* * *
Elle sat down in the safety of her seat, out of breath from practically running to her class. She could see it written all over Chloe’s face what she thought of her. Hell, Elle wanted her to think that; it was the only way Chloe was going to survive the rest of the year.
She thinks I’m strong, but I’m not.
It was all a façade, because deep down, she was one scared little girl. However, Elle had a time limit in this place, whereas Chloe’s was endless. Chloe had barely mentioned the possibility of transferring schools or even becoming home-schooled, and her parents had dismissed her to her room for the whole day without lunch or dinner.
The sand in Elle’s hourglass had now drained halfway down, and it was as if Chloe’s hourglass was broken on a constant loop, the sand pouring down, only for it not to fill the bottom. That was why Elle was been protecting her—because just like her hourglass, she was broken. There was no way Chloe would be able survive without her. She will break for good with no hope of return. But Elle could at least postpone the inevitable or, by some miracle, help put her back together enough to survive this place.
I just hope I have enough time to fix her and not enough time to break me.
Fifteen
Tick. Tock
Tick. Tock.
Don’t look at the clock.
One hourglass stands with barely any time left, draining so quickly the nightmare is almost over.
Tick. Tock.
Don’t look at the other clock.
This hourglass stands still, broken, and suffering from the same loop, the nightmare only growing worse.
Tick. Tock.
Don’t look at the clocks.
Sixteen
All Wounds Heal with Time
While Elle sat on her bed, her eyes grew tired from the countless studying. She had a big test in Science class tomorrow, and she really needed to get an A.
A little knock came to the door before her mother opened it. “Elle, sweetie, it’s late.”
“I have a big test tomorrow.”
Her mother came into the room and took a seat on the bed in front of her. “I’ve noticed you’ve been obsessed with your grades lately. You know we are proud of you no matter what, and I don’t want you to stress so much.”
“I know.” Elle smiled. “I’m just trying to make sure I give it my best so I can keep my options open in the future.”
“With what?”
“You know … for college and stuff.”
“Okay, sweetie.” Her mother smiled back before she reached into her robe pocket and pulled out a picture. “I developed some pictures today and thought you might want to put them in your photo album.”
Staring down at the photo, Elle’s eyes were immediately drawn to Chloe. Even though her scar had healed a bit since then, you could still see the same amount of torture in her eyes today.
“This was when she first came over for our science project.”
“Yep.” Her mom patted her leg before she got up. “Now get some rest. You want to at least be awake during the test to get an A.”
“Mom,” Elle stopped her before she could close the door. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
Getting up out of bed, she went to her bookshelf and pulled out her photo album then set it on her bed. Elle flipped through the pages before she came to an abrupt stop at the picture Sebastian had given her as a warning message. Despite her wanting to sear this image of her bloody and bruised body into her brain, every day with Chloe, it started to fade.
Slowly, she started to place the picture of her and Chloe over it, covering the heinous picture and replacing it with something good.
Gone, but not forgotten.
Looking down at the new picture, she finally looked at herself. Her hair had grown quite a bit in a short amount of time, and it now grazed the top of her shoulders, showing her that all wounds heal with time, even though time wasn’t on their side …
“We will survive”—Elle closed the book with one last glance at the photo—“together.”
Seventeen
The Last Grain of Sand Had Fallen
Tick. Tock.
Don’t look at the clock.
An hourglass was still broken.
Tick. Tock.
Look at the other clock.
The last grain of sand had fallen.
Tick—
Time was up.
Eighteen
The End or Just the Beginning
It was either going to be the end or just the beginning for Elle. She had made her choice, and now the last piece of the puzzle needed to be added.
Looking at the newspaper on the bus, she saw all the X marks she had made under the classifieds. There was only one place left on the list, and if they turned her away, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do.
The bus stopping had her getting up to exit, and once she was off the bus, she started second-guessing the whole thing. Downtown Kansas City didn’t seem like a place for a newly fifteen-year-old girl who was alone. Thankfully, it was a quick walk to her destination.