Trapped In Lace

Fifteen

"Ella you ready to go?" Alex asks and i nod

"Ella can I borrow you for a moment before you go?" Mary asks and i nod walking over to her

"Is there something wrong?" I ask her

"No, not at all. I just got a lovely email from a woman saying that you payed for her meal because her card got rejected" she says

"Yeah, you can just take that out of my wages" i say

"Don't worry about it, it's on the house" she says

"Thank you" i say

"So how is everything working with Alex?" She asks me

"You know he's cranky that I can't do coffee artwork but I'll get there eventually" I say

"He's a good boy really, he's just been through a lot. He brings me my shopping every week" she says

"He does?" I ask

"Yeah he brought it to me last night" she says and i smile.

"Anyway" she begins, "I'll let you get off, can you work sunday, Wednesday and Friday?"

"Yes I don't see how that's a problem" I say

"Great, now off you go. It's getting late" she says

"Thank you"

•

•

I walk into Luca's house and it's silent.

Where is everyone?

I hear a bang and I crouch down, they found me

Oh my god I'm doing to die.

Get a grip lily!

I stand up, "who's there? I've seen karate kid I can take any one of you motherfuckers down! One kick to the head and your out!"

All of a sudden i hear laughing and all the lights turn on and i head into the living room to see them all laughing at me.

"Why are you laughing at me?" I ask

"I told you she'd go to karate kid" Luca says

"I didn't believe you dad, but I'm so glad I was wrong" Lydia says laughing

"It's not funny!" I say

"It is!" Damon says

"Would you like some food? There's some leftovers?" Thea asks

"Please I'm starving" I say following her into the kitchen

"Izzy said you've got a job then?" She asks

"Yeah, my dad said that I should pay for verything for myself for the kids in Kenya. So here I am, working and do you know how hard it is to draw art in coffee?" I ask and she laughs

"No" she says with a smile giving me some pizza

"Thanks, it's very hard to do!" I say and she smiles

"Where do you work?" Thea asks me

"This little cafe a few minutes away from school, a woman called Mary owns it" i say

"Oh the beach cafe! I love that place!" She says with a smile

"It's so cute!" I say and she smiles

"How did you know they were hiring?" She asks me

"Oh Alex told me, he also works there" i say

"Alex huh?" She asks with a smirk

"It's not what you think" I say, "we're too... different"

"Opposites attract" she sings

"No, besides he's got a girlfriend" i say and she frowns

"Well that's ruined my day" she says and I laugh

"Why is everyone overthinking everything? Like why do people think I need a man?" I ask

She looks up away from the fridge and looks at me, "do you know how me and Luca got married?"

"Yeah and arranged marriage" i say

"And it was the best thing ever to happen. Except for when my kids were born. I was so against an arranged marriage. I wouldn't even talk to Luca for the first few weeks. But as soon as we found something we bonded over that was it. We connected so well after that. It was like all of the awkwardness and tension was gone" she tells me

"I'm glad it worked out for you" i say

"But lily, don't let this marriage next year stop you from making new relationships. And definitely don't push them away, it's not going to hurt anyone if you at least try" she says, "and I think people want to see you in a relationship is because we want you to be happy. And I know you don't need a boy to be happy but you've done so so much for everyone, we just want you to find love. Even if it is only just for a year before you get married"