Chapter Nine: The Past Resurfaces
“She’s in critical condition. I don’t know what happened…one minute she was fine, and the next…she was in the floor…”
Ella watched silently as her father fought back tears. She wanted to scold herself for not being there sooner, or not being there when it happened…but something inside of her refused to hear it. She had made the choice of independence a long time ago…how could she have known that something like this would happen and throw her life off kilter? Dylan ran a hand through his salt and pepper colored hair and then took Ella by the shoulders, “she wants to see you”
Glancing in the mirror, Ella nodded. She felt as if it had been days since she had brushed her hair, or washed her face. Her normally smudged makeup was now beyond repair and her already fair skin had only been paled by the extremes of the situation. With a quick sweeping back of her bangs to the side of her ponytail, Ella rolled her neck and faced her father again, “I’m ready…I think” she said with a smile and a quick blink.
“Go…go on” he urged her, pushing her shoulders towards the room.
Ella looked at him once more before going inside the room. The state of her mother stole her breath away, and Ella refused to hold back tears any longer. With one rushed movement, she found herself at the side of Mary’s bed, “Momma?” she questioned “ knowing good and well that her mother wouldn’t answer her cries of recognition, “Mom…I’m so sorry…” Ella breathed, lying her head down beside Mary’s hand, “I didn’t know…if only I would have…” her whispers turned into silent thoughts inside of her head as she finally found the courage to study her mother’s frame.
Mary was frighteningly pale…so close to stark white that it was scary. Her hair was placed in a tall bun on top of her head and held in place by chopsticks, surely the job of some nurse who had no idea that Mary detested the whole ‘chopstick look’. Immediately upon noticing, Ella took the sticks out of Mary’s hair and began running her fingers through the tangled strands, “Oh…mom…you still manage to look beautiful even in this state…I…I want to dance with you…just like we did when I was little, remember? Do you remember, mom?”
“I remember” a voice said, causing Ella to jump before she turned to look at the face of her father who had just entered the room.
“Of course you do…you were there” Ella said with a smile, “I don’t know how many times I used you’re feet for a stepping stool”
“You never needed it…” Dylan chuckled, “You’ve been growing like a weed ever since you could crawl…”
“I still haven’t stopped” Ella stated with a sneer of her lips, “six feet “ here I come!”
Taking a serious turn in conversation, Dylan sighed, “They’ll have the reports on her condition soon…they were really confused at first, wondering…what could cause her to come down like this? They’ve considered cancer…diabetes, heart attack…they’re really confused”
“What do you think?” Ella asked, turning to look at her mothers somewhat peaceful face.
“I really don’t know “ I’m no doctor” Dylan said with a slight chuckle, “God knows I never had brain enough to do something like that…she could though…she really could”
Ella shook her head and looked at her father with a seed of anger in her eyes, “Stop talking like we are going to lose her”
“Ella, it’s easy for you to have optimism, because that’s just how you are “ but you weren’t here when she went down, when I screamed and cried and begged her to come back to me…you haven’t seen emotion on her for a few minutes, it’s been a day for me…through the night…” Dylan said with sadness implanted in his voice, “Just try to understand why it’s easy for me to be discouraged”
“I’m sorry, dad…really…I’m just trying to let it all sink in” Dylan nodded and looked at his wife with tears in his eyes. Ella quickly decided that she couldn’t take it and stood up abruptly, “I’ll be back, I’m going to um, get something to drink…” Dylan gave a disappointed nod and watched as she left the room.
Once out of the stuffiness, Ella immediately felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders. How could her father expect her to cope immediately? He had been given over twenty-four hours to comprehend it all…she had been given a phone call; a miserable plane flight and an even more miserable taxi-halted drive to the hospital.
