Freebie purred and swooshed his tail as he lay on his spot on the couch. He was a little grumpy about Elinor taking her blanket back but the bowl of milk made up for it. “Sorry little guy,” she said with a faint smile, giving him a couple pets. “But I can’t take you with me.” He had no idea what was going on.
The red head sighed and looked around the apartment. She’d barely been there three months and while she was rarely home, she found she’d miss the place. Hollow Grove was a blessing and a curse. She’d laughed there, she’d cried there, she’d shed blood and pressed buttons. She’d fallen in love, she’d learned to live and now it was time to say goodbye.
The cut on her neck was already healed most of the way, the knife lay on the counter top with a few spots of blood beside it. She’d meant to kill herself. She really did. Pressing the blade to her throat, she was prepared to slice all the way through and end it. But then she realized she couldn’t go through with it. She didn’t want to die. She wasn’t a coward. So she was going to do the next best thing and leave instead. She’d be like Thomas, like Aurelia, like Lukas, like Remy, like Nikolai, like everyone she’d cared about who was now gone.
There was a pile of ash on the counter top too. She’d written goodbye letters to everyone she'd miss and had meant to deliver them that day but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Margaret, Ronnie, Joslyn, even her dad and brother. She’d written to them all but didn’t do it. She’d even gotten so far as to approach Noah’s house before chickening out. She tried to give him the wooden stake at least but he wouldn’t even take that. It was discarded on her shelf along with a few other random items she’d leave behind.
The cat meowed at her, wanting more pets, to which she gave. She felt bad leaving him but she couldn’t see herself traveling around the world with him. He’d find a new home somewhere; after all, he’d found her. She left the window cracked for him along with a bowl of food and water. She even set up a towel for him to sleep on. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the blanket Thomas gave her, but it’d have to do because she couldn’t leave that behind.
With one final sigh, Elinor stood up and grabbed her back pack. She didn’t have much to begin with and she was ready to start over. The last pieces of ‘Elinor Henry’ fit in one carry-on bag.
She headed to the door, feeling a lump in her throat. Noah’s letter was the only one not burned because she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it so easily. Why him? Who was to say. It would sit on the counter top, next to the knife and ashes for a few days until the land lady eventually made her rounds. Then it’d be thrown out like everything else.
How easy it was to get rid of something...
With weak smile, she turned the handle to the front door and opened it. She didn’t want to say goodbye but Hollow Grove wasn’t welcoming anymore. Many friends gone. Her family lurking in the shadows. She was done with being a revenge seeking bitch. If there was one thing she learned by being there, it was that there was more to life than killing people. That wasn’t who she was anymore. For years people had told her to give up on her plans but she didn’t want to give them that satisfaction of being right. It was finally time to do just that though and move on.
It was time to really live.
Freebie’s purrs filled the air as Elinor looked back one final time. “Later,” she said to no one before turning and walking out the door.
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