This is my entry for Weekly Wattpad Contests #57.

--

Benji swallowed as he followed Ellie around the back of her house. The paint was a tired blue where it wasn't peeling off in big sheets. Every window but one had a crack; duck tape held some of the panes together where there had only been a single fracture. The windows in worse condition had been boarded over from the inside. The grass grew long against the edges of the house but was shorter and denser across the lawn, where it was intermixed with weeds. Benji thought that there may have been a path around the house at one point, but it too had been overrun by vegetation and overgrowth.

Dogs barked somewhere, not near but not far. Benji took a step closer to Ellie. Wild dogs roamed the nearby low-income neighborhoods, travelling in vicious, starving packs. He'd heard them in Ellie's neighborhood before, but she'd told him not to worry. The dogs didn't care about him. If he left them alone, there would be nothing for him to worry about.

Benji shivered.

They passed another cracked window, but this one was mostly clear save for a strip of duck tape running from the bottom of the pane to about halfway up the glass. He could see into the living room, dark save the murky light filtering in from the window. An old TV sat propped up on stacked pizza boxes and old board games. The same clip was playing on repeat, lasting about five seconds before it started over again.

Suspended service for nonpayment. To access cable channels, please contact your provider.

They reached the back of the house. There was a door set into the back wall, about a foot off the ground, where a step would have presumably fit. But there wasn't a step, just a foot of concrete. Benji knew that the kitchen was on the other side of the door, no doubt littered with beer bottles.

But Ellie didn't take him in through the kitchen. She kept walking, turning the corner of the house and disappearing for a second before re-emerging with something set between her hands.

"Ellie, what-"

Ellie threw the ladder against the wall. The metal bounced twice against the rain gutter before settling in. She put her foot on the first rung, letting her weight fall on it a few times before she reached for the next rung and the next.

"Ellie!"

Soon, all Benji could see of her were the soles of her shoes. Then those disappeared as well, following her onto the roof.

Benji bit his lip. He could hear the dogs barking again. They sounded closer. He cast a quick glance at the kitchen door. He wondered if Ellie's dad had heard the ladder, if he was going to come out.

Benji hurried over to the ladder, testing out the first rung like Ellie had before climbing up, feet slow with distrust. He scaled the ladder, taking twice as long as she had, and he pulled himself onto the roof, panting. "Ellie, what-"

Benji blinked. The roof was empty. Ellie was gone.

A dark thought crossed his mind and he nearly slipped, instead digging his fingers into the shingles as he crawled, knees digging into the tiling as he tried to get a better vantage point. He tried to see the side of the house from his angle, deciding to get up higher instead. Had she- No, she wouldn't have. Would she?

Before Benji could check the front of the house, a shoe appeared from the opposite side of the chimney, followed by a knee and another leg. Ellie emerged, blond hair blowing in a tumbleweed around her face. "You made it up," she said, not sounding particularly surprised but perhaps a bit pleased. She dragged a few fingers across her face, collecting errant strands of hair and tucking them back behind her ears. Some of the hairs ended up on the wrong side of her face, but she made no move to fix them. "I thought you'd be too scared to make it."

"I'm not scared," Benji automatically denied. Maybe not so much of the roof, since he'd made it up, but that was only because he was about a hundred times more scared of her dad and the dogs. "Why are we up here, Ellie?"

"Because," was her answer, but it was clear that she had more to say as she shifted closer to him, leaning her back against the chimney and patting the tiling next to her. Benji crawled over anxiously, trying not to look down or back at the ladder, which seemed much farther away now than it had been before. As he sat next to her, resting his back against the brick, she patted a small box that now rested within her lap. "This is my special place," she said, smoothing her hand over the lid. It was a cigar box, old and worn. Benji knew that there wouldn't be cigars inside, but he could still smell them a bit. "I can hide things up here," she added in a whisper. Benji nodded. She didn't have to say more for him to get it. The chances of her dad crawling around on the roof were slim to none. The chances of her dad ripping her bedroom apart for no reason were much higher.

"What's in the box?" he asked, nodding to it. He wasn't sure that he was allowed to ask, and as her hand stopped tracing circles, he wondered if he'd been wrong to ask it at all. But then she flicked up the clasp with her right index finger and thumb, lifting the lid up gently with both hands. Inside were folded up papers, and resting atop them was a wallet photograph of a smiling woman dressed in blue, the collar high enough to hide her collar bones. Her lips were painted a bright coral against the material.

Ellie took the photo out, pinning the edges between the index and thumb of both hands as she stared at the woman for a second before handing the photo over to Benji. He took it solemnly, keeping his grip so tight that he felt his fingers slipping on sweat. He nodded at the picture, handing it back to her because he was scared both of ruining it or losing it. "Your mom?"

