Chapter 6 #2
As she hobbles into the other room, Ellie looks to me for guidance.
My instinct is to take her by the hand and get her the fuck out of here, but I’m not quite ready to walk around in public yet.
I haul myself off the bed, attempting subtlety as I rearrange myself, then pull out a chair at the table for her.
She slowly lowers herself into it while I slump into the other one, buttoning my collar back up.
A moment later, Mother returns, humming nonsense words as she pours hot water into two teacups and a mug, then sprinkles in various tea leaves. “So, tell me about yourself. How did you two meet?”
“I already told you,” I mutter, running my hand through my hair.
Ellie’s eyes widen, and she brings her hand to her face to hide an emerging smile. My heart flutters, but gets squashed the instant my mother speaks again.
“Yes, you did, but I was asking about her perspective.” She looks back at Ellie. “Do you have any classes together?”
“Only one.”
Mother gives us each a teacup before sitting with her mug in the well-worn armchair near the fire, where she spends most of her time at home. “Let me know if you need any sugar.”
Ellie lifts her teacup, her pinky sticking out to the side, and takes a delicate sip. “This is lovely. I’ve never had this flavor before.”
“This is something I mix up myself to ease my aches and pains,” Mother replies, holding up her mug.
I gulp down my tea. It burns, but my body’s finally calming down and I just want this over with. The more time Ellie spends around my mother, the more likely she’ll be scared off. That was fine with all the others, but not her.
“Caeo was telling me about that,” she says. “I had a rough morning, and he thought it might help.” She takes another sip.
Mother smiles, but it lacks any genuine warmth. Ellie probably can’t tell, but I’ve seen it enough to know.
“You said you needed help with a delivery?” I ask.
“Yes.” Mother sets her mug on the floor.
“I finished the alterations on Farmer Crowley’s daughter’s wedding dress.
I haven’t had to do such intricate stitching in a long time.
He’s certainly spending a small fortune on it.
He must love her dearly.” She focuses her gaze on me.
“They’re expecting it today, so you had best get going. ”
Shit. Crowley’s is a good six miles away. This will take forever.
“You’re lucky I didn’t have a second class this afternoon,” I mutter. “Come on, Ellie, I’ll walk you back first.”
She gulps the rest of her tea and grabs her things. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Have a lovely day,” Mother calls as we leave. I take Ellie’s hand and let the door slam behind us.
“Your mom seems nice.”
‘Seems’ being the key word. She can be, when it’s just the two of us and I haven’t messed something up, but she’s never given any of my girlfriends a chance.
Some kind of weird jealousy, like she’s afraid I’ll abandon her.
If she were a normal person, she could’ve given us a moment and come back later, but she chose to make things as awkward as possible.
“Sure, when she’s not completely ruining my day,” I say, pulling Ellie along the road back to the Academy. I slow down as she grimaces with her steps, but this isn’t the best part of town to linger in.
“You don’t get along?”
“She has… expectations. When I don’t meet them, which is most of the time, things get… tense.”
That’s an understatement, but I don’t need to ruin the moment any more by detailing my childhood beatings. Or making her realize how terrible I am at everything.
Ellie nods. “My father’s like that, too. My whole life has been striving to meet the bar he set.”
I glance over at her, my chest a little lighter. She understood, when no one else had. They’ve always just blamed me. Called me weak. But we’re both still here, carrying on.
“It sounded like she’s a seamstress?” she asks.
“Yep.”
“Do you often make deliveries for her?”
“Unfortunately. Most days, she can hardly make it to the shop. But people pay extra for delivery, and we need all the money we can get.”
Ellie’s steps slow, and a worry burns in my throat that she finally realized how below her station I actually am.
“Maybe I could go with you?” she asks.
Relief washes through me, but it’s swallowed by the disappointment of knowing it won’t work. “No, you barely made it here. Farmer Crowley’s six miles away.”
“Oh.” She sounds the way I feel, at least. “Well, you should probably get going—you have far enough to go already. I can get back on my own.”
The last thing I want is to leave her, but I push that thought aside. It won’t help anything, so the best I can do is make sure this final moment together is perfect. I guide her hands to my chest as I step closer, then wrap my arms around her while her thumb caresses me with slow, gentle circles.
Losing myself in the warmth of her eyes, all other thoughts drift away. No one’s ever looked at me like this, with genuine care instead of just lust.
“Should I find you at lunch tomorrow?” I ask.
Ellie lifts herself up on her toes, bringing her lips to mine. I breathe in her kiss, holding onto it for as long as my lungs allow.
“I’m counting on it.” Her fingers find my hand, lingering in my grasp as she steps away, until I finally let her go. I stand there, waiting for her to look back.
She never does.