The Secret of Ella and Micha(65)

He sets the beer down. "I thought Dean was still here."

I shake my head, feeling guiltier about leaving. "He went home a week or two ago... but Dad, can you try and take care of yourself a little bit better?" I take a deep breath and throw a hint out into the open. "And maybe stop drinking so much?"

He glances at the row of beers in front of him like he just realized they were there. "Oh, I don't drink that much, do I?"

I sigh and sit down on the couch beside him. "You didn't used to, but now it's kinda all you do."

He bobs his head up and down. "Alright, I'll try to cut back."

I know he won't, but hopefully Dean and I will be able to convince him to go to rehab where he can get the help and counseling that he needs. I give him a hug, even though he winces. Then I walk away, hoping he'll be okay, but knowing that until he makes the decision to change all I can do is try to help him.




Ella

I've been back in Vegas for almost two weeks now and things are good. I signed up for some summer art classes and my internship at the museum is great, even though I spend most of my day cleaning up after people and running errands. I also started counseling. As much as I'd like to believe I was getting better, when I'm alone and lost in my own thoughts, the darkness sometimes gets to me. But my therapist is nice and the visits seem to be helping.

Lila is letting me borrow her car for the weekend, so I can drive back home and meet up with Dean and my dad. I'm glad to be making the drive alone, that way I'll have twelve hours to mentally prepare myself. Although, deep down, I wish Micha was going with me.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you," Lila asks as I snatch the handle of my suitcase and scan the room for forgotten items.

I shake my head. "I'll be fine and you have classes and your math tutor thing." I stop at the doorway, needing to get something off my chest. "Lila, thank you for letting me borrow your car and for just being there for me."

Her smile is bright. "Don't get all weepy on me. You're only going to be gone for a couple of days, silly."

We laugh, exiting the building and head down the stairs. Our apartment is right by the campus and we keep Lila's car in the parking lot most of the time. When we reach the grass that reaches across the campus, my phone starts to sing inside my pocket, a sad turned happy song.

"God, again?" Lila throws her head back dramatically. "Can't you two go five minutes without talking to each other?"

"No." I smile and answer the phone as Lila scoots away, giving us some privacy. "So how's the weather in Seattle?"

"Pretty sunny, actually," Micha says and I can hear the smile in his voice.

I jerk on my roll away bag as it gets caught in a hole in the lawn. "That's funny, because I thought it was supposed to be rainy there."

"Nope, I got a blue sky and a hell of a lot of sunshine over my head," he says. "And I'm really enjoying the view."

"Good, I'm glad," I tell him, missing him like crazy. "Are you still driving out here next weekend?"

"Actually there's been a slight change of plans," he answers. "And I can't come out next weekend."

I stop in the middle of the grass, pouting. "Oh. Okay."

He laughs softly into the phone. "You know, you're beautiful when you pout like that."

"How do you know I'm pouting?" I wonder.

"The same way that I know you have a sexy pair of shorts on and your hair is done up," he says and I start to glance around the campus at the people walking around in the quad and on the sidewalks. "Your ass looks really good, by the way."

I let my suitcase go and spin in a circle with the cell phone still to my ear. Then I spot him in the parking lot, standing next to a SUV in black jeans, a tight-fitted grey tee, and eyes as blue as the sky. I drop my phone and run to him, not caring that people are staring at me like I'm insane.

I don't slow down when I reach him and he catches me as I run into his arms. He picks me up and I secure my legs around him, kissing him with so much passion his lip ring cuts into my lip. Finally we pull back, panting with raw wildness in our eyes.

He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You didn't think I was going to let you go back home on your own, did you?"

"But you said you had to play this weekend."

"They can do one performance without me. This is more important."

I almost start to cry and he begins to panic.

"Ella May, what's wrong?" he asks. "This is a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is" I say, staring into his eyes. "I love you."

He smiles and whispers, "I love you, too," before reconnecting his lips with mine.

We kiss each other deeply, not caring that people are watching and whispering about us. To them we're just two people making out in the parking lot, creating a scene. They'll never really know what it took to get here. How many years were invested, but that's okay.

It's a secret between us.