5. Ellie

5

Ellie

THREE YEARS LATER

“Ellie, I’m so glad you agreed to take over the boutique,” my grandma says softly as she floats around the building I grew up in.

“I wouldn’t dream of letting it go to anyone else, Grams. I was surprised when you called to tell me you were ready to retire.”

“Maybe seeing all of your pictures from around the world gave me the itch to do it for myself. Or maybe I won’t since I’ve never left our little state.”

“I have great travel guides for you then. I think you should do it, Grams. You’ve worked hard your entire life and you deserve to see the world.”

“I’m sure you do. I’m so glad you’re home. How long has it been?”

“Almost six years,” I shrug as I look away from her. “It worked out perfectly that my last freelance writing gig ended when it did. Writing for the travel magazine was such an amazing experience, but I’m ready to be stationary for a bit.”

“We’ve all missed you,” she murmurs. “I’m so proud of you for chasing your dreams and following your heart. Some people go their entire lives never doing that.”

“I’ve always imagined myself coming home to this, to running your clothing boutique in my hometown and raising a family.”

More so now that all of my friend group are engaged, married, pregnant, or have already had kids.

I’m the last single one and I’ve come to be okay with that reality, even if sometimes it makes me miss Ethan a little more than I’d like to admit.

“I’m sure that will come with time.”

“I don’t know, if it doesn’t that’s okay too. I’m not defined by those old ideas of having to have a husband and kids to make my life meaningful.”

“You have always beat to your own drum and I love that about you. You look so good, baby girl, so happy and full of joy.”

“I am,” I grin back at her. “This is just the icing on the cake.”

“Have you talked to Ethan?”

“Not since I left our apartment six years ago,” I sigh.

I had braced myself for these conversations, for hearing his name from the mouths of the people I love, but I still am not ready for it.

I loved him with all my heart. I loved him more than I loved myself, to be honest, and it ended badly. I had a lot of growing up to do, and so did he.

Unfortunately, if social media and the tabloids are any indication, he hasn’t matured at all. He’s still that wild, bad boy, who stays out late and lives life in the fast lane. The guy that he’d become in college no longer aligned with who I was.

I miss him every day, but that feeling isn’t near as intense as it was in the beginning.

“I’m sure you’ll run into him.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“You two were always such good friends, yin to the yang and all that. It’s a shame that it ended the way that it did.”

“It needed to, Grams. I had completely abandoned myself and my dreams for a man who took it for granted. I can’t even blame him for that. I didn’t respect or love myself, so why should he?”

“He did love you.”

“Did he?”

“I guess that’s a question for him, not me,” she smiles with a wink. “There’s a charity ball tonight for young entrepreneurs. You’re going, right?”

“You and Daniel have only reminded me twenty times in the last month. I’ll be there.”

“Good, it’ll be a great opportunity for people to get to know you.”

“I grew up here, Grams,” I giggle. “They all know me.”

“But you haven’t been home in a while. You’re also not the same insecure girl that you were when you left Frostwood Falls for college. You’re a confident, independent, fiery soul and they all need to know that.”

I smile back at her before giving her a big hug.

“Thanks for saying that,” I reply softly.

“It’s the truth. You have always had your own style, your own unapologetic way about you. I can’t wait to see what you do with this store, my love. Go get ready for the ball and we’ll go over this nonsense later.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

I leave the boutique and head to my house. Well, it’s my parent’s house that they are letting me buy from them.

My parents moved to Florida about two years ago. They come to visit every now and then, just in the summer when it’s warm, but their lives are now near the beach and soaking up the incredible weather in their retirement.

Daniel opened a mechanic shop and tow service in our hometown and is extremely successful. He bought a really nice house a few years ago.

It looks nice in pictures and videos, I haven’t been there yet.

Grams boutique is one of a kind, just like her. She taught me to sew and make my own clothing when I was really young. I did it often, when I was younger, but a few times of rude friends making fun of you for it will stunt your creativity quickly.

It’s been a long time since I’ve made my own clothes, but I have a really good eye for fashion, something I’ve developed more over the years. I can’t wait to bring that flair to our small town.

Creativity is my strong suit. I love to write and I love to make my own clothes. Growing up, neither of those traits make you the popular kid in school.

As I pull into the driveway of my childhood home, I sit there for a few minutes staring into space as all of the memories hit me like a ton of bricks.

I look at the large two story home next door. My eyes gravitate to the bedroom window that faced mine for the eighteen years that I lived there.

Ethan.

The worn out path in between the two houses no longer exists. It’s just gone as if it was never there.

Ethan’s family moved out of the house shortly after he went to college. His father had worked really hard to bring a hockey team to our town and had done so when Ethan was around twelve years old. It took some time, but it’s now a winning franchise, one that Ethan will inherit soon.

If he hasn’t already.

Daniel tries to keep me up to date on the happenings of my childhood sweetheart but I quickly change the subject. Hearing how great his life is without me is like a twist of the knife in my heart and back.

I shut off the car and get out. I grab my dress and a suitcase out of the back before carrying them inside the house.

I didn’t expect the rush of emotions when I pulled up to the house.

That’s normal though, right? I unpack my things, get settled and then hop into the shower to start the process of getting ready.

As I step out of the warm embrace of my luxurious bathrobe, the anticipation for the charity ball tonight tingles through me. The event promises to be an exquisite affair, and I want to make sure every detail of my ensemble is just right. Tonight is a big deal for me, for many reasons.

