Troubled Youth

“So you’re still my PA, right?” Jared asked sitting next to Ella.
“Yeah, still run your life don’t I?”
“I suppose.”
“Then what do you need?”
“Shooting a movie. I need you to come with me to New York for a little bit. Just get me settled and work out some life detail things. Then you can head back here and take care of Shannon.”
“How long and when?”
“About a month and in six weeks.”
“Okay.” Ella sighed pushing some papers to the side and picking up others.
“What’s wrong?” Jared asked noticing she wasn’t her normal spunky self.
“Nothing.”
“I should know better than to ask.” Jared sighed. “I’m here for you if you need it.”
Before he got up he kissed the side of Ella’s head and walked out of the room. She continued on with her papers and didn’t notice Shannon come in to sit across from her.
“What’s up?” Shannon asked.
“Nothing. Just trying to figure some stuff out.”
“Like?”
“Boring stuff.”
“Family stuff?” He grinned.
“What makes you think that.”
“It says Claire Weisman on that paper and your name isn’t Claire, it’s Ella Weisman.” He pointed at the specific paper betraying the information.
Ella flipped the page over that Shannon had been upside down reading.
“Okay, well I’ll just pretend that you’re not doing anything illegal and ask you something.”
“It’s not illegal, it’s my own family Shannon.” She still hadn’t looked up at his face.
“Fine, whatever. You know this movie that Jared’s doing... Requiem For A Dream?”
“Yeah, the one he’s taking me to New York for.”
“Mmhm. Is there any way I could get you to stay there the whole time with him?”
“Why, he’s a big boy.”
“He’s got to lose a bunch of weight and I’m worried about that. I think someone should be with him. And you know Jared, he’s going to probably lose more than he needs to. If something happened, if he...”
“It’s fine Shannon. He’ll be fine.”
“Ella, I don’t think you really know what he’s planning on doing.”
“God Shannon, forgive me if I don’t care right now. I’m a little busy trying to run my own damn life and I can’t worry about your little brother’s. If you have a problem with what he’s doing then go fucking talk to him.”
Shannon sat there for a moment staring back at Ella who had finally looked up from her paperwork to stare him down. He swallowed what she’d said and nodded. Shannon got up from the chair and started to head for the door.
“Shan. Wait.” Ella put everything down and stood from the chair to run over to him. “I’m sorry.”
She put her arms around his waist and pulled tight. Shannon stood there a moment unsure what to do; should he be mad at her or hug her back. When he felt her breathing go irregular he looked down to see she had tears on her cheeks.
“Ella. What the hell? I can’t be mad if you start crying.” He pulled his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s not something I can talk about, alright?”
“Is this something that came up when you saw your dad last month?”
“Yeah, but I can’t talk about it okay? I’m really stressed out and I’m not sure I can keep being Jared’s personal assistant. I can’t handle all this right now.”
“Hey, stop crying. Stop it.” He started rubbing her back. “Look, I’ll go out there to New York with him if you need to stay here and figure out all those papers and stuff. If it’s family shit Jared can wait.”
“No, I can go. I just need people to stop asking me things for a little.”
“I’ll make sure people leave you alone.” Shannon promised kissing the top of her head.
“Thanks.”
“No problem Ella.”
“You guys are the closest thing I have to family. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I do.” Shannon squeezed her. “And we love you more than you’ll know. If there’s something you need to talk about, I’m here.”
Ella backed out of the hug and nodded her head wiping under her eyes. “You guys’ll know soon enough.”
Shannon wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean but he let her go back to the chair and pick up her papers. He left the room and went to find Jared. He wanted to question him and see if Jared knew anything Ella hadn’t spoken to Shannon about. She seemed to tell Jared more about her past than she did Shannon. Neither of them knew that Cameron would have been the best to talk to, Ella had told her a few more family secrets since their first lunch date.
When Shannon did find Jared he was sitting in front of a piano working on a song Shannon had been hearing the last few weeks. Shannon sat on the floor and leaned against the wall watching his little brother. His fingertips tapped against his knees forming a beat that changed along with the song Jared was molding.
“Did you eat today?” Shannon asked noticing a shake in Jared’s hand.
“A little.”
“You should eat something.”
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry.”
