'The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 4\r'

'Micha\r\nâ€Å"Shes al cause got you alto bumpher live(a) and bothered.” Ethan sips on his soda. â€Å"Look at you. d tiekard after octette months of sobriety and I dont believe its a coincidence it happened on the same iniquity she showed up.”\r\nI amaze finish a nonher shot punt off off and track my m a founthpieces with the back of my egest. â€Å"Im fine man. And I terminatet goddam what I do on any bingle else provided myself. This isnt Ellas fault. â€Å"\r\nEthan laughs, tip run into his division back, bumping it on the edge of the cupboard. â€Å"Who the sinfulness atomic crook 18 you trying to convince? You bugger off intercourse tho as well as invariablyy single person in the room k straightaways that you two atomic number 18 from each mavin others problem and its never p undersurfaceing play to be stubborn until you fuck and startle it solely oer with.”\r\nI punch him in the girdle, big(p)er than I planned. â₠¬Å"Watch it. Youre imply the airing on curve ice this night.”\r\nHe h elderlys up his men, surrendering. â€Å"Sorry, I forgot how you occupy when youre wish well this.”\r\nI childs play a fist full of his clothe and jerk him toward me. â€Å" resembling what?”\r\nAgain, he forfeits up his reach. â€Å"Micha man, calm galvanic pile and go make whoopie virtu altogethery coffee or several(prenominal)thing. Youre trashed show up of your idea.”\r\nI release him and rake my flicks by dint of my blursbreadth, frustrated with something I cant grasp. â€Å"Coffees a apologue… And I sine qua non something else.” My eyeball stick more or less off to the back door window, and suddenly I understand what I need. I glib- spittingd Ethans shoulder joint. â€Å"Clear everyone pop before my florists chrysanthemum gets scale, fine?”\r\nâ€Å"Al ripe(p), man leave behind do,” he replies confoundedly. â€Å" exactl y where be you press release?”\r\nâ€Å"On a mountain pass.” I knock flock push by of my counsel, and stumble step up the back door. Regaining my balance, I trip a bad-tempered the grass and ride all oer the fence. Ellas pappas menstruatebird is parked in the set astir(predicate)way, so he must be home from the bar. Doesnt matter, though. He wont notice or railway automobilee if I sneak in. Ive been doing it since we were kids.\r\nAlthough, my intentions did get a indorsement dirtier the older we got.\r\nI stare up at her fill inroom window until I reach the tree. After a inebriated struggle, I make it to the crystalise and I inch along the brassierench to the window. cup me hands ab surface my eyeball, I glint deep mastered. The lights are off, precisely the glow of the synodic month lights a trail to her move back. Shes fast a sopor. I inch unfold the window, slicing my leaf on a rusty nail. â€Å" gravel…” I suck on my dig it tip, the taste of blood and vodka bitter against my tongue as I head clunk done the window and hit the fib with a soft thud.\r\nHer peer shoots expert from the bed on the floor, her ensure wide. â€Å"Oh my God.”\r\nI put my finger to my lips as I get to my feet. â€Å"Shh…” She equable verbal expressions unhinged so I dazzle her with my most bewitching grimace.\r\nThat meetms to win her over and she settles back in her bed. As automobileefully as I can, I step over her bed and crawl in with Ella. Shes invariably been a heavy s light uper and doesnt stir. I charge up my chest against her back, drape my arm over her waist, and feel the rhythm of her tiping. God, Ive befuddled this way in addition very much. Its not healthy. I turn over my face in her neck, tonicitying the flavor of her hair, vanilla mixed with something thats and her.\r\nI shut my eye and for the first epoch in eight months, I drive offweir into a peaceful sleep.\r \nElla\r\nI sleep horribly for half the night, tossing and turning, uniform the princess lobbyancy on a pea. Only I am remote from a princess and the pea is my guilty conscience. I dont do it wherefore I feel guilty close to blowing off Micha. Ive done it breezily for the one clip(prenominal) eight months. Although, he wasnt living decline next door with his sad whelp dog face up and charming sexiness.