Karen Davis was a small woman. Eli's father was quite tall, and though Eli inherited that, Karen had always been quite happy that Eli had adopted her same dirty blonde hair color.

When he was small, he always read. Karen used to read too. She gave him all of her books from when she was a kid, knowing he'd read them eventually. Mitch had said that Eli must be very smart when they first met. It was one of the only nice things she could recall Mitch saying about her son.

They met at a park. It was gloriously sunny and Karen brought a book to read while Eli played. He had begged her to let him read with her, but she had told him to go and make friends. Every time she glanced up to check on him, he'd be sat under the playground, away from the heat and in the shade. Alone, he was creating little pebble structures.

"I think my daughter likes your son." Karen was startled by a man's voice beside her. She smiled at him. He was quite handsome, and had a simple, easy smile. She looked back at Eli, who was engrossed in his tower building. Next to the slide, a pretty little blonde girl watched him build with a frown. She must have found him quite odd.

"He's very shy. But, he's a good boy." She explained, turning her attention back to the man. He smiled. "I had to convince him to even go to the park. He wanted to read." She laughed.

"He must be very smart." The man said, full attention on her. He put out a hand for her to shake, "I'm Mitch."

****

The man in front of her was most certainly her son. He was so grown up. When did that happen? An undying part of her wanted to cry and embrace him. But, Mitch would be back soon. And Eli had to leave before it was too late.

Phoebe was talking while Eli stood there awkwardly, a girl shadowing him, looking at her with unbearable pity in her eyes. Karen tried to comprehend what Phoebe was saying, but she was too panicked by the prospect of Mitch finding them.

He didn't want to look at her. Nevertheless, Eli found himself staring at his Mom. They'd arrived unannounced, and his Mom hadn't had a chance to make herself up. Her face was bruised. All different colors, like a watercolor painting. Her arms as well. There were new scars. It made him sick to his stomach.

Audrey watched nervously as Eli's hands repeatedly clenched into fists and then opened, splaying his fingers. Meanwhile, Phoebe was talking to a brick wall. She grabbed Karen's sleeve to pull her into focus. "You need to come with us." She said as authoritatively as she could.

Karen's head shook fervently. She waved her hands in front of her. "No, no. I cant. I can't."

"You can."

Karen looked at the door and bit her lip. "Please," She said hoarsely, "You have to leave now."

"Either way you're out of here." Phoebe had run out of patience and crossed her arms. "Come with us now. Or we get the cops involved."

Audrey knew Phoebe was handling the fragile woman wrong. But she was too focused on keeping Eli calm to help out. Karen jumped at the sound of tires screeching in the driveway. Eli's heart started thumping out of his chest as he awaited the inevitable. He felt frozen in place, staring at the door.

Karen seemed to shrink down even further into herself as she backed into the kitchen, pushing herself into the corner of the counters. Phoebe glanced at Eli and braced herself as the door opened.

Mitch threw open the door, already annoyed. "Who the hell is parked in my spot?" He barked, not even registering Phoebe. Mitch frowned as if it was normal for Phoebe to be standing in the kitchen, then turned to see Eli standing in the living room.

"Well, I'll be damned." He chuckled, clasping his hands together. "You came back." He clocked the girl next to Eli, quite small and nervous. Mitch cleared his throat and readjusted his stocky, threatening stance in front of the new company.

He strode forward, and Audrey could sense Eli tensing, his arm slightly moving as if to block her. "And who might you be?" Mitch smiled his cheesiest smile at her. 

"Audrey." Audrey stepped forward and shook his hand, trying to convey confidence and calmness in a room that was now suffocating in its tenseness.

Mitch shook back. "Girlfriend?" He guessed with a smile. Audrey nodded and smiled right back. She could fake it with the best of them. "Girlfriend." He scoffed and glanced back at Karen, still huddled in the kitchen. "Imagine that." He laughed, and Audrey's brow creased.

