Ella Awakened (15 page)

“Jeremy,
this is Burke.  Burke, I’d like you to meet my cousin, Jeremy.” Ella said.

Burke
stepped forward and extended his hand towards Jeremy.

“Jeremy…”
Ella warned.

Jeremy took
Burke’s hand and squeezed it hard as he shook it.

“Nice to
meet you,” Burke said.

“Who are you
and what’s going on here?” Jeremy barked.

“Jeremy!”
Ella scolded.  “Cut the crap.  This is Burke Gellar, and you might as well know
we’re seeing each other.  He’ll be coming around here a lot, so stop being an
ass.”

“Sarah told
me.  What I want to know is what he was apologizing for.” Jeremy demanded.

“He was
sorry he accidentally hit me in the chin trying to undo my front hook bra,”
Ella said sarcastically.

“Oh,” Jeremy
said looking back and forth from Ella to Burke.  “Rock on dude, I hate those
damn things.  Want a donut?” Jeremy pointed to the box on the kitchen bar.

“No thanks,”
Burke replied.

“We just did
a field exam of a body and ran back here to take a shower.  Burke has an
autopsy to do and I’m supposed to observe.”  Ella said as she slipped into her
shoes.  They made a quick getaway while Jeremy was still processing the idea of
watching an autopsy.

~~

Burke and
Ella drove to his house.  “I’m starving,” Burke said.  “Let’s have some
breakfast.”

They went
into the kitchen.  “Sit down,” Ella told him.  “I’ll make breakfast.”  She got
some eggs and shredded cheese out of the refrigerator and put some bread into
the toaster.  She poured them each a glass of orange juice and brought Burke’s
over to him at the table.  She kissed his cheek.

“You never
really gave me the chance to tell you that I love you too.  So I’m saying it
now Burke Gellar - I love you.”  Ella felt a mild shock of electricity move
through her body.

“What in the
world was that?” she exclaimed.

Maybe you
should sit down,
Burke
said.  Only, he hadn’t said anything.  She had
heard
him, but he hadn’t
said anything.

“What’s
going on?” she asked as she slowly lowered herself into the kitchen chair next
to Burke.

“Ella, there
are still so many things about our people, our culture, and our world in
general that I haven’t had a chance to explain to you.  It was probably only
the second day that you were here that I began to have feelings for you.  I
started to feel very protective of you.  I felt like I would do anything to
keep you safe and you were rapidly becoming the most important thing in my
life.  I had never felt such a great need to care for and protect anyone or
anything.  Our people don’t fall in and out of love like the people of Earth. 
I really don’t even like to use the word love.  It’s almost a joke on this
planet; people say they love ice cream, then use the same word to express their
feelings for each other.  On Quintar we call the person we love
Hutsool.
 
It literally means ‘heart and soul’.  We believe that we each have a soul mate
- someone to complete us and make us a better person than we were without
them.  When two soul mates find each other and express their love, they become
bonded.   It means that you will never be alone.”  Burke slid off his chair and
knelt on the floor in front of Ella.  He took one of her hands and placed it
over his heart, then covered her heart with his hand.  “We expressed our love
for each other.  We’re bonded now.” 
We can talk to each other
telepathically.  Not to anyone else, just to each other.
 Burke added
silently.  “We can’t read each other’s minds, just talk to each other.  And we
have to be close, just like when I’m talking to you out loud you have to be
close.  I can’t talk to you if you’re at the apartment and I’m here, for
example.”

Ella ran her
free hand through her hair.  “We said we loved each other, and now we can talk
in each other’s minds?” she asked, trying to make sense of what he was telling
her.

“We said we
loved each other and we meant it and the Mother of All was pleased, and now we
can talk in each other’s minds – yes.” Burke clarified.

“Bonded,
what exactly does bonded mean?”

“Essentially
it means in love.  We were meant to be together, Ella.”  Burke reached up with
his free hand and caressed her face.

