My Stolen Jewel

an old friend (Elli's POV)

TRIGGER WARNING! ⚠️ MENTIONS OF ABUSE AND SELF HARM AHEAD! ⚠️

We finally reached Lana's house, which was bigger in person than what I've seen in photos.

The plants that surrounded the place were probably taller than my 5'9 self. We walked to the gate where Lana let us in.

"Okay, come inside! I HAVE to tell everyone y'all are here!" She smiled and directed us to the door.

The room inside held only a few people, but it was enough to call it a party.

"Guess who pulled up!" Lana shrieked.

When I tell you, everyone in that room was shook as hell...but then again, it's been a few years. And we're damn celebrities now.

"Hi everyone!" I waved, being friendly.

"Hi Elli!"
Hey guys!"
"Hiii!"
"Oh, shit, it's Elli!"

Everyone's voices overlapped.

"Go on! Make yourselves at home! We've got snacks over there, drinks, anything you need!" Lana said.

"Let's see who's here." Sunny jerked her head to one side, telling me we should go. So we moved across the house to the other side, where a gathering of people stood talking.

We decided to go over and introduce ourselves.

"Hi, Elli!"

I recognized three of my friends right away. Mary, a strawberry blonde haired woman with green eyes, Cam, a brown haired guy with freckles and amber eyes, and Annie, a small Hispanic woman with long, black curly hair and dark brown eyes.

"I'll leave you guys to socialize. I swear I saw one of my best friends just walk by." Sunny said, walking away.

"Yeah, and so Sunny came and found us- ow!" Something bumped into me. I turned over and saw a light brown, fluffy haired boy behind me. I couldn't catch his face though. He was looking at the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" He kept apologizing.

"Hey. It's fine, it is, rea-" His face turned to me and I recognized him.

Noah Woodson, one of my bestest friends from high school.

Usually funny and confident, he seemed more frantic and apologetic than usual. His hazel eyes were slightly dewy with tears and I could feel his fear radiate from his body.

"Noah?"

"E-Elli?"

There was a pause.

I didn't like the way he looked at me. His hazel eyes were wide with fear, and I saw bruise and cut marks on his arms.

He's never apologetic.

Never.

The bruises were my main concern. Blacks and blues covered his soft skin.

Someone raised a weapon to this poor boy.

"We need to talk." I said in a calm voice, trying not to scare the already traumatized Noah.

I told my friends that I was gonna go talk with Noah and I directed him to an area in the room that was far away from everyone.

"What's going on, are you okay? Because last time I checked, you never apologize like that." I asked.

And almost immediately, my head started throbbing.

I slammed my hand against the wall to keep myself up. I had received a mental image of Noah crying and a black haired, tall man screaming at him. I also heard faint male screams.

"Elli, Elli!" I heard Noah cry.

I opened my eyes and Sunny and Lana were beside him.

"Babe, what happened?" Sunny shrieked.

"A mental image...it was really strong.." I groaned. The throbbing in my head lessened.

Once I could focus, I straightened up.

"It's my fault...we were talking and I think I transmitted something to him." Noah sighed.

I could see him fidget.

"No, damn it, it's not your fault! It's fine." I spat. I could feel my teal eyes cloud with anger, but also pain.

He flinched.

Crap, crap, crap. Why'd you do that, Elli?

I myself could relate to him. And I knew Sunny could.

I calmed down.

He probably didn't like yelling now, either.

"Listen, Noah. None of this is your damn fault. It happens to me. When I receive an image like that, it's a lot to take in."

"Like what?" Sunny asked.

I whispered what I saw into her ear and she got the memo immediately.

"Elli, can I talk to you? Privately?" Noah asked. Sunny nodded and walked away. Lana showed us to a soundproof room upstairs where no one could hear us.

"No one can hear you. Ells, if anything goes wrong, tell me." Lana pointed at me and shut the door.