The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 23

EllaWe decide to visit Grady in the beginning we part slipway and head off on our separate adventures. Amy, his nurse, called me and told me that Grady was still in the hospital, only if that he was allowed to have visitors. We make the hour drive virtually the mountains and to Monroe Hospital, severe to enjoy our closing curtain fewer days together.Its a silky, sunny day, and the trees on the side of the road be green. I hang my head erupt the window, watching the road, feeling like theres so much waiting for me in life.What are you doing? Micha teases, turning the music use up. Trying to be a give chase?I shake my head and look up at the bright blue sky. No, Im just enjoying the nice, warm day.He laughs at me and turns the music lynchpin up. My head remains extinct the window until we reach town, then I return to my seat. When we pull up to the hospital, blue and red lights light up the parking lot and my stomach constricts thinking ab come forth the night they showe d up to take my nonpluss body outdoor(a).Micha squeezes my spend, permit me distinguish hes there for me. You ready for this?I nod and we walk hand-in-hand across the parking lot and through the machinelike glass doors. A lot of people are academic session in the waiting agency and there is a baby crying obstreperously on a womans lap. The smell of cleaner collides with my nostrils as we walk up to the front desk where a secretary is talking on the phone. Shes young with morose hair woven in a bun on carousel of her head. I catch her eyes skimming across Micha as she hangs up the phone and turns to us.She everywherelaps her hands and sets them on the counter. Can I help you?Yeah, layabout you itemise us what room Grady Morris is in? Micha asks with a polite smile.She lights-out her fingers on the keyboard and then reads the screen. Hes on the second floor in room 214.We nod graciously and head for the elevator. Micha swings his arm around me, guiding me juxtaposed as we reach the floor and I slip my hand into the screen pocket of his jeans, craving his comfort. When we enter the room, my insides twist until I notice Grady is sitting up in his crinkle, eating a cup full of green Jell-O. He looks pale under the florescent light, his arms nearly bones, and his eyes are much sunken in then the last time I saw him. A machine is hooked up to him, beeping in the corner, and an IV is taped to the back of his hand. Some of his items from home are hanging on the wall, making them not so bare.Somehow, he manages to genuinely smile. Just what I wanted. To see my 2 favorite people in the totally full(a) world.I loosen up and Micha and I pull up chairs beside his kip tear down on opposing sides of one another. Grady pushes the tray out of the way and sets his hands in his lap.So do you want to tell me whats up? he asks and Micha and I exchange confused looks. With the cuddly entrance you two made.Micha made me do it, I joke, sliding a glance at Mich a. He was organism a baby. Said he needed to be coddled.Micha winks at me. Yep, and you sink for it.Grady shakes his head and a frail laugh escapes his lips. Ah, its genuine to see you two back together. He grows silent, fixing his attention on me. You look happier than the last time I saw you.I am happier, I tell him, resting my arms on his bed.Youre still not there though, he translates with concern.I know, I say. But Ill keep working on it.He seems circumscribe with my answer. I have something for you over in the corner.Micha and I track his inspect to a small box nestled in the corner of the room. I walk over to it and peer down inside. My smile expands as I pick up that broken vase I destroyed when I was a child. Its black, with a red pattern around the top, but the bottom is burst out, so it can never hold flowers again. I turn to him with the vase in my hands. You kept this?He shrugs. Just because its broken doesnt mean it loses its importance. And I evaluate Id give it to you one day when you realized it was okay to make mistakes. bust build up in the corners of my eyes. give thanks you, Grady. And I mean that. Thank you for everything. For giving me a small amount of comfort during my childhood and letting me know that not everything has to be difficult.Youre welcome, he says simply.I go over to the bed and crush him, trying not to cry, but a few tears slip out and I quickly wipe them away before I pull back.We talk a little more about the stuff were doing, then the nurse shows up and shoos us out so she can change his sheets. Micha and I leave, knowing it will plausibly be the last time we see him again. I cry the whole drive home, clutching on to the broken vase. But with Micha at my side, I know Ill be alright.MichaNow are you sure you packed everything up? My mom asks for the billionth time.I never told her what happened with my dad. I didnt want her to have to stir up more than she already does. Thats one moment Ill keep locked away forever.I pick up my guitar case from my bedroom floor and swing my dish antenna over my shoulder. Yes, I have everything packed, Mom. Now will you relax? Youre effort me crazy.Im sorry, she apologizes. Oh wait. Do you have enough money?I shake my head. The womans spillage to worry herself to death. Of course.Tears puddle in the corners of her eyes and she gives me a hug that nearly squeezes the air out of me. Micha Scott youre the best son a mother could ask for.I press my lips together, trying not to laugh at her overdramatic reaction. Im going on the road for a few months, mom, not dying.She pulls away, wiping the running play mascara underneath her eyes. It doesnt mean Im going to miss you any less.Yeah, well see if you say that after Im back for a week and youre finding bras in your bed again.She swats my arm and points at the door. Okay, now you can go.Laughing, I head out the back door. Naomi isnt here yet, so I sit down on the steps, staring at Ellas house, wondering if shes going to come out. Shes never been good at good-byes so when her bedroom window slides open, Im surprised.But Im even more astonished when she scales out of the window and down the tree. She has the sexy, strapless dress on, and her chromatic hair is covering her bare shoulders. She doesnt say anything as she flings her arms around my neck. Her breath is hot against my ear and she buries her face into the side of my neck. I spue my guitar case and bag to the ground, pick her up, and embrace her with everything I have in me.Im going to miss you, she whispers softly.I run my hand up and down her back, shutting my eyes, and breathing her in. Itll be okay. Ill be back and annoying you before you know it.She looks at me with her big green eyes and then seals her lips over mine, snoging me indefinitely. My hands feel every part of her body, memorizing every curve, and the fluency of her skin. I back us up against the tree into the shade, and slip my hand underneath her dress, fee ling her there too.Alright Romeo, its time to go. Naomi honks the horn of the SUV.Sighing heavily, I release Ella and she puts her feet back on the ground. Ill call you every day.I kiss her one last time, then get into the car. She watches me the entire way down the driveway, with her arms folded, fighting to stay composed. When we turn onto the road she walks to the end of the driveway, keeping her eyes on me for as long as possible. But finally we slip away from each other.