Love Always, Ella

Chapter Nineteen

Patrick

There's only one month left until she leaves, and by now we both have a countdown. It's not the type of countdown you'd have for your birthday or anything. It's not like a countdown on New Year's Eve, where you're just filled with so much excitement to kiss your lover at midnight. It almost feels like a countdown until the day you die or something. That's a little drastic, but it's just the only thing I can think of to relate it to. Needless to say, it's not a good one by any means.

Ella called me last night and wanted me to meet her on the beach tonight like I normally do. This time I couldn't be here until after nine though, and she wouldn't tell me why. She said it was a surprise, and when I show up on the beach at exactly nine, not a second later, I see her standing there in this red long-sleeved dress with a tent and blankets sprawled out at her feet.

Her hair is beautiful like it always is, but it looks even more beautiful underneath the moonlight. The water behind her is gently lapping at a slow speed, creating such a peaceful sound between the two of us that it's almost sad in a way. I want to freeze time and stand still in this moment with her so I can watch the way her dress moves with the wind and the way she gets that smile on her face every time she sees me. I'm going to miss that the most.

"You look amazing." I say, pulling her into my arms. "Can I ask what you're doing with a tent though?"

My usual choice of wardrobe is a tank top and khaki shorts, so that's what I wore tonight. I always feel underdressed compared to her. Ella looks so good. I always swear to myself that I'll start to dress better, but I never do. I always continue to wear the same thing, but she likes that I think.

"You're going to pitch a tent. I'm going to help you. That way you won't be embarrassed anymore about it." She kneels down onto the sand and grabs the poles in her hands before she sends me another wide smile. The only thing I can think of at the moment is how on earth I got so lucky to ever find a girl like Ella. I never thought I would find someone to care so much about me, but here she is with a whole damn tent waiting to help me overcome something I've always wanted to.

"My grandparents are sleeping. I've been keeping track of when they wake up. It's usually not until around eight or nine. I was thinking we could possibly sleep here tonight. That's also of course if you even want to. It's fine if you-"

"Don't even finish that." I laugh. "I'll risk getting in trouble if it means I can spend the night with you somewhere. The real question is, can we actually pitch a tent?"

Kneeling down beside her onto the sand, she rolls her eyes at me and instructs with her hands how to put the poles together. She explains how it's going to frame the tent, and then I ask her how she knows how to do this. She responds with a story about her going camping with her dad all the time when things were decent between them and how he taught her how to pitch a tent tons of times. She says she should have been a girl scout if given the opportunity, and that makes me laugh when I picture her in a girl scout uniform. I have to admit though; I'd certainly like to see it.

"Now what?" I ask once the frame is up.

"Now we put the cover on."

Then she picks up the cover and I sit back and watch her focus on pulling it over the frame, struggling a little to make sure it fits over it. The way she gets frustrated and lets out little sighs when she has to readjust it makes me start to laugh, which causes her to give me an annoyed glance.

"You're supposed to be doing this." She giggles. "I wanted you to learn how to pitch one."

"And I am learning." I reassure her. "You're doing a very good job at showing me, and also doing a very good job at being cute as hell right now."