Mindful Beauty

29) His Wait

Ella, rushing to get to the phone before she missed the call, stumbled while trying to leave the couch. "Stef, you're sitting on the blan-"

Stefanie got up, the blanket loosening a lot more causing a tugging Ella to fall off the couch. Fransisco, watching the entire fiasco couldn't help but to let out a loud and deep laugh.

"Fran, hush. Melissa is sleeping." Stefanie mocked him lowly, making a face while Ella crawled up and left for the kitchen where her phone was.

"Hello?" Ella's answer was a bit rushed an out of breath from the little show she and Stef had just made in the living room.

"Hey," Damien's low and baritone voice answered calmly. "Are you alright?" He frowned upon hearing her deep breathing.

"Sorry, yeah. I just... I fell." Ella admitted bashfully, laughing softly at herself while shaking her head and rubbing her forehead.

Damien chuckled, only being able to imagine the event. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I just slid from the couch, trust me. It wasn't a big thing." Ella explained, still feeling a bit heated from rushing and the embarrassment now.

"Did I wake you?" Damien wondered if he had imposed. Just because he didn't enjoy spending time with his family did not mean that everyone else was the same. He had spent time with Ella's family, and he saw the type of people they were. In fact, not once did he even bother to look at the clock or wish to leave early; they were that comfortable to be around.

"No," Ella moved to go tell the remaining, awake members of her family that she was going upstairs. She could tell by his voice that dinner with his family hadn't gone all too well. "I actually needed to come up to get ready for bed."

Damien didn't say anything. He didn't really have the energy to talk or even try to make small chat. He honestly just wanted to hear Ella speak. Her voice was soothing and calming.

"Tell me about your day." Damien said instead.

Ella agreed.

"She's adorable. I don't even think you've met her, but trust me, as bad as my brother's appearance can be sometimes, he's actually pretty good looking. They were bound to make adorable babies." Ella sighed, finally reaching her childhood bed after washing up and changing into some comfortable, night clothes. "Will you tell me now? What happened, I mean?" Ella toyed with the lavender comforter, the soft material still smelled of that laundry detergent that Ella's mom used. Ella had nearly gone crazy trying to find it in the states, but it was to no avail; they didn't have it.

"Selena..." Damien sighed, really wishing he could see Ella, even if was for a brief second. "I don't want to lose her. We've been friends since childhood," Damien couldn't bare the thought of losing another friend. He genuinely cherished and loved them, and he wished that Selena could see it what Vincent couldn't.

"Did she do something?" Ella carefully and softly asked, turning in her bed. The night was impeccably dark and surprisingly chilly.

Damien took another hurt breath, focusing on not crying. He hadn't cried since Vincent's funeral and then again when he opened up to Ella, and while it may seem ridiculous to any other person, it hurt. It hurt Damien deeply and irrevocably to see one of his best friends, someone who deserved so much, think that they deserved nothing and just... disappear.

"I love you, Damien. I want you to know that. I will support your decision and aid your pain. Know that." Ella whispered, remembering how Damien how hugged her extra tight before revealing that he loved her too one day recently. Without her even realizing it, Damien had become more dependent on that beautiful and young girl that amazed him endlessly.