The Secret of Ella and Micha

give you two a minute.”
    “I think you’ve overestimating what’s going on between the two of us.”
    “Well, I wouldn’t have to if one of you would tell me what’s going on.”
    He shrugs and then rounds the back of the truck. Rolling my eyes, I walk into the house to tell my dad I’m leaving and that I plan on coming back in a couple weeks to meet up with Dean. After a long talk on the phone with him—and I’m sure a lot of persuading from Caroline—we decided to meet up here, when Dean can take off work, and give my dad an ultimatum. It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ll have to do, because I know there will be things said during the conversation that will hurt me. I’m going to push through it, though, because now I understand what I can handle.
    I find him on the couch, eating a microwave dinner, with a six-pack on the table in front of him. He’s watching the television, with a cigarette in his hand, and he barely notices me enter the room.
    “Hey Dad,” I say from the doorway. “I’m getting ready to leave.”
    He rips his eyes from the television, startled, and I wonder if he was even watching it or if he was dwelling in his thoughts. “Oh, okay, well drive safely.”
    I rub my sweaty palms together and walk into the room. “Dean and I are going to be coming back in a few weeks.”
    He sets his tray down and grabs a beer. “What for?”
    I pat my hands on the sides of my legs uneasily. “We want to talk to you about something.”
    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.

Epilogue

    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