Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke up after a night of broken sleep. I forced myself up into a sitting position on my bed only to be slightly surprised by Ellie lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

He turned to look at me.

"Hello, Ripley." He said, so simply, so casually, so him.

"Hello, Ellie." I said back, not able to mask my shock to see him still here in the room. Usually he'd be up and downstairs before I get up. To see him still here was strange to me, but in a way, I appreciated it.

It was almost like he made a point to stay.

He sat up, but kept his gaze on me. I realized he must be waiting for me to say something, but I wasn't sure on what it was I should say.

So, I stood up and walked towards my closet. I ran my fingers across the clothes that hung, as if pretending to choose something. I could still feel Ellie's eyes burning on my back, and I wondered for the quickest moment what would happen if I pushed him against the wall and-

"I have decided," I spoke, hoping it'd distract me from the thoughts in my head. I could feel my face burn hot, and I made sure not to look at him, "That today, we are going outside again."

"In the backyard." He sounded pleased.

"No," I corrected him, "In the front."

He was silent for a long moment, as if trying to process what I just said to him. Finally, his response came out in almost a whisper, "Why?"

I randomly picked out a long-sleeved shirt, and some jeans. I beckoned for him to turn around and not look. He did so without hesitating. I slid my current shirt off, "After yesterday I have realized that it's unfair to you. All of this is unfair to you."

His back was facing me, as his gaze was at the wall, still, I could see he was listening intently. "Ripley-"

"I want you to go outside, and learn to live like a normal human being."

"But I am not a normal human being." He said softly, which was something I expected him to say. There's not a day that goes by that he doesn't remind me he isn't normal.

And, as always, I must remind him (and sometimes myself) that he is.

"Ellie," I sighed, as I put on my new shirt and slipped on the jeans, "I think you need to get that mentality out of your head."

"Mentality."

"Yes, you don't give yourself enough credit." I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at me. "You're as living and breathing as I am, I'm not sure why it's so difficult for you to see yourself as a normal person." I lied, in fact I knew better than anyone how hard it is to perceive him as normal. But, there's a difference between me and him. He truly doesn't believe he's normal, and I'm in denial that he is.

Deny, deny, deny.

Not to mention whatever it is that is infecting his body isn't normal. It's the same stuff that killed my father, but part of me wonders if my father knew what it was, and if maybe he's at fault for his own death.

I know my father worked for the government, project Three Eleven Thirteen was initially the government's project. Whatever is in Ellie could have come from an actual lab, and not our basement.

Which, I must admit, makes it all the more terrifying.

Ellie stood up and directly faced me, "I don't think you understand."

"No," I cut him off, "I don't think you understand, actually." I gripped his arm. He looked down at his arm in surprise, "I know it's hard for you to control yourself around other people. Believe me, I know, but you can't possibly be happy knowing that if you don't conquer this, that you'll be trapped in this house for the rest of your life."

"I'm not sure." He spoke honestly, but it wasn't good enough.

"Let's just try it."

"You said I can't go outside."

"I'm telling you that you can."

"You said I can't be near people."

"You have to get used to them at one point."

"You said-"

"Forget what I said." I forced myself to smile at him reassuringly, "Let's just try this." We stared at each other for a long moment, before he slowly dipped his head into a nod.

I refused to show him how anxious the thought of him being around someone makes me, as we both stepped out the front door and onto the porch.

Ellie examined everything, and for a moment, I couldn't help but be amused at how easily he got distracted. He was like a child, discovering the world for the first time.

A car drove past the house, and Ellie stiffened as he watched it drive away. I placed my hand on his back, as if to remind him that it's alright.

He seemed to calm down, as a dog from the neighbor's house began to bark, which grabbed Ellie's attention. "What is that noise?" He asked me.

"It's the neighbor's dog."

"Neighbor's dog." He repeated. "Sounds angry."

"No," I said amused, "That's just the sound that dogs make."

Ellie glanced at the neighbor's house, and then back at me. For a moment, I wondered if this was all going to be alright, that maybe Ellie was going to be okay in the real world.

And then the sound of a door slamming shut, shattered my thoughts into a million hopeless pieces. Both me and Ellie looked over to the neighbor's house to see Levi stepping out, and at that moment, my heart dropped, because Ellie who was relaxed beside me, went rigid.