Chapter 21
Kane's P.O.V:
I watched quietly as Ella diffused the situation between the two men. She quickly disappeared back into the kitchen. I walked back to my seat with a sliver of admiration. I would have preferred to beat the guy up, but Ella handled it delicately and in the end they just forgot about their little quarrel.
It was impressing.
I saw Ella slipping into the back room with her phone close to her ear. I assumed she was speaking to Simon since he hadn't called earlier. While she was gone I watched a man and a woman request a seat. There was something strange about the two of them, but I couldn't place it. I kept a close eye on them.
The man was... shaking, or at least his hands were as they rested on the table. The woman was looking away from him seeming disinterested in what he had to say. I could see the way she slightly trembled whenever he glared at her. It reminded me of the way Ella reacted to specific conflict situations.
The next thing I knew the man had stood up from his seat and reached across the table. He raised his hand and slapped the woman's cheek. She cried out in pain as his hand left a red mark on the her cheek.
"¡Presta atención cuando te estoy hablando!" (Pay attention when I'm talking to you) he hissed at her. The rest of the diner didn't seem to notice the small commotion. I stood up from my chair in disbelief. I approached their table with a spark of anger igniting my bad temper. I raised my fist and punched the man across the jaw. He flew back and knocked their drinks over.
"You don't hit a woman. Ever," I spat at him and raised my fist again but a small hand stopped me. Ella grabbed hold of my raised fist and with a warning glare she pushed my hand down. She moved to stand in front of me. She took a brief second to assess the situation before turning her icy stare to the man.
"Salir," (Get out) she told him. A dark expression covered his face and he stalked over to her. She flinched back in what I assumed was habit and I grounded my teeth. I grabbed the man's hand from the air and pushed Ella behind me.
"Ella te dijo que salieras," (She told you to get out) I hissed at him. I squeezed my hand and felt the weaker bones in his hand protest. His eyes widened in pain at the movement. "Sugiero que hagas lo que te dicen," (I suggest you do as you're told) I told him and released his hand. He looked at me with wide eyes before shooting the woman a glare and running for the door.
"Like you don't see a fight every day of your lives," Ella snapped at the small crowd we had gathered. They quickly dispersed. heard Ella let out a quiet breath of relief. She gently took the woman's hand and coaxed her to the kitchen. She whispered at me to follow so I walked a step or two behind them.
Ella sat the woman down in a chair and fetched her a glass of water. She talked to the woman for a about twenty minutes in Spanish before she seemed satisfied at the woman's plans. She glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled before turning to me.
"Come on, my shift is over," she told me and hung up her apron. Before she turned back around I snuck up behind her and curled my arms around her waist. I bend down and breathed in her smell. 'She smelled like lavender,' I realized and smiled into her hair.
"What are you doing?" she mumbled as she hesitantly placed her hands over mine.
"You smell like lavender," I muttered. I could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as she turned around in my arms.
"Yeah, well you smell like leather and I'm pretty sure you're not wearing any, care to explain?" she chuckled.
"My dad wears a lot of leather." I chuckled with her. She parted her lips to say something, but I leaned down for a small kiss. "And yes I'm aware of how cliché that sounds," I grin.
As we walked to her car she slipped her small hand into mine but didn't meet my eyes. Her cheeks were painted a soft pink and I held back a smile. "What are you going to do about your bike?" she asked as we got in her car.
"I already called a friend and he agreed to take it home for me," I responded as she started the car.
"Do you mind if I pick up Mony on the way?" she asked. I agreed and turned on the radio. A soft tune rang through the car leaving us in comfortable silence. Suddenly Avril Lavigne's 'Here's to never growing up' came up and Ella smiled. She turned up the volume and softly started to hum along.
'We live like rock stars, dance on every bar
This is who we are, I don't think we'll ever change (hell no!)
They say "just grow up", but they don't know us
We don't give a fuck, and we're never gonna change
Say, won't you say "forever"
Stay, if you stay forever
Hey, we can stay forever young'
She grinned at me when the song had finished and I felt a rush of happiness.
She turned a corner and stopped the car. She got out and walked up to the gates. Mony came running out with her schoolbag bumping on her back. She hugged Ella before saying goodbye to her friend.
"How did your English exam go?" Ella asked and glanced in the rear view mirror as she pulled back into the road. I looked at Mony and saw her pull a face. Ella chuckled and Mony pouts.
"Don't laugh at me." She muttered with a sulk. I looked at Ella and she grinned at me in amusement at the light teasing.
"Are you Ella's boyfriend?" Mony suddenly piped up. I turned to look at her in surprise and out of the corner of my eyes I saw Ella blush. "No, we're just really good friends," I told her. Ella nodded in thanks. I suspected she would have wanted to wait until after she had adopted Mony. Mony rolled her eyes in response.
"You don't believe me?" I asked her mocking hurt by dramatically putting my hand to my heart.
"Nope," she said popping the 'p' and folding her arms.
"What will convince you then?" I asked her. She put her finger to her chin playing along. She pretended to be in deep thought for a second.
"You can't." She shot her hand up in the air.
"It's impossible," she cried. I saw Ella's amused smile as the two of us continued our little show. Ella chuckled softly at our mock argument.
"Dammit!" Ella suddenly exclaimed and Mony and I stopped our play. I look at her in expectation. "Sorry," she apologized and handed Mony her cell phone.
"I forgot it's Wednesday. Mony, I need you to call Simon and ask him if it's alright if we stay over tonight," she said as Mony rang Simon's number.
"What's wrong with Wednesdays?" I asked her in confusement. She locked eyes with me for a second before looking back to the road. Her eyes were narrowed and her fingers had tightened around the steering wheel.
"Our father enjoys throwing parties on Wednesdays and Fridays, sometimes both. It gets pretty rough so I prefer us staying out. He usually doesn't notice," she murmured and I nodded knowing she means she's scared of the people he invited over.
"He's not picking up," Mony announced from the backseat and I saw Ella's jaw clench. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned a threatening white. I take the phone from Mony and placed it on Ella's lap.
"You can stay at my house for the night," I offered before I could overthink the request. Ella looked at me sharply before sighing and nodding.
"Alright, are you okay with that Mony?" she asked her sister. Mony nodded eagerly and turned to me.
"Do you have a mom?" she asked in excitement. I nod interested and slightly scared as to where this was going. Mony was bouncing with excitement now,
"Is she a good cook?" she asked and I chuckled before nodding. "Great. Ella you should marry him. You'll starve on your own," she laughed and Ella blushed a deep scarlet.
"Mony!"
YOU ARE READING
Internal cry
Teen Fiction"How long has he been hurting you?" There it is. The question I dreaded, but I promised him I would be honest, so I took a deep breath and answered. "Seven years." I didn't look at him. I waited for him to pull his hand away, to hit me, to say I was...
