The Mechanic.

Chapter 6

     As Ella put on her eyeliner, her mind revisited, for the thousandth time, what had happened the week before at Martin's funeral. She knew that Jon was grieving but it was still so weird the way he had grabbed her and pulled her away from the ceremony. She could still feel the way his body shook when she hugged him. She didn't even think she had ever felt that kind of grief before.

   She put down the eyeliner tube and picked up her lipstick. When she was done applying it, she stepped back and examined her make up. It had been such an long time since she had applied so much make up on her own face. Normally, she would just slap on some powder and lipstick and be gone. Tonight, she had agreed to go on a girl date with Jasmine, since Claudia said she would come by to pick Josh up for the night. Apparently, Jeremy and Millie had a birthday to attend in the morning and she had thought it would be a good idea for Josh to go with them.

   Ella could hardly recognize her reflection in the mirror. She looked...young. She was wearing a navy green crop top and a black fitted skirt with a high waist. On her feet, she was wearing black strappy heels. Her brown hair fell around her face in loose curls. She was impressed with herself, she had managed to make herself look just a little bit sexy without Jasmine breathing down her neck.

  She gathered up her make-up into the bag, threw her lipstick into her purse and left the bathroom. It was about 11:30pm. She picked out her phone and called Claudia.

"Hey sis." Claudia answered.

"Hey." Ella responded. "Did Josh get to bed okay?"

"Yeah, he did." Claudia said distractedly. "Speaking of which, I noticed that his temperature was a bit higher than normal."

Ella panicked instantly. "What?" She squeaked. "Is he okay? I should come get him."

Claudia laughed. "You did hear me say a bit right?" She asked. "Relax, this is normal. Plus he wasn't coughing or complaining of any pain."

"Still. I'm coming over at least." She said, not relaxing one bit.

"Ella. I know what to do in situations like these." Her sister said. Before Ella could say anything, her sister continued talking. "If it makes you feel any better, I had him drink a lot of water and I have paracetamol at the ready, if it gets worse. Which I doubt." She rattled on, calming Ella's fears just a little. "Go out, enjoy your girls' night out and come get Josh in the morning. Or afternoon. Evening even."

"Are you sure?" Ella asked sceptically.

"Yes, honey." She said. "Don't worry. I'll check on him later in the night."

  Ella breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister was a Godsend. She knew that if she had been in Claudia's position, she would have freaked out so hard. She had never felt so much love for her sister. "Thank you so much, Claudia. I love you."

Claudia chuckled. "I love you too, hun. Now go have fun. Turn up."

   Ella laughed at her sister, said goodbye and hung up. She went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Even though her sister had reassured her that her son was alright, she couldn't help panicking just a bit. Okay, more than a bit. As she had just downed the ice cold water to try and calm her nerves, she heard a knock on her door.

"Open up, bitch." Her best friend shouted from the other side of the door. Ella chuckled as she walked over to the door.

"You actually need to chill out." She said as she opened the door and Jasmine stepped into the house.

"No, I do not." She said before she looked at Ella. She squealed. Literally. "Oh my God, you have arms. And legs. And make up. Oh my God, girl you look amazing." She said and then she frowned. Now what? "Why isn't a strip of skin on your belly showing?"