Chapter Three: Scarf Wearing Men
“No, Justin…” Nicola let out a huge groan and walked over towards the man who was looking quite frustrated, “you’re right foot is supposed to land HERE” she pointed the ground beneath her and repeated the steps for him to see, “Try again”
Justin Timberlake sighed and fought to keep his temper cooled while going through the choreography with Nicola. She was a slightly meek and passive person outside of the dance room, but get her instructing and she was an entire different person. It was his second week working with her and so far it had been an enjoyable experience. He had gotten to know Nicola a bit better and it was fun working with her. It always cracked him up to see her petite body so angry and motivated.
Ella was also usually there while he danced, she would point and laugh whenever he tripped, snicker when Nicola would criticize his talents and simply smile when he ran out of breath. It was a common occurrence for her to be around and he thought that he had learned to take her fairly well. However, she never ceased to amaze or confuse him. Today she was gone to an interview concerning her furniture. He had never seen her creations, the only times they conversed was in the studio with Nicola between them. It wasn’t a friendship quite yet, but they were on their way. The constant debating and bickering would drive those around them nuts and Justin chuckled to himself thinking of their last argument. She had called him cocky! How dare her. It was mere confidence; it wasn’t his fault that people got confused with the two.
Nicola placed her hands on her hips, “Justin “ as much as you love looking at yourself in the mirror, can you please start moving you’re feet?” he snapped out of his trance.
“Sorry, Nicola…I was just thinking”
“Well, think some other time, Justin “ I would like to get out of her sometime soon” Nicola said with an angry tone to her voice. It had been a highly stressful day and she was tired of catering to every one. The sooner he did his job, the sooner she could go home.
“Lighten up, Nic” Ella’s voice floated to the room and both Justin and Nicola turned their attention towards her. Ella simply shook her head and fought to smile.
Justin sighed and noted the disappointment in her eyes, “I’m sorry”
Nicola was already at Ella’s side, stroking the girl’s hair. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong…I put every part of myself into these pieces”
“Well, just keep trying, Ella…someone will fall in love with them…don’t give up” Nicola encouraged.
Ella straightened her back and Justin noticed the way she mentally changed her attitude in seconds, “I don’t give up” she laughed and he didn’t join with her.
Why did she hide emotions so much? For someone so happy and carefree, she sure did put up a strong front when she was angry or disappointed.
Justin smiled and looked at Ella, “hey…”
“Come on guys! Don’t act so depressed” Ella said with a laugh, “it was just someone who said ‘no’…I’m not going to sulk”
“Maybe you should sulk” Nicola said with a mischievous look in her eyes, “ice cream?”
Ella’s face lit up, “chocolate?”
“Double”
Clasping her hands together, Ella tightened her grip on Nicola’s waist, “I feel better already”
“What are you doing tonight, Justin?” Nicola asked, noticing Justin’s lack of input in their conversation.
“My, um…Maddie’s flying in” he mumbled, not sure as to why he wanted to keep their relationship away from Ella and Nicola.
“Were you going to tell us that she’s you’re girlfriend?” Ella asked. Justin simply stared at her. There was that blunt honesty that made her intriguing and irritating at the very same time.
“Well, if you guys get bored “ we’ll have ice cream” Nicola said, in the friendliest way she could muster.
“Its double chocolate” Ella said, forgetting about her question as she began groaning in pleasure, “I can’t wait”
“I take it she’s a fan of chocolate?” Justin kidded, grateful for the change of topic.
Nicola rolled her eyes, “Honey “ she lives for it. Anyway “ back to work, I have got to get OUT of here” Nicola went back to her position in front of Justin and set her feet in their assigned stance. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gavin walking in and she immediately let out a loud yelp, “Forget it! Forget it! Let’s just have a freaking party, Gavin “ did you bring any friends with you?”
Gavin simply ignored her and went straight to Justin, “Hey man, I’m going to need you for a short time tomorrow, we have to discuss the rider”
Justin shook his head, “sorry I can’t. I have obligations”
Seizing the opportunity, Ella pepped up, “his girlfriend’s flying in”
“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend”
“Neither did the rest of the world, but loud mouth over there is going to get the news around I’m sure” Justin said, pointing to Ella like a child.
Ella simply drew her hands back, “whatever, Justin…I have much better things to do in my life than gossip about you’re love life”
“What- like trying to find one of your own?”