Shannon grunted figuring the argument wasn’t so important. “Ella’s crying.”
Jared stopped playing and turned to Shannon. “What did you do?”
“Nothing! I just asked her for something and she snapped at me, told me to fuck off basically, and then she was crying in my arms.”
Jared sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.
“What?” Shannon asked knowing that meant Jared was worrying about something.
“She’s been on the phone with her dad a lot lately. Something’s happening that she won’t talk about.”
“Any ideas?”
“No.” Jared looked in the direction of where he’d last seen Ella. “But I feel like it’s going to get worse.”
“What was that look for?” Shannon asked catching the tiniest hint of a bitter smile on his brother’s face.
“Nothing.” Jared waved it off. “I just thought there was something else going on but I was wrong.”
“What did you think?”
“It’s stupid, really.” Jared said placing his hands over the white keys again. “Stupid.”
“Tell me.”
Jared’s hands hesitated before playing a few notes, he didn’t stop when he began speaking. “I thought the weird mood, the weird feeling around her, was because of Cameron. Well not because of Cameron per se, but because I asked her to marry me. I thought maybe it upset Ella or something. I thought that at least until I heard her last night on the phone with her dad. She was crying and repeating over and over that he couldn’t do something. I don’t know what it was. She just kept saying ‘You can’t. You can’t.’ I’m afraid her mom found out or something.”
Shannon nodded. “Her mom’s name was on the paperwork she was sifting through up there.”
“What’s her name?” Jared asked curiously as he looked up from his hands.
“Claire.”
“Hmm, pretty. French.” His eyes shifted to the window.
“Yeah.”
“I hope everything’s okay. She really couldn’t handle not being able to see her dad anymore. I’m afraid of what that might do to her, how it might change her.” His hands had stopped moving on the keys.
“Hadn’t even thought of that.”
“I’m worried about her. Sometimes I wish we were... that it was like it used to be... together.”
“I know. You still might be the only one who can help her or even really be there for her.”
“It’s hard now. I can’t be there in the way I want to be.”
“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” Shannon asked scratching his head. “I mean I don’t want to be the one to mess things up here, but are you doing what’s best for everyone?”
“I don’t get it.”
“With Cameron. Is marrying her the best thing for all of us?”
“I love her.”
“But you love Ella too.”
“It’s not the same anymore.”
“I know, but you still love her and if she ever said she wanted you that would make things so difficult for you. I know you.”
“She’ll never say it.”
Shannon sighed. “Sometimes I catch her staring at that engagement ring on Cameron’s finger. The look in her eyes kills me every time. When you and Cameron are in your room makin’ noise she can’t handle it. She comes into my room and sleeps next to me curled into a little ball. I’m pretty sure a few nights I’ve seen tears in her eyes. She’s broke up inside.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Jared had covered his face with his hands and was hunched over on the piano.
“I thought you would have noticed.” Shannon sighed.
“I had.” Jared breathed. “I had but I was never going to say anything about it. I didn’t want to hear it outloud because then I couldn’t tell myself it was all in my head.”
Shannon bit the inside of his cheek and watched his little brother. He knew Jared was crying.
“I love Cameron to death. I really do, and I really want to marry her. I just... Ella’s killing me.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t all live together. It might be easier.”
“Don’t even talk about that right now.” Jared shook his head. “Everything will work out.”
“I’m going to just go outside. I seem to be fucking everything up right now.”
Jared nodded and Shannon left him inside. He went into the backyard and looked at the pool. It was sitting there undisturbed besides a few ripples across the surface from the light breeze or the touch of a falling leaf. He tugged his shirt off and jumped in still wearing his shorts. He figured the pool was there he might as well use it.
A little while later Shannon came up to find Ella getting in the shallow end. She sat on the second step down with the water up to her shoulders and didn’t move anymore. Shannon swam over to her and sat beside her. They didn’t say anything for a little, he just put his head on her shoulder and her her rest her cheek against the top of his head.
Once Shannon had enough sitting still, which didn’t take him too long, he grabbed Ella and pulled her off the step into the pool with him. She was mad at first that he had dragged her underwater. She hadn’t intended to get her hair wet but once it was and she was mad, he had a wrestling match on his hands. They played in the pool both smiling real smiles for the first time that day. Jared caught glimpses of them through the window but decided against going out there.

