Ellen's POV
Patrick and I played in the tree house for hours. Only coming down for bathroom breaks and food. The sun is setting and we know we only have a little bit of time left before we have to go inside.
"Ellen, it's your turn to be the lava monster now." Patrick whines.
"Nuh uh! I'm a girl. Girls can't be monsters."
"Can we stop playing then?"
"Fine. Have it your way." I say pouting.
"We've been doing what you want to do this entire day." he says.
"Well what do you want to do?"
He grins and stands up, grabbing a box from the corner.
"Let's play race cars!" I sigh.
"I don't wanna do that."
"But it's my turn to pick." he says.
"Pick something different." I say, crossing my arms.
"No! I wanna play race cars!" he shouts.
"No! No race cars! Let's play barbies again."
"No!" he yells, throwing a race car at me. It hits my leg and I start crying.
"I'm sorry Ellie!" he says, hugging me. I sniffle and ask quietly, "Can we play barbies now?"
He sighs.
"Okay."
I grab the box of barbies that I brought up here and open it.
"Ellen! Patrick! Time to come inside!" Mary yells. I huff and Patrick grins.
"No barbies then. Gee that's too bad." he says climbing down the ladder.
I follow him and we run inside.
"Patrick. Time for bath."
He groans. "Can't I skip? Just tonight? Ellie is here."
"Fine. But just tonight!"
We run up to Patrick's room and close the door behind us.
"I'm teaching myself how to juggle." he says proudly. He grabs two cones and throws them in the air, sloppily juggling. After a few tosses, one falls to the ground.
"I just gotta keep practicing." he says. I hear the door bell ring.
"Daddy's here!" I say, running down the stairs. I see daddy at the door, talking quietly with Mary. He looks stressed and a little scared. Beside him is my sister, Maureen.
"Daddy!" I say, jumping into his arms. He hugs me and then sets me down. He crouched down in front of me.
"Listen El. Mommy and daddy have to do something tonight. You're gonna have to stay here with Maureen until morning. Okay?"
"Where's mommy?" I ask, looking toward our house. I see a white truck parked in front of our house with red and blue lights on top.
"Mommy had a little accident. But people are going to take care of her. Alright?" I nod my head, tears coming to my eyes.
"Is mommy gonna die?" I ask softly, still staring at the truck.
"I don't know sweetheart. I'll pick you two up in the morning. Alright? I love you. And mommy loves you too. Very much. Goodnight." He kisses my forehead and I wave goodbye as he leaves. Maureen steps inside.
I turn around to see Mary talking to Alicia. They are both crying. I run up the stairs to Patrick's room.
When I walk in, I see him staring out his window. He turns when he hears the door open.
"Ellie, I thought you went home." he says, looking confused.
"My mommy got hurt." I say, climbing onto his bed to look out the window. "I gotta stay here."
He nods and looks toward the front of my house. You can barely see the truck with flashing lights. I catch a glimpse of my mommy on a stretcher with a blanket covering her entire body. Including her face.
I guess she got really cold and they are trying to warm her up. Four men in white outfits load her onto the truck and then they get it. The truck drives down the street, out of sight.
"Do you think she will be okay?" he asks. I shrug.
"Maybe."
He turns away from the window and looks at me, the moon reflecting off of his glasses.
He takes my hand and holds it.
"Patty?" I ask.
"Yeah?"
"I don't think you have coodies anymore." I say.
"How do you know?" he asks.
"Cause my mommy said that when I love someone and they love me back, then the coodies disappear. So do you love me back?" I ask.
"Yeah." I smile.
His sister, Alicia walks in.
"Ellen, you're gonna sleep in the guest room down the hall. Follow me. It's time for bed." she says. I jump off of Patrick's bed and grab her hand.
She leads me to the room.
"Where's Maureen?" I ask.
"She is sleeping in Mary's room." I nod and walk into the room. Alicia closes the door as she leaves.
Who's gonna tuck me into bed? Who's gonna pray with me?
Tears start to run down my face as these thoughts go through my head. There's a soft knock on my door and I quickly open it. Patrick sneaks inside and I shut the door.
"Ellie what's wrong?" he asks.
"I miss my mommy." I tell him. He hugs me.
"Will you stay here?" I ask. He nods and I kick off my shoes and crawl into the bed. He follows me and we lay under the covers, facing each other.
"Patty?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I pray?" I ask, shyly. He nods. We sit up and face each other.
"What do I do Ellie?" he asks confused.
"Bow your head and close your eyes." He does as I say and I start.
"Now I lay me...I mean us down to sleep, I pray the Lord our souls to keep. And if we die before we wake, I pray the Lord our souls to take. Amen." I finish. "Now you say amen." I whisper.
"Amen." he says.
"Now we can sleep."
I lay back down and watch him take off his glasses and set them on the nightstand like my mommy does.
He lays down next to me and looks into my eyes. He grabs my hand and squeezes it before closing his eyes. I close mine and dream of my mommy coming home.
***
A/N
For those of you who didn't know, Ellen's mother dies when she was five from overdosing on pain medication.
May she rest in peace.
