The Secret of Ella and Micha

him to slow down and part of me wants to. Desperately . But as he shoves the shifter into the next gear, going faster and faster, my body pleads to let go.
    Suddenly, Lila screams, “Stop sign!”
    Micha’s eyes sparkle like sunlight reflecting into the ocean. He slams on the brakes, squealing the car to a halt, and throwing us all forward. My hand shoots out and I brace myself from hitting the dashboard.
    “Are you crazy?” Lila’s voice cracks as she situates back into the seat and realigns her dress over her legs. “What is wrong with you two?”
    Micha and I look at each other and my body is burning with a hidden desire that I won’t admit exists. My heart beats in my chest, rock steady and alive again. For a second, I’m back in the place I lost.
    Then Micha ruins it.
    “See, the same old Ella still lives.” He grins arrogantly as he drives through the intersection. “She just needed a little push out.”
    I click the seatbelt locked, proving a point. “No, she doesn’t. She’s gone forever.”
    “Try all you want, but I’m bringing her back.” He bites his lip, refocusing on the street as he mutters, “I won’t let that night ruin you forever.”
    But it did. It broke me into a million pieces and blew them away in the wind, like crumbled leaves. That night was one of the most incredible nights I’ve ever had.
    Then I quickly plummeted toward rock bottom.

Chapter 5

    Micha
    There she is, the girl I used to know. It’s visible in her green eyes that she’s getting turned on. She was always weird like that, the speed, the danger always got her own engine burning. Then I have to slow down and all the fire dissolves. She puts on her seatbelt and mutters something about the Ella I know being gone forever, but I’m calling her out. I have big plans to bring my best friend back, whether she likes it or not.
    She’s wearing a short skirt and tank top that’s tight enough to show off her curves. It’s driving me crazy that I can’t touch her.
    “What happened to the turnout?” she asks as we drive by the spot we use to park at during small town cruising. “It looks like you can’t even take the road up to the cove anymore.”
    “You can if you walk or have four-wheel drive and ramp the hill.” The turnout is blocked off by a large fence so that no cars can reach the dirt road that leads to a secluded area near the lake. “They blocked it off after they busted a bunch of people for drug and alcohol possession.”
    “Anyone I know?” she inquires, feigning indifference.
    I thrum my fingers on top of the steering wheel. “Yeah, you’re sitting next to one of them. But mine was only for alcohol.”
    Her friend gasps in the backseat and I catch Ella secretly rolling her eyes.
    “What’d you get?” she asks nonchalantly.
    “Probation and anger management classes.” I return her indifference.
    Her head turns toward me. “Anger management classes?”
    “I also punched Grantford Davis in the face,” I explain. “Pretty hard. Broke his nose and everything.”
    Her friend gasps again and I wonder how Ella could be friends with her. She seems like a naïve princess.
    Ella studies me acutely with her beautiful eyes that always give away what she’s really thinking. “Why did you punch him?”
    “I think you know why.” I carry her gaze forcefully.
    “I asked him to drive me to the bridge, Micha,” she says it like it strangles her. “It wasn’t his fault. He was just doing it as a favor.”
    “He should have never left you there alone.” I flip the blinker on, making a turn down a dirt road that leads into a field of tall, dry grass. “Not in that condition. You could barely think straight. In fact, do you even remember anything about that night?”
    She fiddles with a band of bracelets on her wrists. “I’m not sure.”
    “Are you not sure?” I accuse. “Or do you not want to admit it?”
    She starts to open her mouth, but then clamps her lips shut, and turns toward the window, dismissing me and the conversation.

    Ella
    The night I went to the bridge, I had been in a weird funk the entire day. My mom died a few weeks earlier and I couldn’t seem to get rid of this vile feeling in my chest and I wanted it to go away. Badly . So I took drastic measures and decided to walk in my mother’s footsteps for a night.
    My mom wasn’t awful. She had her good moments, but had a lot of bad ones too. When she was up, she was great—a lot of fun. At least that’s what I thought