Two months later Jared was almost totally settled in New York with his business dealings. He felt comfortable enough to be on his own but Ella wasn’t so sure about leaving him. She made arrangements to stay with Terry but told Jared nothing about it. She didn’t want him thinking she didn’t believe he could be on his own.
Shannon had been right to worry. He’d lost twenty pounds already and he looked like he was working for more. It was so weird to see him sitting so much and not eating. Jared was always so active and hungry. When Ella would go out for something Jared would stay in the hotel room and just watch TV. She’d come back to find him in the same place she’d left him. At night he would climb into her bed because he was so cold and couldn’t keep himself warm anymore. She would have to pull him to her chest and wrap her arms around him just to stop him shivering so much.
When it came time for Ella to leave she let Jared ride in a cab with her to the airport so he thought she was gone. He got out and hugged her tight -though not as tight as he used to be able to- and let her walk into the airport. Ella waited for him to disappear in the cab and then called Terry to have him pick her up.
“So you’re worried about the little Leto?” Terry smiled when he’d pulled up to the curb and Ella got in.
“He’s really thin Terry. Have you seen him?”
“Not lately. We were supposed to meet up when he said he was close to his goal and take pictures.”
“What’s that?”
“Didn’t tell me.” Terry pulled away from the curb and they were on their way to his apartment.
“He’s lost twenty already. They’re two weeks into shooting. He hasn’t made arrangements to stay in the hotel we were at any longer than today. I’m worried about him.”
“Oh, that’s because he’s going to live on the streets. Didn’t he tell you? That was his plan for research.”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, he said in order to understand addiction and all that he needed to meet people with addictions.”
“Oh God. I shouldn’t have left him.” Ella covered her face with her hands.
“He’s twenty-eight Ella. He can survive fine.”
“Now I’m going to be worried.”
“Don’t. He said if he needed anything he’d call me. So that means he’ll call you though he doesn’t know it yet.”
“Yet?”
“I imagine he’ll need something eventually.”
“Don’t say that Terry. Please don’t. I don’t want him hurt.”
“I never said hurt. He just might get hungry or something.”
“Good joke Terry. He’s always hungry right now.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”
“At least he’s not actually doing the drugs to learn what it’s like.”
Terry nodded agreeing with that.
“How is he even going to keep himself warm at night?” Ella sighed feeling tears brim up. “Why am I crying.”
“You’re afraid for him.” Terry said putting his hand on her knee. “Don’t be. The both of us are here.”
For a long time the phone was silent of Jared’s calls. Ella did some painting work for clients while she was staying with Terry and they got to talking about a collaboration. Terry wanted to take the pictures and then Ella would paint them. They started developing a show before they even had the material.
It was a month before the phone rang and had something to do with Jared. Shannon was on the line and just from his tone and the frantic way he asked for Ella Terry knew something was up. It was the middle of the day and Ella was still asleep in bed having spent the night on the streets with Terry drinking and letting loose. Terry told Shannon to hang on and went down to the spare room Ella was asleep in.
“Hey, wake up. Shannon’s asking for you.” Terry pushed Ella’s shoulder. “He’s frantic.”
“What? Go away. I’m sleeping.”
“Ella, I think it’s about Jared.”
“What? Where’s the phone?” She pushed herself out of bed faster than he’d seen her ever get up and went for the phone. “Shannon, what happened?”
“Jared collapsed today. They were in the middle of filming and he just collapsed. They took him to the hospital. Called Mom, Mom called me, I called you. You’re the one that can get to him fastest. I’m on my way to the airport now.”
“Jesus. Is he alright?”
“They said he was going to be fine but I’m still worried. From what they told Mom he’s severely underweight and they’ve had to give him an IV for dehydration. I told them you were coming and that you were like a sister to us. They’ll let you in.”
“Where? Me and Terry will go right now.”
Shannon quickly told Ella the hospital name and which room he was supposed to be in. She promised him as soon as she knew anything she’d called their mother. Shannon wouldn’t have gotten her call because he’d be on the plane but he told her it was alright. Ella hung up and grabbed her shoes after slipping on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She hurriedly explained everything to Terry as they left the apartment for his car.
