-Flynn-
Many years ago…
I went back to school. Mom said I had to finish the year out and then we would move away. That I would never have to live in Wellsburg again.
But Wellsburg was my home.
I liked it.
It’s where Ellie was.
Or where she used to be.
But I never saw her again.
She stopped coming to school.
I heard people saying that she went to jail. I didn’t understand why she would go to jail.
Jail was for bad people. Ellie was mean sometimes, but she wasn’t bad.
People were looking at me a lot now. More than they used to. I knew they were talking about me as well.
It made me angry and anxious. I didn’t like people looking at me. Or talking about me.
Stu and Dania were still calling me names. They had gotten worse. They said it was all my fault. I didn’t know what they were talking about.
I wanted to ask them where Ellie was but they scared me. I didn’t want to talk to them.
Mom and I were living in an apartment until we could move. I asked her if they ever caught who set fire to our house and killed Marty. She said yes. That they had gotten into a lot of trouble.
I asked who it was. Mom said I didn’t know them. She wouldn’t look at me when she said that. It made me nervous.
I couldn’t sleep in the new apartment. I hated the small rooms and the kitchen smelled weird. I wanted to go back to the house in the woods. I wanted to live there again.
Mom said we wouldn’t live there anymore. That made me angry. But I didn’t throw things. I slammed the door to my room and screamed into a pillow. But it didn’t make me feel better.
Everyone was talking at school. I heard people saying Ellie’s name. Then they’d look at me. They were always looking at me.
Two girls were talking in English class about the fire at my house. It made me sad to think about it. To think about Marty who had died. One of the girls said that Ellie had gone to jail because she had burned my house down.
And I had yelled at them and said that wasn’t true. They didn’t laugh at me when I yelled but they moved to other seats.
I ran out of the class. I had never been so mad before. Those girls said Ellie burned my house down.
Did she?
I went to the bathroom and started to scream. I couldn’t stop.
The principal came and called my mom.
She came and got me and took me home. I was so upset. I asked her if Ellie burned down our house. She didn’t say anything.
Ellie burned my house down.
My dog had died in the fire.
I hurt inside. It felt like I had eaten glass. I felt pain and knew it was because of Ellie.
I felt really, really bad.
Why would she burn down my house?
I wanted to talk to her but she had gone to jail for kids. She had gotten into trouble. A girl named Reggie told me that Ellie had been sent away. She had spit on me and told me it was my fault.
But I didn’t want Ellie to be sent away. I didn’t like thinking about her in jail. I wondered if she was feeling bad too?
I wanted to see Ellie.
But I never did.
And then we moved.
But I always thought about her.
And after a while it stopped hurting when I remembered.