“Ella! You’re dirty! You need to get cleaned up!”
She shook her head again as she fought to see through her tear streaked eyes. Urine had come in contact with her raw skin and was burning her. She couldn’t deal with the pain, fever and stress of the fighting at the same time. She could feel herself short circuiting.
“Ella, if you don’t come out in the next three seconds i’m going to pull you out myself!” Heather warned. “One. Two. Three.” Ella didn’t move a muscle, only continued to stare at her.
“Fine!” Heather said.
Ella felt an arm grab her, and so she did what she always did when she felt scared or cornered. She sank her teeth into the woman’s arm.
“ELLA! NO!” Heather cried out in pain before quickly withdrawing her arm and eying the damage. “You do not do that!”
“What? What’s wrong?” Danielle said coming into the room. “What happened?”
“She bit me!” Heather said. Ella could hear the mix of surprise and pain in her voice.
“Seriously? Where is she?”
“Under the desk.” Heather swore. “I’m going to go wash this.” When Heather left, Danielle followed her out before quickly coming back in and shut the door. She knelt down a safe distance away and saw Ella bundled up in the corner. Ella was prepared to bite her as well if she tried to pull her out, but Danielle didn’t.
Instead she slid a few things toward her and quickly withdrew her arms, before giving her a wink and standing back up. Her peace offering appeared to be her pillow, a trash bag, wet wipes and a clean pull up. Ella quickly pulled the loot into her den. With a bit of twisting this way and that, she managed to change, threw the used pulled up and wet wipe in the bag. The cool, wet cloth helped ease the burning and she felt grateful to Danielle. Even more so when she saw what she was about to do.
Danielle unfolded a sheet and threw it over desk, leaving Ella in semi darkness in her new desk fort.
“What is this?” Ella heard Heather ask. She could hear her approaching and stiffened.
“Don’t! Just let her be. She’s sick. She probably just wants to be left alone.”
“So why doesn’t she just sleep in her bed? Why is she hiding under the desk?”
“Because you came in and started yelling! That’s why. Remember when we got Ribbit and he wouldn’t come out of the closet for a week?”
“Ribbit is an animal! Ella is-”
“Sick and probably freaking the hell out…Just let her come out on her own when she’s ready.”
“But she’s wet and-” Ella heard the crinkling bag shake.
“Let her be.” Danielle said walking out of the room. Heather gave a defeated sigh and followed her out.
Ella felt herself finally relax in the semi-darkness. It was cramped, warm, and absolutely perfect. She drew her knees into her chest and curled back into her blanket nest. She was about to drift off to sleep when a new visitor decided to peek its head under the sheet and investigate. Ella was delighted when the tortie shelled cat rubbed up against her outstretched hand and began to loudly purr. After deciding that the stranger was friend rather than foe, the cat entered the fort and plopped down in the nest of blankets. Ella smiled as she laid down next to her new friend and stroked its fur.
You must be Ribbet, she thought before finally drifting off to sleep.