Odes To Ella.

Chapter 23: Moving on...

For the following moments, I stared at the phone in my grip.
How is he still able to contact me!?!
I put the phone down and frowned while going through the scene from that night I'm my head. Did he have any scars or markings? Was he tall or short? Thin or sturdy?
I felt my head pulsing.
What if he finds out about Ella-
"Mommy!" Ella came running around the corner. I shook my head and smiled.
"Yes sweetheart?"
"Can I have a puppy?!" She smiled and gave me her puppy dog eyes. I frowned and leaned forward.
"A puppy?"
"Yeah!"
"Why would you want one of those?"
"So I can teach it how to build houses like Clifford!" She smiled. I crossed my arms.
"I'll have to think about it."
"Does that mean yes?"
"It means maybe."
"So...maybe is yes?"
"Ella." I said while shaking my head. She shrugged and went back into the living room. I sighed and got up. The house smelled like delicious food mixed with a ton of cheese. I walked back and finished dicing up the cheese.
Derek turned to me.
"Who was on the phone?"
"One of those 800 numbers." I lied with a smile. He nodded like he half believed it.
"So Ella wants a dog?" He asked while stirring the noodles. I shrugged.
"Thats what she told me."
"Is she going to get one?"
"I don't see how I can afford one." I stated while walking with the plate of cheese over to where he stood. He took it and half smiled.
"Dogs aren't that hard to handle. They need food, excercise, and attention."
"You've had them?"
"Two. My first dog was when I was around Ella's age. My dad found some lady who was giving puppies away, so he grabbed one and brought him home. I named him Sammy."
"Sammy the dog?"
"Sammy the dog." He chuckled and nodded. He grabbed the pan by the handles, walked past me, and dumped the noodles into the strainer, then shook the strainer to make the water go through.
"What happened to Sammy the dog?"
"Just old age. Our second dog still lives with my brother in his hospital room. Her name is Ribbon."
"Why's your brother in the hospital?" I heard Ella say. I turned towards her and shook my head.
"No, no sweetie. Derek just means-"
"He works at a hospital." Derek said quickly. Ella nodded like it explained.
"Is the food almost done?"
"It's done right about...now." He smiled and finished stirring the cheese and noodles together. Ella walked over and took my hand.
"Come on, mommy, I want you to sit next to me."
"Why can't I sit next to you, Ella?" Derek asked. She twisted her face like the answer was obvious.
"Because your a boy. Boys have cooties."
"I have cooties?" He asked with a smile. I looked down at her.
"Uh oh...."
"What mommy?"
"So, if I touch you, then you'll get cooties?"
"Yes." She nodded. Derek started calmly walking towards us. I smiled and pushed Ella lightly on the shoulder.
"Run Ella!" She giggled and we both ran around the corner. Derek took off after us. Ella ran down the hallway to the door that led outside. I followed her and we both hid in different places. She went behind a tree and I ducked down on the side of the porch. I gestured to her to be quiet just in time to hear the door open and Derek step out onto the porch. I could hear his feet creaking across the deck.
He walked off the porch and into the yard. I could see Ella from where I was crouched. She held her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.
He inched closer and closer to the tree. Ella giggled loud enough for him to hear.
"Gotcha!" He shouted. Before Ella could run away, he came around the tree and swooped her up in his arms. He proceeded to tickle her sides while chanting,
"Now you have the cooties!" He laughed and kept tickling her. She shrieked in laughter and called out to me.
"Mommy! Help!"
"But I don't want to get the cooties!" I said while standing. Derek set Ella down on the ground and started running towards me. Ella ran with him yelling,
"Run, mommy, run!" I turned and ran as fast as I could to the other side of the house and went inside. I ran to the kitchen and did the most logical thing; I tucked myself under the dining room table.
They both burst into the house and stopped. Ella said,
"I'll look in the living room, you look in the kitchen."
"Ok." He nodded in agreement. When she disappeared, he walked to the kitchen calmly.
"Oh Clair?" He said in his casual tone. I made my breathing as quiet as possible. He looked both ways in the kitchen, then slowly turned around. He stood still for a moment, then slowly walked around the table to the other side. I tried to follow him, but any movement would have shifted the chairs.
It only took about two seconds before I felt his hands latch onto my ankles. I screamed and tried to scramble away, but he pulled me out from under the table and straddled my waist like Matt used to do when we rough-housed as kids. He tickled my sides like he did with Ella.
"Ahhh! Ella, help!"
"No Ella, don't help!" Derek laughed back. I tucked my arms as close to my sides as I could and felt my face going red as I laughed. Ella came charging in and pushed back on Derek's shoulder.
"No! Don't give her the cooties too!"
"Oh yeah?" He stood up and chased her to the living room. I laughed and got up to follow them. He picked her up and tickled her some more. He said,
"No one can save you now!"
"Oh really?" I asked and tickled his sides. He laughed and set Ella down. She helped tickle him until we made him promise to stop giving us cooties. We all went back to the dining room and sat down. He gave Ella a bowl and sighed.
"How was your day, Ella?"
"Great! I got to play apples to apples!"
"Apples to apples? I have that game!" Derek said with a smile. Ella widened her eyes.
