Friday...
    5:22pm...

"You know how I said you had a nice place...?" Cush's low voice came out slow as he stared at the house in front of him. "It looked better at night."

  Elias smirked, pulling his back pack out of the back seat of Cush's car, remembering his first impression of the house. It was nothing special on the outside, mainly constructed from foundations of dust and weathered walls. It was definitely a jump down from Cush's mansion, but Elias wasn't offended. He didn't bring him there to boast.

He just needed him to see.

  Telling Cush was easy--easier than Elias would have expected. He'd only sat quietly on his bed as Eli told him everything he knew; from the club, to the Neet, to Jade, and to the forest. It took hours, yet Cush just nodded silently with each new piece of information, and it made Elias feel relieved. Telling him was the easy part. However, when the slight chuckle left his lips at the end of it, Elias knew that getting him to believe it would be a whole different story. He had thought that Elias had been making it all up and even applauded his imagination. Eli wouldn't have cared if Cush believed him or not if he didn't need him. With the traumatic experience he and Sunshine shared at Black Water, he couldn't bring himself to put anyone else through it without Cush. There was no time to draw a map or get familiar with the forest, and giving up was never an option. Therefore, Cush became the only one. After a while of Elias trying to convince him it was true, Cush's amusement had faded, leaving him with a blank expression.

  Merely telling Cush that it was all true wouldn't be enough, and to be completely honest, Elias didn't blame him. He wouldn't believe it if he weren't living it himself. Though Cush's skepticism only made him that much more determined to make him understand. With no better way to make him see, Elias invited Cush to join him for the night of the club meeting, and with a haughty grin, Cush agreed.

  Now, they were standing in front of Eli's house under the heavy hood of clouds with Cush pulling out his bag of items from his trunk and Elias pulling out his key. Making his way up the steps and onto the damp wooden porch, he unlocked the door. With a slight push of his foot, it creaked from the hinges, interrupting the soft voice in the living room. The tiny prompted head of Ava popped up from the couch, and with one swift motion, her barbies were tossed into the air as she scrambled to the floor with a thud.

"Eli!" She screamed running over, trapping his legs with her hug. He winced slightly at the pain, but was relieved it wasn't as bad as the days before.

"Careful, careful." He ruffled her hair before pulling away. "You know how dad feels about running in the house."

"He also said no toys in the living room..." she whispered, glancing behind her to the barbie laying in a twisted position against the wood. Giggling, her large eyes looked up at him. "He's in his room." She pulled on his arm. "Do you want to play dollies?"

  The last part went over his head as he stared off towards the unlit, downstairs hall to the one door on the left. He was home? That was rare. Eli wasn't able to inform him of Cush sleeping over, but managed to get Brie's permission. Now would be the perfect time to tell him; at least that's what Elias justified the sudden eager feeling to see him with.

"Eli." Ava dragged his name, pulling on his arm with the weight of her body; her small feet sliding closer to Eli's as her butt slowly dropped closer to the floor. "Do you want to play--" she gasped suddenly letting go. The loud thump of her falling interrupted his thoughts, making Elias look at her. As the pale boy fully stepped into the house, her eyes stared at him from the ground; her head gradually tilting up to his face. Confused, Elias turned to Cush who had an eyebrow raised at her. Quickly crawling behind Elias, Ava gripped his jeans cautiously peeking.

"Who's that?" She asked, softly.

"This guy?" Elias chuckled, kneeling down to her level. "Don't be afraid of him. That's just Cush. He's a buddy of mine like Sunshine. He'll be staying over for the night."

  Her eyes studied Cush's unamused face as he glanced around the house; too unbothered to care for their conversation. He too was pleasantly surprised as Elias was with the inside of the house. It was quite homey; almost shocking how much decor was sprinkled around for a family that just recently moved. Candles along the hood of the fireplace, flowers set precisely in the middle of the coffee table, and a warm blanket placed neatly across the couch. He made note of the three professionally done pictures hanging along their painted honey beige wall. He'd assumed this was the family he'd been introduced to in the horrid picture Elias showed him at school. The drawing didn't do them justice as he could now see the color didn't actually bleed from their features, but instead they were all beautifully sculpted people. Though he couldn't help but notice the absence of Eli's face among them.