“I’m going to kill him.” She said shaking her head.
“Don’t think that would be very hard to do right now.” Terry replied, his attempt at humor didn’t even make Ella crack a smirk.
They pulled into the parking lot and Ella was walking as fast as she could towards the doors before Terry had even managed to shut the car off and get out. She half jogged to the reception desk and asked to see Jared. The nurse asked her a few questions that Ella felt weren’t standard but were asked just so they were sure she was who she said she was. Terry was told he couldn’t come in, one visitor at a time for the moment. He understood and sat down to wait.
Jared was still unconscious when she walked into the room. He was laying there thin as he could possibly be with an IV dripping fluid into his arm. She stood next to his bed, hands hovering over his arm not sure if she could touch him. The nurse ducked out of the room to give Ella privacy.
She picked up his hand noticing how all his veins and tendons stuck out as she sat down in the chair next to his bed. Jared didn’t move. Ella kissed his hand and felt the tears spill over her cheeks. She mumbled a few words to him about how she hated him for this but fell silent again. She looked at the monitors staying all his vitals were stable, he was breathing but there was an oxygen tube resting under his nose. She stood up to kiss his forehead before she sat back down.
The doctor came in and asked if anything had changed. Ella shook her head no but her eyes didn’t leave Jared’s face.
“Are you the girlfriend?”
“No.” Ella shook her head again. “No, he’s engaged.”
“To you?”
“No. I was just the closest and got here the fastest.” Ella explained.
“He should be awake in a few minutes. The fluid IV should help him rehydrate and bring his senses back. No damage done except the bump on the head from the fall he took.”
“I’m okay.” A weak voice mumbled as Ella’s hand was squeezed, Jared had woken up.
“No you’re not.” Ella said looking at his face.
“I’m fine.”
“That’s why you’re in the hospital.” She said standing to kiss his forehead again. “I’m going to kill you.”
“At least I’m already at the hospital.” He smirked. “You got here fast.”
“Never left Terry’s place.”
“I know.” He reached with his other hand to pull her back and hug her. “Thank you.”
“I’m still going to kill you.”
“Kiss me again first.” He asked and felt her lips on his forehead. “I’m sorry Ella. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay.”
The doctor politely cut in and asked Jared a few questions. He shined a small light in both his eyes, took some notes, listened to his heartbeat and checked the monitors before leaving the room.
“Shannon’s on his way. I suspect your mother is as well even though Shan said she was staying home.” Ella pulled the chair closer and sat down.
“Why didn’t you leave?” He asked ignoring what she’d said.
“I had a feeling you’d need something.”
“No, really. Why didn’t you leave?” He asked squeezing her hand tighter.
“Why did you ask me to kiss you just now?”
Jared didn’t respond.
“I know you didn’t mean your forehead. I felt you sigh.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Cameron might be on her way too.”
“So?”
“Just think about that before you ask me to kiss you again.”
“Would you?”
“Probably.” Ella smiled wiping at a few tears. “I’m so happy you’re alright I might do anything you ask.”
“Get into this bed with me.” He said starting to scoot over.
“I can’t.” She squeezed his hand.
“Why?”
“It wouldn’t be right. Imagine what that would look like if they walked in here.”
“It’s going to be a few hours. I suspect you’ll get a warning before they get here. It wouldn’t look like anything. Besides, I’m cold Ella. I need you.”
“I can ask the nurse to bring you a blanket.”
“Why? Why, when I have you? Please get in this bed with me.”
“Jared.”
“Ella please. I need you right now.”
“Fine.” Ella pushed up from the chair and got a leg up on the bed.
She was careful as she laid down not to mess with any of the tubes or wires attached to Jared. He curled up against her side and Ella felt his skin was rather cold. She tugged the blankets up over his shoulder and kissed the top of his head as he laid it on her chest. He mumbled a thanks into her shirt and shifted his head up to kiss her neck.
“I should tell Terry you’re awake.”
“You’re not getting out of this bed.”
“He’s in the waiting room.”
“You have a phone. Call him.” Jared said making his arm slightly tighter around her to enforce his refusal to have her get up.
