This was torture, pure and simple.
Somehow, she managed to find herself a small project in the garage that needed tending to. It was a small part which needed a bit of repair. Something she could easily pick up, take with her into her room, and fuss with for a while with a screwdriver.
Of course, she found that the project had finished itself up before too long and she was bored again. So rather than sit back and relax, she merely just began taking the part she just fixed up apart again, then put it back together. It was a simple way to keep sanity for the day, and by the time she heard someone open the door downstairs, she had taken it apart 17 different times. "HEY, WELCOME BACK!!" she shouted from her room as she began to try and fuss with the object for an 18th time.
From her room, she could hear the click of heels against the stairs, a sure clue that it was her Mom that had come home first. There was a knock at the edge of her door, and soon enough the auburn haired woman was peeking in. "Elenore..."
That was not a good sign. Ellie glanced up from what she was working on and literally asked in an exasperated tone "What did I do now?!"
The woman invited herself in and sat herself upon the bed, next to her daughter. In a stern tone, she pointed out the obvious. "Well, you nearly got yourself killed for one thing..."
Ellie's face scrunched up for more glaring in her Mom's direction. She hadn't even told her parents what happened, yet they had jumped to that conclusion. Never mind the fact they were actually correct in their assumptions. It still irritated the blonde. "Ya don't know that!"
The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes that matched her daughter's in color. "Well, you won't tell us what happened! Your injuries speak for themselves!" Her tone was starting to get on the verge of anger, but she took a deep breath, as if to calm herself. "No...I'm not here to accuse you of anything, Elenore."
"God... then can you stop calling me Elenore?!"
Her mom looked as if she was considering it, but she didn't give the girl a dead-set "yes" or "no" response. "Your Dad and I have been talking... we honestly don't know what is going on with you. You honestly don't seem to think about anything else but yourself. Maybe it's our own faults for putting you in that position in the first place."
Ellie was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that Hank had been talking to her parents too.
"Elenore... get up... there's something for you in the garage." The woman stood herself up, then aimed to assist the girl in her awkward cast to get up. Of course, the blonde seemed to shoo away her Mom's hands, hissing something about being able to get up just fine.
As they walked down the stairs, Ellie took a guess as to what could be in the garage. "Did ya guys get me a new tool set so I don't go f*ckin' bananas while stuck 'ere?"
"I'm not saying," the woman stated plainly as they eventually made it down the stairs. They began to walk towards the garage when some sort of strange whining began to sound.
It was coming from the garage.
There was no surprise in it anymore. "HOLY SH*T YOU GUYS GOT ME A F*CKIN' DOG?!!!! A MOTHER F*CKIN' DOG?!!!!!!! OH MY GOD... OH MY GOD!!!" It was no surprise that Ellie had always wanted a dog. Dogs were her favorite animal. Any medium to large sized dog, she wasn't fussy as long as it wasn't a purse dog. She had never had a dog before, and it was 100% to do with her family situation. The girl had to steady herself at the garage door so she wouldn't fall over.
Her mom placed a hand in front of her, as if to signal she wasn't allowed to go in to say hello the animal yet. "Obviously, it's not a surprise anymore. Yes. You have a dog. We got him from a Rescue Center. He's a purebred Australian Shepherd, about two years old. He's been in shelters two times. The first owners didn't tell the shelter the reason for his placement, but the second ones did. Apparently he suffers from separation anxiety. And now, he's your dog."
There was a pause in her voice before she addressed the reasoning for such a gift. "Elenore... he is only your dog. You are his only caretaker. You are his Mom. You can't afford to be so reckless anymore. You have someone who depends on you. Keep that in mind no matter where you go... okay?"
The girl was still beside herself from the sheer surprise of it all. "...holy sh*t... if I knew just bustin' up some bones would get me a dog... I would'a done this sooner..."
"Elenore!"
Glancing down to meet her Mom's eyes, she sighed out "I'm jus' kiddin'... no... don't ya worry... I ain't gonna let ya guys down..."
With that, the redhead lifted her arm out of the way. "Alright Ellie... the last place he was at, the folks called him Rex... I still need to fill out the paperwork... but they said you can keep the name the same or give him something completely different. It's up to you!"
With a burst of giddy energy, the girl was rattling at the door, seeming to almost forget how to turn the knob. She eventually got it open and began to make her way towards the sound. In the garage there was a plastic kennel with holes and a wire door. She could hear the sound of the dog's nails scraping against the plastic, trying to get out. Her mom made a comment under her breath about how the people at the shelter hadn't exaggerated about the separation anxiety, but Ellie didn't really hear it.
"Hey dude... let's get a look at you... come 'ere!" she uttered into the wire door, allowing her fingers to dip into the kennel. A black nose pushed itself against her fingers, sniffing as dogs usually did. In an almost feverish fashion, he began to start kissing her fingers.
"...sh*t... friendly lil' fella' aren't ya?" The garage definitely was not set up for a dog at the moment, but she really didn't care. She unlatched the door and out popped the dog. He was a mottled gray, white, black, and brown and he nearly bowled Ellie down. He was springing up and pressing his forepaws against the girl's chest which was quite solid at the moment thanks to her god awful cast.
However, now that the animal was no longer in the kennel, the blonde could now see the animal's eyes in the dim light. The right eye was green. The left eye was blue. Feeling a bit of water building up at the corners of her eyes, she quickly attempted to rub away any hints of the tears.
"...I'm namin' him Aque..." It was the only name that would ever suit her dog. She wouldn't ever let him down, ever again.