Glancing for a place to sit, Ella found an incredibly comfortable looking suede chair and in moments plopped down into it. Enjoying the slightly entertaining scenario going on around her, Ella basked in the silence until her cell phone’s shrill ring ruined the moment. She automatically figured it would be Nicola. She had been checking in to see how her mom was even though that Ella had only been at the hospital for a few hours. But to her surprise, it was Cole “ whom she hadn’t heard of since she failed to tell him goodbye when she left the tour. She had assumed that he would just dust her off his shoulders and move on with life, but his name on the ID of her phone brought a certain hope to her disposition. She practiced her hellos before answering the phone and smiled when the greeting rolled off of her tongue smoothly, “Hello?”
“Hey, David Copperfield”
Ella smiled, catching his joke, “So you liked my disappearing act?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a LIKING…but…it was…mysterious”
She tried to laugh amidst the circumstances, “My mom-“
“Nicola told me, no need to explain. I know it hurts to say some of that stuff out loud”
“Thanks for understanding that fact…some people, just…I don’t know, expect everything to be okay” Ella said with an utter disbelief at how thoughtful this guy was.
“My parents have been in the hospital before “ it’s a really crazy feeling “ have they diagnosed her yet? Nicola said the doctors were having trouble figuring out what happened…”
“No, they haven’t…” Ella said, enjoying listening to Cole’s concerned voice floating over the phone, “Dad said we would find out soon. I’m kind of scared”
“Rightfully so” Cole stated, noticing the sadness that the conversation was carrying, “But on to happier things! Justin tripped and fell over a speaker last night”
Ella couldn’t swallow the laugh that escaped her mouth and she tried to shush her continued giggling when the people around her shot looks of annoyance, “Wish I could have seen it…oh well, shouldn’t bruise his ego TOO much”
“It was a live taping”
“Oh my“ bless his heart!” Ella tried to suppress her laughter. That would show his arrogance a lesson or two. But a little piece of her did feel sorry for him “ he was usually so smooth, in fact “ she had never seen him mess up on stage by any means.
“I didn’t think I would ever stop laughing”
“Well I DO feel sorry for him” Ella said, “Now I need to send him a card or something…”
Catching the endearment in her voice, Cole brought a bold face lie out of his mouth, “No you shouldn’t, I mean, I’m not blind “ I know that you two have some kind of attraction going on,” he ignored Ella’s protests while continuing, “But he has been with a different girl every night…acting like the man-whore that he really is “ I guess you brought out the best in him while you were here. He’s already going back to his old ways”
Ella frowned. Sleeping around? Maybe that was why he had failed to call “ not that she had expected it…just…it would have been rather nice to hear from him. She found it odd that due to Cole’s reports, Justin was happy as could be while partying like an animal “ but when she had the chances to talk to Nicola, she would say that he seemed so concerned and…sad at the fact that she wasn’t there. So far, he hadn’t given her any reason to believe that he wasn’t being a good boy…not that she cared what he was doing while she was gone. It was just…weird. She was pretty sure that Cole was probably pleased to relay the information “ he had an obvious beef with Justin. Shaking her head clear of its thoughts, she breathed into the phone, “Oh well “ can’t help that can I?”
“If anyone could it would be you “ but like always, he’s just going back into that routine after he gets over his infatuation with a girl. Don’t feel too bad, I know you’re not the type to get attached easily. You’ll probably brush Justin off with the confidence of your hand…”
“I never brushed him on in the first place” Ella said rather defensively, “it’s not any of my business what he does when I’m there or when I’m away”
“To be such a carefree person, you sure are mature about things” Cole said, deciding that he had defiled Justin’s name enough for one sitting. He didn’t want Ella to end up turning on him “ he just wanted her to turn away from Justin. With her optimism detached, it would be a lot easier to nab her away from Justin’s thoughts. And who knows? Maybe Justin would like to hear some interesting things about Ella that he had never known before. Turning the two of them against each other would help his plan in many ways. The game could really get interesting if he let it. Hopefully when it has all ran its course, Ella would begin to realize why he was doing what he was doing “ and hopefully he could tie her deep enough into his interest, that she could care less about Justin’s humiliation.