Ella reached for her phone and dialed Terry’s number telling him Jared was alright and awake. Terry said he’d tried to call Jared’s mother but her phone just rang out. That told them she was on her way to New York with Shannon. Terry got up to ask if he could be allowed into Jared’s room since he was awake now. With a few people to check for permission Terry was allowed in. He took up the chair that Ella had vacated and they talked for a bit before Jared fell back asleep against Ella’s chest.
“This ain’t good.” Terry shook his head.
“What?”
“You two.”
“There’s nothing going on.”
“Right. Look at him! He’s curled up against you sleeping like a baby, smile on his face happy as could be and you! You’re smiling too! The two of you should be kept away from one another.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“Not yet. But I bet if I leave Jared won’t be engaged for much longer.”
Ella narrowed her eyes at Terry.
“I’m just telling you what I see.”
A few hours later Shannon and Constance showed up. Terry was asleep in the chair while Ella was sitting on the end of Jared’s bed. He was propped up now and had eaten a little food under orders of the doctor. They wanted him to eat more but he wouldn’t do it saying he felt guilty eating.
Shannon pulled Ella into the hall while Jared was distracted with his mother. He pulled her into a hug and thanked her for getting there so quickly. Ella had missed Shannon and didn’t let him pull out of the hug quite so quickly. Shannon explained that Cameron knew what was going on but couldn’t get out of her work as easily. She was by now on a plane making her way over but she was scared. If Ella had known she would have called Cameron to tell her everything was alright.
The two of them went back into Jared’s room after Shannon bought Ella a soda and sat down at Jared’s bedside. Jared was smiling and happy to see his mother and brother but told them they hadn’t needed to come out. This gained protest from his mother so Jared shut up about it. They got him to eat a little more before Cameron walked in.
Ella got up saying there were too many people and a doctor or nurse was bound to kick some of them out eventually. Terry stood with her saying he needed to get home. Jared looked sad at this news and asked Ella if he’d see her again but she just shrugged. She squeezed his hand goodbye and left with Terry. Shannon watched all this seeing the subtext there and wondering if anyone else did.
The next morning Shannon came by to say Jared was out of the hospital. He was with their mother at the hotel and she was pretty much force feeding Jared little crumbs of food. Cameron had spent the night in the hotel with them as well. Jared had asked if Ella would come and when Shannon relayed this to her she shook her head.
“I think it’s about time I get back to California. Terry’s probably waiting for me to leave.”
‘You can’t leave. Not yet. Not when Jared’s unstable like this.”
“He’s fine Shan. The doctors cleared him and he knows now that he’s got to eat a little bit more than he was before.”
“Ella he needs you.”
“Cameron will be glued to his side for a while. She can take care of him.”
“He wants you.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
“When are you going?”
“Later tonight. I already have a ticket.”
“Oh.”
“See you at home.”
“At least come over and say goodbye to him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I...” she looked at Terry who had turned his back and wasn’t listening, “I can’t go over there if she’s there. Seeing them together is hard Shan. Especially after this. All I want is to take care of him but I can’t watch someone else do that for me. It’s hard.”
“He wants you over there.”
“I know. And I want him but I can’t have him.”
Shannon narrowed his eyes wondering what she’d meant by that but let it go. “I’ll tell him you said goodbye.”
“Thanks.” Ella hugged Shannon.
That night Ella was back home in California. She tried not to think about the empty house. She got Judas and Sky -Shannon's new puppy- from their nearest neighbors and fed them dinner before heading up to her room. She grabbed her things and went to take a shower but ended up sitting in the bottom of the tub as the water rained down over her and cried. When she got out she found both the dogs on her bed. She didn’t even bother shooing them off. She just went to sleep with one on either side of her.
Shannon was back a few days later but Constance had stayed in New York. Cameron had come back so Constance wasn’t sure she should leave Jared alone. Shannon watched Ella and asked a few questions but when she got defensive and cold he let up. Ella wasn’t going to tell him anything more than what she’d said in New York. She’s opened up a little too much and Shannon knew that. He was content just to sit with her and let her curl under his arm if she needed it.

One night Shannon was woken up by Ella climbing into his bed. She laid out against him and pushed her face against his neck crying. He was alarmed when he first woke up not sure what was happening and who was lying on him but when he figured out it was Ella he pulled her tight to his chest as he sat up to rest his back against the headboard.