Ellie nodded, placing the photo back in the box but keeping her right thumb pressed against the corner, holding the picture down. "My mom. Back when she first met my dad. They were in high school." Just like they'd be, next year. Her eyes ran over the photo again as though committing each detail to memory before she shut the box, pressing the clasp down.

"How'd you get the photo?" Benji asked, looking over at her, but she was still looking at the box.

"Found it in my dad's wallet," she said, her eyes slightly unfocused. "He was asleep. I needed money to buy food. I saw the photo, and...I took that instead."

"Did your dad find out?" Benji asked, and when she didn't answer, he put a hand on her shoulder. "Ellie, did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she said. "He was mad. He was looking in my room for it." She looked over at Benji, giving him a conspiratorial smile. "But it was safe up here."

"Did he hurt you?" Benji sucked in a breath. "Ellie, you shouldn't have taken the photo-"

"I've never seen my mom," Ellie said. "Not looking like this. Young and happy." She looked over at Benji, her eyes narrowing unhappily. "It's my mom. I should have this photo. I deserve it."

"Okay," Benji said easily, always the peacekeeper. "It's just, you know, I get worried about your dad."

Ellie stiffened before looking over at Benji, her eyes sizing him up.

"What?" he asked.

"I've got a secret," she whispered, still watching him. "But I can't tell you unless you swear to keep it."

"You can trust me," Benji said, his eyes widening. "I won't tell."

Ellie's cheek puffed out before she nodded, flicking the clasp on the box once more. She lifted the photograph gingerly before scooping up the papers as well.

Lining the bottom of the box was a gun. A sleek, small thing. Benji didn't know much about guns; one was the same as any other to him.

But it was a gun. In Ellie's box. That much was unmistakable.

"What the-"

Ellie slapped a hand over his mouth, glaring at him as she shoved the papers and photo back in the box, slamming it shut. "Be quiet, Benji!"

"But-" His voice was muffled against her hand.

She gave him another glare before removing her hand slowly, waiting to see if he was going to shout again. He didn't. "It's my dad's gun. I stole it. He doesn't know yet. He probably forgot about it anyway."

"Ellie, you can't just steal a gun from your dad. It's a gun, Ellie-"

"I know what it is," she said, and there was a look in her eyes that made Benji feel like he was staring at a stranger. "It's control," she said after a second, something Benji wouldn't understand til long after their conversation. In the moment, he didn't think about it at all.

"Ellie, you can't really intend to shoot someone with that-"

"I'm not," she interrupted. "I'm just hiding it from him. In case."

Benji went still. He tried to read her expression, but she was still looking at the box, as though she could see the gun through the wood and papers. "Ellie," he said, his voice so soft it almost got lost in the breeze. "If things are that bad, can't you- can't you call your aunt?"

Ellie glared at him, and if they'd been standing, Benji would have taken a step back, but he couldn't move quickly on the roof with any confidence. "I'm not calling my aunt. She'll just take me away from Dad."

"Exactly," Benji said, knowing that he was treading dangerously, but he continued on. "It's not safe for you with him."

"He's my family," Ellie shot back, her eyes angry. "Maybe you can't understand because you have a mom and a dad and five siblings, but it's different when it's just you and someone else."

"Maybe it's different when your dad's a drunk."

Ellie stared at him, long and hard. She stared at him like she didn't know him, like she didn't want to know him. "Go," she finally said, and Benji nodded, having expected his dismissal.

He scrambled back down the roof towards the ladder, taking the rungs faster this time. Ellie didn't get mad often, but when she did, she was scary.

It was like she was someone else.

--

Night set quickly this time of year, and Benji could hear the wild dogs barking into the night as he hurried through neighborhoods. There were faster ways he could take if he cut through a few yards, but he preferred to stick to the streets where at least it was well-lit.

He wondered if Ellie was still on the roof. If she'd be able to see the ladder and get down okay.

He wondered what her dad would do when he found out his gun was missing.

The sound of canine jaws snapping grew nearer, and Benji hurried home.

--

Ellie went to school the next day. Benji knew because he waited for her by the gates, but she didn't acknowledge him, just slipped right past and into the building. Benji was upset, but he got it. He'd said too much yesterday. It was best for him to just give Ellie some space for today, and then he'd try talking to her tomorrow.

Benji wasted time, not wanting to get to class too early and risk running into Ellie and upsetting her further. He got to the hallway a few minutes early to see Ellie standing in front of the lockers facing Erik.

Benji immediately hunched back out of sight; just seeing Erik made old injuries ache. The boy had a penchant for violence and strong fists to back it up. But he only hurt Benji, never Ellie. He said mean things, but he never touched her. Benji peeked back around the corner. Erik said something to Ellie, taunting her, a smirk on his lips, clearly expecting Ellie to break down. But this was the Stranger Ellie, the one that Benji didn't understand or know. She didn't react to whatever was said, but instead said something back that had Erik tensing. Faster than she could react, he raised up his hand and slapped her. His face immediately shifted in surprise, his lips hesitating as they struggled between an apology and a scowl. His eyes shone with regret.