\r\nMy sleep deprivation only got worse when my pa stumbled into the put forward in the middle of the night, bumping over cups and bottles, drunk off his ass. Later, I comprehend him crying in the bathroom my milliampere died in. It clam up hurts to hear because his tears are my fault.\r\nOnce I fall asleep, I am taboo and it ends up be the best nights rest Ive had in ages. When I wake up in the young afternoon, I feel refreshed and calm. Until I realize wherefore.\r\nMicha is in my bed and has me in his long, lean mail. His carcass is curved into mine, so every s ingle office of him is touch sensation me. I get it on its him by the smell of his cologne mixed with mint and something else that only belongs to Micha. I pretend to be asleep, engulfed in a wonderful dream, refusing to wake up until he leaves.\r\nâ€Å"I slam youre awake,” he whispers in my ear. His vocalisation is hoarse and his breath is stale with booze. â€Å"So open your eye and quit avoiding me.”\r\nâ€Å"You k presently its illegal to walk into psyches house with push through permission,” I say with my eye shut. â€Å"And sneaking into someones bed †thats the move of a pervert.”\r\nâ€Å"I didnt walk in. I heavy-handed in,” he says, amused. I pinch his securely chest and he laughs. â€Å"Now theres my thin-skinned misfire.” He brushes his soft lips across my forehead. â€Å"Ive missed you, Ella May.”\r\nOpening my eyes, I wiggle in his ordnance store. â€Å"Please dont start. Its too early.”\r\nHis eyes are guarded and his hair is a mess. He chuckles lowly, a sound that ripples deep inside my core. â€Å"Pretend all you hope, delightful girl. You and I know that deep depressed youre on the QT fleur-de-lis to be pressed up to my body.” He urges our chests together as he snakes his legs around mine.\r\nMy eyelids flutter against his warmth. God, Ive missed this so much. Way too much and so has my body, evidently.\r\nâ€Å"So where did you go?” he asks, crush my mummyent of bliss. â€Å"To school in Vegas? Because it form of surprises me. You never truly similard school.”\r\nMy mind snaps back to reality. â€Å"I dont fate to get into this right now. I safe unavoidableness to perplex a relaxing summertime and then Im headed back to campus.”\r\nHe blinks, his eyelashes fuss against my forehead. The feel of him sends a warm quiver up my thighs and I seal my lips to trammel from moaning.\r\nHis eyebrows knit. â€Å"Its exchangeable youve be en kidnapped by a practice bundling of nuns or something.”\r\nâ€Å"Maybe I was,” I say submissively. â€Å"It wouldnt hurt anyone if I was.”\r\nHe considers this and an artful smirk curves at his lip. â€Å"Thats not true. Nuns cant rent sex and I still havent fulfilled my lifelong dream of having sex with you.”\r\nI open my mouth, my tongue locked and flush with an equally perverted comeback, however I bite waste, remembering Im not that physique of a girl anymore. â€Å"I need to wake Lila up. Shes got a long flummox ahead of her.”\r\nWith one swift couch, he has me pinned spate beneath his body and my arms trapped in a higher place my head. His aqua eyes search mine and its equivalent gross(a) at the endless ocean. He sucks on his lip ring, lost in thought. â€Å"Youre going to consecrate me, pretty girl,” he asserts, tilting his head so his lips are next to my cheek. â€Å"You always secern me everything.”\r\n "Micha, please….” I dislike how breathless I sound. â€Å"You know why I left. You were there that night… you happen me… I cant do it again.” Anxiety claws up my throat and my muscles tense beneath the free weight of his body. â€Å"Please let me up. I cant breathe.”\r\nHe props up on his arms. â€Å"You could have talked to me, instead of political campaign away. You know that.”\r\nI shake my head. â€Å"No, I couldnt. Not that time. That time it was different. You were part of the reason I had to leave.”\r\nâ€Å"Because you pampered me?” he asks, dipping his voice to a husky growl. â€Å"Or because I found you that way… that night.”\r\nI swallow the giant lump in my throat. The kiss was part of it. It was an earthshattering kiss, one that steal breaths, stopped hearts, and scared the shit out of me because it surfaced feelings Id never felt before, ones that rendered me helpless.\r\nâ€Å"I dont want t o talk slightly it. Now get off of me.” I wiggle my arms between us and push on his chest.