↳ CHAPTER SEVEN

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  HOLDING ONTO ELLA, high as a kite and too incoherent for Mariah to decipher where exactly she lived, the Rose had come to the reluctant conclusion she was taking her to her own apartment, instead

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HOLDING ONTO ELLA, high as a kite and too incoherent for Mariah to decipher where exactly she lived, the Rose had come to the reluctant conclusion she was taking her to her own apartment, instead. She wasn't particularly happy about it but considering Ella had specifically asked Eve to guide her to Mariah's company, she wasn't going to let the woman down. She took that responsibility seriously, and considering her lack of contribution to the events of the night, the least she could do was make sure the Lopez could safely get some sleep and drink enough water.

"Did I tell you I disarmed a bomb? I mean, a freaking bomb!" Ella rambled, and rolling her eyes while supporting the woman through the doorway, Mariah nodded. It had been a thrilling story the first two times, but by the fifth mention, it had turned into a bitter memory of how horribly the night could have gone. Most of their friends had been trapped inside with a murderer, and it was a miracle they had all made it out alive — Mariah could have, admittedly, gone without the constant reminder of it.

"You did. And that was pretty awesome of you", Mariah grunted while heaving the door shut behind them. Giggling, completely oblivious to her friend's struggle to keep her upright, Ella hung onto her neck and nodded in agreement.

"It was scary, too. But you know, I asked myself, what would Mariah Rose do?" she blabbered, earning a snort from the detective as she guided Ella towards the bed across the studio apartment she was still trying to get used to. Sleep didn't come too easy for her, so letting Ella take the bed was an easy decision to settle on, her boots shuffling against the floorboards as she dragged her along. "Because, you know, you're a total badass. You could probably survive any situation", Ella added on, and with a weak huff, Mariah shrugged.

Any situation but this, sure.

Softly pushing Ella to the edge of the mattress, Mariah stood back and gestured at the woman's shoes. "Take those off and get comfortable", she instructed and turned on her heel, but before she could slip to the kitchen, Ella was grabbing her wrist with pleading eyes. Sighing, Mariah wrung her fingertips away from her skin and gave her a reassuring look, "I'll just get you some water."

With that promise, she was stepping away and leaving Ella to do as planned and get the woman something to drink. Even when she was hardly a few feet away, she couldn't help but keep glancing over her shoulder, like she was watching a helpless baby not to be left on her own, and the thought made her shake her head.

It had been a long night for all of them, and she doubted it would be too easy to brush away, even when she had only been standing outside waiting for the flammable situation to fizzle out.

"You should get some sleep", Mariah pointed out when she was back to hovering over Ella, her arms folded over her chest as she watched the Lopez gulp down all of the water and then dig under the covers. She almost made the bed look comfortable, as if Mariah hadn't struggled to sleep through the night for weeks now, and right on cue, Ella lifted a curious eyebrow at her.

RITUAL MISERY ↝ Ella LopezWhere stories live. Discover now