who could it be now

Ellie wished she could just stay under the hot water of the shower. Really, she need to clean up her act some way. Only she didn't know how. How could she?

Things were happening as if she were watching them from afar. Really, she'd done nothing to prepare herself for what was next.

She didn't want to tell Eric. She didn't want to argue. She didn't want to tell Elliot, no, either. And it was still a mess. A horrible mess.

Where would she go from here? Did it have to be so hard? Even her grades were suffering. All of it was so overwhelming. It left her weak and far from the person she used to be.

This would have never happened last year. Never. She would have had Henry, her dog to worry about. Wondering if he was getting enough exercise. She would have crocheted hats because she had nothing else better to do. Probably, even keep up with American Idol.

Suddenly, she missed those days.

The shower washed away her tears, and she rinsed the conditioner from her hair. She cut the water then and wrapped a thirsty blue towel around her. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she met Kyle in the hallway.

"Guess who's here?" He just smiled, tugging down his Amp t-shirt over his thermal shirt.

She waited for an answer, but he wouldn't tell her.