Page 27 of Ella’s Data

Data

It takes Ella several days before she can talk normally again, and despite her protests, I make her get rechecked before I let her go back to working at the kiddy house. When her test comes back negative, she grins at me and says, “I told you so! I’m working and that’s that.”

“Fine, fine,” I grumble. Secretly, I’ve enjoyed taking care of her these past few days, and despite his own injuries, I’ve watched her and Colt develop a bond over finding things they can eat.

I still don’t know how she managed it since his jaw is wired shut and her throat felt like she was swallowing crushed glass every time she spoke, but she found some recipes and made them so that they could both get the nutrition they needed.

But… we’re down to the last few days, thank fuck, because it’s been exhausting burning the candle at both ends. I just want a few days of peace and quiet once we’re done for the year before she gets called out on another assignment.

“You gonna ask her any time soon?” Rebel asks as he stops at the small office I’m using at the haunted house.

“Yeah, I’m gonna bring her through here again and propose then,” I admit, looking at the engagement ring I bought all those years ago. I had to have it resized to fit her finger since it was smaller then and just picked it up from the jeweler about an hour ago.

“She’s gonna kill you,” he replies. “You said this place scared the hell out of her.”

“I have a plan, now let me explain what I’m gonna do because I’m gonna need y’all’s help,” I tell him.

He comes in and I quickly explain my idea. Once I’m done, he says, “Leave it to us, we’ll get it sorted out so you can do it the last night.”

“Okay, before we start tonight, since it’s the last night, I wanted to let y’all know where we’re at so far with the proceeds we’ve pulled in,” Rebel says during our pep talk time.

Since the night when Colt got hurt and one of the student actors was almost assaulted, we’ve had no further issues, especially since Rebel has made it clear every night that bullshit won’t be tolerated.

“Well, where are we at?” Monster asks.

Rebel glares at him then says, “We’ve exceeded our expectations, y’all, and have enough to help two hundred families with Christmas, as well as a holiday meal box for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Five one-thousand-dollar scholarships will be given to the seniors graduating this year to put toward the automotive course at the tech college, all five of the seniors will have a fully kitted out toolbox to get their respective careers started, and we’ve set up a scholarship fund at the tech school as well. So far, we’re at twenty-five thousand dollars, y’all, and we have three nights left. That includes the donations that are given each night as well.”

Cheers and stomping feet reverberate around the kitchen where we’re meeting. “That’s fucking amazing,” Red states. “Let’s see if we can push it to thirty, y’all.”

“We’ll discuss what to do with what’s left over once everything has been calculated,” Rebel adds once we’ve all calmed down. “Now, let’s get ready for tonight, okay?”

With so many weeks of great videos, thanks to the reactions from all the attendees, I know this year’s video is going to be fucking epic. I think I’ll see if Ella is willing to help me with that since she’s got a week left before her next assignment starts. I’m sure Thelma has missed having her readily available, but she definitely needed the down time. Moving forward, I hope she’s a bit more selective.

“I wonder what the brothers are going to come up with to help me,” I mutter as I watch the next group of thrill seekers walk through the front door.

I steadily add more clips to my file and laugh so hard countless times that my ribs are aching by the time I see the last group enter. As I keep an eye on them, I watch in amazement as Psycho, Monster, and Red wait until they’ve moved on, then they quickly redo the room into something less scary and more… romantic? What the hell are my brothers doing?

By the time the group heads up the stairs, my attention is firmly split; part of me is ensuring there are no issues with any of the jump scares, the other is fascinated by how my brothers are revamping the rooms for my future wife.

Rebel had whispered to me before he headed upstairs as the demonic guide that they’d contain it to the downstairs, specifically the front parlor and the den, since there were so many moving parts upstairs, including the grim reaper that pops out, as well as the props in the morgue, the surgical suite, and Paul’s room. Since they were helping me out, I fully agreed with their plan.

“Okay, brother, here’s the link for what you need to have playing on the tv in the den,” Psycho says, nearly scaring the shit out of me. “We’re going to clean the kitchen really quick, then let you bring Ella in.”

I take the paper he gives me and open up the site to see the video for Bruno Mars’ song, Marry You. As I listen to the catchy tune, my smile grows because it’s probably cheesy, but I think Ella’s going to love it. I quickly get the song cued up on the tv so that when we walk in, it’s playing. Satisfied that I’ve done what I can, I send the files for the video I’ll be creating to my email at the clubhouse, then make sure the cameras and audio are working for the most important video of all.

“Data, I really don’t want to go inside,” she protests as I lead her from the back to the front walkway.

“Just humor me, Ella. I promise I’ll make it worth your while,” I reply, waggling my brows at her as I smirk.

“Since I’m your ol’ lady, I’m a sure thing, Data,” she rebuts. She’s about to say something else when the coffin door opens and Colt pops out with a bouquet of flowers that he hands to her. “Wh— oh, thanks,” she says as I open the front door.

“You realize you just thanked a corpse, right?” I tease as we walk inside.

Instead of answering, I watch as she braces herself as we approach the formal parlor, only instead of the creepy vibes, somehow my crazy ass brothers have replaced the cobwebs and spiders with sparkly lights and dangling strings of hearts. I suspect they raided our decorations that have been slowly being added as each ol’ lady has come into the club, because they look like those conversation hearts I remember eating as a kid.

Be Mine.

You & Me.