Since we've spoken last

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Chapter 9

Ella's P.O.V:

I screeched to a stop at the red light and leaned my head back on the seat. I assured the nurse that I was okay and she gave me permission to drive but it felt like my head was being run over by a truck. My heart pounded and it seemed to echo through my head. My mind buzzed with questions.

Hundreds of Questions,

Thousands of Questions,

Too many questions

I slammed my fists into the steering wheel in frustration and jumped back when a loud honk disturbed the silence in my old, silver car. I winced when the honk made the pounding in my head spike up further.

"Sorry," I mouthed with an apologetic gesture to the people next to me. The man in the large black rover next to me lifted his middle to me and I rolled my eyes.

Jerk.

"Dammit!" I exclaimed when I remembered it was my shift at, 'Siempre comiendo' and yes, it does translate to 'Forever Eating'. I know it's ridiculous but it pays under the table and doesn't ask too many questions so I deal with it. It doesn't pay that well, but not a lot of people like hiring teens under eighteen. I considered calling in sick but we would need to eat tonight and pay the bills so with a irritated sigh I made a U- turn. I searched for my phone.

My fingers brushed against a cold surface and I clamped my hand around my phone. I flipped it open and dialed Simons number.

Ring, ring

"Come on, Simon..." I muttered with strained temper.

"Hello..." his voice said, cheerfully through the phone.

"Good, Simon I'm worki-"

"This is Simon's voicemail, leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a nice day," The recording finished.

"Dammit, Simon. The one time I need you to pick up Harmony!" I screech into the phone. "When you get this message... just look after Mony. I'll tell her to stay at your house until I can pick her up," I told the voicemail. I ended the call with an angry jab and punched in my sister's number.

"Hey El," she answered immediately. Unlike some people...

"Hey, Mony. I'm working today so I need you stay at Simon's house until I can come pick you up, okay?" I asked her, a smile slowly making its way onto my face. She sounded a lot better.

"Yeah, sure. Hey El?" she agreed.

"Yeah?"

"Can I go to a... uhm friend house this weekend?" she asked shyly. I smiled in honest joy.

"Of course, Mony. But I need to meet this friend first," I told her sternly, but with a teasing tone. It might seem ridiculous to outsiders, a seventeen year old giving her sister permission to stay over at a friends house instead of asking her parents, but Mony and I were a team. I was like a mother, friend and sister to her since our mother couldn't be.

She laughed and agreed. I ended the call and sped up a little. I passed a green light and smiled when my phone buzzed with a text from Simon,

'Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry'

I chuckled a little but quickly focused on the road. I didn't want to crash my car. I hope I still have those migraine pills in my bag...

- - - - - - - - - -

(A few hours later.)

"Hey Mony," I gushed as I crouched down to hug my little sister. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in the crook of my neck. I pulled back to look at her and with a giant grin I told her to get her things. She smiled at me and ran back inside the house.

"I take it I'm forgiven then," Simon said from the doorway. I smiled innocently at him.

"Why, whatever are you talking about?"

"Oh no. That's worse, you're gonna kill me in my sleep aren't you?" he asked with a mock look of fear on his face.

"Jup," I told him popping the 'p' and grinning.

"It was one phone call, come on El," he pleaded. I just smiled at him in silence. After a while I punched his arm with just enough force to hurt but not leave a bruise.

"I hate you," he mumbled rubbing his sore shoulder.

"I hate you too," I told him happily and watched as Mony came out of the house.

"You ready to go?" I asked her. She nodded and gave Simon a quick hug before getting in the car. I turned to face him.

"Thanks, Simon," I smiled and he gave me his familiar cheeky grin.

"How is your mom?" I asked him in a lower voice so Mony wouldn't hear. I saw his smile falter, but only slightly, just enough so it was barely noticeable, to anyone else at least.

"Dad came back home drunk again, last night. He would've beat mom and probably me too, but I locked us both in her bedroom until he passed out. He... he had a bag of cocaine with him and mom's weekly earnings were gone... again," he told me the usual joy in his face vanishing. I sighed in sympathy and took his hand. His dad has been an alcoholic for seven years now. Simon hasn't spoken to him in over five years. It hurts me that he can't have the family life I crave, that he has to go through all this suffering... that he is following in my footsteps.

"I'd tell you it's going to be okay but coming from me that wouldn't be very convincing," I told him sadly and saw a slight spark of amusement in his eyes. "Instead I'll tell you that all you can do right now is support your mom."

He nods and lets his head fall back. "God, I just wish she would leave him already," he whispered softly. I nodded my agreement.

He smiled at me then and I saw his usual easy going nature come back. I let go of his hand and gave him a giant hug.

"Love you Slimy," I whispered, using his playground nick name for back when he used to play with those disgusting bottles of slime. I shivered just thinking about it.

"Love you too, Salad," he whispered back with a smirk. When I was ten I went on this ridiculous spree of eating lettuce with everything, and I mean everything. I scowled at my old nick-name and slapped his chest.

"Don't call me that!" I yelled in mock anger.

"Hey, you started it!" he yelled back in defense.

"Fair enough," I said with a shrug and opened my car door. I rolled down my window and started my car.

"Hey, Simon!" I called to him.

"Yeah!" he yelled from his doorway.

"Be safe," I said with a worrying edge in my voice.

"You too," he retorted with a nod and a small smile.

Touché

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