“Cole, are you there?” Ella asked, noticing his lack of input in her story. She had begun rambling incessantly about her dislike of candy machines “ and it seemed as if she had lost all of his attention.
“Yeah, of course I’m here…keep on “ the Butterfinger is stale?”
----------------------------------------------------
“Last interview of the day!” a boisterous voice announced over a loud microphone, “Thank you all for your cooperation and hopefully I wont have to see you again for a long time”
Justin rolled his eyes and picked his feet up from where they were lounging on a chair opposite his direction. With an exaggerated sigh, he dialed a number on his cell phone and pressed the device to his ear anxiously. Hadn’t Ella ever heard of clicking over? Or call waiting? He had been trying to get in contact with her for over and hour, but someone else had clearly been taking up all of her attention. When she failed to answer yet again, he leaned his head back against the chair behind him and closed his eyes.
He missed her.
But not like he thought he would. It was an ache “ the kind of ache that you have, when you hate to look at the clock, because even though it’s felt like hours “ it’s only been a few worthless minutes. The realization surprised him, and he could barely hold it within himself to hide the fact that he was slowly beginning to understand what an amazing catch a girl like Ella could be. Sure, she was infuriating beyond comparison “ buts that what made her so…so…appealing. With a faint smile directed towards a white wall, he mentally changed the course of his mind and started thinking about the close of the tour…at least he tried to.
“I miss her too” Nicola said as she approached him, letting her hand rest on his shoulder before sitting down beside him.
“I tried calling her” Justin said with a sigh, “all I got was a damn beep”
“I see that you’re upset about that? Hence the cursing”
“I always curse” he said with a mischievous grin, not failing to let an array of things that you wouldn’t want your mother to hear flow from his mouth.
“But you said that certain word with a…a…certain…bitterness”
Justin let out a laugh - one of those laughs that you use to try and cover up how you really feel - and he quickly stopped when Nicola rolled her eyes, “you’re so full of it”
“No I’m not!” he argued, “Anyway “ from me and Ella’s discussions…you seem to be pretty full of it about certain things, or, people…” he finished his sentence with a cough and then looked at her accusingly.
“She talked to you about my personal life?”
“So you do know how to read between the lines!” he said with a laugh, “Ella and I have talked about many things…”
“Oh yeah?” Nicola questioned, her eyebrow raising, “what kind of things?”
Justin smiled mischievously and began rocking back and forth in his chair before mysteriously, and somewhat freakishly singing, “I’ll never tell”
----------------------------------------------------
Ella twirled a strand of hair relentlessly between her thumb and index finger “ the talk with Cole had been refreshing, and it was so nice to hear from someone who possessed little attachment to the situation. They could offer reassuring words of confidence without having the ego to think that they could put their two cents into the conversation. She stared down the hall and sighed. Nothing inside of her wanted to walk back inside of that room that held her mother in its grasp. So she didn’t “ she just sat there, glancing around…searching for some peace of mind. When she closed her eyes, however, she had no idea that the next time they opened…she would receive anything but peace.
“What are YOU doing here?” a commanding voice said, kicking the chair that Ella was positioned in. She jumped from her sleeping state and the moment their eyes locked, he could see every emotion run through her being, “surprised to see me?” he said, his upper lip twitching with anger.
Ella fought the urge to cry…to run…scream. Her breath caught in her throat and she choked out a soft mumbling of his name before shutting her eyes and opening them again, “you…you…”
“Just shut up, bitch” he said with a cocking of his eyebrow. Looking her up and down, he sat down in the chair across from her and pulled it to where their knees were nearly touching, “don’t think that just because his parents have forgiven you, that I have too” Ella dared to look him in the eyes. They burned with an anger that she was too cowardly to confront. His blonde hair hung messily in his forehead and with one quick bend of his neck, the frayed strands were out of the way and he continued drilling her, “You don’t talk as much as I remember, Ella “ you don’t fucking talk anymore? Don’t you think you could have used that attribute about three years ago?”
