I whip my head to Niko and see he’s holding his phone out to me with a picture of a smiling Ellie on it.
“Where’d you get that?” I demand as I reach for it.
Niko raises his eyebrows at my tone and releases his phone to me. “Chill, man. I looked up her socials. God, you act so old sometimes,” Niko says as he rolls his eyes and then picks up his sub again.
I study the picture up close. She looks a little younger, her freckles even more prominent than normal on her lightly sun-kissed face. The picture is dated July from two years ago. She’ssmiling and holding up a lobster roll. Always so fucking cute. I almost smile until I realize that fucker Josh probably took it.
I remember feeling so irrationally angry at someone I didn’t even know when Ellie told me about him. Now I almost understand what he did, crazy as it sounds. I still hate the guy, obviously, but I’m guessing he was so into Ellie he didn’t want to risk losing her over a decision he made before he met her.
Was lying wrong? Absolutely. Would I do almost anything to avoid losing Ellie though? Hell fucking yes. He just went about it all wrong.
I swipe out of the picture on Niko’s phone and scroll through the rest of the images on her profile. There aren’t many, but I enjoy seeing the ones of her with friends and family. I wonder if she’s made more friends here. I know she hangs out with Dev and still talks to Zoey all the time, but I don’t think I know of anyone else here yet. I make a mental note to ask her. I wish I could introduce her to some of the WAGs, but I guess that’s out of the question for now.
I stop at a picture of Ellie with a middle-aged woman who looks remarkably like her. She’s got the same freckles and eyes.
Her mom looks oddly familiar, but I can’t really place it. Must be because I’m so accustomed to Ellie’s features now.
Seeing her puts a pit in my stomach and halts my appetite. I push Niko’s phone over to him and wrap up the remainder of my sandwich.
“She’s pretty,” Niko says, looking at the screen in front of him.
“Yeah.”
They both were.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ELLIE
“Hey, sweetie.”
“Hey, Dad. How are ya?”
It’s Sunday morning, which means at eleven on the dot I can expect a call from Michael Ford. Ever since I moved, hearing his voice puts a lump in my throat. Leaving him was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make and I still sometimes wonder if it was the right one.
Most of the time though, I think we’re both better off.
Even after multiple years, being around each other served as a harsh reminder of what we’d both lost. I know I’m the spitting image of my mom, and my dad is basically a different person with her gone.
I imagine looking at me cuts pretty deep—maybe the same way seeing him look so lost all the time puts a pit in my stomach. I don’t know if I believe in soul mates, but I believe in love and partnership because of my parents. They just…went together. Two halves of a whole. Watching that get ripped apart was just another layer of grief.
“I’m doing pretty good. I’ve been asked to go speak at a university lecture this week, so that’s been giving me somethingto look forward to. And be nervous about,” he says through a laugh.
My dad is not one for public speaking, but he is one for helping others. I swallow the lump in my throat that’s still lingering and work to lighten the mood in my own head. “I’m sure you’ll do great. And if you don’t, I doubt they’ll be paying attention anyway,” I tease, mimicking snoring noise.
“Very funny, Ellie,” he chastises.
I chuckle at that. “I’m kiddingggg. I’m sure all the baby civil engineers will be riveted by you.” I keep my laugh to myself this time.
“Well let’s hope so,” he says, missing my continued teasing.
“Have you gone to see the newStar Warsyet?” I ask him.
“Oh, not yet. I think I’ll wait until I can stream it.”
“What? Why? It’s the first one in like five years, don’t you want to go see it? You’ve seen them all in theaters, I thought,” I ramble, confused. My dad lovesStar Wars. Like loves with a capital L.
“Well, you know, I just don’t feel like going by myself to the theater. It’s not a big deal. At home I can eat while I’m watching and put subtitles on too, so it’s really a win-win.”
