2 Chapter 2

Ella couldn't breathe. Her eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall any second. She felt the air leave her lungs due to the compressive force that had now engulfed the circumference of her chest.

"Mom, can't...breathe." She choked out.

"Oh," her mother loosened her grip and pulled back so she could look at the girl in front of her. Smiling sheepishly, she said, "I am sorry, dear, I just got carried away."

"I'm not leaving forever. I will come visit whenever I can. I promise!"

"I know, I know. I just..." she sniffles, "I cannot believe you grew up so fast."

"Oh, trust me, she most definitely did not grow up too fast." Their little moment was interrupted by a tall, burly man. His green eyes twinkled with excitement as he saw his wife and daughter embraced in a goodbye hug. "Now let the girl go. If it were up to you, you would not have even sent her to school in the first place, woman!" t

The woman in question gave her husband a disapproving scowl. "Oh, come now, darling, do not be mad at me. She is the one leaving you." The man jested as he hugged his daughter. He ran his free hand through his brown hair and grinned at the fierce blonde haired creature in front of him.

"Oh, just you wait, Mr. Brown." She threatened.

"What did I do?" he said, playing innocent. "Did I do anything, Ellie?"

Ella shook her head with a smile. She could never tire of her parents' antics. They were the most fun loving people she had ever met. They fought like cats and dogs, but loved each other like there was no tomorrow. Ella had always dreamed of a love like theirs.

"I am just going to college. Not moving away forever." She said.

"Yes, but you will not be home anymore. I won't see you every day, wake you up, feed you breakfast, or drive you to school." Her mother felt tears streaking her face. Soon enough, there was a sniffles from the man in the room, and just like that, the family of three was in tears as they clung to each other.

"I'm not dying," Ella chuckled through her tears.

A knock on the door pulled the little family out of their heartfelt moment. Ella pulled away from her parents and wiped her tears. "I will get the door," her father said, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder, "you go upstairs and finish packing." Ella nodded and made her way up the stairs. As she was zipping up her last suitcase, she heard boisterous laughter coming from the living room. Her lips pulled into a smile as she realized that this was probably the last time she would be able to experience the joy of the Brown household before she went off to college. She kept telling herself that she would visit, but deep down in her heart, she knew that living with her parents and visiting them were two very different things.

"Need help with that?" she turned around to find the person she had spent countless hours with ever since the two were born. Memories of building forts and tree houses with the green eyed, blonde haired human being that now stood in front of her, flashed through her mind. She couldn't help the way her lips parted to reveal a toothy smile as she hauled herself in a hug with the boy. "Whoa, whoa. Why the tears? You're not going to die, for God's sake!" she could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her being overly sentimental.

"I am just going to miss you, is all." Ella replied sheepishly as she pulled back to look at her friend.

"Well, you should. I am one of a kind after all!" It was Ella who rolled her eyes this time. "When do you leave?"

"In about half an hour, I have to say goodbye to Mrs. Vanderbilt, too."

"Ugh, Mrs. Vanderbilt," he made a gagging sound, "I hate that old hag. Why do you like her so much?"

That earned him a playful slap on the shoulder as Ella scowled at him in disapproval. "I hate when you talk about her that way. Besides, she's ¹lonely and needs a friend."

"No, what she needs is a nurse, not a damn friend." He added, rolling his eyes.

"I hope they get stuck in the back of your head, Jack." Ella narrowed her eyes at him, but Jack simply grinned in response. Deciding that the green eyed monster in front of her would not change his view on the topic, she sighed and grabbed her suitcase to take it downstairs with the rest of the luggage. She huffed as she pushed Jack, walking past him.

"Oh, come on! You're not seriously going to be mad at me because of that hag, are you?" That only caused Ella to turn around on the stairs and glare at her best friend. Jack held his hands up in surrender and said, "Fine, I won't say anything about her if that's what you want." He could see that Ella was unconvinced. The foot she impatiently tapped on the step was a clear indication. He sighed. "Alright, what do you want me to do that will make you forgive me?" With that, Jack saw the heart stopping, gleeful smile that spread across her face. Somewhere in that dazzling smile, he could detect a certain amount of mischief and triumph, and that was when he realized that he had played right into her trap. "I am not going to like this one bit, am I?" She shook her head. "Alright, out with it. What is it that you want me to do?"

"I want you to check on Mrs. Vanderbilt," Jack groaned when he heard what Ella asked for. He had feared this exact thing. "She needs to take her meds regularly, and she forgets them and someone needs to make sure that she takes on them time and..." Jack didn't bother listening to the rest of her instructions. He grabbed the bag Ella was holding and huffed as he descended the stairs.

"I freaking knew it!" he muttered.