Ellie didn't move, but she didn't look at Erik. He said something before backing away, looking conflicted. Then he turned and disappeared into the classroom.

Ellie waited a minute. She turned, and Benji sucked in a breath at the sight of her red cheek. 

Instead of heading into the classroom, she turned, heading for the bathroom. Benji hesitated. He wanted to check in with her, make sure she was okay, but he couldn't just walk into the girls' bathroom. He wouldn't have left her alone if he'd known that Erik was going to hit her. But he'd never done that before. It was like she'd instigated him somehow.

Troubled, Benji turned into the classroom and waited.

--

Ellie was gone the whole morning. Benji grew more anxious with each passing hour. They didn't have cell phones or he would have contacted her. His only thought was that she'd gone home.

Their lunch break came just after noon. Benji moved quickly, heading out the back cafeteria door. He ran to the school's perimeter to a whole in the candy-wrapper enshrined chain-link fence, slipping through and emerging on the other side. Ellie's house was pretty close by. He'd run over, make sure she was okay, and come back for the afternoon so his mom wouldn't yell at him for skipping school.

Ellie's house was fifteen minutes away, but he made it in ten. He hesitated in front of the door, afraid of knocking. He didn't know if her dad was home. He didn't want to make anything worse.

He decided to go around the house instead and see if he could see anything in the windows.

He followed the path they had taken just the day before, heading around the west side of the house where most of the light filtered in. The first window was boarded over, and the second revealed the living room. The TV was playing the same looped clip. He couldn't see if anyone was in the room.

He made it around to the back and hesitated before passing the kitchen door in favor of the ladder. He climbed up, more confidently than yesterday. "Ellie?" he called, hopefully not loud enough to draw her dad out. He poked his head over the edge of the roof, scanning it for his friend. The roof appeared empty, but he continued climbing up, hauling himself onto the shingles and crawling toward the chimney. "Ellie, are you here?"

Ellie wasn't, but her box still was. Benji hesitated. This was the only private space Ellie had. He didn't want to violate it. But maybe she'd left something in the box, a hint, a clue.

He flicked the latches, first noticing that the photograph was gone. She must have taken it with her.

Benji ruffled through the papers. He considered reading them - he saw flashes of handwriting - but he decided against it. He set the papers back down and closed the box before he realized what else was missing.

--

Benji nearly fell down the ladder, skipping half the rungs before hitting the grass and absorbing the shock in his knees. Then he was running.

The barking of dogs didn't slow him down as he retraced his steps, albeit faster this time. He slipped back through the fence, one of the sharper wires scraping down his spine, but the pain was secondary, irrelevant. He skidded up to the back doors, gravel rattling against the pavement. Then he was in the building, running blindly, his mind fixated wholly on the thought that he had to stop Ellie from hurting someone.

He got to their classroom. Stopped in the door frame.

Ellie was just starting to stand up. The gun was in her hand, Erik standing directly in front of her, his eyes wide, his mouth open, confusion and fear and regret co-mingling on his face.

She wasn't quite aiming at him; the gun was held almost limply in her hands. Like she'd picked it up on accident. Like it didn't belong there.

But she didn't put the gun down.

Three quarters of the class pressed against the walls or under desks, tripping over themselves and others to get away from her. A few kids stayed where they were, either on account of slow reflexes or on their fear to draw more attention to themselves. But the moment didn't last long. One of the boys who had been sitting behind Ellie lunged forward, and for a split second, Benji thought about yelling a warning. But he didn't know who to. Would he warn the boy of the gun in her hands? Or would he warn his friend?

He didn't get the chance to decide. The boy tackled her to the ground. The gun remained in her grasp even as her head cracked against the ground.

Emboldened by the first boy, several of the other kids joined the fray. The teacher was running over to the loudspeaker, pressing a button and yelling for help, but all Benji could see was one of the students grabbing a stapler from the supply shelf in the back and smashing it against Ellie's head. Red mixed with blond as the stapler came down several more times, creating a hollow cavity in the back of her skull. A crunch as her nose was shoved against the ground. Her head was yanked back by her hair before her face was slammed into the ground repeatedly. Each time, her face came up more broken, more bloody.

Eventually, she stopped moving. One of the students grabbed the gun from her hand before setting it on the floor and kicking it to the teacher, who yelled for them to stop once he checked and saw that the gun was empty, that no bullets had been loaded into the chamber. The other students stood up in a loose circle around Ellie, ready to throw her down if she got up.

She didn't.