“Peter…I don’t…not here-”
“Not HERE? You think that I’m going to do YOU any favors?” Peter Jacobson punched the armrest beside him and shook his head furiously, “Ella Tennyson “ you fucking ruined people lives and all you can beg for is not to have confrontation? I thought you LOVED confrontation! You LOVE making people squirm “ well you know WHAT, Ella Tennyson “ I’m getting ready to make you squirm like hell!” getting closer to her, he inched his face from hers and used his hands to pin her to the chair, “if I wouldn’t get dragged off to prison…I would kill you and never think twice about it “ you got lucky, Ella Tennyson “ you got pretty fucking lucky that you’re out here roaming the hallways of a hospital while my BEST friend is DEAD”
“Get away from my daughter, Peter” Dylan boomed, leering over Peter’s shoulder with that intimidating way of his. With a nudge of his palm against Peter’s back, the young man stood up, his eyes still glued to Ella. He was getting ready to say something else, but Dylan pushed him away, “get away from my daughter. I will not say it again”
Peter tugged at the collar of his jacket and sneered down at Ella. She was shaking like a leaf, and her once captivating and confident posture was now a pitiful attempt to shrink away from the world. With her shoulders hunched and her face looming down at the ground, Peter walked by with a faint whisper seeping from his lips, “I’ll see you again…” he said, “I’ll see you again…”
Dylan sighed and pulled his daughter up into his arms, “baby…” he said with a shaking of his head against her frail body, “Shhhhh…it’s over…it’s all over…”
Ella gulped her tears back and finally let herself loosen up and sink into her father’s arms, “Dad…now I know…now I know why I never come back here. They…they hate me” she didn’t miss the way that Dylan didn’t deny the fact. He simply stroked her hair and cooed encouraging words into her ear. Even with all of the drama unfolding, the only thing that she guiltily wished for was that her mom was the one holding her.
----------------------------------------------------
Peter Jacobson knocked heartily on a wooden door, forgetting to ring the doorbell, just like he always forgot to do. With a sigh, he leaned his head against the glass that allowed him to peer inside and knocked again. An achieved grin erupted on his face when he saw a pair of legs padding down the hallways towards the door. Within seconds, the door was opened and he hugged the man behind it before making his way inside comfortably, “how are you, sir?” he asked, still maintaining the same respect that he had always maintained for that man.
“I’m doing fine, Pete…just wondering what it is that brings you over?” the man’s round stomach bulged out from underneath a tad-too-tiny tee shirt and his feet were adorned in a pair of comfortable looking slippers.
“I’m so sorry to bother you, sir…hope I didn’t wake you?” it was more of a question than a statement, but still Peter felt no remorse.
“Nah, the mistress and I were just preparing to go to bed. She’s putting on her robe and will be out in a moment…I know she’ll love the chance to fellowship with you”
Peter wondered if the couple honestly thought this was a ‘mingling’ type of visit, but regardless, he couldn’t wait to tell them the news. Even though they had this faux-forgiveness thing going on, knowing that Ella was in town just had to strike a nerve in them. When he heard that Mary was in the hospital, he figured Ella would be visiting “ if not staying “ and how convenient was it for him that his little brother had been in a minor football incident the night before, causing some repair to a torn muscle in his knee. It was fate “ plain and simple, “I’ll love the chance talking to her too” Peter finally replied, eager to spill the news.
“Sit down, boy “ would you like anything to drink?” the nicely aging man, known as Richard Humphrey, offered to Peter, who was already comfortably sitting down on the leather loveseat in the family room.
“No thanks sir, and even if I do, I’ll be getting it “ no need to treat me like a stranger” with a cool wink, he smiled when Grace walked in from the other room. Her silk robe dusted the floor and covered her petite body nicely when she walked. He smiled at her graying hair and shook his head. Oh, how they had aged since the incident…
“Peter, why I’m so glad you stopped by!” she gave him a peck on the cheek and patted him on the leg before joining her husband on the opposite sofa, “to what do we owe this honor?”
