Chapter 10 The rest of the day seemed to go by in a weird blur . I felt disconnected from my body as I left school before my final class was finished and wandered in a daze to work as if on autopilet . Unfortunately , the moment I walked into the diner , Shirley took one look at me and sent me hore assuming I was lick I wanted to tell her I wasn't sick but scared yet no words came out as if I could no longer speak . I merely let Barry drive me home , unable to meet hie worried locks that he threw my way every now and then . " What happened , Ellie ? " Barry asked once we were parked outside of my house . I know you're not sick . Noah's been allowed to come back to school . I finally admitted , my voice sounded so far away that for a moment I didn't think I had spoken at all . Barry sighed and gave my hand a squeeze . ' I'm sorry , kiddo . Do you want me to talk to Liam ? Maybe he can speak with the school ? " I shook my head slowly . ' It will just make things worse . I just need to make it through this year and then it will be over . " I knew Barry wanted to help but there was little he could do . He wasn't family , he had no business getting involved . The school would just dismiss him and Noah would simply take it out on me . He had already reminded me of what would happen if I did something he didn't like . I was trapped yet again . The house never felt as empty as it did when I stepped in that evening . I suddenly hated it . The emptiness seemed to close in oppressively and i wished that Liam was home or even Aiden and Tammy . Anything to break the feeling of isolation . Get rid of him … It dawned on me then that this was exactly how Noah wanted me to feel . I had to leave . Opening the door , I blindly stepped out , barely feeling the cool autumn breeze against my damp cheeks . Just being outside felt better . I took a shaky breath , letting the cold air fill my lungs and chase away the suffocating sensation . I already knew where I was going before I truly thought about it . My feet carried me away from the house , following the all too familiar route . The only sound was that of my trainers on the damp pavement and my shuddering breath . Our street was set back from the main roads that fed life in and out of the city . The walk took me past the high school which now stood empty with everyone having gone home to eagerly enjoy the weekend . There was always something eerie about seeing the school so empty at night . It used to terrify me as a child and even now , while it didn't send me into a panic , it did still leave me uncomfortable . The bridge sat proudly over the Williamette River , beckoning me to it like a moth to a flame . I never could work out what it was about the bridge that drew me in and brought solace when everything else seemed to be in chaos . Even Noah's threats and cruelty couldn't take away the beauty and bliss I felt when I stood looking out over the river as it flowed below . The silence was only broken up by the sounds of nature and the occasional car going by , leaving me to sink into my own little world where I wasn't being bullied and I wasn't friendless . It was times like this that I thought about running away . However , as quickly as thought came it would go when I remembered my brother , Barry and Shirley . Liam and I had already been abandoned by our parents and left to fend for ourselves , I couldn't abandon Liam as well . Not after everything he did for me , everything he sacrificed . Even now he was sacrificing things for me including his life just so I had a roof over my head and the chance to go to college . All I had to do was deal with one little bully . It seemed insignificant when I compared it to things like that . I must have stood there , gazing out into the darkness for nearly an hour . By the time I decided to move , I was freezing and my limbs were stiff like stale gum . Pulling my coat around me more tightly , I turned back towards home , feeling calmer . That was until I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end .