38
Ella
October, 2018
I stand in the kitchen, deciding whether I’m hungry or whether I’m just nervous and need something to do while they argue in the hallway.
“We are lucky they didn’t find out, Martha, about her fucking stupidity. Luckily, it won’t be a problem in the morning!”
“I will take her, Adrian,” Mum quietly says.
“We will all go.”
He suggests it as if it’s a family day out instead of forcing me to terminate my baby and then give up the love of my life for their benefit.
“Adrian, I think it should just be Ella and me. You know how upset she is. I don’t think having a male there, and especially her father, will help,” Mum says. I’m surprised he’s even letting her have a say. He never usually does.
“You call me when it’s done, and you keep me informed, do you hear? I was harsh on her. But we had such a close call. For once, you may be right; after all, you have dealt with all this… emotional woman stuff. But you are not to let her leave that hospital until she is cleaned of all this filth .”
Mum says nothing. There’s no point in me even reacting or speaking up at this point; his opinion will never change.
“If Anthony finds out… the boy is as good as dead. I don’t know why Dean stopped me, I really don’t,” Dad adds.
I roll my eyes, trying to stop the tears. The kitchen door opens and my mum walks in.
“He’s gone to his office to cool off,” she tells me quietly. She pops the radio on in the corner and turns the classical channel up a little to drown out her voice. “Have you contacted Matthew?”
I nod. “He’s okay. His brother is with him. They have everything planned and ready.”
“Your father agreed to let me take you on my own. For once, he took little convincing.”
“I heard.”
“We’ll be leaving at quarter past nine. If you give me your suitcase tonight, when your father’s asleep, I will put it in the car ready—”
“Won’t he know? I packed things that aren’t important, so surely, it’s better to leave those things there. I packed a backpack for my essentials, I can bring that instead.”
She nods. “If nothing is important to you, that’s a better idea. Bring the bag with you in the morning. I will sort everything after that.”
She grabs me into a warm hug.
“Thank you, Mum,” I whisper.
“Ella, look at me,” she whispers back. I leave her arms and look into her proud, green eyes. “You do not contact us, or Dean, or anyone, do you hear me? You marry him, and you find yourselves a home. When things quieten down here, I will contact you. Leave me a number, tomorrow. You deserve so much better than this.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“I never wanted this for you; you know that. You know I’ve known about another man. But when Dean told us you were pregnant; I knew I had to step in. For you to risk everything , he must be special. Fairy tales don’t exist, Ella, but you two are as pretty close as it gets. I saw it yesterday. If you and he are worth fighting this hard for your love, then you deserve to win.”
∞∞∞
‘ You okay, Ells Bells? X’
I feel like I’m fifteen again: not allowed my phone after eleven p.m., yet I always sneaked it out of the kitchen drawer, sneak it up to my room and switch it on under the covers when I heard my dad snoring from the landing.
I could hear my dad snoring when I came up the stairs ten minutes ago, and I know my Mum is in her bedroom, the lamp giving a small orange glow, so I know she’s reading, and I’m safe.
‘I miss you guys. How’s your face? X,’ I message back.
‘It’s all right. You’ll have to excuse my bruises in the photos tomorrow. But Nick said he could probably cover up some of it with makeup. He popped out earlier to buy me some. He even bought some eyeliner and lipstick to go with it. That cool with you? X’ he sends back. I bite my lip to hold my laughter.
‘I’m up for that. Is that to go with the dress you bought for yourself, right? Because you said you bought my dress for you, so I’m kinda stumped about what to wear to my own wedding tomorrow! X’ I send him a winking emoji to finish the message and he instantly sends a laughing one back.
‘Don’t worry about anything, Ells Bells. We have everything sorted. You just need to turn up. Nick called the office earlier to tell them of the situation, kind of. They said they don’t have any bookings until the afternoon, so if we’re a little late, it doesn’t matter. Luck might just be on our side, Mrs Davenport.’
I feel my face light up at the name; in less than twelve hours I’ll be Matt’s wife. It’s everything I dreamed of since we met. Now it’s less than twelve hours to go, and I couldn’t be more nervous or excited.
I watch the clock on my phone click over to midnight. Another text comes in. ‘Happy wedding day, Ells Bells.’
‘Happy wedding day, Matty. I can’t wait to be Mrs Davenport. I love you xxx.’
‘Get some sleep Ells. Love you xxx.’
I turn the phone off and hide it in the depths of my clothes in my backpack and close my eyes, trying to get some sleep.
∞∞∞
My mum takes the backpack to the car just as my dad walks down the stairs to see us off the next morning. Or rather, make sure in his eyes, I’m really going to the hospital.
“Well, Chick, when you come home, this little blip will all be over with, and we can all get on with our lives!” Dad puts both hands on my shoulders and looks me right in the eyes.
I don’t give him anything; even if I was going to go through with the termination, I know I wouldn’t be happy about it, so I keep a poker face despite the rising temptation to punch him like I did Dean last night. I wonder if Dean is still pissed, or if he’s over it yet.
“I know you’re not happy with me, but this is for the best. There is no way I would allow a bastard child into this family. I wouldn’t expect Dean to have to raise a child that isn’t his either.”
He’s saying it for a rise out of me after my spectacle last night.
