The Perfectionist

I was gradually building my stack of boxes in the corner of my room. I was packing everything together that I could claim was mine. It was time for me to get out of this house. Every day here was suffocating. My parents would bother me to go to college like Elly. How am I gonna get a good job without a degree? Why couldn't I be a doctor like Elly. It weighed me down like a wet blanket. I was doing perfectly fine for myself. I took a carpentry apprenticeship fresh out of school and I was already close to graduating from it and the money was good enough I could afford to live on my own. That wasn't enough compared to my sister's grand ambitions though. 

I stuffed another box full of books and added it to the stack. I'd already lined up everything to move out of here and disappear. I was gonna leave my bed and wardrobe my parents had bought so I didn't need then. I'd buy a bed the same day I moved or sleep on the floor until I had one shipped. As of this Saturday I was a free man. I grinned at the thought. I finished tossing the last of my belongings into boxes, everything except my PC. I'd need that bad boy to survive the rest of the week here.

I'd play the part of the dutiful son. Do the mundane chores that were expected of me. I'd listen to the 1000th speech about how I could make more money if I went 30k into debt and then pretend I'd consider changing my way. With an end in sight it all seemed... tolerable. After 22 years the winds of change were blowing in my direction and the breeze felt nice. 

"What're those boxes for?" a curious voice said, interrupting my reverie. I froze up. It was Elly. 

"Why are you in my room?" I asked, dodging the question. She always did this. She always just barged right in like she owned the place. Well she could come and go whenever she liked when I was gone. I almost wanted to rub it in her face, but I didn't want her to tip mom and dad off. I really didn't want to spend all week fielding questions about where I was going and if I could afford to move out. My blood pressure didn't need that. 

"Hmm. I wanted to watch you play." Elly said cutely. I could feel her directly behind me now. "What about the boxes?" She pressed. 

"I was just thinking of moving this stuff into the closet. My room was feeling a little cramped" I said nonchalantly. I stood up and almost bumped into her. "Damnit Elly what did I tell you about personal space?" I complained, facing her. I had to move to the side to get some room to breathe. 

Elly was short standing at 5' 4" inches. She had a perfect heart shaped face and silky smooth black hair that went down to her waist. It took her forever everyday to groom it. Her eyes were a deep blue and they always seemed to be trained on me like she was some kind of guard dog. She had a slim waist, and a sizable chest. By all measures she was hot. I didn't like her, but even I was forced to admit it. A combination of my parent's doting and her complete disregard for my privacy made her good looks easy for me to ignore though. 

"But there's nothing in here." She replied furrowing her brows. "Even all your little figures are gone..." She said looking at the empty shelf above my bed. 

"Well I guess even I gotta grow up some time. Right, Elly? At any rate I don't think I'll be playing any games today. Gotta study for my carpentry exam. It's coming up." I said, trying to push her toward the door. She dug in her heels. 

"Hey, I can help. I can quiz you." She said, staring at the boxes with a strange expression on her face. 

"That's okay. I have some online practice quizzes I can take." I said pushing her out of the room. She turned to say something but I closed the door on her. I let out a sigh and was about to sit down on the bed. When she started knocking on the door. 

"Isaac, I know you're lying to me... What's really going on?" She was shouting through the door now. So annoying. My parents would hear her like this. I opened the door just as she was about to start knocking again. 

"Elly come on, you're just being paranoid." I said she peeked around me looking around the room. 

"All of your stuff is gone." She said frowning. "If you don't tell me what's going on I'll tell mom and dad you're packing up all your stuff." I was starting to get a little frustrated at this point. She always did this. 

"If I tell you, I have to promise not to say anything." I said glaring down at her. She seemed happy about that for some reason and nodded. "I'm moving at the end of the week." I announced proudly, but she instantly deflated. She looked like she was about to start shouting when I put a hand on her mouth and pulled her into the room with a muffled whine. "Hey you promised." I warned. 

"You can't move! You always complain about how expensive everything is. Why don't you just stay and save up. You're always talking about that." She was really worked up. I'd expected her to be surprised, but not like this. 

"Come on, you always complain about how your room isn't big enough. You can store all your random crap in here after I'm gone. Easy peasy." All she did was look at the floor like I'd just slapped her. 

"Can't you change your mind?" She said, She'd reached out and grabbed my arm. 

"No. I already paid the deposit and everything. I even got some new furniture there." I felt a little proud of myself, but she looked like she was gonna be sick. 

"How far...?" She asked quietly. 

"About two hours away. There was a nice place that was cheap cause all the student-" 

"Why so far? It'll be hard for you to visit if you're that far." I frowned. 

"I didn't plan on visiting." I admitted awkwardly. She gripped my arm tighter.

"Why?" 

"Why? Because any time I'm here I have to live in your shadow Elly. Can't you see it? Every time I'm down there all they do is badger me to be just like you. I can't stand it. If I could have had my way I would have disappeared Saturday without a trace and that would have been it. I could take my 'worthless' apprenticeship with me." I said in air quotes mocking my father's words. All Elly did was whimper. 

"Can I come to you?" She asked timidly. 

"What? No." I said, confused. 

"But Isaac. I never said any of that stuff." She protested. 

"Yeah, instead you barge into my room and tell mom and dad every wrongdoing I've ever committed. You find a dirty mag? You tell mom. I bring a girl home and you tell mom or dad. You barge into my room whenever you want. All of my friends online don't even want to talk to me when you're there because they're too busy trying to chat you up." I aired out all the grievances I'd had with her over the years and she noticeably deflated with every word. Eventually I started to feel bad for her. I knew to some extent I couldn't blame all of my problems on her, and when it looked like she was about to cry I sighed. 

"I'm sorry... *sniff*" She said, rubbing her eyes. "I can't do that stuff if I'm just visiting... I promise you can make me leave any time." I felt a little awkward, and rubbed the back of my neck. 

"Look Elly... alright. You can come every now and then if you want. But you have to leave when I say." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, already looking a lot better. 

"Really? I can come?" She said smiling. God had I been played? 

"Yeah sure whatever. I don't know what you'll do there anyway." Yeah. She'll probably get bored after a few times and stop coming around. That's what I decided and gave her the address for the place I'd be moving after that. She seemed to cheer up almost immediately and disappeared down the hall. 

And with one decision my fate inextricably veered off course.