Jilted by Rachael Johns Page B

Joyce was a great teacher. She took Ellie under her wing, giving her something to think about other than Flynn or life back in Sydney.
    She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t somewhat homesick. While Mat’s place was the only true home she’d ever known, and while she loved spending time with her friend, Ellie missed the routine and familiarity of her life back east. She simply couldn’t relax in Hope Junction and she missed the show, her friends and the cast – her home away from home. Emails and the internet were her lifelines. Her iPad was her first port of call in the morning and the last thing she did at night before she went to sleep.
    ‘What’s that woeful look on your face?’ asked Ellie as she returned to the living room. It was Wednesday afternoon and she’d just waved off Eileen and Joyce, the last visitors for the day.
    ‘Just thinking,’ Mat smiled, looking anything but relaxed. Ellie flopped into the armchair opposite. ‘I’m worried you’re overexerting yourself looking after me and doing all this cooking.’
    Ellie rolled her shoulders and pretended to do arm exercises. ‘I’m using muscles I never thought I had, that’s for sure. Can you imagine … Me? Cooking?’
    ‘It’s certainly a sight I hadn’t expected,’ Mat chuckled, before adopting a serious look again. ‘But you’re missing Sydney, aren’t you?’
    A cold washed over Ellie but she shrugged off the suggestion. ‘It’s not easy being here, but I’m glad I came.’ She forced a smile, hoping she hadn’t made her discomfort too obvious. She’d been back almost a fortnight now, and Matilda was right, but she never wanted her godmother to feel like a burden.
    Mat made a tsking noise between her teeth. ‘There you go playing things down again. You’ve barely left the house in over a week, except to take me to rehearsals.’
    Ellie offered Mat a reprimanding look. ‘Umm, sweetie, I hate to remind you, but that’s why I’m here.’
    Mat tossed Ellie’s look right back at her. ‘You know what I mean. Holing up with an old bird like me isn’t healthy for a pretty young thing.’
    ‘Stop being silly,’ said Ellie, starting to feel uncomfortable. She wouldn’t put it past Mat to arrange for a group of twenty-something locals to take her out to the pub. She couldn’t think of anything worse. ‘I came here for you and I’m staying until you’re free of wheelchairs and crutches and casts. I’d never forgive myself if I left too early and you hurt yourself again. You mean the world to me, you know that.’
    She saw Mat’s determined concern soften as a smile formed on her lips. But then she pressed her hand against her heart, and Ellie wondered, for a second, if she was having difficulty breathing.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Ellie leaped to her feet and crossed to Matilda. ‘Did you choke on something? Can I get you a drink?’
    Mat placed her hand on Ellie’s forearm and shook her head. She breathed deeply, in and out for a few moments, and then, ‘I’m fine, honestly. Just swallowed some air the wrong way.’
    ‘Well, good,’ said Ellie, wrapping her arms around Mat and hugging tightly. ‘Because I need you around a lot longer yet.’
    Matilda just smiled.
    Despite not having a social life or a day job, Ellie kept herself busy looking after Mat, ensuring she ate a balanced diet and got enough rest, and doing what they did best whenever they were together. Talk. She therefore hadn’t finished the awnings as quickly as she’d imagined.
    ‘There,’ she said to Matilda, who was sitting in the wheelchair on the front lawn, catching some afternoon sun. Ellie climbed down from the ladder and admired her handiwork. ‘Finally done.’
    ‘And not a broken ankle to show for it,’ laughed Mat, knocking on her plaster cast. ‘What will you do with your time now?’
    ‘Well,’ said Ellie, dumping the paintbrush in the bucket of metho on the verandah, ‘I was thinking I might come and watch the rehearsals