Pretending to be completely shocked by his words, Ella took a step back and staggered towards the wall, “Oh, that one hurt, Timberlake…right in the heart”
Justin rolled his eyes and turned back around to Gavin, “how about Wednesday?”
“That should work” Gavin said with a slight hesitation, “it’ll just have to be squeezed in tightly…one thirty on the dot, Justin “ no later”
“I wont be…I think I’ll be here already anyway” Justin said, noting the fact that he would pretty much be living in studio until he went out on tour.
“Alright... I have to get back to a meeting, bye man. Ella” Gavin gave her a wave and turned to Nicola, “later” he said, winking as he made his way out the door.
Ella didn’t miss the blush on Nicola’s cheeks and she raised her eyebrow suspiciously, “hmm” she said softly, causing Nicola to nudge her roughly in the side. Ella simply laughed and removed a stray blonde hair that had fallen from Nicola’s hairpins, “go dance you’re heart out”
“Always” Nicola smiled and clapped her hands, drawing Justin’s attention away from his cell phone. He saw her look of determination and sighed. Something told him that it was going to be a very long couple of hours.
----------------------------------------------------
“Nic “ what did you do with the Hershey’s syrup?”
Ella was sitting Indian-style on the counter and as she waited for Nicola to reply and glanced down at her attire for the laid-back night. It consisted of a pair of flannel pajamas and an oversized Beatles tee-shirt, her hair was messily pulled up in a bun, her bangs falling in front of her glasses covered eyes. She definitely wouldn’t be winning any fashion awards that night. For the past thirty minutes, she and Nicola had done nothing but eat junk and laugh about the amount of calories they were consuming. Nicola had taken a break from the gorging to call Clay and Ella had fought the urge to gag as she heard Nicola talking sweetly to him in the other room.
“NICOLA!”
From around the corner, Nicola came with a sour expression, her outfit wasn’t any better than Ella’s and Ella tried not laugh when Nicola tried to look even angrier. The biker shorts and Minnie Mouse tee shirt wouldn’t even allow her to intimidate a five year old at that moment.
“Hershey’s” Ella repeated with an angelic smile.
Nicola walked over to the refrigerator, her feet padding on the tile floor until she paused in front of the shelves. Within seconds she had found the means of chocolate and handed the bottle to Ella. She watched in disgust as Ella poured it down her throat with no sense of remorse. Nicola swallowed and shook her head when Ella opened her eyes and grinned with what looked to be a mouthful of chocolate, “That’s disgusting, Ellie”
Ella only widened her grin and showed off the brownish tint of her teeth with pride, “are my teeth brown yet?”
“You want them to be brown?” Ella nodded her head enthusiastically and Nicola was afraid to even ask why, “yeah, they’re quite a bit darker than usual”
“Awesome” Ella said with a giggle, “now I know how Mr. Duby feels”
Nicola let a laugh escape her mouth before she could control herself. Clay had stopped himself from talking about business long enough to ask Nicola what was so funny, but when Nicola continued to watch Ella imitate the pastor that would be marrying her and Clay; she couldn’t stop herself from cracking up.
Ella had stuck her teeth out and was standing with her butt far behind her, “We are gathered here today…” she spoke into the Hershey’s syrup and stuttered in between the licking of her lips before continuing, “to wed in holy matrimony…”
When Clay got so frustrated with Nicola that he threatened to hang up, Nicola cut off her giggles and walked away from the kitchen, leaving Ella to entertain the appliances, “I love you too”
“I’ll see you tomorrow baby. My mom wants to discuss more wedding plans”
Nicola rolled her eyes just thinking about the woman but recovered and spoke into the phone, “alright- can’t wait…love you, baby. Bye” She hung up the phone and went back into the kitchen where Ella was now acting normal enough by consuming more junk.
“Did you tell Clay I said hello?” Giving her friend a look, Nicola shook her head and sat down. She popped a chip into her mouth and crunched, “Nic…” Ella began.
“I know that voice” Nicola said, “You’re getting ready to ask me something insanely personal and when I protest you’re going to back me into a corner and blackmail with something you’ll uncover from my past and then I’ll have to tell you and then you’ll proceed to tell me that you knew it all along…so just get it over with already and spit it out”
Ella blinked and smiled, “You know me too well “ anyway…do you like Gavin?”
