Odes To Ella.

chapter 8: Coming home.

They told me to wait in the lobby with my family, but I refused to wait for my daughter to be brought to me. I wanted to carry her out of the hospital myself.
The nurse walked me to the nursery where all the babies were and told me to wait outside the glass window. I nodded and watched her go.
As I looked back at all the babies laying in the incubators, I couldn't help but play scenes from the movies in my head. The scenes where the father will stand and look at their newborns for the first time.
I thought for a brief moment,
I wonder if Benny came to see her...
I shook my head.
No, don't let him dictate you.
The door opened and the nurse returned with Ella all wrapped up in a pink onesie and a matching hat. I thanked her and transferred her to my arms.
Ella made a little crying noise, but she stopped almost immediately and stuck her tiny fingers in her toothless mouth. I smiled down to her and started walking to the door, but I paused when I reached Effey's door. She laid in her bed, soundly asleep. In the incubator next to her bed sat her new baby, Frankie. I smiled at them and continued on my way to the elevator.
"Don't worry, my girl, we're going to our home." I cooed.
When I got to the bottom, mom smiled and said,
"Are you riding with us?"
"Yes please." I said, looking back to Ella. She yawned and her little body stretched out in my arms. I fastened the light blanket around her face and continued out into the September air. The day was oddly cloudy, but for now the air was calm.
We drove in complete silence to my little house and walked in. The air was stale, but mom had thankfully remembered to turn on the heater. As my family followed me inside, my mom came up to me and said,
"Ok, you've hogged her long enough, go take a shower and let grandma see her new grand-baby!" She held out her hands.
I reluctantly handed Ella to my mother and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. The water was refreshing, but the water echoing on the bottom of the tub made me feel weary.
I can't hear very well. What if Ella's crying! What if she needs me?!
I started to panic, and I quickly shut off the water. But when I tried stepping out, my foot slipped on the floor and I fell onto the tile. My back hurt and I just laid there, staring up at the ceiling.
Stupid...
The door opened and Kate appeared.
"Are you alright, Clair?"
"Oh yes, just broke myself." I groaned. She giggled and held out her arm for me to take.
"Come on, let's get your clothes." She helped me to the bedroom and gave me some black sweatpants with a white t-shirt. I slipped it on and strolled into the living room where mom was lightly bouncing Ella up and down.
"Honey, are you going to your classes looking like that?" She asked with one eyebrow raised. Her signature look for, 'please don't wear that.' I rolled my eyes and huffed.
"It's not like I'm trying to impress people, mom. No one wants to be friends with me." I stated.
"I know, I just want you to look nice." She turned back to Ella and kissed her forehead. I smiled and picked my bag up.
"I'm going to head out. Love you." I kissed her forehead, then looked down at my new baby. She laid with her eyes shut. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"I'll be back soon, ok baby?" She made a little noise, then settled back into my mother's arms. I smiled and stood back up. I turned to the door and strolled out to my car.

(5 hours later...:)