He couldn’t get her to talk for the longest time. She just curled up against him and cried harder than he’d seen her cry before. Judas and Sky sat at the side of the bed confused and watching. Judas tried to lay his head against Ella’s hip but she was out of his reach.
When Shannon finally did figure out what had happened he reached over to pick up his phone. Her father had died from cancer she’d known he’d had for a few years. He realized she had been going through that family paperwork earlier in the year to figure out things her father had told her.
Ella clutched Shannon crying quietly while he was on the phone calling Terry’s apartment. Terry had been asleep but woke up from the phone. Shannon asked if there was any way they could get a hold of Jared but Terry didn’t have the number of the hotel that he and Cameron were staying at.
It took maybe an hour before Terry was calling Shannon back saying he’d gotten a hold of Cameron only to find out Jared was on set for filming already. He hadn’t said a word about what had happened to her, he only left a message saying Jared needed to call home as soon as he got back.
Ella was asleep when Jared called back. Shannon told him what had happened and that was all Jared needed to hear. He was booking a flight back to California and grabbing his things before he’d even hung up with Shannon. He explained to Cameron that Ella needed him and he had to go.
“What happened? Why are you leaving? I made this time for us, not so you can run back home to her.”
“Look Cameron, this isn’t about that. I love you, okay. Her father died and I need to be there for her. She needs me. I’m her best friend.”
“Oh.”
“That’s all you can say?” Jared shook his head. “The only member of her family that still wanted something to do with her is gone and all you can say is oh.”
“I just kind of feel like a bitch for what I said just now. Go. She needs you.”
“It’s fine. I understand.” Jared kissed Cameron. “I just have to go now. She needs me.”
“I know. Go.”
Jared was back in Los Angeles before noon. He practically ran up the driveway and into the house to find Ella. She was sitting by herself in the backyard with her feet in the pool. Judas and Sky were chasing one another. Jared sat quietly down by her side and she leaned into him breaking into tears again.
The next couple of days were rough. Cameron got back to find Jared and Ella sleeping on the couch. He had pulled Ella into his chest and they had both fallen asleep like that. Shannon had tossed a blanket over them worrying that Jared wasn’t warm enough because of all the weight his little brother had lost.
Ella’s aunt called to tell her when the funeral was but that was it. They hadn’t spoken in years since she was her mother’s sister and Ella hadn’t even expected to hear from anyone in her family. Ella was told her father had expressly written down he wanted Ella to attend. There were a few things her father had done before he died that hadn’t been according to his wife’s plan.
Jared and Ella got dressed a few days later to go to the funeral. He held her hand the whole day and pulled her close when her father’s casket went by. She had a hard time standing on her own when they were lowering it into the ground. Jared held her tight feeling his own tears sting his cheeks. He had been friends with John Weisman and wished he could have seen the white haired man one last time.
At the end of the day Ella’s mother walked up to her. Ella stiffened wiping under her eyes. Jared felt himself tensing in case there was to be some sort of negative exchange between the two women. Her mother stood there staring at her daughter before she spoke. Jared noted the blond hair and the facial features so similar to Ella. It was like he was looking into Ella’s future when he looked at her mother’s face they were so similar.
“Your father made changes to his will that I was unaware of. His lawyer needs you present in his office tomorrow morning. It appears despite my wishes your father has left you something.”
Ella nodded.
“Tomorrow at nine. I trust you remember where his lawyer's office is.”
Ella nodded again, she couldn’t look at her own mother.
Jared waited for her to leave before pulling Ella tighter to his chest. He made sure she was okay before starting to walk her back to his car. Ella sat in the passenger seat like a sack of potatoes and did not utter a word. Jared put a hand on her knee while he drove just to remind her he was there. She slipped her hand over his and he smiled though there was no change in her face. He realized how much he’d missed simple things like her hand touching his.
When they were back at the house Jared got out of the car and jogged around to open the door for Ella. He took her hand and helped her out of the car. She still looked pretty dejected so he pushed the car door closed and pulled her into a tight hug kissing the side of her head.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” He asked quietly in her ear. “Just the two of us and no one else?”
“Can Judas come?”
“If you want him to.” He kissed the side of her head again. “We don’t have to talk.”
“Okay.”
