Page 34 of The Call She Made That He Never Answered
"Lucas?" Ella noticed me. Her pale blue eyes were clear and lovely.
"Yeah." I walked in and sat in the wicker chair beside Grandfather.
I watched her continue. Those hands I'd pinned to the sheets last night were now tenderly, professionally massaging his muscles.
"We're going to see your sister at the sanatorium today," I said suddenly.
Ella's hands paused.
She looked up, something unreadable flashing in her eyes.
"We?" Surprise caught in her voice.
"Yes," I smiled and nodded, repeating it for emphasis. "Together."
Ella didn't say anything. Just kept working. But her shoulders tensed. Just slightly. If I didn't know her so well, I might've missed it.
She was nervous.
The realization sent a dull ache through my chest. I'd been absent too long. She'd grown distant.
I leaned down and grabbed her wrist, holding it tight in my palm.
Her skin was still warm and slick from the massage oil. Her pulse jumped under my fingertips, fast, erratic, like a startled deer. I couldn't help running my thumb in circles, feeling that little flutter of panic under her skin.
I nodded to Grandfather, ready to take her away.
Something flickered in his cloudy eyes. He looked at me, then at Ella, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Take care of Ella," he said slowly. "Don't upset her."
"Of course, Grandfather."
But confusion nagged at me. Had I done something to upset her?
Grandfather said nothing more. Just shook his head. That expression made me uncomfortable, like he knew something I didn't and wasn't planning to tell me.
I tightened my grip on Ella's wrist.
Her hand trembled slightly in mine, but she didn't pull away.
She was always like this. Compliant. Quiet. No fuss.
It was one of the things I liked about her.
But when we got to the car, something unexpected happened. Ella refused the passenger seat.
"Why?" I watched her pull open the back door with determination.
She kept her eyes down, voice cool. "I don't want to sit where someone else sat."
It wasn't until I slid behind the wheel that I understood what she meant.
The car reeked of rose perfume. Vivian's scent from yesterday. She always wore that cloying sweetness, like she wanted to mark every space she passed through. I'd never thought much of it. The office was full of different perfumes. I was used to it. But now, seeing Ella's slightly furrowed brow, Irealized she hated it. She preferred fresh, natural scents. Green things. Living things. Like the conservatory.
"I won't let her wear that perfume anymore," I said, switching on the air circulation and opening the windows and sunroof, trying to clear it out fast.
Ella quietly opened the back window, too.