"Class dismissed," Mrs. Kristen said, plopping her book down. I sighed and stood up. After the mad rush had ended, I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out to the parking lot. But as I took the first few steps out into the crisp night, I heard the echos of feet behind me.
Tap tap tap...
I looked behind me. Nothing. It started again as I started walking once more.
Tap tap tap...
This time when I checked behind me, I saw a person dressed head to toe in black following me. He was chuckling to himself. The chuckle reminded me of the jokers laugh from Batman. He waved something. It shined in the street lights. The gleam shined off of my glasses, and a sudden realization came to me...he was holding a knife. My mind raced with thoughts, but my first instinct was to run away as fast as possible.
I turned on my heel but immediately ran into something solid. My face burned with pain and I fell limply to the ground. My hands went to my face as I rolled onto my side and groaned.
Did I really just run into a brick wall?
The man chuckled all the way over to me and looked down. His eyes were a pale blue color. I stared back with terrified eyes.
This is how I die.
The man used the toe of his leather boots to push me onto my back. I plopped back helplessly, still numb from my stupidity. The man straddled my waist and dangled the knife in front of my eyes. He chuckled some more, then spoke up in a high pitched voice,
"How's it going, sweetheart?" I scowled and spit into his ski mask. He cackled and slapped me across the face. The world began to spin in front of me. I managed to sputter out,
"P-please...don't do this-"
"Sorry, but I got to, you see. It's the only way to solve the itch."
Solve the itch?
I shook my head and stuck my hands in front of me. The man pulled the knife over his head and prepared to strike it down.
"Hey!" I heard a few undistinguished voices call out across the night. The man looked back, then turned back to me.
"Guess I'll see you next time, sweetheart." The guy rolled off of me and sprinted behind the bushes. The voices that had saved me came sprinting to me. A girl in a blue parka and a guy with a black sweatshirt appeared. They helped me to my feet and asked,
"Are you ok?" I nodded numbly. The guy went off to look in the bushes and the girl said,
"Don't worry, we called the police."
"Thank you, I don't know what would have happened to Ella if I died-"
"Who's Ella-" she began to ask, then her eyes widened. "Oh, you're the girl who was pregnant, right?"
"Right." I replied. She nodded and looked at me with pity. I looked away and saw the flashing lights of police cars approaching. The girl and her boyfriend stood beside me awkwardly. They looked at each other, then looked around to the street lights. They wouldn't look at me. Like they thought I was somehow diseased because I had been carrying a child for the past 8 and a half months.
How can people be so arrogant?
But then I hated myself for thinking that.
These people just saved you, stop being so bitchy.
The sirens grew louder as they stopped at the parking lot just in front of us. Two cops hopped out, one with white hair and wrinkled skin and one with a black beard growing half way to his stomach. They approached and shone a flashlight in my face.
"You folks called our department?" The old one asked. We all squinted through the light and nodded. They both looked around and shrugged.
"We don't see no trouble."
"The man ran off," the boy replied. The cops looked at each other, sighed, and pulled out a notepad.
"Which one of you was the potential victim?"
"She was," the girl said, pointing to me. I glanced to her and then nodded to the cops. They both ushered the girl and her boyfriend away. Then the man in the beard said,
"I need you to come with us, ma'am-"
"No! I have to get home to my baby." I said, stepping away. They both turned and looked at me with a sideways frown.
"You have a baby, ma'am?" Their question made me feel suddenly defensive.
"Yes, she's two weeks old." I explained. They looked to each other and said,
"Can't you ask the baby's daddy to take over while we question you?" They waited. I shook my head and hugged myself.
"Her daddy isn't around." I watched them as they looked at each other again. Then, the old one sighed and said,
"Can we give you a ride home? Or at least escort your car to make sure that the perpetrator didn't go to your house?" When they mentioned that possibility, I froze.
He...he could be at my house? With Ella!?
"Yes, please." I nodded quickly and hopped in my car. They got in and turned the sirens on while I tried not to speed all the way home.
I couldn't have gotten out of the car faster when I stopped the car in my driveway and raced to the door. I fumbled with the keys at first, but then unlocked the door and walked in to see my mother feeding Ella with a bottle. She looked up with a surprised look on her face when she saw me enter so hastily.
"Clair, what's wrong-"
"Ella, is she ok?!" I asked, quickly scooping her out of my mother's arms and into mine.
"Ella is fine, what happened?" She set a gentle hand on my shoulder. I cradled her head in my hands and breathed out in relief as I felt her weight in my hands. A few tears left my eyes as I started to calm myself down.
The cops entered the house and asked,
"Are you alright ma'am?"
"Y-yes, thank you, I'll be fine."
"Honey, why are the police here-"
"Have a good night, gentlemen." I closed the door on them and sat down on the couch with Ella in my hands. Mom sat down beside me and asked,
"Sweetheart, tell me what happened."
"I, I was almost killed at the campus." I managed through my breaths. Ella squirmed a little in my hands, then she settled down as I started to rock her.
Mom stared at me and said,
"What?"
"They thought he might have come here..." More tears came out as thoughts of the unthinkable rushed through my head.
Oh god...what would I do if something happened to Ella?
"We need to get someone to watch the house!" Mom explained, picking up the phone. I nodded and stood up with Ella in my hands.
"I'm going to the nursery."
"But honey-"
"Mom, right now, I just want to hold my baby." I whispered, closing the door behind me.
The room was dark, but cozy at the same time. I sat in the rocking chair and lightly bounced Ella in my hands. I heard her little tummy rumble. She made a gurgling sound.
"Awe, are you hungry my girl?" I undid the buttons on my t-shirt and brought Ella to my nipple.
After a while, I started to feel more calm, which radiated onto Ella. She giggled a little. I smiled and said softly,
"You're my little fuzzy bear, aren't you, Ella?" Again, she giggled. The clouds outside spiked up and sent rain down with lightning bolts to the ground. When Ella heard the first bolt, she started to cry out of fear. I stood up and paced the room. I started singing to her,
"Hush, little baby, don't you cry..." After a little while, the rain softened up into a light drizzle. I looked down to Ella and kissed her forehead. Then, she turned up her little face to me, and opened her eyes.
I recognized her eyes. They were deep, like the ocean. They held secrets and dreams within them. They were her father's eyes. But unlike her father's eyes, I wasn't hypnostized by them. I was awed by them. Humbled. It was then that I recited the same poem I thought of two weeks before to her,
"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I am breathing, my baby you'll be."

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Hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, bye! :).