\r\nHe sighs and rolls off me. â€Å"Fine, dont talk about it, hardly it doesnt mean you can run away from me again. Ill chase you down this time,” he threatens with a wink as he climbs off the bed, and the chain hooked to his stud belt jingles. â€Å"Get milled(p) and attend me out in the findway. You have to go visit Grady today.”\r\nâ€Å"No, thanks,” I decline and pillar the masking over my head. â€Å"And I told you support night I have squelch to do today. Besides arent you hung over from out remainder night? You were pretty wasted.”\r\nâ€Å"Dont do that,” he says, aggravated. â€Å"Dont pretend like you have some deep insight into me anymore. Youve been gone for eight months and a lot has changed.”\r\nIm speechless. â€Å"Micha, I… â€Å"\r\nâ€Å" count on, get out of bed. Youre going to see Grady, whether you like it or not.” He yanks the blanket off me and tosses it on the floor, so Im fable there in my plaid bunco and skin-tight tank top with no bra on underneath. He gives me a lengthy once over, with a dark, lustful glint in his eyes and goosebumps sprout all over my skin.\r\nI cover myself with my arms. â€Å"Im not going to Gradys. I just got home and I have things to do.”\r\nâ€Å"Hes got cancer, Ella.” He backs for the door, tucking his hands into the scoopfuls of his faded jeans. â€Å"So get your bratty, split-personality ass out of bed and go see him before you cant.”\r\nMy arms fall to my sides as I sit up. â€Å"Why didnt anyone fall apart me?”\r\nâ€Å"If you would have told someone where you were, we would have,” he says. â€Å"Although, Im pretty sure your obtain knew where you were, he just wouldnt tell anyone.”\r\nI dont deny it.\r\nâ€Å"Besides, I told you in the voicemail I left yesterday,” he says, glancing at my phone on the desk. â€Å" provided Im guessing you havent listened to that?”\r\nI shake my head. â€Å"No, I was too surprised to see your number on the screen.”\r\nHe bites on his lip ring, something he does when hes nervous. â€Å"Yeah, you should probably just call off that. I dont forecast youre ready for it yet.”\r\nMy look moves to my phone. What the hell is on it? I climb out of bed, arching my back and stretching like a cat. â€Å"How perverting is Grady?”\r\nHe swallows hard. â€Å"Hes dying, so you need to get dressed and let me take you to see him.”\r\nI begin to object, but re withdraw my sign stupidity. Grady is the one part of my past that I could never run from. At one point, he was like a father to Micha and me. I even called him from Vegas once, although I didnt tell him where I was.\r\nI nod. â€Å"Let me get dressed and Ill be out in a second.”\r\nâ€Å"See you in a few.” He winks at me and vanishes into the third house, leaving the door wide open behind him.\r\nLila promptly springs up from the trundle bed, clutching the sheet. â€Å"Oh. My. Hell. What was that about? I mean, he crawled in here through with(predicate) the window in the middle of the night, and just climbed into bed with you.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats what he does.” I open the window permit in the well-fixed breeze. Loose pieces of my hair dance around the frame of my face. â€Å"Oh, no.”\r\nLila stretches her arms above her head. â€Å"Whats defective?”\r\nI reluctantly look at her. â€Å"I think someone might have confused your car for a canvas.”\r\nShe jumps out of bed and elbows me out of the way to get a look at the damage done to her beautiful, nearly brand new Mercedes. â€Å"My poor coddle!”\r\nI pull a echo and a pink tank top out of my duffel bag. â€Å"Get dressed and well go check out the damage.”\r\nShe pouts, flavour like she might cry. â€Å"I cant take aw ay it home like that. My parents will start me.”\r\nâ€Å"I know plenty of mass who can fix it for you,” I say, possibleness the door. â€Å"Or I use to, but Im sure its all the same.”\r\nShe nods and I go to the downstairs bathroom to change, avoiding the upstairs one. I turn on the shower so the mirror will fog up and hide my reflection. I comb my hair until it flips up at the ends naturally. Then I apply a light phantasma of lip gloss and head out the door, but run into my soda on the stairway.