Delirium

Chapter 1

    Twenty-four-year-old Ella Cross checked her messy ponytail in the mirror. Her red hair was greasy, after her jog. She ran her hand through her long thick hair. Ella laughed as she overheard her best friend, Esteé baby talking to their yellow Lab, Bear. " Hey, Esteé?" Ella shouted.

No reply, "Esteé?"

Esteé Monroe slid Ella's barn door open, "I don't know how you expect me to hear you with the door shut, Cross."

She met her friend's dark green eyes and read the humor behind her masked expression. "Esteé you are mastering my mom's strict look," Ella said, as she opened her closet door.

They both burst into laughter. "Why, thank you, honey."

Ella took a white sweatshirt off a black velvet hanger. "Well, I'm going to shower now 'Mom'".

She stepped into her bathroom admiring her newly painted cream walls. The room still smelled of the fumes. She turned on her shower sliding off her blue sports bra and Adidas black shorts. Ella turned the silver knob to the left. The water began to steam as she adjusted it to the correct temperature. She grabbed her pale pink cloth and squirted her coconut body wash on it.

After her shower, Ella wished she would have turned her heater on. She shivered as she reached for her fluffy beige towel. She gently wrapped it around herself, she set her left foot, on the cold tile flooring. Ella turned on her heater and gave a satisfied sigh as the heat flowed toward her. She continued to dry off, then tossed her wet hair up into her towel. She applied a little black mascara to her lashes.  She had thrown on her white sweatshirt with matching sweats. Ella took her hair out of the towel and brushed it. 

Ella did not know how long she had spent in her bathroom.  She wandered out into the living room and found Esteé watching TV. Her breath was caught in her throat.  That wonderful voice. . . his deep rich voice.  Ella paused in front of the television. There he was Dallas Cade Hunter, the lead singer of Delirium.  He was dressed in a denim jacket, a white T-shirt underneath, and black jeans, followed by white sneakers.  His jade-green eyes had always captivated her. His brunette hair hung slightly over his eyes and was curled at the top so they could be seen. Dallas had the chiseled stubbled jaw that every woman wanted to kiss, along with his straight nose. The man had a smile that could be spotted in a room. He wore a silver chain that she had given him on his eighteenth birthday. Dallas still seemed to never be one to dress up. . . even for a performance. "Umm, Ella?" She looked at Esteé, "You are kind of in my way."

"Oh, sorry." Ella grinned sheepishly and settled down beside Esteé.

Bear hopped on the leather couch beside Ella, as he laid his head in her lap. She watched as Dallas chuckled at something the interviewer said. Ella scowled as actress, Elizabeth Lee, looped her arm with his.  Her pretty brunette hair was braided, from the left side, and flowed freely down her right shoulder in loose curls. Her slender brown eyes appeared happy by the plastered fake smile she wore. Elizabeth adjusted her sequence red dress as it was stuck to her tiny body. The golden diamond necklace brought out her fair skin. Her ruby-red lips curled up as she laughed.

Ella crossed her arms as her blood boiled with jealousy.  Why was Elizabeth clinging to Dallas's arm like that? It was as if she was claiming her prize.  "Dallas, how long have you and Elizabeth Lee been dating now?" The reporter asked as he shoved the microphone in Dallas's face.

Dallas appeared dumbfounded at the question. "Ah. . ." He frantically swings his green eyes to hers.

"A year today," Elizabeth replied confidently.

Ella frowned at the TV.  Her heart ached at how happy Dallas looked.  It was your fault he became an alcoholic anyway. She was glad he was content because he deserved it. Then she remembered the pain and heartache they caused each other eight years ago.

                      ***        

                    8 years ago

Sixteen-year-old Ella Cross did not understand the pain of love until it came to Dallas Hunter. She was exhilarated that he had asked her to come to his place. Ella spent hours trying to find an eye-catching outfit. She had called her younger sister Paisley into her room yet she was not much help. Ella eventually decided on a light blue halter top with a pair of black jeans and white heels. She pulled her auburn hair, into a ponytail, to hide the grease. Once she arrived, she let herself into Dallas's house.

  "Dallas?" Ella whispered as she strolled up the dark hallway. She heard female moans coming from Dallas's room. Her heart pounded in her chest. She peeked through the cracked door to see two people lying in bed laughing. The brunette man went under the covers and trailed between the blonde-haired girl's legs. She felt the inner corners of her eyes grow watery.  Her cheeks grew hot and a few tears escaped. Ella quietly crept away from the door and back down his never-ending hallway. She opened the front door softly making her way to her car; she placed his key underneath a rock that followed the sidewalk. Ella got in her vehicle and removed Dallas Hunter from her life completely.