Ella
crinkled her forehead.  “Can anyone just do this?  What if two children express
their love for each other?”

“It’s not
something children can do.  My sister and Barret expressed their love for one
another, but they weren’t bonded because they weren’t to the age of awakening.
”

“Were my
parents bonded?”

“Your mother
was human, so they couldn’t become bonded like this - but yes, to your father,
she was his soul mate.”

Ella took a
deep breath then released it slowly, “Are we married?”

Burke
grinned.  “Marriage is an Earthly thing, but if you want to have a marriage
ceremony someday I would love to do that with you.  I think it’s a beautiful
way to express love and share happiness with family and friends.  There are
similar ceremonies on Quintar, but the bonding is personal and it happens when
two people tell each other that they love each other above all else and mean it
with all their heart.” 
Are you scared? 
Burke asked her.

Ella thought
about it for a second. 
No,
she finally replied.  
I’ve never been less
scared, less alone, or more happy in my life.

Good,
Burke said and held her close. 

Ella and
Burke had cooked and eaten breakfast together.  She had watched him pull out of
the driveway as he left for work.  Now she was supposed to be throwing these
knives at this dummy, but she had never been less into anything in her life.

Bonded
.  They were bonded.  He loved her
and she loved him and they were bonded. 
Hutsool
.  He had said she
possessed his heart and his soul.  She wanted to tell the whole world.  She
wanted to celebrate.  She did not want to throw knives.

She sent
Sarah a text,
What R U doing?

Dropping
a class that I hate, what R U doing?

Nothing,
want to go shopping?

Yes

Ella called
Burke on his cell phone.  “Miss me already?” he asked when he answered the
phone.

“Yes.  I
miss you and I know you can’t leave work, but I don’t want to be here alone
right now.  I’m going to have Sarah pick me up.  I want to go shopping and I
want to go out tonight.  Let’s do something fun with Sarah and Jeremy.  I want
to celebrate even if we can’t tell them what we’re celebrating.”

“You’re
okay, right?  Nothing has happened at the house has it?”

“Yes, I’m
okay, and no, nothing has happened.  I’m just happy and I don’t feel like
killing the dummy right now.  Just this one day I want a little break.”

Burke was
quiet for a moment.  He wanted her to practice, but how could he deny her a day
of rest after everything she’d been through in the past few days?  “Okay. 
Please be careful and keep your phone with you.”

“I will.”

Ella called
Sarah and gave her directions.  She was full of nervous energy and she knew
Sarah would be there in about ten minutes anyway, so she locked up the house
and started walking down the long driveway.  She actually felt a little bit
like skipping - so she did.

~~

Ella had
made it to the end of the driveway just as Sarah was arriving.  Sarah pulled
the car over and Ella hopped in.

“Where do you
want to go?” Sarah asked.

“Let’s just
head over to the mall.  Do you know of anything cool going on tonight that you,
Jeremy, Burke and I can do?”

“Tonight is
‘Movie in the Park’ over by your apartment.”

“Oh yeah, I
completely forgot that was starting up again for summer.  Do you know what the
movie is tonight?” Ella asked.

“It’s
Say
Anything
.”

Ella and
Sarah looked at each other and at the same time started singing, “
Love, I
get so lost sometimes… Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart… When I want
to run away, I drive off in my car… But whichever way I go, I come back to the
place you are
,” then laughed out loud.

“Oh, that
sounds like fun!  Do you think Jeremy will be up for that?” Ella asked.

“Sure he’ll
go.  The movie doesn’t start until nine o’clock so we can bribe him with dinner
first.  You have a beautiful voice by the way; I don’t think I’ve ever heard
you sing.”

“Thanks,
though it’s not as fabulous as my mom was hoping when she named me – huge jazz
fan.” Ella shrugged her shoulders and grinned.  “Okay, let’s go to the mall and
find me a cute but sexy sundress to wear tonight.”  Ella was getting excited. 
She got out her cell phone and sent a text to both Jeremy and Burke telling
them the plans.

