Ellie's boyfriend kissed her goodnight and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now.
***
A week before their high school graduation, Austin and Ellie parted ways with a goodnight kiss, thinking they'd be seeing each...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come over?" My sister asked for what felt like the fifteenth time.
"No, I'm fine," I lied.
"Ellie, you're not fine." She hesitated for a second and then she said, "come and stay here for the night, or let me come to you, please. I'm worried."
I sighed, knowing she was concerned about me. I got it and I appreciated it. But I didn't want to hang at her house with her perfect little family when my life had just gone to shit. I needed to work through it on my own, and on my own time. Although it didn't quite feel like I'd ever be able to get through it.
"Aubrey," I began in a no nonsense kind of tone so she'd realize I was serious. "I appreciate that you're there for me. I really do. But I need to process this on my own. Okay?"
She got quiet, and I waited a few seconds before I continued. "I'm planning on having a cup of tea and going to bed. Just me and Selma."
"Are you sure? Because it's not a problem."
I felt like I wanted to bash my head against the wall. She wanted to help. I got it, but she was overbearing.
"Yes. I'll call you tomorrow."
She sighed, and I removed the phone from my ear to hang up when I heard her shout, "Ellie, just more thing."
I fumbled with the phone, but got it back to my ear. "What?"
"If you're actually ready to move on, Spero said he was interested in taking you out."
That made me snort. "Yeah, okay."
"I'm serious, Ellie."
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "Maybe one day, but not yet, okay?"
My brother-in-law's partner was one of the good guys, despite his flirty attitude. He was attractive, dependable and had a good job, but he wasn't Austin.
But then I didn't want to think about Austin. The jerk. Or the date he went on. Or the fact that he had a girlfriend...
"Okay. I get it," Aubrey said. "I won't push. I just wanted you to know."
I rolled my eyes.
"Love you."
"Love you too."
I hung up and leaned my head back against the couch. Between her, my mom, and Linda, I was going a bit nuts. They wanted to support me. I got that, but their fussing made me feel stupid and weak.
Nobody had died. I didn't want anyone's pity. It was my own damn fault for trusting a boy, and the man he'd become, first with my heart, and then for thinking I'd be able to get him to tell the truth about why he crushed it in the first place.
It was so dumb it was laughable. He'd left ten years ago without a goodbye or any kind of closure. Why the hell did I expect him to tell me why he did it, now, ten years later? Just because we worked for the same company?