"Is he nice like the other one?" Her fragile voice returned.

Elias looked up at the unsuspecting Cush before replying with the stretch of a grin upon his lips, "The nicest of them all."

She instantly jumped into motion as a large smile appeared on her face at the news. Elias was taken back at how fast she had left him, clinging to Cush; his expression quickly changing from indifferent to extreme discomfort at the sudden contact.

"Yay!" She squeezed, making him tense up defensively. Too stiff to breathe, Cush glanced at Elias with wide eyes. "Get her off of me."

Standing straight, Eli struggled to hold back his snickers only making Cush more distressed. His pleading expression was priceless.

"I'll be right back." Eli said, taking slow steps away. "I need to go speak with my dad."

"Elias, seriously." Cush's eyes refused to look down; his voice sounding forced. "I'm not good with kids. I'll just freak her out."

"You sure?" Elias rose a cocky brow. "Seems like she's the one freaking you out." Elias gave Ava one last pat to the head. "Keep him company for me, yeah Ava? Show him around."

"Elias." Cush's voice sounded brittle; his eyes finally drifting to the small child below him. "El-Elias!"

  Eli made his way down the hall chuckling at the last desperate call for his name. Of course Cush couldn't stand kids--he could barely stand people in general. Oh, how Ava could really make his day sometimes.

  As he approached the closed door, he could hear shuffling from the other side. Hesitantly knocking, he waited patiently until the door swung open.

"Ava, I told you after daddy's done we'll--" Mike paused as the face in front of him suddenly registered. The drop in his voice was clear as he added, "Oh."

"Hey...dad." Elias tried to smile, but all he could do was swallow hard as he watched him walk back deeper into his room, sitting on the bed full of papers.

"What is it?" He asked, furrowing his brows as he picked up a letter. Instantly, the confidence and joy he had before vanished with his breath as he slumped against the door frame.

It took a while to finally force out his words. "I just wanted to let you know I have someone staying over--Brie already knows, if you want to meet him he's--"

"No just...no that's fine." He replied, shuffling through his pile of envelopes. "That all?"

  Elias couldn't help the small feeling he was getting as he studied his distracted dad helplessly. No, that wasn't all. He had so much he wanted to say, ranging from how was your day to what did I do wrong? A sudden wave of discouragement flowed through him as he thought about the next thing he could say. To be honest, he'd give anything just to have a conversation with him that lived passed two seconds. Though it was clear Mike wanted to keep things concise, and that stung. The longer he leaned watching his father, the harder it became to keep the disappointment in himself from his features. His hazel eyes, now drained, drifted down as he was about to answer with a short yeah, but paused when he remembered.

"Actually." Elias quickly took off his book bag, pulling out the pack of beef jerky he'd been saving. "I got you this." He stepped closer handing the bag over.

"What's this?" Mike asked, examining it.

"Beef jerky." Elias felt comfortable enough to smile. "I know you used to eat this kind all the time. It was your favorite, so..." Elias shoved his hands in his pockets as he observed his dad, waiting for him to speak, but he didn't. Instead he hunched over, starring at the pack for a while, his eyes growing soft until his brows suddenly furrowed with a clenched jaw. His eyes traveled across the pack over and over as if each new detail was pivotal. Elias watched confused as he could see his eyes beginning to redden with tears. With a short intake of breath from his nose and a blow out his mouth, his cheeks inflated as the air blew through.

  Eli froze. Nostalgia, contempt, and  sadness all flashed across Mike's face within seconds. His expressions becoming an endless rollercoaster of emotions, and as much as he tried to suppress them, Eli saw every bit of it. Elias didn't know how to feel. He couldn't understand what about a pack of beef jerky could make him react the way he had. "Did I get the wrong kind?" He asked slow.

Mike suddenly close his eyes, shaking his head before looking at the bag once more. Elias paused at the laugh that escaped his lips as he spoke. He almost couldn't believe it, even as breathy as it was, it was still a laugh. "We used to eat this all the time. I was addicted to these."