"Not to be rude." He smirked, "It's a surprise, I admit. He was a strange one. Great that he found himself a girl, though." Mitch glanced at Eli, a glint of a warning in his eyes, "And a pretty little thing, too." He winked at her.

Audrey played it cool, smiling at the remark. Eli tensed further at the comment though, feeling an ember of hatred burning in his stomach, starting to bubble to the surface.

Phoebe was done. She couldn't stand around and watch her Dad play mind games, trying to wind Eli up, then break him down. That was the routine. She turned and reached out for her stepmother's hand. "You need to leave with us. Right now." She said firmly.

Mitch's face changed immediately. From camaraderie to disbelief to anger to amusement. He bit it back with a smile. "What did you just say?" He asked tensely, robotically.

"Come with us." Phoebe begged, but Karen just stared at Mitch, too frightened to move a muscle. Mitch chuckled at his own power. He returned his attention to Eli. "How would you feel if I tried to take your girl away from you?" He asked softly, slowly. As if he were talking to a child.

When Eli remained quiet, as per usual, Mitch took the initiative and grabbed Audrey's wrist. Still watching Eli, he squeezed, and Audrey let out the tiniest whimper- in pain, but trying not to escalate the situation.

And that's when Mitch hit the floor. Audrey jumped back, holding her sore wrist. Everything was going blurry. It was too much for Audrey, too intense. Her breathing hastened as she tried to focus on the scene unfolding in front of her.

Eli was crystal clear. No panic, no fear. He'd switched to an automatic reflex, and there was no stopping now. He watched Mitch rub his jaw, sitting up on the floor. "Don't touch her." Eli told him, hands still tightly wound into fists.

Phoebe was the first to recover from the shock, and ran to the phone to call 911. As she dialed, Mitch lifted himself and punched Eli right back. Just like old times, he thought. Eli stumbled back and Mitch hit him again. As Eli was bent over, wiping the blood off of his mouth, Mitch shook out his hands.

Phoebe was talking frantically on the phone, Karen was hyperventilating, and Audrey was stunned and in shock, wrist throbbing. It had been a while since Eli had felt the metallic, warm taste of blood gathering in his mouth. He wasn't a child anymore, though. And as he stood up straight, Eli realized he wasn't afraid anymore either.

He pushed Mitch, who fell with a thud against the wall. To keep him still, Eli held on to Mitch's shoulder. Then it was one blow, hard and swift, across the cheek. Eli took a small step back as Mitch crumbled onto the floor. Karen gasped loudly. If their roles had been reversed, Mitch would have been kicking Eli while he was down. Unrelenting until he was sure he'd learned his lesson.

Eli just stood, watching Mitch hold his cheek and roll around on the floor, groaning. Even now, he couldn't muster it up to really hurt him. Though his hate continued to bubble. Eli truly hated to hate things. It made everything so bitter. And the last thing Eli wanted to be was bitter.

It was eerily quiet all of a sudden. Karen pacing, overwhelmed, Phoebe holding the phone, speechless. Audrey holding her throbbing wrist. The pain seared now, but was overshadowed by her heart- all out of tune.

Eli stood over Mitch, hands quivering. He took in a few deep breaths and went to run his hands through his hair, but stopped when he saw his bloody knuckles. Not your blood, his brain panicked. Not your blood, not your blood, not your blood.

The dial tone of the phone rung out, filling the otherwise silent, somber air. Atmosphere thick, uncertainty thicker, everyone stood still- afraid to move. The police sirens drew closer, red and blue lights glaring through the curtains, lighting up the dull room. Eli squeezed his eyes shut and started to count his breaths.

"Eight in, six out." He heard Audrey whisper behind him, knowing the affect sirens had on him in the past. "Count it out." She said soothingly.

"One... two... three..." 

((A/N: I've wanted Eli to confront Mitch since the beginning, but I also know how he is, and so it was never gonna be some huge fight in which Eli just beats him up. That's not who he is, especially now, with all this development he's had. I guess the police are getting involved either way... ))