Ellie's boyfriend kissed her goodnight and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now.
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A week before their high school graduation, Austin and Ellie parted ways with a goodnight kiss, thinking they'd be seeing each...
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When I came back downstairs after changing into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, Ellie and my brother sat at the kitchen table with half-empty bottles of beer in front of them and a full one for me.
"Thanks," I said appreciatively, and drained half of it in one go. My nerves were all over the place, knowing Ellie was here and that she wanted answers I wasn't sure I could give her.
"So dinner," my brother urged again, and I let out a sarcastic laugh. I got that he was hungry, but I wasn't sure we had any food to make.
"Can I help?" Ellie offered.
"I don't think there's much food left." I couldn't remember the last time I went food shopping.
"Yeah, I get that, but we have something, right?" my brother asked.
Normal people could order food and have it delivered, but that was not a safe thing for us to do. The less people who knew about where we live, the better.
I opened the pantry which was almost completely empty. The only items we had were a box of cereal, a couple of boxes of pasta, a half full bag of rice, a jar of pasta sauce and a pack of granola bars.
"Pasta it is," I announced and grabbed the box of penne and the jar of marinara sauce.
"That works."
I filled the pot and put it on the stove while Ellie and my brother talked about my dog and how cute he was. I totally agreed with everything they said.
"So," Ellie began when I joined them at the table, "how long have you lived in Boston?"
It surprised me that my brother answered and that he told her the truth. "About three years."
"Hm." Her bright blue eyes flickered to me for a second before they returned to him. "Where were you before that?"
"Ohio, Texas, Oregon."
"Really, Sport?" I commented. He knew it would be safer for Ellie to not know any details of our prior lives, but he just shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.
My interruption didn't deter Ellie in the least. She continued her questioning. "So when did you change your name to William?" she asked, and I felt her eyes on me as I drained the rest of the beer.
I contemplated how to answer that. I realized I needed to explain things to her. We were way past the time of me getting away with bullshit, but I still needed to keep her safe, and the less she knew, the better it was for her.
"Please," she begged when I didn't immediately respond.
I caught my brother's eyes across the table, and he gave me a subtle nod to go ahead.
"Three years ago."
Ellie flinched, and when I met her blue eyes, they were wide in shock. "But..." she blinked, "I searched for you after you left and I couldn't find Austin Johnson anywhere."