Peter glanced from Richard back to Grace and prepared himself “ he was finally getting the chance to tell them that this would be the perfect opportunity to give Ella Tennyson what she deserved. Before starting, he glanced around the room and a sentimental smile adorned his gruff features. So many memories had been shared in this house…so much laughter and hilarity. There was a memory for every day of the year “ and Peter hadn’t forgotten a single one of them. With a deep inward breath, he looked towards the couple and set his chin straight and strong, “Ella Tennyson is in town for awhile” he waited for their reactions before continuing. In a near perfect unity, they flinched and Peter knew that they would be easier to reach than he had once thought, “as you know “ Mary’s in the hospital “ and she’s here to be with her. I…I…talked to her”
Grace looked shocked, “Peter-“ she started, before Richard rested his hand on her leg.
“I pray that you were…sane?” the older man said, looking Peter in the face.
Peter chuckled, “I don’t know if I would call it sane “ but it felt SO good…SO good to give her a piece of my mind “ I…its time to give him justice” he finished, “its time”
Grace shook her head fervently, “Peter “ leave that girl alone. I mean it”
Peter shook his head, “I can’t, Grace “ I can’t. How can you…how can you just let it go?”
“It’s been three years, son” Richard said with a distant tone to his voice, “We’ve moved on - its time for you to move on as well. I can’t keep on letting you come here and stir up old memories and old battles “ we’re getting older and…we’re learning to leave it all behind. You’re going to have to do the same”
Grace nodded, but Peter kept his stature straight, “I CAN’T. How can you let her WALK away KNOWING that she-“
Richard put a hand up in the air, “No, Peter “ I refuse. Nobody knows exactly what happened. It’s unfair to blame Ella for the unknown”
Peter denied the statement, “No it’s not “ she walked away without a scratch, Richard “ how is that fair? How do you know they didn’t have some crazy fight and Ella just…went off the deep end? We all know she’s a weirdo…” Richard’s eyes flickered with recognition and immediately Peter knew that he had pulled on a thread, “if no one was there “ how does anyone know that…she didn’t just…snap? You always said she was...unpredic-“
Grace stood up and stomped her slipper covered foot to the ground, “STOP IT. I will not let you mesmerize my husband with your hatred, Peter. You are a wonderful, intelligent, handsome young man “ you have got to LET go. That girl is innocent…you don’t know the ways in which she has suffered. Her pain has been greater than all of ours. You have no right to say that she…that she” Grace couldn’t get the words out of her mouth, “You need help, Peter. You need help. And we’re going to get it for you “ you have to…you have to live”
Without warning, Peter buried his face in his hands and burst into tears, his muscular body shaking under the force of his emotions, “he was my…he was my best friend”
Grace sighed and made her way to where Peter was hunched over on the couch. With a motherly stroke of her hand, she brushed the shaggy hair from his eyes and let her hand rest on his cheek, “he was my son, Peter…he was my son”
“Then how…how can you let it go - just like that?”
“Peter “ it’s taken us…quite a long time…to get over what happened “ but we’ve accepted it. There’s nothing we can do to turn back time. But we can look ahead and see tomorrow for all of its promises of the future. I would be lying if I told you that we haven’t thought those same thoughts that you’re thinking about Ella “ but that’s all they are. They are ideas that come uninvited into our heads and try to convince us that there’s an answer to the unknown “ but there’s not, Peter…sometimes there aren’t answers” Richard said with compassion in his voice, “Just…let it go”
Peter thought he would lose it if they told him to let it go one more time. How could they just MOVE on, knowing that there was someone walking around in that same town that killed their son? How could they make it sound so easy? With an infuriated groan, Peter stood up, shrugging off Grace’s hand, “YOU TWO can just sit around here and pretend like NOTHING happened, like SHE’S the victim “ but I REFUSE to do the same. I will bring him the justice he deserves! He deserves more…more than THIS” he looked around at the pictures that adorned their walls, “He deserves so much more. And you are both going to wish that you had a part in bringing him peace…you just…you don’t…” Peter’s words were muffled by the closing of a door behind him. Through his rage, he had put on his jacket and escaped their stares at him. There wasn’t a way in hell that he was going to let them influence his decision to give Ella Tennyson what she deserved…no way.