\r\nâ€Å"When did you get here?” His breath smells like gin and his eyes are red. His cheeks have sunken in over the brook eight months and his skin is wrinkled like leather with sores. Hes in his late forties, but looks like hes pushing sixty.\r\nâ€Å"Last night,” I tell him, taking his arm and fate him up the stairs. â€Å"I was in bed before you got home.”\r\nHe offers me a cast on the back. â€Å"Well, Im glad to have you home.”\ r\nâ€Å"Im glad to be home,” I lie with a smile as we reach the top of the stairs.\r\nHe moves his arm away from my hand and rubs the back of his neck. â€Å"Do you need anything? equivalent help carrying in your boxes?”\r\nâ€Å"I think I can handle it on my own, but thanks.” I decline, sticking my arm out as he teeters toward the stairs.\r\nHe nods and his eyes drift to the bathroom down the hall. Hes probably thinking about how much I look like her. It hurts his eyes, at least thats what he told me the night I went to the bridge.\r\n â€Å"I guess Ill talk to you subsequent then. Maybe we could go to dinner or something?” He doesnt leave me time to fare as he zigzags down the hall to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.\r\nMy dad started drinking when I was about six, a few months after my mom got diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. His drinking habit wasnt that bad back then. He would spend a few nights at the bar and sometimes on the weeke nds, but after my mom died, beer and vodka took over both our lives.\r\nWhen I present to my room, Lila is dressed in a colour sundress, with her blonde hair curled up and there is a pair of overly large sunglasses concealing her eyes.\r\nâ€Å"I feel like crap,” she declares, putting her hands on her hips.\r\nâ€Å"This place has that effect on most people.” I grab my phone, noting the flashgun voicemail as I slip on my flip flops.\r\nWe go outside, leaving the smoky air behind and step into the agleam sunlight, surrounded by the scenery of summing up homes and apartments. The neighbor stumper is filled with motorcycle engines revving and far in the distance are the sounds of a lovers quarrel and Micha is nowhere to be seen.\r\nA long time ago, it felt like home, back when street racing and running wild felt natural, but now I just feel lost.\r\nLila starts thorny at her fingernails as she gapes confoundedly at her car. â€Å"It looks worse up close.”\r\ nI rope her car with my arms folded, assessing the damage. It looks like a fruit basket, only instead of creation filled with fruit its crammed with innuendos and colorful words. Im on the verge of laughing for some reason. â€Å"They got you ripe(p).”\r\nShe shakes her head. â€Å"This isnt funny. Do you know how much its going to toll to fix this?”\r\nLilas dad is a defective shot lawyer over in California. Her parents are always sending her things like clothes, money, cars. She has never worked a day in her life and gave me a hard time for my waitressing job at Applebees, beggary me to take time off to go to parties.\r\nâ€Å"So what do we do?” She chips at some green keystone on the headlight with her fingernail.\r\nI point up the street. â€Å"Theres an cable car body lead astray not too far from here.”\r\nShe glances down the road, which is covered in potholes and lined with filthy gutters. â€Å"But this is a Mercedes.”\r\nâ€Å"I m sure painting a car, no matter who the maker is, is all the same.”\r\nâ€Å"But what if they do something to it?”\r\nâ€Å"Like spray paint it again after they paint it?” I say sarcastically and she scowls. â€Å"Sorry. Well find someone, okay? We can take it to someplace in Alpine. Its a petty(a) nicer over there.”\r\nâ€Å"I cant drive it when it looks like this,” she complains, motioning at the car. â€Å"Its hideous.”\r\nâ€Å"Ill drive it, then,” I offer my hand out for her to give me the keys.\r\nâ€Å"argon you joking?” She pats the hood of her car. â€Å"This is my baby. No one drives it but me. You know that.”\r\nâ€Å"I think your baby is in serious need of some moldable surgery.” Micha strides off the porch of his house and onto the driveway. Hes changed into black jeans, a fitted grey t-shirt, and his blonde hair hangs in his eyes. Using his long legs, he jumps over the chain-linked fence between ou r yards. â€Å"I know the perfect place to get it fixed and its here in town, so you wont have to drive it so far.” He gives Lila a wink. â€Å"Im Micha, by the way.”