Ella went inside the house and into her room. Shannon pulled her into a hug on the stairs and then let her continue on. Out of the corner of Shannon’s eye he saw Jared talking to Cameron and she didn’t really look happy. Shannon figured he’d leave it alone and ducked into the garage to play with his drums. Their songwriting was starting to get somewhere and they were close to finding a few more people to round out the band.
Ella came back downstairs and Jared was sitting in the backyard already changed and waiting for her. Judas and Sky were standing at the gate knowing they were going out. Sky couldn’t be left out of anything Judas did, the two dogs were like brothers. Jared got up when Ella walked into the backyard. They headed out onto the trail and disappeared from sight.
Shannon came back inside to grab a water bottle and find Cameron on her way out.
“Why are you leaving?” He asked passing her in the hall.
“Jared’s too busy with Ella.”
“Her dad died Cameron. She needs her best friend. If this happened to you Jared would be with you.”
Cameron shook her head. “I know, it’s just...”
“What, that they used to sleep together?” Shannon asked coming back into the hall.
“Yeah.”
“Who is wearing the ring? Who sleeps with Jared every night? Who is the one getting married to him?”
“Me.”
“You have nothing to worry about. Jared picked you Cameron.”
“But if she were to pick him, I know he’d go to her. I know it.”
“Then you don’t understand my brother.” Shannon said walking past her and heading back into the garage. “He chose you. He’ll never choose different so long as you want him too.”
The door closed behind Shannon’s last words and Cameron stood in the hallway. She looked at her purse and wondered if she should leave. Who knew how long they would be gone? She picked up her purse and left anyways. Shannon shook his head watching her car pull out of the gate.
“She just doesn’t get it.” He mumbled to himself picking up drumsticks.
Jared and Ella were gone a long time. Long enough that Shannon started thinking about going to find them himself. The sun was gone by the time Shannon heard the back door open and the dogs walk in. Jared was holding onto Ella’s hand and they looked like they used to before Cameron had come along. Shannon hoped nothing had happened out there but no one would ever know if it had should they choose to keep it a secret.
His mind was calmed when Shannon watched Ella go into her own room for the night and Jared to his. Still Shannon chewed the inside of his lip wondering if maybe Cameron was right, maybe he was watching the end of another one of his little brother’s relationships.

The meeting in the lawyer’s office of Ella’s father took place a few days later. Jared dropped Ella off and told her to call as soon as she was done. She hadn’t wanted him to be there because she didn’t want him being exposed to her family, the potential ugliness that could result.
Jared passed time running a few errands and giving his mother a call to see how she was doing. He, Shannon, and Ella were due for a visit and Constance reminded him of that. He agreed saying the beginning of the next year might be best for them all.
Ella called Jared a few hours after he’d dropped her off. He wasn’t too far away and picked her up from where she was standing in the parking lot. There was a mix of emotions on her face and he wasn’t sure what to ask her.
“I just don’t understand what she’s trying to do to me.” Ella sighed rubbing her forehead, she was too tired for tears.
“Who? Your mom?”
“Yes. She’s trying to find a way to stop me from getting what my father has left me.”
“What did he leave you?”
“The only thing he could, money.”
“Oh.”
“A fucking lot of money he’d been saving since I’d been kicked out. His own profits from the company he and my mother ran. She thinks it’s hers.”
“But if he made it on his own and saved it for you, wrote down that it was yours, what’s the problem?”
“My mother’s a bitch.”
“Ella.” Jared’s voice was a bit cautionary like a mother to a child.
“You know she is.”
“I’ve never really met her.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “You never will.”
“Fine.” He glanced at her. “Are you okay?”
“Alright. I just can’t believe he left me what he did.”
“A lot?”
“You could say that.”
“You’re not going to say how much though, are you?”
“More than our house cost.”
“Yeah? Could you buy like three of our houses?”
“Closer to five of them and some change.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Six million to be exact. And she’s trying to take every last penny.”
“She couldn’t.”
“Well no, not at first. They’d never really disowned me, my father refused to sign the papers. But I’m over twenty-five now so I’m not a dependent anymore. They weren’t responsible for me the last three years. Since as far as my mother is concerned I don’t belong to the family anymore I don’t deserve the money. However the lawyer believes under law I should get the money. It wasn’t a formal will or anything, he wrote it down on printer paper and gave it to his lawyer, but it should still hold. I should know by tonight.”
