By JD Rockel
Chapter Eighteen
Jerry kept in touch with Ella throughout the week. They spoke more than usual on the phone. While he brought up the discussion from Sunday a couple of times, he wasn’t very interested. Ella enjoyed their relationship too much to push Jerry into believing something she wasn’t that sure about herself. Otherwise, it was a typical week of schoolwork and conversation.
Thursday started as it usually did now. Jerry, Ella, Rosa, and John met by the sister’s lockers for a quick morning greeting. No need to hide from Rosa anymore. Ella did learn where Jerry’s locker was and sometimes surprised him there. Rosa just enjoyed John’s sweet and caring attention whenever and wherever she saw him.
When Ella got to Algebra and sat down, Emily was her happy self at first. After a little chit-chat, Emily asked, “Is everything OK this morning, Ella? You aren’t your usual sunshine yellow.”
“It’s time, Emily. Explain this color thing.”
“OK, Ella. You have been very accepting and I trust you will be gracious to my explanation. I don’t fully understand it myself, but I accept it as a spiritual gift from God. I don’t see colors around everyone all the time. But when I focus on someone I can usually see a colored halo around their face. Over time I have learned to interpret a person’s mood and emotions. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have this ability, and I give God all the glory for it.”
Ella was dumbstruck. The blank expression on her face said it all. “You’re telling me you have a superpower? This isn’t a trick? You really can see a person’s emotions?”
“Yes, Ella, it’s true. It truly is a supernatural, spiritual gift from God.”
“I believe you, I guess. I never gave much credence to the spiritual gift thing. So, what color am I today and what does it mean?”
“This is a bit difficult. I’m not completely confident I understand what it means when someone is orange. But there has always been some concern involved. This also seems to be the only color where it might indicate something upsetting will happen soon.”
“Like a prophecy? That’s too weird. I respect you Emily and you have been right on with the sunshine yellow, but impending doom?”
“I didn’t say doom, Ella. But, be prepared for something you won’t like. That’s all I can say.”
“Emily, I will keep you informed. But then again, you will probably see that something has happened before I get to tell you.”
Nothing unusual happened during the day. The only upset was a 65 on a surprise English quiz. Ella put her books away and headed upstairs to meet Jerry. Jerry knew that if Ella wasn’t at her locker, she would be in their meeting room.
Ella was sitting at a desk when Jerry walked in. She had arranged two desks as she did when she played the spy. Jerry stopped briefly looking surprised at her desk arrangement.
“Hi, Ella. Is everything OK?”
“Sure, Jerr. I just want to talk before we go to the cave tonight.”
“No probs, of course. What’s up?”
“Did anything weird happen to you today? Maybe something that made you feel concerned, especially about us?”
“No,” he said hesitantly. “Why do you ask?”
Not wanting to tell the whole story, Ella replied, “I had one of those odd feelings today. You know, like a dark cloud was hanging over me. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I wanted to check with you first.”
“Always, Beautiful. An open and honest relationship built on trust, right?”
“Right! Thanks for listening and caring, Jerr. I really need you in the cave tonight. You always know how to make me feel better.”
“Then let’s go.”
Jerry stood up and reached out for Ella’s hand. Together they walked to their secret den of pleasure, always being careful not to be noticed.
Just as on other nights, their time together started with hugging and kissing and progressed to more intimate touching.
“You want me to make you happier than you have ever been, Ella?” Jerry asked in his loving whisper.
“Yes please, Jerr. I need you to make me happy tonight.”
Jerry had been running his hand over Ella’s bare stomach. He would occasionally reach around to her side. Slowly, he began to reach his hand down into her pants. At first, Ella didn’t react as she was deep into the emotional pleasure of it all. But very quickly, she realized what Jerry wanted to do and she regained her full senses.
“Jerry! What are you doing? We never agreed to this.”
“You want me to make you happy tonight, don’t you? Just relax and let me do the work.”
“No, no, no. Not that way. I’m not ready.”
“It’s OK, Ella. You said you love me, now you need to trust me.”
Ella grabbed Jerry’s wrist and pulled hard. His hand emerged from Ella’s pants. Ella struggled to get her feet underneath her and she stood straight up. The tumbling mats that made up the ceiling went flying. Ella pulled her pants up around her waist and pulled down her shirt. Storming away from the now-shattered cave, she went to the door as quickly as she could.
“Ella, stop. I was wrong. I’m sorry. Don’t leave.”
Ella didn’t break her stride. Passing through the door she ran to the field house exit and back into the school hallways. I can’t let him find me. I need to hide.
Ella zigzagged from hall to hall to keep Jerry from finding her. When she got near the main entrance, she ducked into a restroom. She went into a stall, closed the door, and sat down. Ella pulled her phone out of her back pocket and called Rosa.
“Ella, what’s up? Are you OK?”
With audible trembling in her voice, Ella squeaked out, “Rosa, I need you to come get me. Jerry crossed my boundary and I ran from him. I’m hiding in a restroom near the main entrance.”
“Did he hurt you in any way physically? Do you need an ambulance?”
“No, no. He just touched me, but I can’t confront him now. I need time.”
“I understand. Mom and Dad are both at work. I’m not supposed to drive alone yet, but there is a car here. I could call John to bring me to you.”
“No, Rosa. I’m too embarrassed for John to know. Please! Come and get me. I won’t tell anyone.”
“OK. I will call you when I’m pulling in the drive so you can run to the car.”
Ella wiped away a tear. “Thanks, sis.”
