Chapter 49
Looking at the date and words above, Alex easily recalled the memory–this drawing was from the time when it was raining, and Ellie fell in the garden. He had lifted her with one hand and tossed her into the outdoor pool, telling her to wash off before coming back up
He picked up another one, which was from when he had been tutoring Ellie in math, and he fell asleep at her desk with her clothes ever his head.
Then he picked up another photo and remembered the time he took her out. She had got tired but hadn’t said anything, so he ended up carrying her all the way home.
Then there was a third picture that brought back the memory of when the left for college in Jinerity. He playfully rugged on her ear, teasing her for being ungrateful
Alex didn’t expect that Ellie would have recorded every little memory between them in the Warren Manor over the years in this way. Suddenly, he thought of something and frantically searched through the pile of drawings.
He pulled out that picture from the stack, the one torn in half and unfinished. The one where his face wasn’t drawn, with the bottom left corner smudged and the date in the top right corner July 6th
He remembered that day. It was when he went to find Ellie at the hospital to ask her to help him woo Haley:
I’m sorry, Alex. Ion’t help you with this. That was what she had said when she first turned him down.
“I’ve rented a place, so I won’t bother everyone at home anymore. That was the first time she had left and hadn’t gone back home.
I’m sorry. I was wrong. That was outside the Earl Hotel late at night and for the first time, he noticed that her apologizing eyes showed clear distance from him.
“So what if I’m dead? It’s just worthless Besh and bones” That was the first time, when he had left her in the rain to pick up Haley, she had sneered at him in the hospital after falling through the sewer grate.
“My answer remains the same. You all have treated me well, but you’re not my family. That was what she shouted at him during their fight when he tried to make her move back to the Warren Manor. It was the first time she had lost her temper and told him the Warren family would never be her family.
“If I had the choice, I’d rather starve than join the Warren family. That was at Haley’s birthday party, when he threw away the engagement ring Aaron had given Haley. It was the first time Elie admitted she regretsed joining the Warren family.
“Send me abroad, as far away as possible.” That was when he went to the hospital to fulfil the promise he had made to her. It was the first time he saw such deep sadness and hopelessness in her eyes as she cried out.
Alex came into the living room with a piece of paper, found a pen, and started sketching the messy lines on the paper. Finally, he realized what was hidden beneath those chaotic lines–a weed.
“You don’t think I bought it for you do you! Only the delicate roses are good enough for Haley, but for someone like you a weed seems just right.” That was what he had said to Ellie while he was pursuing Haley. He could never imagine what kind of expression Ellie had at that moment.
It felt as if a pen had suddenly pierced straight into Alex’s heart, giving him an unexpected, dull pain deep inside. He was an adult now, and he knew what these things meant
Alex called Whitney. I felt like something was stuck in his throat, and it took him a moment to finally speak, I couldn’t find it. Where is she now?” His voice was a bit hoarse and carried a slight tremor. He stared at the torn picture on the coffee table, his eyes slightly red.
“Ellie went abroad. You didn’t know that She’s probably boarding the plane now,” Whimey replied. Before she could finish speaking, Alex had already hung up, dashing our of the apartment with red eyes like a madman.
14
Vouchers
Vouchers