“It’ll all work out.”
“If she tries to take this to court she can just have the damn money. I don’t care about money. Me and Terry just need to come up with some cash for a collaborative show and that’s all right now. The house is paid off, I have enough to live on, I’m still making money from my paintings, I don’t need six million dollars.”
“And I’ll always be here if you get into trouble.” Jared smiled at her.
“If I ever got into troubled and you helped me I’d pay you back.”
“I’d expect nothing less from you.”
By that evening Ella found herself sitting on a lot more spending cash than she’d ever dreamed of having. The lawyer had come through finding a way to block her mother from getting the money her father had left for her. She also found out that her father, John, had set up all the accounts in her name already. They were always hers, she’d just never known about them.
Ella wasn’t sure what to do with the money. She let it sit in the accounts her father had set up and tried not to think about it. She called Terry and told him she’d gotten enough to finance their show but she didn’t tell him how much she had. Only Jared and Shannon knew about that. She and Terry started putting together their show through phone conversations and email. Terry sent Ella some more photos and she made paintings off them quicker than Jared and Shannon had ever seen her work.
By the next year she had at least twenty works based off Terry’s photos along with some of her own originals. Terry made a few of his own photographs to put up that she did not paint and then they started picking their favorites. They found a space and tried to think of a name for the show.
After a week long visit with Constance and some much needed rest in the backyard of her house Ella had started to feel a bit more normal. She was reminded that she still had a family even though they didn’t have the same last name as her.
Cameron and Jared fixed up their little problems just as soon as Jared stopped spending so much time with Ella. Ella could see Cameron was getting a little bothered by their rekindled best friendship and how close they were again so she started to distance herself from Jared. This time she made sure Jared understood why she was backing off. He told her that wasn’t necessary but Ella told him she didn’t want to come between him and Cameron. Jared didn’t really want to lose what he’d regained with Ella but he backed off as well.
The distance between them got even harder when Ella started bringing other guys home with her. She seemed to have gone on a campaign to conquest as many men as she could. Jared would be sitting downstairs with Shannon or Cameron, sometimes both, and Ella would go upstairs with someone they had never seen before. It was a lot harder on the nights when Jared was alone in his room and Ella had someone with her. He kind of realized she probably had felt the same pain he was feeling when she could hear him and Cameron.
Most of the time Jared would wake up to find the guy Ella had brought home was gone. Sometimes the guy would still be in her bed but she wouldn’t be. She would have no shame when she ran into the guy in the morning and didn’t remember his name because they usually didn’t remember hers. She’d tell them not to call and send them on their way with money for a cab. Shannon kind of smiled at this thinking he could have a good wingman at bars but when Jared caught him thinking that he got an ear full.
Terry and Ella’s show was on track still and went up in New York City about the middle of 2001. They’d settled on the title ‘Ladies and Geneitals” thinking it was a funny pun. Jared and Shannon came out for the opening but Cameron was too busy working on a movie to make it. Shannon managed to get Ella out on the town with him afterwards and she proved to be a great wingman. Jared and Terry hadn’t noticed the two slip off together but when they got back to the hotel alone they realized what had happened. Shannon and Ella both came home drunk but with no one else.
Back in California Ella’s campaign didn’t quit. Jared bit his tongue and didn’t say a word. He had no right. He was still in love with Cameron and they’d started making wedding plans. Nothing was definite, there was no date set, just some vague ideas were tossed around making the picture get a little more real. Ella was free to do what she wanted with who she wanted. That still did not stop Jared from walking past her room in the morning and catching himself staring at her lack of tan lines, the way she stretched in her sleep, and how her chest rose and fell with each breath.
Things were a little strained but their relationships were all back to how they was before her father had died. Jared suspected Ella’s little campaign to bring home someone new whenever she could stemmed from grief and Shannon seemed to think the same but neither of them said a word. People had different ways of dealing with their feelings and for as long as they had known Ella she’d buried her feelings by letting someone else burying their hips between her thighs. Some nights Jared wished he was the one she was using to bury her feelings but he always corrected those thoughts telling himself that time was past.