“Maybe after this, you will know never to embarrass this family like that ever again,” he tries again.
I stare him square in the eyes and keep the poker face on my face.
“Are you ready, Ella?” Mum appears in the doorway.
“Yes, Mum,” I respond, pushing my dad’s hands away and walking away from him without a word.
“See you later, Chick!” Dad calls.
I offer him one thing in response: my middle finger.
“Keep me informed, and keep her in check,” Dad hisses to my mum. “I will let that one pass, but warn her from doing things like—”
“Yes, Adrian,” Mum responds, cutting him off. “If we don’t leave now, we will be late.”
When her driver pulls out of the driveway, and the house is in the distance, I sink in my seat and heave a sigh.
“You’re safe, Ella.” Mum sighs, her hand holding mine. “It’s over.”
“Please, Mum, for the love of all that is holy, please don’t turn out to be double-crossing me.” I fight against the threatening tears, hoping and praying that is genuinely the last of it, and in less than two hours I will walk up the aisle to Matty.
“If I was double-crossing you, Ella, I wouldn’t be coming with you to the hospital, I would let your father do it. I promise you, darling, I am taking you to Matthew.”
“He isn’t going to say anything, right?” I nod to the driver of the car.
“No, darling. He’s employed by me and always has been. You know that. Whatever happens, I want you to know something.”
I look at her. Her eyes are clouding over with tears, so I squeeze her hand. I haven’t forgiven her for being a part of all of this and sitting back and allowing it to get this far. But she is still my mother, and she is here now, risking herself to let me have my happiness and family. I’ll never forget it, and I will always be thankful.
“One day, there will be a chance for us to reunite. When all this is over. I don’t know when that will be. They will work out eventually that it was me, and I will be an outcast for it. That’s fine by me; I would love my independence back. Maybe then we can reunite. When that day comes, I would love the chance to meet my grandchild, if that’s okay with you and Matthew.”
I smile at her and grab the small piece of paper I hid in my bag. It’s Nick’s number that I pass to her. “This is Matt’s brother’s number. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to give you mine right now, or Matt’s. If it’s safe, you message him, and he’ll contact us. I do not trust Dean, or Dad, or Anthony, or Amelia, and if we’re in contact, if you have my number, I’m afraid it will compromise everything.”
I know in a way, Nick won’t mind.
“How did I raise you to be so smart?”
∞∞∞
I glance around the car park when we stop. “How will I know when Matt’s—”
“I told him the exact spot. He has further to travel, Ella. Don’t panic,” Mum assures me.
“How did you meet him, Ella?” she asks. I look at her. Until Matt shows up, there is a tiny, tiny voice telling me to be careful. “You don’t have to tell me; I just want to know about my son-in-law.”
“I thought Dean would know, the amount of research he’s done on my activities since I left for university.” I scoff.
“He told us a lot; how you took Matthew and his brother on the cruise. I remember the day in the coffee shop when Dean yelled at him. He told us that was when he became suspicious of you.” She sighs. “I can’t say I put two and two together. But when Dean sat us down and told us, I must say you pulled a blind one on us, Ella.”
“You know who’s been pulling a fast one on everyone? Dean,” I mention. “He’s been playing everyone. Spying on me, manipulating everyone around him, sleeping with his girlfriend and pretending to be on a high horse when really, he’s just as evil as his parents.”
“I know, darling. That is part of the reason I’m helping you.”
Matt’s car appears, and instantly, the smile spreads across my face as I spy him in the driver's seat. I’m a child on Christmas morning; when he opens the car door and walks out, I instantly throw my door open and fly out, grabbing my backpack and finding my way into his arms.
“Ells Bells.” He sighs with relief.
“Matty,” I reply, inhaling that one-of-a-kind woody scent I’ve loved since that first day I met him. I don’t even take in that Matt’s dressed in a suit until he lets me go.
I register the bruises on his face, carefully hidden with a tiny bit of makeup. They’re still there, but I must admit Nick did a good job.
“Ella.” Mum appears behind us. I turn to her, and she opens her arms for a hug. I reciprocate, closing my eyes and thanking whatever is up there that she decided to take pity on me for once in my life.
“Thank you, Mum,” I whisper. “Thank you so much.”
“Go and be happy.” She lets me go and turns to Matt. “Take care of her. She loves you.”
“I love her, Mrs Webb. With all my heart,” Matty says.
“Be happy, both of you,” Mum says. “Go and get married.”
“Ells Bells!” Matt spins me when she’s gone. A small yelp leaves my mouth and the moment my eyes find his again, I relax. “Happy wedding day.”
I laugh. “Happy wedding day.” I lean in and our lips meet desperately.
“We need to get going, and if we don’t stop now, I think I’ll get done for public indecency,” he jokes.
“I’d happily go down for that if it’s with you!” I smirk.
“I wouldn’t tempt me.” He opens the car door for me. “So, Nick’s taken your dress, shoes, and whatnot. They’re with the registry office. The woman said she’s got someone who can help you. I assume you have everything else, like your hair and makeup stuff?”
“All in my backpack,” I respond as he starts driving off.
“Right, then, let’s go!” He beams, turning the radio up and I hear those infamous chords of our song starting to fill the car.
“I love you.” I smirk.
“I love you too, Ells Bells.”