Since Ellyn first got her new dorm room and roommate, she had been staying out late and coming in all times of the night. She imagined Emily wouldn't be fond of that, but she didn't want to stay in this hateful environment. She figured Emily would have thought she was some troublemaker or a girl in trouble, but it didn't matter. Ellyn didn't care what Emily though. Emily was a jerk, just some cheerleader nobody. No, Ellyn didn't care. She didn't, and she'd deny it if anyone said otherwise.
Since the tsunami hit, Ellyn had been there even less than before. She didn't have many possessions with her on Manta Carlos, and she had no desire to see a mourning Emily, who she figured would be even snappier and distant. Ellyn only had a few ruined books and reports, but she could get those replaced. Instead, Ellyn focused her efforts on repairing the library. She had spent a hefty amount of her time there avoiding her dorm before the disaster, so naturally it had a fond place in her heart.
It was eleven pm when Ellyn struggled into the dorm and plopped down on the couch with a huff. She had no energy to go into her room tonight. It was a cell, suffocating her. A constant reminder.
She laid one arm behind her head and rested her feet on the sofa's armrest as she gazed at the ceiling lost in thought. Why was this place so confusing? Ellyn had always known what she wanted out of life and how she planned to get it. Things weren't hard for her before this, but they were now. They were very hard. Before the redhead knew it, she was asleep. She hadn't even realized she was tired.
Primarily, Ellyn's dreams were darkness. it was cold, like water, and she was drowning, but it was only darkness. No sound. No nothing.
Ellyn was still groggy enough that it took her a full minute to understand what Emily was saying to her when her roommate shook her awake. She hadn't even recalled falling asleep and wondered how long it had been since she had gotten home.
"What time is it?" Ellyn asked, voice thick with drowsiness. She tried to look around, but the room was too dark for her to see anything of use. All she knew was that Emily was close, and the air felt a little thicker than normal, but she was too sleepy to piece together why that might be.
Now Ellyn shot over, panicked at having lost time. There was no reason for it, it was irrational, but she was exhausted and in the dark with her roommate, who as far as Ellyn was concerned didn't like her.
She had to think about something, but what was it? She couldn't remember. She stopped looking around to focus on Emily. "Did you just get home?" It was passed eleven at night; Ellyn knew that much. Had Emily been trying to stay out of the house, too?
Ellyn wasn't awake, but she was awake enough to know when serious shit was going down. Her face blanched, and she jumped up without a second thought, moving quickly to her room and slamming the door. Her breath was hard, heart hammering in her chest.
What the fuck was Emily? That had become a crucial question, and Ellyn decided that in the morning when things had calmed (or hopefully calmed) she would demand Emily tell her. This shit was ridiculous.
Ellyn had thought Emily just didn't like her, that Emily wanted a room to herself, but it seemed Ellyn was actually in danger and that thought furthered the rage in her chest. She had the right to know those things. How irresponsible was Emily that the other girl hadn't told Ellyn something this important?
What is Emily?
Luckily, Ellyn had remembered to lock the door, just as she promised Emily she would do every night. When she heard Emily rattling the door handle, she curled tighter in her bed, blankets bunched under her chin. She was silent. Listening. She stayed like that until she fell asleep.
The next morning when Ellyn woke, she rubbed her eyes and tried to recall if last night was a dream or not. She didn't remember falling asleep in the least. She got up from her bed and opened her door, expecting the day to turn out like any other. That was before she saw Emily.
Ellyn's breath caught in her throat. Was that even Emily? It had to be. She spotted the ward on her door, stuck to it with black, Demonic blood. If she woke Emily up, would the other girl kill her? Do something terrible to her? What had she done to be without a roommate in the first place?
El went to step over the demon as quietly as she could and tip-toe to the door. That way, she could run in case things got out of hand.
"Emily? Emily, wake up."
Emily didn't seem ready to pounce across the room and tackle Ellyn, but she wasn't fully awake yet. She was speaking what Ellyn imagined was demonic, and it was enough to leave Ellyn's face without any color.
"Emily, is this why you wanted me to lock the door?" Ellyn whispered, voice soft enough to crack. She reached back and laid her hand on the doorknob, prepared to bail if need be. "I can't understand what you're saying."
What could Ellyn say to this? How should she react? It seemed, for the time being, that Emily wasn't going to attack her, so she relaxed, and her hand slid from the door handle. Ellyn couldn't help but wince when Emily shifted forms. It sounded painful, and she tried her best not to watch.
"Yes, I saw, but only this morning. You must have changed after I went in my room." It was at this point that Ellyn noticed the paper on her door, stuck to it with Demonic blood. She pointed to it mutely. "Was that so you didn't enter my room? I locked my door like you told me to." Her voice was small.
"Are you okay, Emily? I'm -- I didn't know."