  Elias furrowed his brows. We? Who was he talking about? Eli had never tasted them and Ava would never eat something like this. He must've been talking about Brie. Mike wiped at his nose, continuing to study the pack in his hands. Suddenly the smile on his face vanished as he let out another defeated huff as if the happiness he felt was wrong; his expression completely switching from happy to pained once more. "Brie hates the smell." He stuck them back out towards Elias.

Wait, what?

Eli quickly suggested, "you could just eat them in the car. Like you always use to--"

"I don't want them." Mike interrupted, shoving them into Eli's chest, keeping his hand there until Eli slowly grasped them. "Take them and get out."

"Dad...?"

"Don't. Look, I really don't feel like talking right now. You see I'm busy alright? Go watch your sister." Mike turned his head from him. Elias was about to speak again but decided to hold his tongue, hesitantly doing as he was told.

"Close the door." Mike's voice sounded much more hostile as he leaned onto his knees with his head in his hand. "Fucking kid."

  Eli's heart sunk deep within his chest at that. He did it again. He ruined another chance. It was his fault. It had to be. Mike wouldn't treat him the way he had if there wasn't something wrong with him. Why couldn't he just figure it out? Why wasn't he smart enough? Why can't he put it together? He should have known that getting the beef jerky would have made him mad. Of course, he had no way of knowing, yet Elias kept pushing onto himself that he should've. His jaw clenched; his eyes gently shutting like the door behind him.

"And this one is named Princess Rose, and this one is princess Isobel, and this one--"

"Are they all princesses?" Elias looked up through the railing of the stairs to see Ava showing off all her dolls with Cush sitting on a step, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No." She giggled, holding up her male barbie. "He's prince Solomon." She added another. "And he's prince W--"

"You talk alot." Cush finally removed his hand, giving Ava a bewildered stare. "Don't you have a pacifier or something to help with that?"

"That's for babies silly." Ava plopped beside him, making Cush taut before moving to the side. "Here." She set a barbie onto Cush's hand, and because he made no effort to hold it, it slipped through, tumbling down the stairs with loud clanks against the wood. Elias let out a inaudible laugh as he watched the two stare at it. "You're worse than Eli." She rose both brows at him as if she was surprised that was even possible.

Elias cringed. Please don't let anyone know we play dollies.

"Here." She grabbed Cush's hand, placing a barbie in his grasp before rolling up his fingers. "Now we play." She turned to her pile of barbies on the other side, trying to find which one to play with first.

  Cush examined the stiff piece of plastic, slowly moving its limbs. He watched disgusted as he was able to make the arms and legs do full rotations, and within a few seconds of him continually turning the head, it had popped off into his hand. Elias watched amused as Cush's eyes widened as he stared at the two pieces in his hands. His dark orbs quickly moved to Ava before returning back, trying several times to readjust the part.

"I'll even let you name him--" Ava finally turned around to see the barbie pieces in his pale hands.

"I think it's defective." Cush said, holding them out to her. "Is he dead?"

"It's okay." Ava took the pieces setting them aside. "He'll go to the hospital and Eli will fix him later." She shrugged. "We can play something else. Oh, I know! Lets play make believe!"

"Make...believe?" Cush asked slow as Ava turned to him excited.

"Yes! We can be princesses! I'll be princess Peach..." she placed a hand on her chest before poking Cush's arm. "...and you can be Snow White."

Eli's smile deepened as Cush's face fell blank. "You spend alot of time with your brother don't you?"

"Only sometimes." She shrugged. "He doesn't like to play dollies all the time--"

"Alright!" Elias called whipping around the corner before she could finish her sentence. "That's enough of that. Me and Cush have stuff to do." He picked up the doll at the end of the stairs. "Thanks for keeping him company, princess." He flicked Ava's chin making her giggle. "But alas we must get ready for tonight." He glanced over at Cush who had a narrow glare.

"I'd sleep with one eye open."

~*~

1:09 AM...

"You call that sleep?" Cush yawned, squinting his eyes on the sidewalk ahead. It was darker than usual as a few of the street lights had finally blown out.

"I warned you." Elias shrugged with a grin.

"Simply saying go to sleep is not a warning Elias." He replied plainly. "Besides, I was determined to finish my sketch."

"What did you sketch anyway?"

