Chapter 53- Getting Our Friend Back (Part 1)
Nico knocked on Esther's door. He smiled when she opened it. "Hey. Just wanted to know if you wanted to grab something to eat with me?"
"Oh... I have that thing with Steven today, remember?", reminded Esther.
Nico frowned when he realised. "Oh. Yeah, sorry. I forgot."
"Maybe tomorrow?", asked Esther.
Nico nodded. "Yeah, definitely."
-
The group stood outside Eli's house whilst Miss Laine knocked on his door.
Eli's Dad pressed a finger to his mouth as he shook his head, making sure Eli didn't speak.
Darius grabbed a handful of pebbles from the neighbour's front garden. He started to throw them at Eli's window, hoping he'd open up. He started using heavier stones, but threw them gently.
Eli's Dad covered his ears, rocking back and forth. "Stop... it's not safe, it's not safe...", he whispered, shaking his head.
Eli had never seen his Dad like this before, and was worried. He reached for his Dad's hands, only to be pushed away from him. "Head back! You need to retreat... come back!"
Eli's eyes widened and his eyes filled with tears as his Dad kept rocking and whispering the same things. He didn't know how to help him.
"Why don't we all try pounding on the door?", suggested Maxon. The others nodded and they all started banging on the door at the same time.
Eli's Dad started breathing heavily, clenching his fists. "Take cover! Michael, get the f*ck back here!"
Michael? Eli had heard his name before. His parents spoke about him in a conversation once and Eli just assumed he was a friend from the army.
As his father became more hysterical, Eli wrapped him in a hug, not letting go, even when he tried to push him away. "It's ok, Dad. I'm here. You're alright. I'm here."
"It's not safe...", whispered his Dad, tears streaming down his face. "You need to get back, Michael."
Eli's face softened. "It's ok Nick... I'm here. I'm safe", he said, deciding to play along.
"It's not... safe...", repeated his Dad.
Eli bit his lip to stop the tears from falling. "It's ok, I'll make them go away. I'll make the noises stop."
Eli's Dad gripped his hands. "No! You can't stop the bullets! Don't go!"
"Bullets? Dad they're not... I'll stop them, ok? I'll call a ceasefire."
Eli didn't really know who called the ceasefire in the Army, but knew that it meant a temporary suspension of fighting.
Eli's Dad loosened his grip on Eli's hands.
Eli slowly stood up and walked to his window, opening it. His eyes widened when he saw that everyone was there.
Eli man, why haven't you answered any of our calls?", called out Darius.
"Why didn't you tell us why you left?", asked Camryn.
"Why didn't you reply to any of our texts?", asked Isaac.
"Shh!", whisper- yelled Eli. "You need to go, now."
"What? Dude what are you on about?", asked Stanley. "Just let us in."
"Just trust me, ok? You need to leave", said Eli.
"Trust you?", asked Camryn. "You left us with only a vague explanation, didn't answer any of our calls and you want to talk about trust?"
Eli frowned, hurt that Camryn would say that. He didn't blame her though. He hadn't been truthful with them, but he didn't know where to start. "I'm sorry, ok? I truly am. But you must leave now. All of you."
"You're trying to leave, aren't you?", asked his Dad, walking to the window. "You want to leave me too, don't you? Why does everyone want to leave? You lied to me, you're a liar!", he yelled, grabbing Eli and pushing him away from the window.
Everyone was taken aback by this.
"Mr. Brandt, please open the door", said Miss Laine. "I'm Eli's Teacher."
"I'm an infantry soldier, served since the age of 17, do not address me as Mr. Brandt", he replied.
"Why is he speaking like he's in the Army?", asked Amethyst.
"I know what's going on here. You're here to take Eli away", said his Dad. "He's my soldier and I won't let you take him! I've dealt with bullets more powerful than yours!"
"Bullets?", asked Weronika. "What's he talking about?"
Eli's Dad closed the window and moved out of view.
"I don't get it", said Isaac. "Why does he talk about his Army stuff?"
"PTSD", said a voice. Everyone turned and was surprised to see Leonie.
"What are you doing here?", asked Camryn. "I said you could learn the dances."
"Eli's my friend", said Leonie. And friends come first."
That brought a smile to everyone's faces. The situation made no sense but they were glad to see Leonie act more like herself.
"PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder", said Leonie. "When someone has been through a traumatic experience, they can sometimes re-live those moments over and over again, even long after it happened."
"My Mum was saying something about that the other day", said Maxon. "She said the person could actually feel what they had been through again. And they were constantly on edge."
Leonie nodded. "Exactly. We can't be sure just from what we've heard now but... it's likely. He's been in the Army for most of his life. It's perfectly understandable that he'd be carrying years of trauma with him."
"How can we help?", asked Isaac.
"First, we need him to let us in", said Miss Laine. "But that's proven pretty difficult."
"Where's Mrs Brandt?", asked Leonie.
"I don't think she's in", said Darius. "She would've answered if she was, right?"
"Unless his Dad's told her not to", said Amethyst.
"Does anyone have her number on them now?", asked Miss Laine. "I could call her."
Camryn nodded. "I had to call her once when Eli's phone died."
Miss Laine dialled the number and waited for her to answer.
The others looked at each other, then back at the window where Eli was once.
With a frown on his face, a worried Darius let the rest of the pebbles fall to the ground.
-
Hi.
More information and help for PTSD will be given at the end of this storyline, which will hopefully be in the next chapter.
I might go into more detail about the trauma so please be aware of that.
What are your thoughts on this chapter?
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