wasn’t until he was gone that I realized he had been cuddled up next to me on the couch.

What the fuck was that?

I heard their muffled conversation from the other side of the wall. Elliot and the woman kept going back and forth, until they stopped. Eli was the first one back inside, and the others came in behind him.

I sat up as the woman approached me, with a genuine smile on her face. “Hello, I’m Vivian, Elliot’s Aunt” she stuck her hand out and I shook it. She then gestured to the shy kids behind her. They had brown hair like her, but she had green eyes and the children had blue. They looked to be about ten or eleven years old. “These are my twins, Skylar and Brandon.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you!” I greet Elliot's cousins sweetly.

“Hi” They both said in unison. They giggled and then ran off upstairs. Vivian made her way to, presumably the kitchen, set the groceries in her hands down.

“How’s the ankle?” She asked, returning to the living room. She sat on the couch adjacent to this one.

“Hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“Yeah, I expected that. I picked up some acetaminophen from the store for you. I’ll get it for you right now.

“Thanks” I said, grabbing the cup of water and pills she brought. I happily took the drugs and waited for them to kick in.

Eli and Vivian engaged in conversation as they cooked dinner in the kitchen. Some old paranormal show called Fringe was playing on the tv. I was half way tuned into the plot of the episode and half way trying to listen to what Elliot and his aunt were talking about. While Elliot did save me, fed and clothed me, and is offering me shelter, I don’t really know what kind of person he is. Or his aunt for that matter. I had to be on high alert around these people, I was incapacitated and vulnerable.

The sounds of Skylar and Brandon playing upstairs kinda snapped me out of my paranoia. If I was in a house full of murderers, would those adorable little children be so happy? Not to mention, I feel really safe with Elliot. I dunno, now that I think about it, I feel like maybe I belong here or something.

“Dinner is ready you little gremlins!” Elliot yelled playfully up the stairs.

The twins came barreling down the stairs acting like little monsters, playfully growling at Eli. He growled back as he chased them around the living room and into the other room. A contagious laughter filled the air from beyond the walls and I couldn’t help but chuckle and laugh at the silliness. I admired the way he had with kids.

Elliot returned a moment later and helped me to my feet. He walked me to the gorgeous dining room which was connected to the kitchen. It was decent sized and was full of nice stainless steel appliances. The cabinets matched the ones in the bathroom, there was an island with fancy black bar stools, and granite countertops. The floor in the kitchen was tile, but hardwood flooring in the dining room. The table was a lighter shade of oak and the chairs looked fancy and comfortable at the same time. Elliot led me to the seat next to his. Waiting for me was a freshly tossed salad and a cheeseburger. 

My doubts were washed away as I ate and conversed with his family. Vivian is such a sweetheart and loving mother. She works as a nurse at the local hospital while the kids go to the local middle school. Skylar and Brandon are twelve and are in the sixth grade. Skylar loves to play soccer and Brandon likes to draw. Turns out that Elliot is the same age as me, nineteen, and inherited his dad’s printing shop so that’s what he does for work. The whole family loves the outdoors, and after the kids were put to bed, we talked about a plethora of camping adventure stories for like an hour, avoiding the previous day since it was still a sore subject for me. I shudder just thinking about how close I came to being mincemeat. Those eyes will haunt my dreams.

Elliot gave me a proper tour of his house before going to sleep. The two rooms next to him are the twin’s rooms. Vivian sleeps in the room next to what used to be Eli’s dad's study. He didn’t talk about his parents a lot during dinner, but I got the gist of the situation. Vivian and Elliot’s family have all lived together in the house since before he was born, so they were all very close. I can understand why it would be a hard topic to discuss with a stranger like me. I didn’t divulge into my family life, so I didn’t expect him to either.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in my room? I can gladly take the couch.” Elliot offered before heading to bed for the night.

“Yeah, besides I’m on painkillers and getting up and down the stairs is a hassle in and of itself sober.”

He shrugged before handing me another pillow. “Put this one under your leg, keep it elevated.” I complied and put the pillow under my now bandaged ankle. 

“Good night Elliot, and thanks again for everything.” I said softly after yawning. 

“Night Tamara.”

I let the ambient sounds of the night life in the forest outside guide me to sleep. It was tough getting to sleep being in an unfamiliar place, the other times being from sheer exhaustion, my racing mind didn’t help much either, but I eventually drifted off.

I was back in the forest, but everything was darker than I remembered. My teeth chattered together as my body became cold. A branch snapped behind me and I took off. I passed by my green tent, and then the pink strips of plastic I’d tied to the trees. I passed the tent again, same with the pink strips. It was like I was running on a treadmill, not going anywhere. I looked back again and saw the mud coming right for me. My body froze in place and I couldn’t move. Powerless to avoid the wave of mud, rocks, and other debris, my lungs burned as they filled with mud. After I drowned, I was back in the forest again, the same as before. The branch snapped, and again I was running. 

I ran, ran, ran again, and then ran some more, all the while the monster chasing me grew closer and closer. I tripped again and came face to face with those menacing yellow eyes again. My body yet again froze as the feral animal inched its way closer to me. A fang filled smile showed on its black face, and then it pounced on me.

A loud gasp passed my lips as I was woken up out of my nightmare. I jumped when I looked up to see a dark silhouette standing over me, with what looked like glowing blue eyes.