A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Romance

Fighting with her was stupid. It was a waste of the little time that they had together but even though James knew that, he couldn’t bring himself to admit that his behavior towards the two teenagers was wrong. He was certain that he’d been in the right, that acting in the manner that he did was necessary for him to establish himself as the man in Ella’s life but he was also certain that unless he apologized, Ella wouldn’t talk to him.

He was well aware that apologizing without meaning it was morally questionable, but he hadn’t driven six hours to sleep in his van. He’s driven them to sleep beside Ella, to feel her flesh pressed against his own and if he had to apologize about something that he wasn’t sorry about, then so be it.

All he wanted was her and he’d do whatever he had to, to get her.

“Ella,” he called her name.

No response.

“Come on Ella just open the door, I need to talk to you.”

There was still no response.

James rested his head against the door. “I'm sorry Ella. I know that what I did wasn’t rad. It was a real dick move and I'm sorry, real sorry.”

The door opened, leaving enough room for James to see Ella’s eyes. They held distrust, it was as if she knew that he was lying, that the only reason he was apologizing was because he wanted to sleep with her, and the truth is, she did know.

“Do you mean that?” she asked softly.

“I do.”

Ella thought about telling him that she knew he didn’t mean it. That he was just lying to her face to get her into bed, but as much as she wanted to do that, she couldn’t. She was just as bad as him, she, wanted to have her carnal desires satisfied so she accepted his half assed apology and let him back inside.

Late Sunday evening, their weekend together ended.

James packed up his belongings, making sure that all his things had been properly stowed away in his bags and Ella made sure to pack him some food for the road so he wouldn’t have to stop along the way. It was a tearful goodbye, Ella hated to see him go and although James didn’t cry, the way he held her let her know that leaving was a difficult thing to do.

Before he left he tried to make Ella promise that she wouldn’t hang out with Gavin or Ian anymore. He told her that she’d give him peace of mind if she promised him that. Ella was tempted to, she wanted to makes James happy but in the end, she decided against cutting ties with her two friends. Ella wasn’t going to let James decide who she could and couldn’t be friends with, he wasn’t her owner and he had to get over himself.

The rest of her first semester of college went by smoothly. James visited a few more times, her brother dropped by twice, and several of her friends made the drive to Berkeley to check out where Ella was calling home. It was a good time, a very good time and although her two worlds clashed, they strangely worked.

Winter break was spent in the comfort of home.

It was great to be back in Venice where the winter temperature hardly ever went below fifty. It was home and being around her family and friends was a real treat. Ella had always been very attached to her family and coming back to them after months apart was lovely. Her parents doted on her, treating her as if she were some sort of queen and her brother kept telling her that the best part about going away to school is the hero’s welcome that comes along with it.

In mid January, Ella returned to Berkeley. Originally, her father was supposed to drive her but Gavin had gotten a car for Christmas and he was eager to drive it up north. Her parents were unsure whether or not to trust the young man to take her daughter back to school but after several days of pleading they gave into her, but they wrote down his license plate number and driver’s license information just in case.

“Fuck, I thought your dad was going to kill me,” stated Gavin when they piled into the car.

“For real,” agreed Ian. “I’ve never been glared at like that.”

“That’s just the way my dad looks, he has a very serious stare but he’s not mad,” spoke Ella from her place in the front seat.

“No, no, no, that wasn’t a serious stare, that was a deadly glare.” Gavin merged lanes.

“Not deadly, just intimidating, I'm sure he just wanted to make sure that you guys would respect me and not try anything,” Ella smiled softly. “That’s just the way my dad is.”

“I'm pretty sure we got that message when he wrote down my license number and took down my license plate, he didn’t have to go the extra mile and glare,” said Ian.

“My dad’s Mexican, he has to go the extra mile to keep his little girl safe, especially since two boys are driving her.”

“The fact that he worries about that kind of stuff when you used to play football and wrestle is absurd. You’ve always been surrounded by guys, always; you’d think that by now he’d be alright with it,” Gavin went on the freeway.

“He’ll never be alright with it.” Ella chuckled. “When we’d have overnight wrestling tournaments he would literally drive out to wherever we were spending the night and get a hotel room so he could make sure that I was safe.”

“But what about James, you said that they’ve let you go on trips with him,” Ian was confused.

“They do, but all those trips have taken a lot of pleading . . . I don’t know, my parents are just strange, sometimes they’re very liberal and open minded but other times they’re very conservative, I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Your family’s weird, but it works. I just can’t get over the fact that your mom’s Irish and she cooks bomb ass Mexican food.” Gavin’s mouth watered.

“That food was by far the best food I’ve ever had. Do you think she’ll let us go over to eat when we drive down for spring break?” inquired Ian.

“Are you guys going to give me a ride home just to eat at my house?” Ella stifled her laughter.

“Yeah,” they responded in unison.

“That reminds me, Ian and I are rushing FIJI.”

“Wait . . . what?!” Ella’s eyes widened. “I thought you guys were abstaining from frats.”

“We were, but almost everyone on the lacrosse team is in FIJI so it only makes sense for us to join.”

“Makes sense and you guys are always at FIJI, you might as well make yourselves an official part of it, but when you guys go through hazing, please tell me so that I can witness it!”

Ian began laughing wildly. “I fucking told you that she was going to want to watch us get hazed, time to pay up.”

“How much did you guys bet?” she asked.

