Chapter 2 Ella Walker

Ella Walker I pack my bag while looking at what’s spread out on my bed, feeling the presence of my twin brother, Leo. He was quieter than usual, which is rare to see. Unlike me, my brother is much more outgoing, while over the last few years, I’ve pulled away from everything to focus on learning everything Miller needed from me. My father, Tom, is convinced I’ll do well leading Miller, while Leo and Scott handle the administration of Walker here in Paris. "Maybe you’ll find him in Chicago…" I stop packing when I hear the mention of the name that still breaks my heart. Leon Carter, the man who grew up with me, who made my heart fall in love with him, and who, after promising to always stay by my side, simply vanished. It’s been sixteen months and fifteen days. "I highly doubt it. If he wanted to see me, he would’ve come to our house or at least called!" I say, irritated. But inside, anything about him still hurts. "I don’t know, Ella. I think something happened…" I turn to face my brother. Leo is the spitting image of our father. As for me, I look much more like our mother, but with green eyes like our grandmother Emily’s. And Scott, our youngest teenage nerd, is a mix of both our parents. "Why do you think that?" I ask, trying not to show too much curiosity. "Fay…" he says thoughtfully, and I see him sigh. "She messaged me last week saying she missed me." I sit on the bed and watch my brother. I know how much he loves Leon’s sister. And just like that idiot who vanished and left me with our little pointy-eared daughter, his sister seems to have disappeared too. "Maybe his parents were victims of an attempted kidnapping…" I say, feeling a chill down my spine. I see my brother’s expression change, and I believe that for the first time he seriously considered that possibility. Over the past few months, I imagined that Leon had met someone more interesting, someone who had completely given herself to him. As much as I still love him in a way that makes everything inside me hurt, I chose to wait until we could have a relationship approved by our parents. Even though they saw how much we cared for each other, we never talked about anything with them. I sigh as I bend down and pick up Lola in my arms. My white bunny is my companion, and with her in my lap, I cried every time I missed that idiot. "If that were true, our mother would have said something!" I say, stroking my white bunny while looking at my brother. "I don’t know, Ella. Have you noticed that every time the name Carter is mentioned in this house, everyone goes quiet?" he asks. "Of course I noticed, but what could that even mean?" "We have to find out why they distanced themselves from us." "Maybe I’ll try to find something out once I get to our grandparents’ house…" Before I can finish what I’m saying, our mother walks in, followed by Scott, who’s walking around with his tablet and probably in the middle of another chess match. "Are you ready, princess?" Mom asked. I smile and feel my chest warm as I see my mother enter my room, beautiful as always, wearing a forced smile because she’s letting me go off to extend my studies. "Crying again?" I ask, standing up to go to her. "You came out of me, of course I’ll feel it every time one of you leaves the house!" she complains once more. "I can fix that right now and unpack my bags." "No!" she raises her voice, and I’m surprised by her reaction. "I don’t need your grandparents blaming me for keeping you from them." Leo and Scott glance from me to our mother as I try to understand why she reacted that way. I hold my bunny tighter against my chest and sigh when I see her start to relax in my arms. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but your grandmother has already called twice asking if you’ve boarded, and your father is downstairs waiting for us!" I nod and hand Lola to Leo. "I just need to finish packing this bag…" I said, and after exchanging a look with my brother, I went back to what I was doing. I grab my e-reader, the books from my nightstand, and my pill organizer. After Leon disappeared, I ended up being prescribed medication for mild depression and anxiety. I didn’t want everyone to know I was the pathetic teenager who got dumped by the guy she was in love with. So I lied, saying I was feeling overwhelmed with the pressure of college and trying to do my best at Miller, even though there was no real reason for concern. Elisa wouldn’t let anything spiral out of control. My father’s cousin is a fashion designer, just like her mother was, and her kids manage Miller very well. But my dad insists that Walker keeps a close eye on Miller during the bimonthly evaluations. And as always, both companies are thriving under the strict control my father and uncles maintain over them. "I’m sure you’ll be free from them in just a few days!" I smile and grab my bag. Today, Paris is so cold, I’m sure it’s going to snow. I’d say my mood feels the same, cold. As soon as I step off the stairs, I see all the staff lined up, some with tears in their eyes. "Here, I made the cake you love. I packed a few slices for you to eat during the trip!" the house cook says, and I give her a big hug. "Behave yourself. I feel sorry for the bodyguard who’s going with you…" Everyone laughs when Adrien says that and hugs me too. "Her security over there will be way worse than it is here!" my father laughs and pats his friend on the shoulder. "Geez, you all act like I’m not coming back in a few months." I roll my eyes. "You never know… what if you meet someone who makes you fall in love with the place…" Silence falls again, and I notice how tense my father becomes. I might be terribly mistaken, but I get the feeling my parents know something about this trip to Chicago. For now, I decide to let it go and focus only on what I’m going there to do. Once I say goodbye to everyone, we head to the airport. Inside the car, I feel a wave of unease from the farewell. My brother holds my hand tightly while Scott rests his head on my shoulder. "We’ll be there for your birthday!" Scott murmured, pressed against me. "If you’re not there, I’ll be really sad!" I rest my head on top of his. I lift my gaze and meet my father’s eyes, his blue eyes were filling with tears, and for some reason, I knew they were hiding something from me. "You will come visit me, won’t you?" I asked him directly. "Of course we will. As soon as I can get a few things sorted out here, princess," my father said and smiled. But it wasn’t the kind of smile that makes his eyes shine. It was something that seemed to hurt so much he couldn’t put it into words. Our farewell wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. Our pilot informed us that there was a weather alert warning of an approaching storm and that we should leave right away. "If you need anything, just call us!" Mom said and kissed my cheek. "Now listen to me…" My father looked at me. "You don’t owe anything to anyone. If you want to say no, just say it, we’ll all support you, even if I don’t think it’ll be necessary." "Dad, I’m just going to study, not to get married!" I burst out laughing and hugged him. "I love you, Ella, and our home will always be your home…" he stepped back and held my face in his hands. "Never forget that, you will always be a Walker!" "Always, Daddy," I said and stepped into his arms again. I breathed in that familiar scent that was so distinctly my father’s, and before I knew it, I was wrapped in the arms of my whole family. I could hear my mother’s quiet sobs and my youngest brother sniffling as he hugged me. Looking out the airplane window, I saw my family waving at me as I felt the small aircraft, with the company’s name printed on its tail, take off, leaving my home and my loved ones behind. "Here we go, Lola," I said to my bunny. "Let everything be perfect, and, hopefully, let this nagging feeling go away."