"Well, there weren't many interesting things to draw in your room...such plain walls." Cush said the last part with an undertone of disgust, making Elias chuckle.

"I tucked everything away just for you." He replied sarcastically. "Probably forced to draw my desk."

"No, too flat. No texture."

"My baseball cap?" He asked, looking up at the hooded boy whose skin still appeared bright in the darkness. His eyes remained ahead as he answered.

"Tempting, but no." He rose a brow. "Did you know you sleep with your eyes slightly open? It's quite disturbing."

Elias furrowed his brows as he thought. "Wait, you drew me?"

"You must've taken me literally about what I said earlier." Cush shrugged aloof. "It wasn't as hard as I expected. You didn't move much. Though your hair was proving to be a challenge." His black eyes drifted to Eli's head. "Coily. Different from mine. It was a nice change of pace. Well appreciated."

Elias continued on down the road, confused as to why Cush was thanking him as if he'd positioned himself for his benefit. If it wasn't for Eli's knowledge of his obsessive drawing, he would've found it extremely creepy.

"Well you're not welcome." He replied  after a while.

"I wouldn't mind giving it to you." Cush began. "I intend to remove it from my sketchbook as soon as possible. Maybe hang it in your living room with the others in place of your professional one until it arrives."

Eli furrowed his brows until he remembered the new pictures in the living room. "Oh, I'm not getting one." He replied, shaking his head. "My dad says I'll be moving out the house soon anyway."

Cush glanced down at him. "That's odd. That's usually the time parents save as many reminders as possible." A disturbed look flashed across his face. "Trust me. I see my sister everywhere now."

  Elias thought for a moment. Really? Did people actually do that? Mike made it feel like a normal thing and Elias didn't think twice about it. Or maybe he just didn't want to.

Cush made note of Eli's silence. "Either way. It's yours when it's finished."

"When it's fin--no. No more sketching." Elias gave him a look. "When we get back, we're going to sleep, alright?"

"If I agree, will you even believe me?"

"Probably not." Elias shrugged, honestly.

"Empty questions." Cush shook his head, sighing. "So pointless."

It went quiet for a while as they were approaching Sunshine's house. When another yawn forced itself out of Cush, he asked, "Why are you bringing me out here again?"

"To show you everything I said is true." Elias replied. "We're going to need your help."

"To be your walking map?" Cush glanced at him before staring vacantly ahead. "How fun."

"Yeah, yeah I know how much you'd rather be locked in your room sketching a dream." Elias pursed his lips, making Cush smirk.

"Is that what you think I do all day?" He almost laughed. "My day is filled with therapy sessions and doctor's visits. Also, Evan occassionally trying to get me to hold a controller."

Elias gave him a peculiar look. "You mean your dad?"

"Same difference." He shrugged. "I suppose I'd take being a walking map over those anyday. Surprisingly, my parents haven't hounded me at all today when I told them I'd be hanging out with you." Cush thought for a moment. "Maybe I should be thanking you...if this all turns out to be true of course."

"It is." Elias insisted. "You'll see."

As the sight of Sunshine's house came into view, Elias could smell the smoke of the cigarette as well as see it float from behind the car in twisted moving shapes. Elias scrunched his nose as they approached the vehicle. It didn't take Sunshine long before he could hear the footsteps behind him. Quickly throwing the cigarette on the ground, he stood with a large smile.

"Elias--" he paused once he noticed the figure standing behind him. The excitement in his large chocolate eyes slowly drained as he asked confused, "What's he doing here?"

"I'll explain it to you when we get there." Elias patted his back. "Let's go." He began heading into the forest with Cush following close behind. Sunshine watched the two walk for a while before adjusting his beanie, snuffing out the cigarette with a twist of his foot before joining.

  Elias noticed the walk there felt different than usual, apart from there being a new pair of legs to hear walking through. The fact that he could hear the sound of crunched leaves and twigs made him notice that Sunshine wasn't talking at all. There was rarely a moment of silence with him especially during the times where Elias had nothing better to do but listen. It wasn't like him not to take advantage of the situation. Instead he was walking a little ways behind, silent, and sluggish.

  It had to have been Cush. It was understandable to act slightly different when someone else is around, yet something about it made Elias feel strange.

Everyone knows