Don't Forget To Tell Them; I Was The Warmest Place On Earth; And You Left Me Freezing
The next morning was... warm. Elle woke up to a nice, soft beat, playing outside the bedroom door. She was a little confused at first, but she opened it to find Derek dancing with Spencer. He twirled the boy around, and they giggled like little kids. It was the purest thing the woman had ever seen, but it all came crumbling down, when she felt a weirdly familiar presence surrounding her.
Guilt... Shame... Fear.
She looked around, trying to find the source of her unwanted feelings, finding a certain pull towards the door. Run was all she could think, but her feet were sent in place, and she was frozen. She couldn’t move, couldn’t get out of this agonizing situation, barely able to breath. And as the door swung open, she fell lifelessly on the floor. As her body hit the wooden tiles her eyes snapped open.
It was just a dream, she told herself. “You’re ok, it was just a bad dream!” She whispered under her breath, getting out of bed, not missing the tics on the clock informing her of the time. 5:27 am.
She walked out of Spencer’s room to find the boy sleeping on the couch, holding onto a pillow for dear life as a blanket was poorly draped across his legs. She adjusted the fabric so it covered Spencer’s entire body. She removed his hair from where it was spread all over his forehead, and tucked it neatly behind his year instead.
She pressed her lips to his forehead and held it there for a few seconds. She pulled away from the kiss moments later, holding back tears- not paying attention to the man sleeping in front of her, but the boy she lost.
“I’m so sorry!” She broke down, “I’m sorry baby, we will find you, ok?! We’ll save you! I’ll save you!” Her mind no longer seeing Spencer, she looked at Théodore like he meant the whole world to her- because he did. “I’ll bring you home, Theo, I promise! Just hand in there baby, I’m coming to get you!” She pressed her forehead to his for a moment, letting tears stream down her face, before getting back up and moving towards the kitchen.
She got herself a glass of water, and sat on the counter next to the sink. There was a faint banging sound coming from the door that was getting louder and louder by the second. At some point it got so loud, she wondered how Spencer hadn’t woken up with it yet, but as she moved to open the door, it suddenly stopped. She stared at it for a minute, confused, and opened it just in case, but she was met with an old flickering light at the end of the empty hallway, and nothing more. She sighed before closing the door, and as she turned back around, a dark figure stood behind her, and she froze once more.
The same old feelings form her nightmare came rushing back-the guilt, shame and fear-becoming all too familiar, housing themselves on an empty body, making friends with the walls on the inside, all while terrorizing her on the outside. Her body shaking in agony, as she stared at the human-like figure that had been haunting her for years. The glass of water slowly slipping out of her hand, shattering as it hit the floor-spreading the liquid all over- and she not able to move a muscle-not able to do anything but stare into the emptiness of the creature that drowned her of the feelings she longed for the most.
Spencer woke up startled to the sound of glass shattering, and when he looked at the source of the noise, she saw Elle staring straight ahead, body shaking, the mortal terror present in her eyes. He got up quickly, and ran to her, taking her shaking hands into his own, and talking her back into reality.
“Hey! Elle! I’m right here! Elle, look at me! Look at me!” He told her but the dark abyss in her eyes made him realize she was millions of miles away, tucked away in the horrors of her own head, he guided her around the broken glass, and sat her down on the couch, her steps so slow she didn’t even realize she was taking them until her body hit the sofa and she was slowly brought back down to earth.
She closed her eyes and cover her face with her hands, and they sat in a comfortable silence until she was able to explain to Spencer what had just happened.
“It started years ago- the night I-“ she cut herself off before continuing. “A few days after I shot William Lee...” she sighed, and Spencer listened attentively. “It happened occasionally, but it got worse when Lucía passed...” Spencer put his hand on her shoulder-calming down her still shaking body.
“What did you see” he asked softly.
“I- I don’t... I’m not sure... it looks human but... it has this- this darkness to it that’s too inhumane. I just feel so... alone-“ she started sobbing, “when it’s back, and I-“ she sniffed, and Spencer pulled her in for a hug.
Sure, there many reasons to be mad at her, but when you see it from her perspective... being haunted by a ghost from your past is the last burden you want to bring to you family. And maybe leaving was best thing she could’ve done.