Chapter 6 The Cafe Encounter

ELLA

I had more concealer on my face than a burn victim.

My mind thought about everything and nothing at the same time.

The rhythmic sound of my pen tapping on my notebook sounded like the clock counting down to its last minutes, and if anyone asked me what I learned today, I would be at a loss for words.

The bell signaling the end of the school day rang out, shrill and loud. I quickly packed my books and pens into my bag.

'Are you going to do this?' Ava asked, her voice worried as opposed to her usual preppy tone.

Drawing in a huge breath, I replied, 'Yes. I have to. If I want to have a hitch-free life until graduation day, I must find the twins and tell them to leave me alone.'

Ava went silent. But I knew she didn't like that. For whatever reason, she liked the twins way more than I did.

"Hey!" A loud voice interrupted my packing.

I shuddered, jumping in fright.

A girl sat on my desk, swinging her legs in excitement. I looked up to see warm brown eyes and a kind, freckled face smiling at me.

"Oh my goodness! Wendy! You scared me!" I gasped, my hand flying to my chest. My heart had skipped a beat and was racing by now.

Wendy Carter was my classmate and the first person to talk to me nicely since I started this school. In a few more months, I'd give her the title of best friend. I was sure of it.

Wendy stared at me, her brows furrowed in confusion. "You're awfully jumpy today, Ella dear." She said, waving a finger in my face. "It's not good for a young girl to be so full of nerves! You'll age fast! You're already having wrinkles on your forehead!"

An image of my mom’s wrinkled and permanently frowning face flashed through my mind. I blinked and destroyed the image.

I would never look like that. Ever.

"What do you want, Wendy?" I asked, zipping up my backpack.

I really wished I could be all happy and jumpy like she was, but I can’t. Last night still weighs heavily on my mind.

"You cut your hair?" She asked, reaching out to brush some hair strands behind my ear. "What's happening? I thought you really liked your long hair."

A shudder ran down my spine. I pulled my head back from Wendy's touch. "It's nothing. I wasn't feeling the long hair vibes anymore." I hissed, lying through my teeth.

"Hmmm.” Wendy tapped her chin, her eyes burrowing into my skull, "Why does it feel like you are lying to me, Ella?"

I met her kind eyes. "No. I'm not." I lied. Again.

She mused for a while, but she dropped the hair topic when she spoke again.

"Anyway! Our art project. Hope you know that we're partners?"

My cheeks turned bright pink in surprise.

"I thought so. I knew you weren’t paying attention when the teacher paired us." She chirped in instantly. "Anyways, I forgive you for that. Why don’t we go to that sunny Cafe? We can talk more about it there."

"Sure," I said, managing a smile and flinging my bag to my back.

I guess finding the twins would have to wait.

*

The quaint aura of the cafe took the weight off my shoulders.

It was less busy today, and there were fewer customers, though most were students having some snacks after school.

Wendy held my wrist tightly, taking me to her best spot—the window table.

"That's a table for four," I said as she dragged me.

"I brought my other sisters," she replied sarcastically. “Look around. You’ll see them,” she joked, and I slapped her arm playfully.

"Hey, girls!" A cheerful voice greeted us the moment we sat down. I looked up to see my boss, Emily. And I felt a smile on my face. "Hi Ella," She said.

"Hello, ma’am.” I greeted politely. Wendy did, too.

"What can I get you two?"

"We'll have milk tea," I said, glancing at Wendy sideways. She nodded absentmindedly, tapping away on her phone. I rose to my feet. "Um, I can make it. Since I'm supposed to be working now anyway."

"Sure thing, hon," Emily said and zoomed away.

"You work here?!" Wendy asked with wide eyes. "Ella, you sly fox!"

'Fox?! I'm a wolf!' Ava shot back internally, and I almost burst out laughing. If only Wendy could hear her, too.

I shrugged in reply to Wendy's comment but said nothing.

After quickly making the milk teas, I took them back to our table. "So, can we talk about the project now?"

"Sure. Right after you tell me what happened." Wendy said. She took a cup of the tea and sipped it delicately through the straw.

"Nothing happened. I just needed a side job and..."

"I don’t mean you working here silly.” Wendy cut in. “I meant your forehead." She pointed at it and raised a brow.

A shiver ran through me, and I resisted the urge to touch my forehead. If I did, the makeup and maybe the dark bruising would become more apparent. "It's nothing."

"You're wearing a lot of concealer.” Wendy spelled out the secret I was supposed to be keeping. “It can’t be nothing. I know it’s not nothing.”

I stared at Wendy.

