elvie has lived in the same bedroom in the same house for his entire life. he imagines that it’s the closest thing in the entire world to what the inside of his brain looks like. the bright orange walls are plastered with horror movie posters, the floor is covered in clutter, and elvie can never find something when he needs it. he slipped off his glasses and gathered astrea into his arms as he climbed onto the bed. his head on the pillows, elvie stared at the glow in the dark stars stuck to his ceiling and listened to his girlfriend explain what led to her parents kicking her out of their house.
they want me to break up with you. dark brows pulled together as he lifted his head, frowning at astrea as though he didn’t understand but oh, he did. when they first started dating, her parents seemed indifferent to his existence. at the time, he didn’t realize that it was preferable to how they would come to feel about him. elvie wouldn’t care about her parents outright despising him simply for being poor, as they put it, if he didn’t know how much it bothered astrea. “oh,” he murmured, “that’s what you fought about?”
although it perhaps should not have surprised him, elvie was taken aback. he didn’t want to be the reason for a rift between astrea and her parents — especially since he knows how helpful they could be when she begins seriously studying archaeology in the next few years. after all, it wasn’t like elvie was ever going to make a name for himself, right? meanwhile, he believes that astrea really has a chance. “i’m sorry. i could try to get on their good side,” he offered, “again.” he’s starting to think that there’s no changing their minds when it comes to the topic of whether or not he’s good enough to be dating their daughter.
astrea never stays anywhere for too long. most of her life is packed in boxes from when her parents drag her to a new town or country. her room in salem is practically bare, save for a few knickknacks that she takes with her: a mini globe, one or two books on greek literature, a small house plant, and a framed picture of elvie. astrea rest her head against his arm, her fingers mindlessness drawing a pattern on his shirt.
she looks up at him as he moves, her nose scrunching in protest. she didn’t mean to make him feel bad, of course, she was just beinf honest. she shrugs her shoulders. “that and i’m generally being too rebellious for my own good.” she sighs and settles back into the bed. astrea shakes her head. “it’s no use, el- not because of you. they’re just so set in their ways. if i can’t change their minds, then you can’t either.” astrea turns so that she embraces him. “but i don’t care what they think” she murmurs against him. “i love you and they can’t ever change that.”