Nicola dug her head into the table, “How did I know that was going to come along in the near future? And the answer would be a simple no”
“Do you think he’s gorgeous?”
“I think that’s a give in”
Nodding, Ella agreed, “I have to say that he is a definite cutie…not my type exactly…but he’s pretty nice looking”
“Oh Ella, please! What exactly IS you’re type?”
“I don’t have a type” Ella stated simply, placing a spoon pilled high with two different flavors of ice cream into her mouth.
“Oh shut up, everyone has a type whether they want to admit it or not” Nicola said with a faux disgust, “I see you with a preppy blonde who wears pleats in his khakis…” Nicola was planning on continuing before Ella gagged loudly and waved her hands in the air.
“Stop!” she paused to think and with an excited smile she said, “I want a guy who wears scarves”
Nicola furrowed her eyebrows, “that’s a pretty broad statement”
Ella stopped, “I want a guy who wears a scarf WELL”
Silence came between the both of them as they thought. In a few seconds, they began to nod in unison, “much better” Nicola said.
Ella smiled and continued scooping ice cream out of the carton and plopping it into the bowl while Nicola murmured something about Clay under her breath. She had a type. She just hadn’t found anyone that met the criteria quite yet.
And like Nicola was the one to talk - she was smitten by a guy who used pocket protectors!
“Nic, I’m going to pick up the pizza!” Ella announced, taking the last bite of her ice cream before wrapping a shawl tightly around her shoulders and disappearing out the door.
----------------------------------------------------
Soft giggles floated through a near empty bedroom as Justin used his hands to tickle the bottoms of Maddie’s feet. She swatted his long arms away and rolled over on her stomach, “Stop, Justin!” she demanded, not successful in wiping the smile off of her face.
Justin grinned and stopped harassing her. Her blonde hair was ruffled and her tan cheeks were flushed with a light pink, “Are you wore out?” he asked her with a twinkle in his eye, “Because you know “ it’s only nine thirty…we have a whole night ahead of us”
Maddie pulled on his shirt collar and brought him down beside her with not much effort, “lets just stay inside…I don’t feel like a night on the town”
“You never feel like a night on the town” he said, falling at her side while weaving his legs through hers.
Frowning, Maddie pouted her lips and sighed, “It’s not my fault you’re a party animal”
“It’s not my fault that you aren’t” he stated, very matter of fact. He wasn’t upset with her, or even annoyed. The pleasure of her company was keeping him quite entertained and the way she looked at him with her large brown eyes pulled him into her. She had arrived around seven and ever since he had set his eyes on her, he never doubted their decision to be committed solely to each other. She had swept her way into his car wearing a cardigan and dress pants, her petite stature and conservative clothing, pleased both him and his mother and he was proud to call her his own. Lynn had told him that it had been too long since he had dated a normal, genuinely nice girl, and he agreed. Mother knew best, and this time, like almost every other time, she happened to be right on target.
“What are you thinking?” Maddie asked him, intertwining his fingers with hers.
Justin took the moment to bring out his humor and paused, “hmmm…I was thinking about how nice a hamburger would be”
She shoved him and giggled, “Really!”
“I thought it was obvious” he said with raised eyebrows, “and you shouldn’t have to ask” the tone of his voice became possessed with a certain rhythm and poetic muse to it, and Maddie smiled at his playfulness.
“Tell me” she prodded.
He leaned down and hovered his mouth over hers, “You”
Deepening the kiss, they stayed lying together on the floor, the form of their bodies curving against each other like a puzzle. As Maddie’s eyelids lowered, Justin breathed in the scent of her and stroked the stray strands of her hair with his thumb. For once, life seemed perfect, and he had no doubt in his mind that he was finally on the right track.
----------------------------------------------------
Ella traveled down the sidewalk, hugging her arms close to herself as she surveyed the people walking past her. It was dark outside, but Ella was undaunted by the crevices and shadows of the walkway she was passing on. It was just a routine for her, she couldn’t count the times that she had taken walks in New York City past eight o clock, and none of them had been threatening before. She shivered when the wind hit her face and sent chills down her spine. The fall’s air had gotten much cooler than she remembered and she wished she would have thrown more on her upper body than a thin shawl. The walk to the Pizzeria was a few blocks long and it usually took no time to get there, but when the cold was moving against you, it seemed to take ages.
