Page 70 of Eleanor & Grey

Lorelai shrugged and went back to eating. “Okay, that’s fine.”

Coloring—that was easy enough.

Then, from around the corner, I heard a grumbling sound.

Claire sighed. “Here comes Little Miss Sunshine.” She turned to me quickly and patted the chair beside her. “Here, Ellie, come sit by me, and remember, don’t take anything personally with Karla. She doesn’t mean it, even if she says it.” She paused. “Especially if she says it.”

“Grandma, I really wish you wouldn’t come stomping into my room like that. It’s so annoying. Plus, I know how to wake myself up for school. I’m not a child.” Karla grumbled as she turned the corner into the dining room. Her limp was very noticeable, but I tried my best to not display any kind of reaction to it. She was dressed head to toe in black and her hair was still dripping wet from her shower, stringy and hanging in front of her face. She mostly kept her head down, and when she moved to the table, she didn’t look up at anyone. She didn’t make one sound.

“Good morning, Karla,” Claire said, walking over to her granddaughter with Karla’s meal and kissing her forehead.

“Whatever,” Karla muttered. She inhaled her food quickly as we all sat there in silence for a moment.

“Karla, this is Ellie, the new nanny.”

She looked up at me slowly, and I felt like a complete idiot because I quietly gasped as she moved the hair partially hiding her face.

The scars…

Allison had prepared me for them, but still, I wasn’t prepared enough.

They were more intense than I could’ve imagined. They ran from all directions across her skin, but the one that was most noticeable seemed to start at her forehead and slice across her left eyelid, which appeared to be swollen. Her left eye had a red spot near her pupil that seeped into her potent blue stare.

I’d never seen anything like it.

God, her eyes were as cold as her father’s.

“Grrr.” Karla growled, clenching her jaw as she leaned toward me. My stomach knotted up and I wasn’t quite sure how to react, so I just kept staring. Oh, gosh. Staring was probably the worst thing I could do, because Karla kept growling. “Grrr! Grrrr!”

“Karla Marie, knock it off this instant,” Claire snapped at her granddaughter, yet Karla didn’t pull back.

“Grrr! Hisssss! Grrrr!” she hollered, keeping her eyes locked on me.

“Karla, that’s enough,” a stern voice snapped, making my stare move from Karla to her father. Greyson stood in the doorframe wearing his suit and tie with, coffee cup in his hand and his eyes on his daughter. “Quit it.”

“I’ll quit when she stops staring at me like I’m a fucking freak of nature,” she snapped.

“No, I wasn’t…you aren’t…” I started, my voice shaky as ever, but Greyson cut me off.

“Watch your language,” he scolded, and she gave him the most dramatic eye roll I’d seen in quite a while. Truly I hadn’t known eyes could roll so deeply.

“Sorry, Father,” she mocked, standing up from the table. She grabbed her bowl of cereal. “Since I used bad language, I should be banished to my room until it is time to be driven to prison by my servant.” And with that, she left.

Greyson didn’t look my way once, and I didn’t know why I expected him to do such a thing. He walked through the dining room toward the kitchen. From my seat, I watched him pour more coffee into his tumbler before he turned around and walked across the space. He didn’t speak as he walked back through the dining room.

“Bye, Daddy! I love you!” Lorelai said, to which Greyson replied, “You too.”

Then, he was off to work.

“I’m sorry about Karla. I won’t lie, she’s going to be the hard one,” Claire remarked. “I can’t blame her for her hardness, though. She’s been through more than most, though, for the most part, she’s physically handling her changes well. She’s adapted to moving around quite quickly and is pretty self-sufficient. Now, on the emotional front, there’s a bit of struggle. Don’t let her exterior throw you, though. She may act tough, but our Karla has the gentlest heart. She just gets hurt easily. Don’t take her moods personally. She’s working through a lot.”

I smiled. “Aren’t we all?”

Out of nowhere, Lorelai looked up from her breakfast and turned my way. “Hey, Ellie?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure I can’t wear my pajamas to school today? I’m really comfortable, and I think I’ll learn better with them on.”

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