Rosa knew this was legally wrong. But she convinced herself it was ethically right. She decided Liam needed to know what she was doing, just in case.
Liam loved to play with his younger twin brother and sister. Rosa found him in the twin’s room playing with wooden cars and trains on a rug marked with city streets and buildings.
“Hey Liam, it looks like you guys are having a great time.”
“You bet, Sis. We are delivering food to the grocery stores right now.”
“I need to talk to you in the hallway for just a sec.”
Liam got up off the floor and joined Rosa in the hall. “What’s up?”
“There are times as one grows up when they decide to do something that they believe is necessary to do but may not be completely legal or proper.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but it sounds rather ominous.”
“Here’s the deal. Ella is in a bit of trouble with Jerry at school. She doesn’t want to ride the bus home with him. So, she wants me to come and get her in the car since neither Mom nor Dad is here. I know it’s not legal, but I need you to know what I’m doing just in case something does go wrong. I don’t want anyone else to know.”
“I get it, Sis. You can trust me. I know you’ll be fine. You have demonstrated that during practice.”
“Thanks, Liam. I’m going right away.”
Liam stood in the hallway as Rosa ran to the garage. Grabbing the car keys off the hook, Rosa opened the garage door with the wall switch. She had backed the car out of the garage before, but just to be sure it was safe, she walked behind the car first and checked for obstacles. It was clear.
Rosa got into the car and took a deep breath. Lord, I know I am taking a risk. I confess I am imperfect and need your help. Please keep me safe.
Going through her mental checklist, Rosa adjusted everything and then started the engine. She backed out of the garage, stopped, and pressed the door closer clipped to the visor. As she had done many times in practice, she backed out onto her street and put the car in drive.
She was grateful that traffic was light. While it was dark, the streets were well-lit. The drive to school was quick and easy. Pulling into the main drive, she stopped short of the entrance and put the car in park. Pulling out her phone, she called Ella.
“Rosa, are you here?” Ella said, her voice still trembling.
“Yes, I’m just short of the entrance. If you are ready I’ll pull up and unlock the car door for you. There’s one car already waiting, so I will be number two.”
“OK, I’m ready. Go!”
Assuming Ella was in the restroom nearest to the entrance, Rosa knew it would take less than a minute for Ella to get out the door. Still, a minute can seem like a long time when you are stressed. Rosa rolled forward and positioned herself just behind the other waiting car. She left enough room so she could turn and get past the car without backing up. Putting the car in park, the doors unlocked.
Though it seemed much longer, it was only 20 seconds before Ella flew out the door. She made a beeline to the car. The door flew open, and she jumped in.
“Go, go!” she said, panting hard. “I didn’t see Jerry and I don’t want him to see me.”
As Ella reached behind her for the seat belt, Rosa put the car in drive and cleared the car in front of her so she could leave. Rosa exited the school grounds and carefully headed for home.
“Thank you, Rosa. I’m still shaking. I can’t believe Jerry betrayed my trust this way.”
“What exactly did he do? You said he crossed your boundary.”
“We had two hard boundaries. First, no sex. Second, I had to approve any new places he could touch me. He started putting his hand down my pants and that was when I ran.”
“Well, kudos to you for running away. That was a brave and amazingly smart thing to do. I am very proud of you, sister of mine.”
“I didn’t feel very brave, I was scared. But thanks for all those kind words.”
Just then, Rosa’s phone rang through the car’s Bluetooth connection. It was John.
“Hello, John.”
“Hi, Rosa. Do you know what’s happening between Jerry and Ella? Jerry called me and asked me to pick him up from school. He said he didn’t want to ride the bus home with Ella.”
“I do know, but I can’t talk about it. I’m taking Ella home.”
“You’re driving?”
“Yes. I know I shouldn’t be, but it couldn’t be helped. I’m gonna hang up so I can concentrate. It may take some time before we can talk about this.”
“OK, I trust you. Take care of Ella and I will see what I can get from Jerry.”
There was an awkward silence in the car after John’s call. As Rosa entered their subdivision she said, “I will give you whatever space you need. Just remember, I’m here for you.”
Still sniffling and fighting back tears, Ella responded, “Thanks, Sis. You’re the best.”
The next morning, Ella arrived at her Algebra class very early. She did everything possible to avoid seeing Jerry. It wasn’t often that she arrived before Emily. Considering Emily’s warning yesterday, Ella wasn’t sure she even wanted to be seen this morning.
When Emily arrived and sat down, she was quiet. Her normal smile was replaced with a look of concern. She quietly asked, “Are you OK Ella?”
“No. Jerry went too far after school yesterday, physically I mean. I don’t know what to do other than avoid him.”
“I can see he hurt you emotionally. I am so sorry, Ella. I think avoiding him for a time is a good idea. Take some time to regain your composure before confronting him.”
“Confront him? I don’t know how I can do that, Emily. He broke our trust agreement.”
“Life happens, Ella. We all have the capacity to hurt someone. God knows that. It’s how we mend the relationship that is important to Him. It may take time, but it’s what you need to do for your own emotional health.”
“I’ll think about it. Thanks for the caring words and attitude. By the way, did I change color from yesterday’s orange?”
“Sadly, yes. You’re violet now. That’s how I know you are emotionally hurt. But just as you changed color from yesterday, I look forward to seeing you change back to a good color in the future. Let me know how I can help.”
“Thanks again, Emily. You truly are a good friend.”
More Than a Writer 