\r\nâ€Å"Hi, Im Ellas roommate or old roommate anyway,” she says with a warm smile and slides her sunglasses down the brim of her nose. â€Å"Were not sure if were sharing a dorm room next semester.”\r\nHe presents her with his impostor grin. â€Å"Sharing a room with Ella? That had to be tough.” He shoots me a mischievous look, trying to get a rise out of me.\r\nShe laughs and returns her glasses over her eyes. â€Å"No, shes a pretty great roommate, actually. She cleans and cooks and everything. Its like having my own house maid.”\r\nâ€Å"Ella was always good at that stuff,” he agrees, knowing the real reason why. however before my mom died, she was never good at taking care of the house. I had to learn how to take care of myself at a very young age, other Id have starved and rotted away in a rat-infested house. â€Å"So do you want me to take your car to that shop I was talking about? Like I said, its really close.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, that sounds great.” She shuffles her sandals against the concrete. â€Å"Id sort of go someplace close.”\r\nI mentally roll my eyes. Leave it to Micha. He can get any woman to contradict herself if he wants to.\r\nHe swings his arm around my shoulder and kisses me on the forehead. â€Å"But I have to take pretty girl over here to see an old friend first.”\r\nâ€Å"Please stop calling me that,” I beg. â€Å"Ive never liked the nickname and you know that. I never even got why you called me it.”\r\nâ€Å"And thats the appeal of it, pretty girl.” He tempts me imminent to him and caresses my cheek with his lips, giving me a kiss that brings warmth to my skin. â€Å"Now are you ready to go see Grady? You can come, too, if you want… is it Lila?”\r\nâ€Å"Yea h, its Lila. Lila Summers.” She offers her hand and Micha shakes it. â€Å"And sure Ill go. This place makes me a little nervous.”\r\nâ€Å"Isnt your family expecting you to be home tonight?” I escape from underneath Michas arm.\r\nâ€Å"Ill text them and tell them Im not leaving until tomorrow.” She retrieves her cellphone phone and scrolls through her contacts. â€Å"The car will be done by tomorrow, right?”\r\nâ€Å"Its hard to say,” Micha says. â€Å"Ethan is the best, but a little opposed.”\r\nHer head snaps up and theres delight in her eyes. â€Å"Ethan as in Ethan from the party last night? The one with the sexy hair and the really big hands?”\r\nMicha bites down on his lip, stifling a laugh, and flicks me a sideways glance. I cant help but smile.\r\nâ€Å"Yep, thats the one,” he says. â€Å"Do you feel repair about taking your car to him now?”\r\nâ€Å"Well, yeah, if you think its okay?” she check s. â€Å"Im very special(a) about who kit and boodle on my car or at least my dad is very picky about who works on it.”\r\nâ€Å"Itll be fine,” he assures her with a wink. â€Å"Ive never disappointed a girl yet.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh yeah?” Lila laughs, glancing at me uneasily, like shes worried shes stepping on my territory.\r\nâ€Å"So are we going to go or what?” A ping of jealousy pinches inside my chest.\r\nâ€Å"Yep, lets go, beautiful.” Micha leads the way around the fence and up his driveway to the garage.\r\nWhen I step inside, my mouth falls open. pose in the middle, between the walls lined with shelves and tools, is a shiny 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS. Its painted in a smoky black with a cherry red racing banding down the center. â€Å"You finally fixed it up?”\r\nHe pats the shiny flawless hood, his eyes sparkling with excitement. â€Å"I finally got around to it, after talking about it for quadruplet years.” His eyes find m ine, seeking my approval. â€Å"So what do you think?”\r\nâ€Å"Its kind of old.” Lila pulls a face at the car. â€Å"And really big.”\r\nâ€Å"I thought you liked things big?” Micha teases. I punch him in the arm and he laughs. â€Å"Ow, I meant hands. Jeez get your mind out of the gutter.”\r\nI roll my eyes. â€Å"You did not, you pervert.”\r\nHe shrugs, his eyes lustrous in the sunlight filtering through the gritty windows. â€Å"So what. It got you to lighten up, didnt it?”\r\nâ€Å" are we movement it to Gradys?” I opt for a neutral voice.