𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 ━ jackson avery

024. ━ return to new york

chapter twenty-four
[ return to new york ]

ELLIE SAT AT the kitchen table of the apartment, scrolling through her emails on her laptop when her phone rang. She picked it up, not glancing at the caller id, and brought it to her ear. "Yep. Hello?"

"Well, it's been a while."

Ellie choked on her coffee at the sound of the voice. "Mrs. Shepherd... h—hi. Uh, what made you call?"

"Well, I thought I would have gotten a phone call by now considering that you nearly died," she replied and Ellie sighed.

"So who told you?" she asked. "Mark, Derek? Was it Amelia, even?"

"None of the above," Carolyn Shepherd answered. "I saw the documentary while scrolling through the channels. Now, when were you planning on telling me?"

Ellie shrugged sheepishly. "Well... I wasn't really... going to..."

"I called Mark straight after," Carolyn continued. "He told me you had died. Twice!"

Ellie pressed her lips together. "Look, Mrs. Shepherd, I'm sorry... I've just had a lot on my mind with it all."

"I understand. Now, when are you coming to visit?" she asked and Ellie opened her mouth. "Mark mentioned that you have a few days off this weekend."

Ellie tilted her head. "Did he now?"

"He did," Carolyn confirmed. "Come on, just a quick visit. We all miss you. Besides, Kathleen, Nancy, and Liz are all going to be in town. We can have a family dinner."

"A family dinner?" Ellie repeated, doubt filling her tone. "I don't—"

"I'm not taking no for an answer," she interrupted and Ellie let out a breath. "It doesn't have to be for long. We just want to catch up with you."

"Fine," she relented. "Fine, I'll book a flight tonight. I'll see you this weekend."

"Wonderful." Carolyn smiled. "We'll see you then, Beth."

Ellie looked at her phone as the dial tone filled her ears. "It's... not Beth..."

☀️

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Andy asked a few days later and Ellie looked away from the window. She smiled with a nod.

"Yeah, sorry," she said with a sigh. "I just have stuff on my mind."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Ellie trilled her lips and ran a hand through her blonde locks. "I'm going to New York tomorrow and..." She shrugged. "I don't want to."

"Why not?"

She let out a breath. "I like to tease Derek," she said. "Mess with his head a little. So I always tell him that his mom calls me once a month. It really freaks him out and it makes me feel... I don't know, like I'm a little kid again. But, in reality, I haven't spoken to Mrs. Shepherd in nearly four years."