The Sweetest Devotion

Temporary Home

When Ella finally opened her eyes again she was met with the sight of an unfamiliar apartment. She scrunched her face in confusion, not knowing how she got here or where she even was.

"Sarah?" She called out timidly, moving to stand up but quickly sitting back down when her body screamed in protest. She plopped back down on the oversized couch and took in her surroundings.

She was sitting in what she assumed was the living room, which was decorated simply with a light grey couch and a wooden coffee table that sat atop an oversized rug.  The wall opposite of Ella had huge windows and beautiful exposed brick. It felt homey.

"Little duck, you're awake!"

Ella jumped in surprise, not knowing Sarah had entered the room.

"Sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to scare you." Sarah said as she made her way to the couch and plopped down next to Ella. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Ella said softly. "Who were those people outside the book store and why were they taking so many pictures of you?"

Sarah smiled and reached out to brush hair back out of Ella's face.

"It's just a part of my job, kiddo." Sarah said bitterly. "And I'm sorry that you had to deal with that."

"That's okay."

Sarah seemed to study her face for awhile before speaking again. "Do you want to go back out there? We still have most of the day left." She asked, a touch of reluctance in her voice.

Ella thought it over. She was in a lot of pain, the affects of the Tylenol having started to wane, and she didn't want to see those big men with flashing cameras again. And she could tell that Sarah didn't seem eager to go back out either.

"Could we maybe stay in? I'm not really feeling all that well."

"What?" Sarah all but yelled, quickly jumping up. "What's wrong sweet girl? Are you sick?" She asked, placing the back of her hand against Ella's forehead. "You're burning up!"

Ella's eyebrows jumped in surprise with that. She didn't feel sick, her body just ached. But the more she thought about it she realized she probably had a temperature from her ribs attempting to heal themselves.

"Do you want me to call your mom?"

"No!" Ella yelled, a little too forcefully. "I just need some Motrin if you have any."

Sarah nodded and held out her arms towards Ella. "Come here," she said, gently lifting up the girl into her arms. "I'm going to get you in bed while I get together everything we'll need for our movie-a-thon."

Ella smiled and rested her head on Sarah's shoulder, letting out a content sigh when the older woman began rubbing gentle circles on her back.

She had never felt so safe.

...

Sarah had gone all out.

She had prepped her king size bed with extra blankets and pillows, though it would prove to be pointless as they both ended up in the middle of the bed, Sarah's arms draped protectively around Ella, sharing one pillow and blanket. But besides the pillows and blankets, she had brought out a dozen different boxes of movie theater candy, cooked popcorn and promised to order pizza when it got closer to dinner time. She ordered any movie Ella requested and the two had spent the better part of the last four hours wrapped in each other's arms. And Ella had been in heaven. Her mother had never watched any movies with her, let alone have a whole day dedicated to laying in bed and watching multiple! And on top of that, Sarah seemed as if she was enjoying their time together just as much as Ella was.

As they were starting their third movie Ella felt her eyes begin to droop, her body begging for rest so it could heal. But she was afraid if she closed her eyes, even if for only a second, she would wake up back at home.

"Close your eyes sweet girl," Sarah murmured, shifting around so she was laying her head on the pillow too, "and I'll wake you when it's time for pizza. I promise."

Ella wanted to listen to Sarah, she really did. But the fear of waking up and all of this being over was one that was too heavy to ignore. And because of it, she forced her eyes to stay open.

And as if Sarah could read her mind, the older woman scooted closer to Ella. Placing a gentle hand in Ella's hair and gently raking her fingers along her scalp, causing Ella's eyes to flutter.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up."

And for the first time in years, Ella drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

...

The call came after dinner. Sarah and Ella had just finished eating their pizza and were climbing back into bed when Sarah's phone began buzzing.

"It's your mom." Sarah said, a touch of disappointment in her voice. "Stay here, little duck. I'm going to go and answer this really quick."

Ella nodded, fighting the urge to cry. She didn't want today to end. She didn't want to go back home and face the harsh reality of her mother. She wanted to stay in this little bubble with Sarah forever. Sarah was warm, Sarah was kind.

Sarah was safe.

"Get your things together, sweetheart." Sarah said sadly as she stepped back into the room. "Your mom is going to be here in a few minutes."

"I don't want to go." Ella said, her voice quivering. "Can't I stay with you?"

Sarah gave her a sad smile and walked over to the bed, opening her arms up and laughing lightly when Ella threw herself into them.

"I would love nothing more for you to say." Sarah said, nuzzling her face into the younger girls hair. "But you have to go home, kiddo. I'm sure your mom has missed you."

Ella responded by squeezing Sarah tighter.

"I know," Sarah sighed, "but you can come and visit me whenever you like. And you have the phone I got you so you can call me whenever you like."

Ella nodded, not trusting her voice, clinging onto Sarah like the lifeline that she was.

The two sat like that until a knock at the front door interrupted them. Ella looked up at Sarah with fearful eyes, and Sarah looked back down at her with a similar expression.

"Come on sweetheart," Sarah said, gently lifting up Ella into her arms and carrying her towards the front door, "it will all be okay."

Sarah opened the door to reveal an exhausted looking Patricia. This gave Ella a little bit of hope, usually when her mom was tired, she left Ella alone.

"Thank you again for watching her today." Patricia said, not even bothering to greet Sarah. "I hope she was well behaved."

Ella felt Sarah's group tighten protectively around her. "She was perfect." The older woman said.

"Right," Patricia said skeptically, "let's go, Ella."

Ella tightened her arms around Sarah's neck, giving her one last squeeze, as Sarah sat her down gently on the floor and kneeling down to her level.

"Thank you for a wonderful day, little duck. I can't wait to see you again." Sarah said earnestly, lovingly running a finger down Ella's cheek. "Don't forget your books and sheet music, and I'll see you real soon!"

Ella tried to smile as Sarah handed her her bag of books and music. But the fake cheerfulness in Sarah's voice made it come out as a grimace.

Sarah didn't want her to leave either.

"Let's go Ella, I'm exhausted." Her mother snapped.

Ella nodded, shooting one last glance at Sarah before walking over to her mother and following her out the door.

It wasn't until Ella was home in the safety of her own room that she allowed her tears to fall.