It’s my homecoming, in a way.

When I left Frostwood Falls, I was only known as the nerdy, shy, overweight sister of Daniel Tyson and the girl who somehow landed the hottest guy in school.

I spent most of my teen years as invisible.

Sure, I had friends and people knew me, but I don’t feel that I was more than a background friend to most people.

Grams is right, I’m no longer that scared, shy, insecure girl who left Frostwood Falls and never looked back.

I am fit, happy, healthy, curvy. I’ve embraced my natural curls and dyed my mousy brown hair to a gorgeous auburn color.

As I look in the mirror, I see in the corner a picture of Daniel and I when he graduated, and as I compare that girl to the one in the reflection before me now it’s as if we’re two different people.

We are, in so many ways.

Same body, but so much has changed.

I’m now a confident, fearless, bad ass bitch who knows her worth and doesn’t accept less than she deserves.

I shed that people-pleaser and codependent personality and never looked back.

Ethan and I were always polar opposites in many ways, starting with the fact that I was all academics and he was all athletics.

I took on a lot of his personality when we were together, adopted his sayings and disciplines and used them to grow into me. But I still reverted to a shy, insecure girl often.

Ethan was always larger than life and the center of attention.

I preferred to stay out of the spotlight and to myself.

I stare back at the other picture in the corner of the mirror.

It’s a collage from Ethan’s prom and graduation. In the prom picture I look so insecure… I remember being worried that my fat rolls made me hideous. I chuckle sadly as I see something I didn’t notice before: Ethan is staring back at me adoringly.

Another picture is me just staring at him in the same way at graduation.

The other pictures just show how happy and in love we were.

How did it go so wrong?

Stop it. It had to go wrong so that you could get to this version of you, Ellie.

I let out a long sigh and stare back at myself adoringly.

Damn, I am hot.

My dress is a breathtaking creation of midnight blue silk chiffon. It drapes elegantly around my frame, the fabric whispering with each movement. The bodice is adorned with intricate lace detailing, delicate as spiderwebs, cascading down to the slender waistline. The skirt flows in gentle waves, pooling at my feet like a midnight breeze captured in fabric. As I slip into the gown, it envelops me like a second skin, enhancing every curve, every contour.

I turn this way and that before the mirror, admiring the way the gown catches the light, creating an ethereal aura around me. With a satisfied smile, I begin to accessorize, choosing sparkling sapphire earrings that complement the gown's hue and a matching bracelet that glimmers like starlight against my wrist.

With a final glance in the mirror, I sweep my hair up into an elegant chignon, leaving a few soft tendrils to frame my face. A touch of makeup enhances my features, adding a subtle glow to my skin and emphasizing the depth of my eyes.

As I make my way to the charity ball, excitement bubbles within me. The venue is opulent, bathed in the warm glow of chandeliers and the soft flicker of candlelight. But as I step inside, I realize I am alone amidst the sea of masked faces. I feel a pang of nostalgia as I catch sight of familiar silhouettes moving gracefully across the room.

My heart skips a beat as I recognize my brother's distinctive gait among the crowd. Despite the anonymity of the masks, I could pick him out from a thousand faces. And there, clustered around him, are some of our old school friends, laughing and chatting as if no time has passed at all.

Suddenly, a hush falls over the room, and all eyes turn towards the grand foyer. Ethan, as always, knows how to make an entrance. He strides in with an air of effortless confidence, his presence commanding the attention of everyone in the room. Heads turn, whispers flutter through the air like startled birds, and I can't help but feel a surge of pride mixed with a twinge of envy.

He’s still drop dead gorgeous, his black hair shaggy and tousled as though he just got out of bed, but he always makes it look natural. He’s wearing a black mask and a fitted tux that shows off the muscular body he’s worked so hard for.

I’d recognize that walk anywhere. As he turns his head, he reveals that left ear that’s slightly mangled from a bicycle wreck when he was four. But even with a mask on, his eyes give him away. Ice blue intensity as always.

Our eyes meet across the room, and in that instant, it's as if the years melt away, leaving only the raw intensity of our connection. Just like old times, that fierceness softens and it’s like he only sees me.

Those old feelings, buried deep beneath the layers of time and distance, rise to the surface with startling clarity. It's as if we are the only two people in the room, the rest of the world fading into insignificance.

If we were in a romcom, it would be like we’re both on a moving walkway being pulled toward each other quickly.

Damn it, I always thought that was corny and turns out it’s real.

He smiles at me as if we share an instant secret, as if he recognizes me. I turn away quickly, breaking the spell.

I take a deep breath and blow it out, trying to calm myself and push down all of those emotions that are trying to take over.

I definitely notice the warmth that’s pooled between my thighs.

Chill the fuck out, vajayjay. He is not safe to us anymore.

I turn back around and watch as he effortlessly charms his way through the crowd, his laughter ringing out like music in the air.

As usual, everyone flocks to him, drawn by his magnetic charisma like moths to a flame. And yet, amidst the throng of admirers, his eyes continue to come back to mine, a silent promise lingering in their depths.

As he draws closer, the air between us crackles with tension, anticipation hanging heavy like the scent of roses in bloom. My breath catches and my stomach flips.

I’m not ready for this.

I turn on my heel and walk away from him.

Avoid him at all costs!