When the bright red lights caught her attention, Ella was never more thankful to see the neon lighting piercing her eyes than she had been at that particular moment. Speeding her steps, Ella approached the door and smiled with great appreciation when the warmth and rich smell of pizza filled her senses, “finally” she said under her breath, shaking off the cool air with a quick gesture of her hands. Ella took a few more steps to the counter and told them she was her for a pickup. It took them a few moments to locate her name and regretfully told her that it would be at least fifteen or twenty minutes. Ella simply smiled and told them it was fine, while inside she was groaning. She could be at home eating ice cream right now! Not that ice cream sounded that great when it felt like her nose was frozen.
Sitting down in one of the barstools, Ella looked around and marveled at the small crowd. Usually the place was hopping with people. It was arguably the best pizzeria in the rural areas of New York and Ella happened to love the place. With her thoughts drifting to some other world, Ella failed to notice the familiar man walking into the restaurant.
“This place is awesome” Justin said to Maddie who clung to his arm protectively.
“Are you sure it’s alright for you to be here?” she asked, looking with wide eyes around the restaurant, “I mean - what if someone sees you?”
“What if someone sees you? They might try to steal you away from me” Justin said with a twinkle in his eyes. Noticing her lack of amusement, he pulled her closer to him and whispered, “Maddie “ it’s fine…I come here a lot…if something goes wrong, I know the managers and they have a procedure to follow”
Maddie nodded and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, this just seems so big and crazy compared to Memphis”
“Well, I’m used to it, baby…so leave this up to me, okay?” Maddie nodded against his shoulder and he fought not to laugh at her.
He walked up to the counter and began placing his order. The young girl behind the counter was trying to hide her excitement, but the way she stuttered over his order, he could tell she was slightly nervous. He still didn’t understand when he had that affect on people, it made him feel nervous because he was in complete control of the situation and nothing he did made anybody feel any better, so usually he was just polite. Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw a familiar figure, but he shook his head. The odds were too great. But when he took the change from the girl, he looked over once again and the resemblance was unmistakable.
It was definitely Ella.
He slowly made his way over to her, not missing the fact that Maddie was watching his every move, and tapped Ella on the shoulder with softness to his touch. Still, the contact surprised her and she jumped off the barstool and faced him with wide eyes. The two green orbs slowly returned to their normal size as she recognized him. She began to laugh and contagiously, he followed suit. Maddie stood watching them, unsure as of what it was she should do. Justin didn’t help matters any as he kept his eyes on Ella, “nice pj’s” he teased.
Ella could feel her face flush and she looked down at her outfit. She hadn’t planned on running into anyone, “It’s what I call nighttime chic” she said with confidence, striking a pose.
Justin shook his head,” no…I wouldn’t quite call it chic. And that’s definitely not what I’m used to seeing at nighttime” Ella stepped back and Justin thought twice about what had left his mouth. He wanted to shoot himself right there. His girlfriend was with him and he had thrown a flirtatious comment at another woman! Taking the awkward moment, Justin sucked in his breath and smiled, “Ella “ this is my girlfriend, Maddie” he emphasized the words, but he figured that the damage had already been done.
Ella looked at the girl and noted her choice of clothing. A curve hugging sweater fit her frame perfectly and a pair of crisp khakis hugged her legs. What looked to be penny loafer’s topped off the ensemble and Ella wasn’t surprised that this was the kind of girl Justin found attractive. From the top of her blonde headed ponytail wearing head, to the bottom of her feet, this girl screamed “Southern Charm” and Ella had to smile at the couple. She extended her hand and smiled widely, “Hey! It’s so nice to meet you. As Justin said, my name’s Ella”
Maddie gave Ella a distasteful look and ignored the hand that Ella still had hanging in the air. She looked at Justin and swallowed, “do you want me to find a booth?”
Justin didn’t miss the daggers in his eyes and he scolded himself when he sent her off looking for one. He wasn’t winning any awards with Maddie that night, “I am so sorry” he told Ella as Maddie went stomping off through the restaurant.
Shaking her head, Ella looked at Maddie and then back at Justin, “I’m afraid that I’m not the one you should be apologizing to” Justin fell silent and simply nodded.
A mischievous grin on her face, Ella tried to stop the words before they escaped her mouth, but couldn’t “although I must admit “ that was the funniest ‘foot in mouth’ moment I have ever witnessed in my life!” she buckled over in hysterics and Justin shot her a look.
“I really need to go” he said, guilty over what had happened.