"Jack are you even listening?" Ella asked as she trailed behind him, entering the kitchen. "I need you to look after her, please." She pleaded. Jack sighed heavily as he poured himself glass of water.

"Okay, fine, whatever."

"Oh, my God!" Ella exclaimed as she hugged him tight, expressing her gratitude. "You're the best neighbour/best friend ever!"

"I'm your only friend." He pointed out as she moved back, slapping his arm.

"Hey! I have other friends!" she defended.

"Oh yeah, who? Mrs. Vanderbilt?" he snorted, earning another slap to the shoulder.

"Ready, peanut?" Mr. Brown asked as he made his way into the kitchen. He held one of those sports magazines he loved to read and was flipping through it simultaneously.

"Yeah, dad. I just need to check on Mrs. Vanderbilt before I leave. I will be back in ten minutes." She said, opening the back door to walk to the old neighbour's house.

"Just don't take too long, otherwise you will miss your flight!" he called after her. "I swear, I don't know what she sees in that cranky old woman."

"Tell me about it!" Jack added. "She assigned me to be her nurse!" Mr. Brown laughed at the fact that poor old Jack was now stuck with the very lethal Mrs. Vanderbilt. It would indeed be interesting to see Mrs. Vanderbilt smack him like she loved to do whenever he would visit.

♤

"Mrs. Vanderbilt?" Ella called out as she entered the house with her key. The old lady had given her the key so that she could come and go as she pleased. She knew that Ella wouldn't leave her alone. The young blue eyed girl was hell bent on helping her feel less lonely. Although,. Mrs. Vanderbilt hated company, she enjoyed how the girl cared for her. She would never admit it out loud, but she enjoyed herself when Ella came to visit.

"Still don't have any friends?" she said from her usual seat on the recliner in front of the television. Ella smiled as she saw the old woman bundled up in her shawl. She would miss this sight.

"Hi, Mrs. Vanderbilt. How are you today?" Ella sat on the sofa beside her and held her hand. It was burning hot, as it had always been. She always found it so peculiar that a person like her, who was always cold, felt so warm to touch.

"Same as always." She sassed.

"I'm glad." Ella paused.

"Something is wrong." The elderly woman said it as a statement rather than a question.

"I'm leaving for college today. In a few minutes." She didn't miss the flicker of sadness that appeared in Mrs. Vanderbilt's eyes, but she quickly masked it and put on her usual persona of indifference. "I came to say goodbye."

"You are not dying." She deadpanned. Ella couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her chest. The old lady was truly a breath of fresh air. "Where are you going?"

"St. Collins'."

"Ah! It is a really good school. I am proud of you, my annoying girl." Ella chuckled and thanked her. "Who knows, maybe an extraordinary adventure awaits." She winked, making Ella chuckle again. "Does that mean I will finally be free of you and your nagging?"

"Not even close," Ella stood up, "I have my replacement ready," she said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh good God!" Mrs. Vanderbilt threw her skinny arms in the air, exasperated. "Do not say who I think you are about to say."

"Jack," Ella bit her lip to stifle the grin that threatened to break free.

"Oh, Lord, take me now!"

Ella laughed and made her way out of the house. "Goodbye, Mrs. Vanderbilt, stay safe!" she called out as she heard her muttering about Jack being too loud and alive for her taste. Walking on the street back to her house, Ella couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. A tingling sensation rose at the back of her neck and she felt her palms become sweaty. She stopped for a second and looked around. All she saw was the dog across the street and a couple of children playing a few houses down. Brushing it off as just nerves, Ella went back to her own house to say her final goodbyes.

"Call every day! And every weekend! And you have to come home for the holidays! No excuses."

"Yes, mom. Don't worry. I will be back every chance I get." Ella said from the driver's seat of her car. Her backseat and trunk were full of boxes and suitcases and books that she would be needing for college.

"Bye!"

"We love you!"

"See ya!"

With the blessing of her family, she drove off onto the highway, onto a new life. Hopefully, to an extraordinary adventure, like Mrs. Vanderbilt predicted.

♤

Ella's first day at college was something she had dreamed of her entire life. Much to her dismay, it lacked all the luster and hype that had been created about the day and the college experience as a whole.

"Name?" the uninterested voice caused Ella to look up from her file that she had tightly clutched in her hand. She looked up to see a woman in her mid fifties, with triangular reading glasses. Did they even sell those now? I've only seen them on cartoon characters. The glasses were perched on the bridge of her nose, giving her a stern outlook. Her silver hair, as expected, was tied up in a tight bun at the base of her neck. Ella quickly snapped out of her trance and handed the woman the file she had been holding, and said her full name, "Aurelia Luna Brown."