Honestly, she'd been nothing but kind to me. A literal angel. My first friend and companion here. But I couldn’t tell her anything about my pathetic life. At least not now.

I wished I could, though. But, with my existing reputation as a freak and a dysfunctional family in the mix, I wondered how she’d see me if I said anything.

So I kept to myself.

"Does this have anything to do with the twins?" Wendy whispered. “I know they’ve been harassing you, but—”

"What? Heck no." I interrupted sharply. "I’ve already vowed to steer clear of their path, so I don’t think they’ll be a problem anymore.”

‘Lie,’ Ava scoffed, just at the same time that Wendy shot me a look.

She gave a look that said she wanted to pry and ask more questions, but thankfully, she didn’t. "Whatever." She said, sucking on the straw. "Which artist are we going to study for the project?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of Da Vinci. Or maybe Mucha."

Wendy deadpanned. "Ella, it's a project on modern art."

I drank some of my milk tea, willing the ground to open up and swallow me. I felt embarrassed again.

"Hey, Ella," Emily suddenly appeared beside me, sitting on the spare chair. I turned to my boss, grateful for the pause her presence brought.

"Yes, ma’am?"

“Just call me Emily, Ella. How many times will I say that?” She sighed, and I smiled shyly. "I was just wondering," She started again. "Would you love to help out on the weekends too?"

I glanced at Wendy briefly and turned back to Emily. "Sure, I'd love to," I said with a smile.

I mean, it was not like I had anything else to do on weekends, and seeing as I'd do anything to leave that wretched house, more jobs meant more money.

"Awesome!" Emily cheered, clapping her hands. "Thank you so much, Ella; I knew I could count on you."

"Me too!" Wendy slammed her hands on the table, rattling the glasses of milk tea. We both turned to stare at her. "What I mean to say is, can I also work here? I want to support my darling friend Ella and make some money. Also, I'm very good with people."

"No problem. The more the merrier!" Emily said, rising to her feet. "I'll see you both during the weekend then. And…” She winked. “I’ll bring some dessert so you both can celebrate.”

“Ma…Emily, you don’t have to.”

"Thank you, Emily!" Wendy was already saying, and Emily, ignoring me, blew air kisses.

I sighed. Wendy laughed. Nothing was funny, though.

"I was thinking we could..." Wendy started to say something again, but then the coffee bell rang.

It had rung a couple of times since we sat down, but this particular ring carried a certain feeling that had me turning my head this time.

And sure enough, there were the twins.

"Oh no," I gasped, and as if on cue, they noticed me.

They began to make a beeline for our table, and I cursed, looking away. Without even being invited, they sat on the free chairs.

"You aren’t welcome here." Wendy spat.

"Oh, relax, Carter. We didn’t come for you," Tristan said, his eyes focused on me. It didn't help that he sat closer to me, too, and he leaned in, taking a whiff. "I smell cheap makeup," he said.

Again, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

"Come on, Ella," He sighed, leaning back in the chair. “You're beautiful without that stuff. There's no need for you to wear makeup. Right, Nathan?"

"Right." Nathan agreed, snagging a bite of Wendy's dessert. She slapped his hand off.

My cheeks bloomed red. Cheap makeup, huh? It wasn't like I could afford Dior.

Tristan's hand came up to my face. I noticed it a second late because his finger was swiping at my forehead's concealer spot.

He looked down at his fingers, and there was a smirk on his face. That smirk vanished the second he looked up at my forehead.

My bruises. He’d seen my bruises. Shit!

"What is that?" he asked, a muscle feathering in his jaw. The air around us shifted; I don't know what it was, but it became dark.

I shoved his hand off my face. "Leave me alone!" I hissed in anger. "What makes you think you can touch me without...."

"Ella, who did that to you?" Tristan asked, cutting me off.

"Just fuck off!" I rose in a start, my chair toppling over. "Both of you! Fucking leave me alone. I'm sick and tired of seeing both of you! Touching me?! Are you mad?!"

"Ella, if something is going on, we can help," Nathan said, getting to his feet. There was genuine concern in his voice, too.

Unshed tears burned at the back of my eyes.

"Ella?" Wendy called.

"A name," Tristan said. "Just give us a name."

"Even if anything were wrong with me, I would rather claw my eyes out than let you both help me." I hissed as a tear fell down my cheek.

“Ella?” Wendy called again. She’d already stood and reached out to touch me, but I flinched.

Tristan’s jaw worked. Nathan fumed in anger.

“Leave me the fuck alone, you fucking piece of shites!” I cursed, and grabbing my bag, I stormed out of the Cafe.