Miles

Chapter One

"Wherever you go, I will find you, because you are the reason why I breathe."

Ella jerked awake with the sound of the alarm clock ringing and the vision blurred before her as she fought the urge to cry. Another long night of a pair of dark eyes that stole her heart and soul, leaving her feeling utterly exhausted. These eyes used to look at her with love that made her feel warm, safe and loved. But now when she saw them in her dreams, it reminded her that she had taken away something from him. She broke his heart and trampled upon his soul with her exit. She knew that he still searched for her and that was what left her feeling like a thief. She sat up, her dark hair falling over shoulders and she noticed the split ends that stared back at her. They were telling her how neglectful she was of them and if she didn't care deep enough, she needed to just get rid of the length. The phone began buzzing beside her and she turned to pick it up. Her mother's name flashed across the screen and she groaned. It was way too early for this. If she didn't pick up, the next thing would be her mother knocking on the door. She slid her finger across the answer button.

"Hello, mother," she said in her morning voice.

"Ella? Are you ok? Why do you sound like you were crying?" came her mother's high- pitched voice.

"Good morning to you too, Mother. It's 6 o'clock. How am I supposed to sound this early?"

"I don't know," came her mother's response. "A bit more put together, I'd say."

Ella shoved the blanket off of her and she stood up, stretching. "Well, I'm not you, Mother. Forgive me if I sound like this when my beauty sleep is disturbingly awaken by a woman who should be caring more about herself."

Her mother laughed. "A joke today, Ella, my, my...aren't we in a happy mood? What's your agenda today? I'd like you to meet my new beau." Her mother went through men like she went through leggings. It was scary. Her father had been the last good man she'd loved and every man after that had been a "try on for size and return," type.

"A new one? What happened to Shawn?"

"You mean Willard."

Ella frowned. "Willard? What happened to Shawn? How did I miss it when Shawn got the boot out?"

Laughing, her mother answered, "You're too stuck in your 9 to 5 job, Ella. You need time off to relax and enjoy the show. Anyways, I want you to meet him. He's a very handsome, older man with a decorative resume."

"Wow, he sounds promising. What's his name?"

"Henry Luther Otter." Ella stopped dead in her tracks and her heart sunk. That was a name from the past, a past she'd wanted to run away from. It couldn't be, right? No, her mother wasn't dating him.

"Did you say Henry Luther Otter?" Ella repeated.

"Yes." Ella shut her eyes. The man from her dreams entered her mind. What were the odds? Her mother's new beau was the stepfather of the man whose heart she broke all those years ago.

Her mother's heels clacking on the vinyl floor caused Ella to lower her newspaper and look up and her eyes opened wide at the entrance. This woman who was 20 years her senior looked incredibly ready for a gala. She wore a deep purple silk gown with a wreath pearl around her neck, finishing off with gold bracelets and dangling teardrop pearls on her ears. Her hair was piled on curls and she even had a dazzling diamond hair comb on the side. Ella glanced at her sweatpants and t-shirt and reached for her soda to loudly gurgle. The man beside her mother was indeed Henry Luther Otter all right. She'd remembered his photos from when she used to date his son. They hadn't ever officially met. He hadn't changed much. He still had that uptight upper lip with stern grayish eyes and a deep glare of "I'm the boss," look. He wore a brand name designer suit and she shook her head thinking how the two perfectly matched up so well. When her mother saw her, the disappointment appeared on her face at how Ella looked. Well, here goes...she thought as she stood up and her mother's lip curled downward.