----------------------------------------------------
Ella blinked away tiredness. Nothing inside of her could possibly be allowed to fall asleep “ the day had been a traumatic one…one that she wished with all of her heart could be washed away by time. But it couldn’t “ so she sat, listening to the rhythm of one of the many fancily designed machines that were connected to her mother’s arm beep away the seconds. With a sigh, she propped her feet up against the mattress that her mother lay on. The doctors had postponed their diagnosis until the morning, leaving her entire family in the dark. So she just continued to sit there in the quite uncomfortable hospital chair, twiddling her thumbs against the wooden armrest. She had replayed the incident with Peter a thousand times over in her head. How could she have been so naïve to think that he would actually have gotten over it since the last time she saw him? Mary, with her eyes closed in a seemingly peaceful slumber, slept away every emotion known to man. At this certain time, Ella almost envied her. Wouldn’t it be just plain…crazy…to live a life and never experience pain, or anger, conviction…or…but then again “ how would life be without happiness, love…and smiles? She shook her head “ emotions were priceless. Even though, at times they were highly overrated…and at times, she wished she could throw them out the window…they were a necessity to life.
Once again, as if it were always the case, her cell phone interrupted the most profound of her thoughts. It was nearly two in the morning, who would actually have the nerve to call her? She sighed and looked at Mary. The hospital had told her on many accounts not to use the phone, but she refused to listen and with a glancing at her caller ID, she smiled, “Hello?”
“Morning, Sunshine…” a tired voice said into the telephone, “sorry I haven’t called sooner…”
Ella smiled into the receiver, “I’ll forgive you”
“You were awake?” Justin asked with genuine concern, “I thought I’d be talking to that sexy lady on your voicemail…”
Ella giggled despite herself, “In all honesty “ I haven’t slept since the night before I found out about mom…”
“Are you serious?”
“Yep” Ella said, nodding as if he could see her, “it’s been pretty much impossible…”
“I’m sorry to hear that…” he whispered, “Now…now you have me to put you to sleep”
“Nah, you don’t put me to sleep, Justin…you just make my misery a lot easier to deal with…
I’m glad you called, even if at two in the morning “ I’m glad you called”
“How is she?”
“Not so great” Ella whispered, “Not so great at all…we don’t even know what’s going on…I mean, they haven’t told us anything since she’s been in a coma for two days. I don’t know, Justin, I’m just…so…I don’t know what I’m like “ I think I’m melancholy for once in my life”
“Now, that, I have got to see” Justin said with a chuckle, “You - melancholy? Never!”
Ella smiled, “Sometimes…when my mom is in the hospital, when…I miss people…when people I don’t miss come back…that’s when, that’s when I get melancholy”
“People come back?”
“Ah, you don’t wanna hear about it” Ella said, regretting that she had mentioned it.
“You can tell me” Justin whispered, for once, wanting her to confide in him.
“I know I can…I just…don’t want to”
“I thought you knew no secrets” Justin said, his eyebrow rising while he popped a piece of gum into his mouth, “Come on, Sunshine…”
“You’ve taken to calling me that, haven’t you?” Ella asked, somewhat flattered with the fact that he had liked what she had told him that day…about him reminding of her of sunshine - which he had. She had been walking outside for some fresh air, when the sun glared into her eyes with no avail and he had just…come into her mind, just some, odd image of him…clearly out of nowhere.
“It suits you…” he said with a shrug, “and now, every time I go outside and see the sun “ I THINK of you”
Ella smiled into the darkness of the hospital room, “I guess that means we think about each other a lot…”
Justin’s tone grew somewhat serious, and he cleared his throat before answering, “Yeah…yeah. I think…I guess we do”
“We do” Ella concurred, “We do”
“I tripped over a speaker” Justin confided, breaking the ice in the sullen conversation.