“Forty bucks,” declared Ian proudly.

“Gavin should pay you a hundred for being so stupid; I think it obvious that I would want to watch the hazing unfold. I am, after all, a male hopeless romantic that’s trapped within a woman’s body.”

“So are you trying to say that you’re a lesbian?” Ian felt like being a smartass.

“What? No.”

“If you’re a male hopeless romantic that’s trapped within a woman’s body, then that means that women should tickle your fancy,” argued Ian.

“I'm a gay man, there, better?”

“Much.”

What remained of the drive was spent making fun of one another; it was an enjoyable time that was made even more enjoyable by the fact that the teenagers would lower their windows every so often to shout inappropriate comments towards strangers.

Upon arriving at Berkeley the teenagers went their separate ways; Gavin and Ian wandered to the frat to a Meet the Brothers event and Ella joined Dorian and Julius. The two men were eager to spend time together. The month that they’d spent a part was far too long for their liking. Their night ended with a slumber party at Julius’ dorm, thankfully, Julius’ roommate wasn’t showing up until the following afternoon so they didn’t have to worry about the noise level.

Relatively early on the following afternoon, Ella received a text from Gavin asking if she wanted to hang out at the frat with him and Ian. At first, Ella said that she was going to have a quiet night in but when Gavin said that the brothers were going to have bottles of silver patron for the guests, she agreed to go.

Frats weren’t a place that Ella was particularly fond of. She only went to them when she didn’t feel like spending money on alcohol and had a few guy friends to keep her company because being alone in a house filled with drunken hormonal young men, isn’t a good thing, nor is it a very safe thing.

Not much thought was put into getting dressed. Ella wasn’t looking to hook up with anyone so she didn’t dress like she was. She just wore some jeans, a plum tank and a grey cardigan with some flats. Her hair was straightened and some fresh make up was applied. When the guys arrived to pick her up, she stuffed her student id along with her phone and keys into her pocket and was off.

By the time they arrived the party was in full swing, there were girls grinding against frat boys, tequila being poured in the bar area and music blaring from the speakers. Ella shook her head when she saw some of the things girls were wearing, they were outfits that didn’t warrant the label of clothes, they were just pieces of fabrics.

The guys stood by Ella, introducing her to the guys on their lacrosse team and telling random stories. The guys were just like Gavin and Ian, they were full of themselves, a bit arrogant but unlike Gavin and Ian, she didn’t like them. There was something about them that put her off but out of respect for her friends she was friendly.

It wasn’t until the party nearly ended that Ella met a boy that interested her, his name was Evan, Evan Boehm. He was a first year architecture student from New York City. He was originally from Germany but his family relocated when he was twelve. All in all he was a nice guy, he had the look that all the other frat brothers had but there was something different about him, something off.

Ella spent most of the night with him, talking about the most random things and breaking into fits of giggles. He was a great guy, a little too great and Ella couldn’t help but think that perhaps he was gay. There was something about him that made her think that he was and when Gavin made a homophobic comment and Ella scolded him, Evan shot her a small, thankful smile and with that smile she knew that she’d been right.

Although Evan ended up not rushing Phi Gamma Delta, he ended up becoming one of Ella’s closest friends. Their friendship was stronger than her friendship with Julius and Dorian, they were like minded individuals that discussed politics and philosophy, they had similar tastes in films and if it hadn’t been for the fact that Evan was attracted for men, they would’ve been perfect for one another.

Evan referred to her as his little Mexican wife. His affectionate behavior towards her caused Dorian and Julius to view him with contempt. They saw him as a threat and hated the fact that all of a sudden, it wasn’t just them and Ella, but Ella, them and Evan. By spring break their jealousy subsided and they warmed up to Evan. They realized that he was an overall nice guy and although he didn’t hold many of the same views as them, his charm won them over.

Ella’s first year of college soon came to a close.

Her parents drove up to Berkeley to pick her up and take all of her belongings home. Returning to Venice was exciting; it had been far too long since she’d taken a stroll through the boardwalk or swan in its polluted waters. It was heaven.

On the day that Ella returned to Venice, her family swarmed the house. Her aunts, uncles and cousins were all eager to see her, but her cousins were the most excited, they had missed their Ella greatly. The following few days were spent at home. Ella missed her friends but she felt like being with her family, she wanted to rest her head on her mom’s lap while they watched movies and she wanted to fall asleep on her dad’s shoulder, she’d missed being able to do that and now that she was home, she was going to do it all the time.

The first official summer outing happened on the Monday following her arrival from Berkeley, it was a scheduled trip to Disneyland with Zoë. It was something that Ella had been looking forward to but as Ella was getting ready to go to the happiest place on earth she got a phone call from James asking her if she wanted to go to Tijuana with him.

Ella told him that she couldn’t go, that she’d already made plans with Zoë. He begged her to change plans, to go with him, but she refused. She had been looking forward to hanging out with Zoë in Disneyland and she wasn’t about to change her plans.

Disneyland proved to be fun, but the fun was short lived when a frantic phone call arrived.

“Gabriella? Oh thank god, you answered, you need to get to Venice right now,” spoke James’ mother.

“What’s going on Mrs. Parker?”

“It’s James . . .” wild sobs wracked her being.

“Mrs. Parker, what happened to James?” Ella’s voice was full of worry.

“I don’t know . . . he was unconscious when the ambulance arrived.”