The Secret of Ella and Micha

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I wipe my hands off on a towel before checking my messages. There’s the voicemail from Micha from yesterday that I still haven’t listened to and a new text message from him.
    The text message seems like the less dangerous of the two. My hand trembles as I read it over and over again, then finally respond. I toss the phone on the counter and focus on cleaning because it’s simple. And simple is just what I want.

    Micha
    I barge into Ella’s house. Something bad happened, probably because of her douche bag brother. Ella is scrubbing down the counters with the same amount of energy as a drummer. Her hair is pulled up, but pieces hang loose in her face. She has the music on, so she doesn’t hear me come in. I walk up behind her, wanting to touch her, but instead I turn the music down.
    She drops the paper towel she is holding and reels around. “You scared the hell out of me.” She presses her hand to her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
    “That’s kind of obvious.” I search her green eyes, crammed with misery.
    She fidgets with a stack of plates and carries them over to the cupboard before backtracking to the sink. She’s wound up over something and too much energy is in her. Her mom was like that a lot of times. But Ella’s not her mother, whether she realizes it or not.
    I collect the plates from her hand and set them in the sink. “Do you want to tell me what’s got you all worked up?”
    Tapping her fingers on the sides of her legs, she shakes her head. “I should have never sent you that text. I don’t know why I did it.”
    She starts to turn away from me, but I catch the bottom of her shirt. “Ella May, stop talking to me like we’re business associates. I know you better than anyone and I know when something’s bothering you.”
    “I said I was fine.” Her voice is tight as she forces back the tears. The girl never lets herself cry, even when her mom died.
    “No, you’re not,” I steer her by the shoulders toward me. “And you need to let it out.”
    She stares at the floor. “I can’t.”
    I tuck my finger under her chin and raise her head up, looking into her eyes. “Yes, you can. It’s killing you inside.”
    Her shoulders quiver and she lets her head fall against my chest. I rub her back and tell her it will be okay. It’s not much, but it’s enough for the moment.
    Finally she pulls back and her face is unreadable. “Where’s Lila?”
    “I left her with Ethan at the shop.” I sit down on the kitchen table that’s stacked with unopened bills. “She’s supposed to come back here when her car’s fixed.”
    She gazes out the window, lost in her thoughts. “She could just go home after Ethan’s done. She doesn’t need to come back here.”
    “Where does she live?”
    “In California.”
    “Then she probably shouldn’t leave tonight.” I glance out the window at the sun setting behind the shallow hills. “It’s late and she’s going to be driving by herself, right?”
    Ella nods, spaced out as she twists her hair around her finger. “And I worry about her making the drive by herself. I mean she practically freaked out when we ran into Grantford at the restrooms over by the lake.”
    My fingers grip the edge of the table. “You ran into Grantford ?”
    She lowers her hand from her hair and lets it fall to her side. “Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal. He just acted like himself and you know how that is.”
    I release the table from my death grip, trying to clear the anger out of my head. No matter what Ella says, Grantford never should have left her on the bridge that night when she was that out of it.
    I stretch my legs out in front of me and change the direction of the conversation. “How did you end up becoming friends with Lila?”
    She bites down on her lip, contemplating. “We were roommates.” She shrugs, letting her lip pop out from her teeth and it drives me crazy because all I want to do is bite down on it myself. “She was really nice and different from all my friends here and I wanted a change.”
    I hop off the table and move in front of her. “Change is good, but completely shutting down is a whole other story, Ella, have you… Did you ever talk to anyone about what happened with your mom?”
    Her shoulders stiffen and she turns for the doorway, preparing to leave. “That’s none of your business.”
    I block her path. “Yes it is. I’ve known you forever, so I get full rights to what’s