“Cole told me” Ella said, fighting the urge to laugh, “I feel sorry for you”
“Thanks for the pity “ everyone else just…laughs and say I deserve it, I mean “ all over the magazines…how…humiliating” Justin breathed into the phone, “I’m glad you weren’t there to see me…your opinion of me would have been completely debased”
“Just out of wonderment “ what exactly do you think my opinion of you is?” Ella questioned with a sly tone to her voice.
“I don’t know” Justin guffawed, “you tell me”
“Since you’re too much of a wuss to say “ I WILL tell you…I think you are…a…a dork who hides behind a six pack and wide grin. I think you love the fact that you empower people…and that you hate the fact that you cant seem to empower me” she paused, only to continue, “I think you’re kind of…cocky, but quiet. You’re a hopeless romantic who has just about one dream in life “ to find your soul mate and live happily ever after in some bungalow in the hills back home. You’re intelligence is hidden by goofiness, and you sometimes feel misunderstood because nobody really gives a care what’s behind the celebrity mask that you wear practically all the time…you love the life that you lead, but sometimes, a little bitty part of you wishes you were back home, chilling in the front yard with a glass of tea and bare feet dragging through the grass. But it’s too late to change anything, and you know it…so ultimately - you enjoy living the life everyone envies…but sometimes…that little dream of being anonymous tugs at your heart all day. And you hide it very well…oh man, you hide it well. But sometimes I can see it, Justin…sometimes I see a little boy with blonde curls and curious blue eyes looking at the world “ a little scared, but ready to take on anything life hands you. And you will…I know you will.”
Justin smiled, and he wished she were there to see the way her words affected him, “I think…that was a pretty detailed and pretty…wise description”
“I try” Ella said, “That’s all I’ve gathered so far…I know there’s much more to learn”
“Probably so…probably so” Justin said, “and who knows “ maybe you’ll get the chance to find out one day”
“Hope so” Ella confided, “Because I think we have a very unique and captivating friendship, Justin. I feel like I can tell you anything, and that you genuinely care…but I never have to beg for anything with you…it always just…happens and I enjoy every waking second of talking to you…because we find out something new about each other with every conversation? It’s never boring or…useless…it’s just…laid back…and fun”
“Good point” he whispered, “I enjoy talking with you too…just in case you ever thought the feeling wasn’t mutual”
“I don’t have to think like that, Justin…we know. There’s no explaining needed. We just…know things about each other…things that other people work so hard for…but just come natural. I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever had an awkward silence”
“Awkward? We never have a silence at all when you’re carrying the conversation” he laughed.
Ella giggled in spite of his remark, her instinct was to reach out and shove him, but since he wasn’t exactly with her, all she could manage was a simple, “Shut up”
“Oh, you broke my heart with that one, baby” he muttered, his voice giving into a certain tiredness that he hadn’t even realized was there. With a slight yawn, he reached his spare hand above his head and grinned, “Are you sleepy?”
“I’m not going to keep you awake, Justin…I…am not sleepy. I don’t think I’m going to sleep until my mother decides to break out of this…thing she’s in. But I’m not going to keep you in my same predicament. Go to bed, pop star. I would absolutely HATE it if you woke up with bags under your eyes”
“Who cares” he whispered, “I don’t want to leave you awake…all night…in a room with absolutely nothing to do. Besides, there’s this really great cream my makeup artist gives me for the bags…you should borrow it sometime, works wonders!”
Ella laughed, “Justin “ while you’ve been out there charming the masses, I’ve been wide awake “ I can face the dark by myself”
“But I want to hear you talk” he said, “For the first time in like…three days, I haven’t been bored to death”
“Well, I’m just going to bore you to sleep” Ella said with a laugh, “and you know, unlike you, Mr. Billionaire…I don’t have the money to afford this wretchedly high phone bill I’m going to have after talking to you until the wee hours of the morning”
“I’ll pay for the bill, Sunshine “ admit it! This is just…too nice of a conversation to hang up on…there are so many words left to be said!” Justin exclaimed.