~~

They had
been at the mall well over an hour, and Ella had tried on several different
dresses before saying to Sarah, “I can’t find anything.  Maybe I need to shift
gears here.  If we’re going to be sitting on the ground on a blanket, a dress
probably isn’t the best idea anyway.”

“How about
something like this,” Sarah said, holding up a stone blue and white striped
sleeveless top.  “It would be really cute with denim capris and those rope
wedge heels you have.”

“That’s
perfect,” Ella took the blouse and turned it around so she could see the back.  “Hair
up or down?”  She hung the shirt back on the end of the rack and started
flipping through the hangers looking for her size.

“Down of
course, but with big loose curls.”  Sarah never could understand why her friend
always had that long gorgeous hair piled on top of her head.

“What are
you going to wear?” Ella asked.  She smiled as she finally found a small
towards the back.

“I just
bought a green tank top last week that I haven’t gotten a chance to wear yet. 
It’s hip length with spaghetti straps.  I have some long brown shorts and some
strappy brown leather sandals that would go great with it.”

Sarah’s hair
was light brown and cut in an almost shoulder length bob, but it was longer
than it looked because she had bouncy, natural corkscrew curls.  “I think you
should put your hair up,” Ella told her, “and leave a few curls hanging out
here and there.”

“That’s a
good idea,” Sarah said.  “I guess we’re all set then.  Let’s pay for your top
then go get some lunch; I’m starving.”

“What are
you hungry for?”  Ella paused on her way to check out and looked at the
jewelry.  She picked up a long chain with several nautical charms dangling from
it and raised her eyebrows questioningly at Sarah.

“Get it,”
Sarah encouraged.  “We could hit the food court.  How does sushi sound?”

“I’m not
very hungry, but I could probably eat a couple of pieces of sushi.  I’m dying
for a drink anyway.  All of this ‘on with the clothes, and off with the clothes’
has made me thirsty.  Speaking of which, let me try that top on really fast. 
If I get home and it doesn’t fit right, it’ll ruin my perfect day.”

“You
have
been very smiley today,” Sarah said slyly. “Now, hurry up and try on the top so
we can go sit down and you can tell me what you’re so happy about.”

Ella thought
about what she was going to tell Sarah while she was in the dressing room. 
I’ll
just tell her that Burke told me he loves me.  That’s huge anyway.
  The top
looked great, so Ella quickly changed back into her own shirt, paid for the new
one, and walked with Sarah to the food court.

“So what is
going on with you?” Sarah leaned forward in anticipation once they had gotten
their food and were sitting at a table.

Ella leaned
forward too, like she was about to impart the secret of the universe.  “Burke
told me that he loves me this morning, and I feel a little bit like I’m
floating on air.”

“Oh my
gosh!” Sarah slammed her hand down on the table.  “That’s huge, Ella!  What did
you say?”

“I told him
that I love him too.”  Ella shrugged and held her hands up like it was no big deal. 
She loved to tease Sarah - it was oh so easy.

“Wow!  I’m
flabbergasted.  I’m very excited for you.”  Sarah paused and bit her lip.  “You
don’t think it’s a little early for this do you?”

Ella had a
feeling Sarah was going to say something like that.  “Sometimes you just know.”

“So are you
having sex now?”  Sarah bounced in her seat like a child waiting for a prize.

“You’re
worse than a guy, with the one track mind thing,” Ella couldn’t help but laugh.

“You did
right?”

“Yes.”

“And…?  Come
on Ella you’re killing me here.”  Sarah was practically foaming at the mouth.

Ella’s face
reddened.  She was not the kiss and tell type but she decided to have mercy on
her dear friend.  “And... the Earth moved.  It was wonderful and amazing and
absolutely beyond description.  Let’s get one thing straight though - I do
not
need to hear about you and Jeremy having sex, okay?”