Chapter 89
The next morning, Ellie went back to visit her parents and stayed overnight. She returned the following day, her heart feeling heavier with each step she took. During her absence, Alex had sent her a message, telling her she was not allowed to go abroad but offering that she could make any other request. She read his message, but her fingers lingered over the reply button before she decided not to respond.
Later that morning, Ellie went to the bar and told Whitney about her plans to go abroad. At noon, she met Aaron for lunch, trying to force herself to remain calm despite the turbulence within her. After their meal, she returned to her apartment and spent the next few hours cleaning it thoroughly, almost obsessively. As she checked the time, she realized it was almost seven o’clock, leaving her less than two hours until her flight.
Standing in the empty room, Ellie moved instinctively toward the balcony. As she opened the closet there, she stumbled upon a familiar sight: the comics she had drawn in secret—the proof of her long-standing crush on Alex. The drawings were a silent testament to her emotions that had endured for seven years.
When she lived with the Warren family, she had hidden them in various places. When she moved to Jinerity for college, she organized them overnight and locked them in a suitcase. After graduation, when she moved back home, they followed her. And once she settled into this apartment, she tucked them away in the closet, always keeping them close.
Many times, she had considered destroying them, throwing away the past that had never truly let go of her. But every time, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Despite everything, no matter how painful, there was always a place for him—Alex—in her heart.
Her eyes moved to the unfinished comic on the drawing board. Though it was just an outline without features, his face had long been etched in her memory, never fading. She gazed at it for a long time, the silent ache in her chest growing sharper. Without realizing it, tears began to fall again.
With her eyes squeezed shut, Ellie took a deep breath and ripped the drawing in half—tearing away the remnants of a dream she had held onto for far too long.
At 8 PM, Ellie arrived at the airport, set her luggage down, and urged Aaron to go home. “You should go back and rest. I’ll call you when I arrive,” she said, forcing a calm smile.
After Aaron left, Ellie waited in the lounge for her turn at the security check when her phone rang. It was her mother. “Ellie, your father’s fallen and hurt his leg. He’s at the health center,” her mom’s voice trembled on the other end.
Ellie’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly reassured her. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll have someone send the medical booklet back to you right away.”
As soon as she hung up, the announcement for the security check came on, and Ellie hesitated for a moment. Her fingers dialed Whitney’s number.
It was just after 8 PM, the bar starting to fill with people. Whitney answered the call but couldn’t hear Ellie well, so she stepped outside to talk.
“Ellie, don’t worry. I’ll go find it now and have someone drive it to your parents right away,” Whitney reassured her.
Just then, Alex and Layton arrived at the bar.
“What happened to Ellie?” Alex asked, stopping Whitney as she was about to leave.
“Ellie’s dad broke his leg. He’s in the hospital. The medical booklet Ellie got for him is in her apartment. She wants me to get it and bring it to her parents,” Whitney explained.
“I’ll do it,” Alex said without hesitation, and before Whitney could respond, he was already out the door.
He rushed to Ellie’s apartment, but when he arrived, he found it was completely spotless, as if no one had ever lived there. The emptiness in the apartment was stark. He headed straight for the bedroom to search for the medical booklet, but after checking everywhere, he came up empty.
Frustrated, Alex tried calling Ellie, but the call went unanswered.
His anxiety growing, he moved on to the balcony, hoping to find something there. It was neat and quiet—no clothes drying, no potted plants, just an eerie silence.
Then, something caught his eye. He bent down and picked up a torn drawing left behind. It was just one sheet, discarded as if it were nothing. He frowned and tossed it aside, but something in the back of his mind nagged at him. He looked up and noticed a wall cabinet that stood slightly ajar.
Curiosity piqued, he tiptoed over and opened it. To his surprise, sheets of sketch paper fluttered out like snowflakes, falling around him. He bent down, picking up one sheet, and froze.
It was a sketch of a boy’s face—a cartoon-like version rather than a realistic portrait. But what struck him was how familiar it looked. He stared at it for a moment, his heart thumping. Slowly, he picked up more papers, one after another.
They were all pictures of him.
Shocked, Alex continued to collect the scattered papers from the floor. He realized they weren’t just simple sketches—they were detailed, personal drawings of him—drawn over the years.
The room felt suffocating as his mind raced, and he suddenly understood. Ellie hadn’t just cared about him. She had loved him—silently and secretly—for all these years. The drawings were her confessions, her hidden truth.
And in that moment, he felt the weight of everything he hadn’t noticed, everything he had missed, pressing down on him.
