Stray Story - 012

Nothing.

I spent most of the day trying to think of a way to get Caroline to go home, or Elis to come get her, but I couldn't think of some way to convince either of them to do that.

Caroline won't go because she doesn't feel like she has a place in her family. That she isn't what her parents want her to be. And thanks to that, she can't bring herself to return home shamelessly to them.

Elis doesn't want to come and get Caroline either, because she considers Caroline to just be a spoilt brat. She's thinking the same way that her parents do; that Caroline just doesn't try hard enough at school.

Even after spending the whole day at school, I can't think of a way to have Caroline return home. It's not like I can just send her home, either. I need her to go home in a way that'll resolve at least some of those problems.

Maybe I could get through to her parents and get them to bring her home. Even if Caroline and Elis both refuse to tell me where they live, I'm sure Tayla knows. But I'd rather find a different way. Her parents will probably have a similar reaction to Elis and assume that Caroline's actions are just those of a spoilt child. Perhaps they aren't entirely wrong, but nothing will be fixed if they don't at least try to understand Caroline's point of view.

I could also try to convince Caroline to return home, but what am I supposed to say to her then? Just bear with it. Deal with it. Something like that? I'm not going to say something so heartless to her. And even if I did, that won't fix anything. It's like a band aid. A temporary solution. Sooner rather than later, Caroline will run away again, or perhaps do something even more drastic. Nothing would be solved.

Really, going to Elis was my only option, but even that didn't work out. I don't think anything would change if I tried that again. My only hope with Elis, is that she'll think things through and come to the decision herself to come and bring Caroline back home.

That would be the best possible outcome. Still, I wish there was something that I could do in the meantime. Or some backup plan that I could use. There's nothing, however. Absolutely nothing that I can do.

Nothing.

Tuesday evening.

My nights off work are still Tuesdays and Saturdays, so I lie down on my bed when I get home just staring at the ceiling, my mind wandering. Caroline had already claimed the couch, if you were wondering.

It's the day after I went to go see Elis. I'd been called out to my dean's office. I was pretty heavily reprimanded, though I can't exactly blame him for being so strict. I can't say that was unreasonable of him, given that I skipped the very first day of the new school year.

During my mind's wandering, obviously what pressed the most on my mind was Caroline's situation, though I've already gone into depth on that above.

Of course, that didn't take up all my time. Moving on from that, I also had to think about my finances. With Caroline staying here for the foreseeable future, I'm going to start struggling sooner rather than later.

Even when I'm living by myself, once I've payed rent and bought groceries, I only end up saving a very small amount. With Caroline staying here, my savings will probably go dry pretty quick. And I'd almost finally made enough to buy a phone. With Valentine's Day coming up soon as well, I might have to put getting a phone on hold for a time.

Come to think of it, me and Tayla have been going out for almost six months now that I think about it. I feel like I should know the exact date, but I can't tell you any more than it was probably in early September that we started dating.

The sound of the front door opening makes me jump out of bed. I almost trip but somehow, I managed to land on my feet, and I run through to the lounge where Caroline already is.

Who is it? I hope it's just Tayla. I mean, as I run I start to calm down, who else could it be? Tayla's the only other person with a key. Then again, she's right about how I need to lock the door more often.

When I burst into the lounge, it's a relief to see that it is indeed Tayla standing in the entranceway, but there's someone else standing behind her.

"Elis?"

Caroline looks past Tayla in shock, to see her sister here. Quickly, however, her face sours and she becomes defensive.

"Why is she here? Why did you tell her I'm here?"

"I didn't tell her," Tayla replied, "someone else told her before I could."

Caroline turned to me.

I breathed in to regain my composure, before shrugging, "I thought maybe it would be a good idea for you to talk to your sister. That is why you're here, right, Elis?"

"No, I'm only here because Tayla made me come," Elis spoke coldly, "but, I guess while I'm here I could at least talk to her."

I smiled at her while Caroline wasn't looking at me, but Elis ignored me.

"Then the two of us will just be in Alexander's room," Tayla said, walking briskly through the lounge to join me in the doorway to the hall.

"No. I don't want this."

I looked down at Caroline.

"Get her to go away. I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to go home."