“You’re beginning to sound like me…all…happy and stuff” Ella said with a smile, “what would the gods think? Dear precious Ella Tennyson being replaced by Justin ‘I’m full of myself’ Timberlake?”
Justin groaned, “Come on, Ella “ I’m starting to feel bashed here “ I mean, one minute I feel this uncertain chemistry thing going on, and the next, BAM! Down, smashed in the ground…”
“Sorry to bruise the ego”
“Oh…I forgive you” Justin smiled, another yawn creeping out of his mouth, “Can I say something entirely too flirtatious for the boundaries of our friendship?”
Ella felt a blush rising to her cheeks, “Um…I don’t know…can you?”
“I’m really tired…” Justin said sleepily, his voice taking on a groggy, husky tone to it while waiting for Ella to reply.
“THAT was your flirtatious comment?” she scoffed, “Man! And I thought you were a playboy, Justin”
“I wasn’t finished” he defended, smiling at the nervousness hidden in her voice.
“You weren’t?” she choked.
“Nope…oh, and before I get this out…playboy - who said I was a playboy?”
Ella laughed, “A better way to ask that question would have been ‘who said I WASN’T a playboy?’…Ohhhhh, something to ponder!”
Justin laughed, “Shut up…I am no playboy…I just…”
“Oh, don’t even try to defend yourself!” she interrupted, “Don’t EVEN try…I know how you are”
“Do you?”
“I do” she said with a smile, squeezing her toes tightly together before breathing into the phone heartily, “Justin…I’m not going to keep you up any longer”
“NO “ you’re going to ruin my flirtatious comment!” he said, “now we have to talk about something else so you forget what you said”
“What are you TALKING about?” she laughed, “isn’t…isn’t flirting supposed to be somewhat spontaneous and off the cuff? You’re kind of messing it up, if I can be honest. The effect isn’t going to be nearly as good with you rambling on and on and on about stupid things like TIMING and-“
“Ella-“ she continued to get deeper into her explanation of flirting when he softly shushed her and whispered, “sleep with me?”
Ella paused, thinking over what he said before choking on her own spit, “Excuse me?”
He chuckled, “I always did wonder if I could get that kind of reaction out of you”
“What kind of reaction?” she demanded, still in shock over his innuendo. What was he thinking? Being all suave and…almost desirable “ with HER?
“The choking on saliva, I can almost see your red face now, kind of reaction” he said with a hushed laugh, “Anyway “ get your mind out of the gutter, freak”
She giggled happily, “one minute you steal my heart and the next you call me freak. Talk about a charmer!”
“What I meant to imply…” he continued, “is that…I’m severely tired…and I don’t think I can keep my eyes open any longer…but I don’t want to leave you. So…just…stay on the line, and let me fall asleep listening to you breathe”
Ella smiled softly…if it wasn’t Justin speaking, she would have melted right down to the concrete floor, “okay” she whispered back to him. With a certain warm feeling floating around in the air, Ella mischievously said into the phone, “Can I sing you a lullaby?”
Justin’s eyes popped open and he coughed, “NO! Please- let me fall asleep…with silence and…serenity…not that thing you have called a voice”
Ella laughed and snuggled deeper into the chair, “I’ll be quiet “ besides…I’m really curious as to if you snore…”
Justin chuckled huskily into the phone, “Sweet dreams, Sunshine…”
“Sweet dreams, Justin” she smiled and closed her eyes. It only took a few minutes before she heard his breathing deepen and as the phone edged itself further from his ear and slid down, the soft hitting of his breath against the receiver comforted her beyond words. Tightening her grip on her own cell phone, Ella leaned her head back against the chair and with Justin’s breathing singing to her in a consistent rhythm, she found sleep for the first time in what felt like years.
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