“Yes you do” she stated, “the longer you talk to me, the longer you have to argue with her over why you were talking to me for so long”
“Ella “ don’t flatter yourself, in that outfit “ the least Maddie is worried about is me chasing you” Justin shot at her, beginning to walk off.
“Oh please!” Ella hollered, “I do not look that bad” she glanced down at the design on her flannels and laughed; “besides “ according to you - you’ve seen me in a lot less!” Justin’s mouth fell open and within seconds Ella announced, “Pizza’s done, see you Justin” Ella said before he could react. She grabbed her pizza from the counter and whizzed through the door before he could even think of something else to say.
Recovering from her words, Justin turned around and set his stare on Maddie whose back was facing him. He knew by the way her shoulders sunk in that she was probably full of tears and he wanted to kick himself. Why had he stopped to talk to Ella? He hadn’t conversed with the girl for a total of two hours over the span of three months and he had chosen her to talk to instead of reconciling with his girlfriend. Sometimes his own stupidity amazed him. Not that he would admit that out loud.
Sliding in next to her, Justin stayed still, not attempting to make any physical contact with her, “hey” he whispered.
“Hey” she shot back at him, anger embedded in her tone.
Justin searched for words and finally just began to pull things from the top of his head, “look Maddie…I’m sorry…you’ve got to understand that what happened back there was a situation that I definitely wasn’t trying to put myself in. I acted like a complete jerk and I just…I…I am so sorry”
Maddie looked at him for the first time and Justin was right in his assumption that tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks, “Justin…that was just so…rude…and unlike you! I mean you openly ADMITTED that you found the girl attractive…you’ve probably slept with the whore”
Shocked by her bluntness, Justin pulled back, “I don’t think that was necessary” he said solemnly, “You don’t even know her”
“And now you’re defending her, Justin! You’re defending HER when you should be telling me that she’s nobody!”
Justin stuttered, “Mad…Maddie, you don’t understand “ I barely even know her! She’s my choreographer’s best friend, I’ve never even spent time alone with the girl!” he knew that was a tiny white lie, but even though he had been alone with Ella, nothing had happened and what Maddie didn’t know couldn’t possibly hurt her. He went back to Maddie’s former statement, “And I never said or acted as if I found Ella attractive”
Maddie humphed and threw her hands up, “You were sizing her up in front of me, Justin!”
“Maddie!” he lowered his voice and took a deep breath, “I wasn’t sizing her up. I was amused; did you see what she was wearing?”
“Yes I did, but I got over it. People go out in their pajama’s a lot…but I mean, maybe since you’re so used to seeing hers in the floor that you forgot what they looked like on!”
Justin stopped his side of the conversation and looked straight ahead, “Maddie, that’s enough. If you don’t trust me enough to know that it was an honest mistake that those words slipped out of my mouth, then you don’t need to be here. I had just got done being flirtatious and open with you and I’m sorry if I was still in the mood. I probably would have said the same thing to the man twirling pizza behind the glass paneling”
Maddie hung her head and sighed, “I know I’m probably overreacting, Justin…but you don’t know how much it hurt to see you flirting with someone right in front of me. I mean, that only tells me what you act like when I’m NOT around” Justin nodded his head and decided to take the beating, “I came here to see you and to be with you and for the two minutes she was in front of you’re face, all you could do was look at her in amazement. I’ve never even seen you look at me like you looked at her”
He thought about what she was saying and tried to be honest, “Look…Maddie. I would be lying if I said that Ella didn’t intrigue me, because she does. But that’s it. To be honest with you “ the girl irritates me as much as she strikes my curiosity. At times I find her so appalling that it makes me cringe! But I can’t help the fact that her weirdness makes me think”
Maddie sighed, “Think about what?”
Justin searched his mind and began to speak, “she just makes me think about being different, unique. I can watch her talk to some stranger and it will leave an impression on both of their lives. I want to have that kind of impact…not quite in such a “wow, that person’s weird” kind of way”…but in the kind of way that makes people question their own intentions in life”
When Maddie was quiet, Justin applauded himself of the summarization he gave of Ella. That’s exactly what she did to him. She made him think.
