The Sweetest Devotion

The Friday Blues

Eight year old Ella was not like most kids her age.

On the surface, she blended in perfectly. Her shoulder length brown hair and deep brown eyes helped her blend in with the rest of her classmates, something she was grateful for. She was a good student, she had a hand full of friends and she never got in trouble. She was what the teachers would call a star pupil.

But that's where the similarities with her classmates ended. Unlike most of her friends, Ella had a dark secret. A secret that weighed on her so heavily that some days she thought the weight of it all might kill her. At the young age of eight she had seen things that no person should ever have to see in their lifetime.

No, Ella was not like her classmates.

And she hated Friday's. Because with Friday came Saturday and Sunday.

And those days were never any fun.

...

Ella loaded her books into her backpack and prayed the tears building up in her eyes wouldn't fall.

It was the same routine every single Friday. During her last period of the day her stomach would fill with dread, her hands would start shaking and she would be filled with anxiety, wondering what she would be going home too. By the time she would get to her locker, her knees would be shaking and her eyes would be wet, but she never let any tears fall until she was blocks away from the school.

Today was no different. Ella waited until she was five blocks from the school before the first tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't even try to hide them as they spilled, she lived in New York City after all. No one even spared her a second glance. One of the many perks of living in the city.

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the brownstone she lived in with her mother. She took a deep breath before climbing the steps and walking through the door. She repeated the mantra she told herself every single Friday.

Maybe today will be different.

"Mom?" She called tentatively. "I'm home."

"You're late." Her mom said coldly, rounding the corner from the kitchen and meeting her in the entryway. Her short, cropped hair perfectly in place. She was wearing a blazer and fitted dress pants, dressed as if she were going to work.

"We have to go to my office." She said harshly, as if she read the younger girls mind. "Go change into something decent and be back down here in five minutes."

"Yes ma'am." Ella said quickly before scurrying up the stairs.

She quickly changed into a long sleeved black dress and black flats to match. She knew she had to look nice. Her mother worked for vanity fair as their brand director. It wasn't often she got to go to work with her mom, but when she did, she knew she was expected to look her best and be on her best behavior.

"I'm ready." She said quietly as she descended the stairs.

"About fucking time." Her mom snapped, not bothering to look up from her phone. "Let's go before we're late."

After a deathly silent taxi ride to her mom's office, Ella found herself sitting in her mom's office chair as the older woman paced back and forth, shouting at someone on the phone. She briefly pulled the phone away from her ear, finally looking at Ella for the first time all day.

"Go get me a coffee." She snapped.

Ella nodded, scrambling out of the chair quickly to try and please her mother. She turned and started running, only to slam into a tall, solid figure. Something scalding hot seeped through her dress and she let out a screech.