\r\nHe slips his keys out of his pocket and tosses them to me. â€Å"Yeah, go ahead. Its all yours.”\r\nI swiftly shake my head and throw the keys back at him, like theyre scorching hot. â€Å"No thanks. I dont want to.”\r\nHe cocks an eyebrow, looking sexy. â€Å"What do you mean you dont want to?”\r\nâ€Å"I mean I dont want to drive it.” It nearly kills me to say it. I walk around the front of the car, open the door, and communicate for Lila to get in.\r\nâ€Å"But it has a pursy 572 Big Block in it,” he says astounded with the keys hanging loosely from his fingers. â€Å"How can you not want to drive it?”\r\nMy insides mash to drive it, but I wont buckle. â€Å"Its fine, Micha. Id rather be the passenger.”\r\nâ€Å"What does that mean? A blown big block or whatever you said?” Lila wonders as she walks to the side of the car. â€Å"Wait, are you guys talking cars? El doesnt like cars. In fact, she made us take the great deal most of the time when we left campus.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh really?” His tone implies otherwise. â€Å"Thats news to me.”\r\nâ€Å"Its a waste of gas,” I lie, attempting to mask the truth; that I miss it. The rush, the speed, the adrenaline high.\r\nLila ducks inside the car and into the backseat. I climb into the passenger side and Micha opens the garage door. He revs up the engine, letting it rumble, teasing me, before backing down the driveway.\r\nâ€Å"Im starting to think that the Ella you knew isnt the same one as I know.” Lila buckles her seatbelt up.\r\nHe spins the tires down the road. â€Å"I think you might be on to something Lila, because the one I knew love cars. In fact she used to hang out in the garage all day with the guys while the other girls contend with their hair and makeup.” He flashes me a heartbreaking grin. â€Å"She used to get all ruttish when wed go racing.”\r\nNo matter how hard I try to hinder myself from acquire energized, I cant. Those hot summer nights, escape down the highway, neck and neck with some other car, the rush soaring through my body.\r\nMicha trails his finger along my neck and rests it on my pulse. â€Å"Youre acquire excited just thinking about it.”\r\nHis touch spreads a longing through my body. I swat his hand away, cross my arms, and focus on the window, watching the part blur by as he cruises over the speed limit. Micha shifts the gears and the engine thunders louder, begging to burn rubber.\r\nâ€Å"Is it legal to be driving this fast?” Lila asks nervously. We glance back at her and she grips the edge of the leather seat. â€Å"It just seems like were going really fast, especially in a neighborhood.”\r\nMicha holds my gaze resolutely as he downshifts and pumps up the rpms. â€Å"What do you think? Speed up? Or slow down?”\r\nI want to tell him to slow down, pull on my seatbelt, and look away, but a passion that was doomed raves. He throttles the gas pedal, keeping his eyes on mine, venturing me to look away first.\r\nâ€Å"Um… I dont think this is a good idea.” Lilas voice is far away.\r\nThe car surges faster down the narrow road and his eyes refuse me to tell 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 bo dy pleads to let go.\r\nSuddenly, Lila screams, â€Å"Stop sign!”\r\nMichas 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.\r\nâ€Å"Are you crazy?” Lilas voice cracks as she situates back into the seat and realigns her dress over her legs. â€Å"What is wrong with you two?”\r\nMicha and I look at each other and my body is burn down with a hidden desire that I wont admit exists. My heart beats in my chest, gem steady and alive again. For a second, Im back in the place I lost.\r\nThen Micha come aparts it.\r\nâ€Å"See, the same old Ella still lives.” He grins arrogantly as he drives through the intersection. â€Å"She just needed a little push out.”\r\nI flicker the seatbelt locked, proving a point. â€Å"No, she doesnt. Shes gone forever.”\r\nâ€Å"Try all you want, but Im bringing he r back.” He bites his lip, focus on the street as he mutters, â€Å"I wont let that night ruin you forever.”\r\nBut it did. It broke me into a meg pieces and blew them away in the wind, like crumbled leaves. That night was one of the most incredible nights Ive ever had.\r\nThen I quickly plummeted toward rock bottom.\r\n'