Maddie finally decided to speak and with the reasoning in her voice, Justin knew things were going to be just fine, “I’m sorry” she said, “I shouldn’t have overreacted or said rude things about someone I don’t even know”
Squeezing her shoulder, Justin kissed her forehead, “don’t worry about it “ I apologize first and foremost…I shouldn’t have excluded you…but I mean, you have to admit” he smiled and couldn’t read Maddie’s expression, so decided to continue, “she did look-“
Maddie had placed her hand over his mouth and she just shook her head, “No, Justin “ stop”
He nodded and closed his mouth. They were going to start this night over and he wasn’t going to mention Ella anymore until Maddie made the first choice to talk about the situation. So with a deep breath, he smiled and took her hand, “what kind of pizza do you want?”
----------------------------------------------------
Ella balanced the pizza in her arms as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. The warmth from the box had kept her shivers under control as she walked through the cold air on the way home. Though the wind wasn’t as bitter, she still found herself sniffling as she pounded on the door. She kept on reliving the experience at the Pizzeria and she shook her head in disbelief. His girlfriend was mad - extremely mad. She hated to be the reason why the couple would probably be fighting right now, but thinking back to what Justin said, she came to the realization that it was solely his fault.
When Nicola finally opened the door, Ella rushed in and placed the box on the table, “it is SO cold out there I just want to…jump in a Jacuzzi!”
Nicola shook her head and laughed, “go right ahead, but I am digging into this pizza while its warm. What took you so long anyway?”
“The people didn’t have the pizza ready so I had to wait” Ella paused and started laughing, “but you won’t believe who I ran into”
“Who..?” Nicola said, not really listening intently to what Ella had to say as she rummaged through the box.
Ella paused, “Justin”
Nicola looked up quizzically, “what is he doing on this side of town?”
“He was with his girlfriend” Ella continued, “his…June Cleaver girlfriend”
Nicola began to giggle, “I can see him with a June Cleaver”
“Well that’s her “ and I’m not saying that’s bad, she pulls off the look so well” Ella said seriously, “she’s gorgeous actually…but…oh man! Did he screw up!” Ella furthered her story and within minutes Nicola was gasping for breath as she laughed.
“He didn’t!” Nicola said, her head positioned on top of the table as she grabbed the sides for support, “I knew he opened his mouth too much, but I didn’t know he could be such an idiot”
“Oh he was definitely being idiotic” Ella said, “and then he stood there to TALK to me! And I honestly don’t know why, because we barely even talk, I mean, Nic…he left her LOOKING for a booth!”
Nicola shook her head, “that’s crazy…I have got to teach that boy a few things besides dancing “ like manners!”
“I would so not do that if Maddie is around” Ella said with wide eyes, “I was kinda scared of the girl…but I’m sure they’re in lovers land right now, making up and giving each other kisses and all that jazz” Ella flopped down and started to shove a piece of pizza in her mouth before she caught Nicola looking at her strangely, “What?”
“Oh nothing” Nicola said, turning her attention back on her own food, “nothing at all”
Ella ignored Nicola and delightfully savored the cheese that melted her mouth, “this is some awesome stuff” she kept the rest of her thoughts to herself and couldn’t help smiling at the memory that would definitely be planted in her mind for a long time. Justin had looked as if the heat inside of that restaurant was going to strangle him. Ella stopped chewing immediately. Strangling reminded her of his neck…and his neck reminded her of…She shook her head and swallowed roughly. The coincidence was just too much and she didn’t want to remember it. That would cause too much stress on her brain and she didn’t need anymore stress in her life, period. But as her mind drifted back to the particular setting, she grimaced at the thought…his neck reminded her of the black, wool scarf that he had tied around it.
She remembered what she had said: “I want a guy who wears scarves…but I want a guy who wears a scarf WELL”
Thinking back to the way that Justin had tied the scarf strategically with loops and knots surrounding the collar of his jacket, Ella pushed her plate away and let her head crash into the table. She decided that the pizza no longer looked very appetizing and with a push of her chair away from the table, she ventured into her room without a word of goodnight to Nicola. Continuing her travels into the bathroom, Ella gripped the mirror and breathed out to create a fogged reflection of herself, “This is you right now” she said rationally. And with the swipe of her hand, she removed the fog and smiled into the clean glass, “this is who you should be”
Shuddering once more at the night’s events, Ella turned on the hot water that would soon pour into her bathtub and poured bubbles into the liquid with no sense of measurement. All she wanted to do was sit back and relax in a hot, steamy world of bubbles and comfort. Life was getting way too weird.
Even for her.
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