"You do!?!"
"Yep! Wanna play after we finish eating?"
"Yeah!" She nodded. I smiled and pointed to the bowl.
"But you have to eat the whole bowl, ok?" I looked to her. She nodded and started shoveling all the food into her mouth. I ate some and smiled.
"Thank you for cooking this."
"No problem." Derek replied. Ella swung her feet.
"Where's your family, Mr. Anderson?"
"What do you mean?" He asked. She shrugged.
"This house is so big. Where's your wife and kids?"
"I don't have any." He stated. She looked shocked.
"You don't have a wife!?!"
"No."
"My mommy doesn't have a husband!" She smiled. I blushed and stood up.
"Are you ready to play apples to apples?"
"But I didn't eat it all." She said.
"You can finish later." I stated. She smiled and hopped off the chair. I sighed and giggled a little.
"Sorry about that."
"It's fine. She was just being honest." He stood up and went to the living room. I stood there for an extra moment, then followed them.
Derek pulled a green and red box from the bookshelf along the wall and set it on the coffee table. Ella sat on the floor, Derek sat across from her. I sat in the middle of them on the floor and crossed my legs. Derek delted the cards and we played the game. Ella kept asking about his family, but I kept changing the subject.
Eventually we all wanted to do something else, so Derek let Ella choose something on the television while he went to make popcorn. I followed him to the kitchen and leaned against the counter on my elbows.
"Thank you for this evening."
"Your welcome." He said like it was nothing. I hugged myself.
"I can't remember the last time Ella and I did something fun together."
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," then he put the popcorn in the microwave and leaned on the opposite side of the counter facing me.
"There's something I'm wondering." He tilted his head.
"Yes?" I questioned with a smile. On the inside I was freaking out. He shifted slightly to his other side.
"It's just that...well, don't take offense. You have a great daughter. You have a steady job. You're smart, fun, and beautiful...why don't you have a boyfriend?"
My heart inside my chest was pumping so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. I blushed a dark crimson and looked down.
"Um....I guess most guys aren't ready to commit themselves to a woman with children that aren't theirs. Kids are a great responsibility after all, and frankly, I need someone who cares about Ella just as much as I do." We stood in silence for a moment while he thought about that. Then, he smiled and shifted again.
"Well, I know this is completely out of the blue and I understand if you say no, but....would you like to go out with me on Saturday?" He stared for my reaction. I stood flabbergasted.
Holy shit.
"Uh..."
"If you need time to think it over-"
"No! I mean, yeah, why not?" I smiled, though he could see how surprised I was. He smiled widely and nodded.
"Great. I'll pick you up at 5 for dinner?"
"Sure, here, let me write down my address..." I took a random piece of paper and a pen and scribbled it down. He put it on the counter and poured the popcorn into a bowl.
"C'mon, let's go see what Ella picked." We walked back to the living room to see Ella sitting on the couch laughing hysterically at Shrek. Derek and I exchanged a glance and sat on the couch. Ella crawled into my lap and I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. She reached into the bowl and shoved a ton of popcorn into her mouth. Then she looked at me.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Ella?" I asked while stroking her hair.
"Why does Shrek talk so funny?"
"He doesn't, that's just how Irish people talk!" Derek replied in an accent. Ella laughed and I smiled.
"Do it again!"
"Do what? I'm not doing anything!" He said in the accent. She laughed and pointed.
"Your talking like Shrek!"
"I don't know what your talking about! What are you doing in my swamp!?!" He poked her. She laughed and shook her head. I kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter. My phone started vibrating in my pocket. I shifted and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Clair! You need to come to the hospital quick!"
"Why, what's going on?" I asked dad. He sounded on the verge of tears.
"It's Kyle...someone broke into his house. They tried to kill him!" I heard his voice crack. I quickly set Ella to the side.
"I'll be right there, dad."
"Hurry." He hung up. Derek frowned.
"What happened?"
"Something happened to Kyle, I'm sorry to ask this but can Ella stay here while I go to the hospital?"
"Of course."
"Is uncle Kyle gonna be ok?" Ella asked. I nodded and kissed her forehead.
"Yes, Ella, he's going to be ok. You be good for Derek, ok?"
"Ok." She nodded. I put my jacket on and looked at Derek.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Take all the time you need." He said. I thanked him again and ran to my car.
I ran two stop lights and a yield sign by the time I reached the hospital. I jumped out from my car and went to the front desk.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"I'm here for Kyle Williams!" I exclaimed. She clicked the computer keys and gestured to the waiting room.
"He's in the intensive care unit, please wait over there." She stated. I nodded and went to the waiting room where I saw Matt, dad, and mom all standing and waiting. I went over to mom and wrapped my arms around her. She embraced me and cried. For the first time, I felt like I needed to protect her and shield her from whatever lies ahead.

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