The story of Ellie and Aiden from His Everything continues in Their Forever.
Accompany the two young people on their journey full of self-discovery, opportunities, true friends, and more challenges they will have to overcome.
They say true love know...
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August
The smell of crêpes in the small restaurant made my mouth water.
I probably ordered too much food, but hungry as I was, I felt I could eat all of it. To be honest, my appetite was absent more often than not lately. I ate because I had to, but often the lunchtime passed unnoticed, and I was too lazy to fix myself a decent dinner in the evening. Tonight, that wasn't the case.
"Are you happy?" Victor asked, seeing me smile as I was taking in my surroundings.
"Yes, and I wanted to thank you—"
"Ellie, please. We've talked about it already. Nothing to thank me for. Do you like Paris? Are you happy in France?"
"The city's fantastic."
"But?"
I took a sip of my juice. "I guess some days are lonelier than others. I miss my mom and my home sometimes."
"Is she the only person you miss?" Victor looked at me in a way that made it really hard to lie.
"No. I miss Aiden. I haven't heard from him since April. I'm sure he forgot about me, and I know I shouldn't miss him. I have my pride after all, but I can't help it."
"You never told me what happened."
Tired of keeping it to myself, of not having anybody to talk to, I told Victor about the trial and seeing Aiden's father, about Sam and Michael, about my birth mom and dad and their life before it all collapsed. I mentioned the house I inherited, the articles, and meeting detective Hutches as well as the mistake my uncle said he'd made.
I unloaded months' worth of my worries on Victor, and it felt liberating.
"Have you talked to Steve since?"
"Not really. He seems to be avoiding me. We text, but he's always busy and he cuts it before I manage to ask anything of importance."
"How was he with Aiden lately? Same as in December?"
"No, no. They were getting along well."
Victor cut his galette and took a bite, frowning.
We ate for some moments before restarting the conversation.
"I'm sorry that it had to be like that, Ellie."
"It's okay, Victor. People fall in and out of love. Aiden's eighteen, he could've met another girl already. You've seen him, you know he's handsome and smart. Maybe there's someone out there who's better for him. He didn't get in touch; I guess he got tired of all the drama with me, my family, his father. I can't really blame him. He's been through a lot, and maybe he just wanted to escape and start over with someone new."
I wiped the tear with my thumb discreetly.
Victor handed me a napkin, and his eyes studied my face.
