Capturing Ella

Chapter 54 - Joe

'Don't push yourself, alright hun?'

I told Ella, holding her hand as she got out of her side of the car. My parents both worked in a medical office just outside of town for a private company and had asked to meet Ella in a small cafe they always went too on their lunch break just down the road. I had pulled up in the car park in between the medical office and Dee's cafe with over half an hour to go – enough time to coax Ella into the cafe without my parents to be peering out the window expectantly. Ella hadn't said too much since we got in the car to leave, but had her legs up to her chest, arms resting on the window as she looked out anxiously. I could tell she dreaded meeting my parents in the fear they would hate her and wouldn't want us to be together and then I'd have to choose either Ella or my parents.

But I also knew my parents had already welcomed her into the family and considered her as another daughter already and they just wanted to know her slightly better before we moved out in just over two days time.

'Okay,' Ella whispered, taking my hand before I locked the door. We had managed to find all the clothes from the mass wash my Mum had done over night for us – all the clothes from Cornwall, clean and ironed too – and found Ella's clothes. She was in a pair of skinny dark blue jeans, her black converse and a baggy shirt which hid the baby bump entirely.

'They'll love you, they already do.' I muttered to her, looking over her head and into the window of the medical office but there was no blinds moving suggesting they were looking out the window at us. How reliving.

'Mmm,' Was all she said as I pushed the door to Dee's cafe.

'Hey, Joe,' One of the owners kids, Delilah, said to me the second I stepped over the threshold. Delilah was about a year older than me and was working full time under her parent's leadership in the Cafe. I used to always come here with my parents if I had a day off and knew Delilah pretty well. I also knew she had a crush on me and not one that I could acutely return. She was alright (just) as a friend, but nothing more. I decided I liked her even less when she shot Ella a death look once seeing she was holding my hand. She gave Ella a once over, turning her nose up at her.

'Hey, Del, are my parent's here yet?' I asked, knowing it was about twenty minutes until they came bursting through the doors.

'Nope,' Delilah fake laughed, touching my chest as I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Ella didn't look like she cared too much as she continue to look at me smiling with a corner of her mouth. 'You and your sister having a family meal?' she asked, looking disdainfully at Ella.

'Er, no, she's my girlfriend. Ella, this is Delilah,' I willed Ella to throttle her.

'What a delight to meet you.' Ella said in a tone which she would normally use to talk about milk that's been left in the fridge for eighteen years.

'Yeah, you too. So, just another one of Joe's sluts?'

'Probably,' Ella retorted.

'Thought so,' Delilah bit back and just as I was about to interject standing up for Ella as she shouldn't be taking any of this crap, Ella bit back herself.

'Yeah, at least I actually got to that status compared to you. I'm the slut, you're a mere cockroach grovelling around.' Ella bit her lip and frowned, wondering where the hell the bitterness came from. I just wanted to applaud her. Putting my arm around her shoulders, I tugged her gently to one of the tables in the corner.

'I'll just wait for my parents,' I simply told Delilah as she stormed off behind the counter and out the back.

'Do you think I upset her? Oh my God – I am a terrible person,' Ella said, turning her back against the wall as she hunched over.