Chapter 3 Ella Walker

Ella Walker Nine hours later, I wake up to the jolt of landing. I slowly open my eyes, pull the hood of my sweatshirt off my face, and glance under the blanket. I smile as I see Lola stretching and extending her little paws. I gently stroke her white fur and hug her a bit tighter against my body. " I miss Perninha too! " I say as she lifts her head and looks directly at me. I saw in her the same sadness I felt every time I thought about Leon. I truly wanted to understand why he had distanced himself so much to the point of not returning my calls or responding to my messages. I tried calling him countless times over the past few months, but all I ever got was his voicemail. Not even Fay or Mrs. Carter returned my messages or answered my calls. That made me believe they had found a bride for the man who still holds my heart. With the aircraft parked, I stand up with my bag and Lola’s, thank the captain and the flight attendant for their service, and step out of the plane, pulling my coat and scarf tighter around me. Unlike Paris, which was cold, here in Chicago it was snowing with a terribly freezing wind. " It's so cold! " I say, picking up my pace toward the car waiting for me. The window rolls down and I see my grandmother. Her green eyes sparkled with the huge smile she gave me. I quicken my steps while the driver loads my bags into the car behind us. " Do you want me to put the animal in the other car, miss? " My grandmother’s driver asks. " Since when do we put children in a separate car from their parents? " I say, clutching Lola’s bag tightly against my chest. I see the driver furrow his brows, and when he realizes what I meant, he bursts into laughter. I walk around the car and get in on the other side, where my grandmother is. " Hi Grandma! " I exclaim happily. " Hi, princess. How was the flight? " She asks, cupping my face in her hands. " Smooth, we slept through almost the entire flight... " I begin to say as I open my bunny’s bag to warm her up a little. " I asked them to prepare a space for Lola in your room. I hope she likes it! " I hug my grandmother again and feel the absence of my grandfather. I was sure he would be there to greet me too. " Is he still sick? " " Just a cold. I’m sure in a few days he’ll be barking orders around the house before heading to Walker. " I started laughing. The ride to the mansion where my grandparents and Aunt Larissa live is a bit farther from the center of big Chicago. Watching the city center and the tall buildings fade behind us while trees take over the landscape is beautiful. I dream of the day I’ll have my own home. I want it to have lots of trees and be similar to the Carter family’s grand mansion. The landscaping of that house is divine. I love the outer gardens, but what completely wins me over are the indoor ones. " Do you already know when your classes start? " Grandma asks as soon as we pass through the gates of the house. " Yes, they’ve already started, actually, but I only go to college on Wednesday. " I say, and before we can say anything else, Charlotte opens the door. " Finally, I’m dying for updates! " I start laughing and get out of the car as my cousin comes to help our grandmother out. " Hi, Lola. " I handed over my little ball of fluff and hugged everyone who came out to welcome me. To my surprise, my uncles were there too, along with my cousins, who seemed to be trying to calm something down I had no clue about. " Hi, princess! " My grandfather approaches. I place Lola’s bag on the couch and walk over to the man who is the reason behind our family’s unity. Noah Walker, at eighty-two years old, is still a sharp man and continues to contribute a great deal to the company he built after my great-grandfather passed it down to him. " Grandpa… " I say, sitting beside him to give him a hug. " I was sure Leo would come. " He says, and I see in his eyes that he doesn't understand why I came alone. " It was just me this time, Grandpa. Remember? Leo is starting to work at the company with Dad, and Mom wouldn’t let Scott come! " I smile and squeeze his hand. I notice the knowing glance he exchanges with Grandma, and then he smiles before tapping his forehead, as if to say his memory failed him. " I’m old, my love. My memory isn’t what it used to be. " " Oh, please. I’m sure you still remember all the Walker numbers perfectly… " That’s enough to make everyone in the room smile. I stayed there in the living room with everyone until almost nightfall. Even though I was tired, I wanted to enjoy the moment. My cousins were excited to have me there, and maybe because I’m rarely around, I was the novelty. " Come on, I’ll walk you to your room. " My cousin Olivia says. " Lucas and I are sleeping over tonight. " I smile, and just as I’m about to ask her to sleep in my room, she continues. " I’m going out to the nightclub here. I think you should come with me! " I turned my head, ready to say no. " It’s The Night Club! " That name makes me freeze in the middle of the east hallway. " What is it? " She asks. A chill runs down my spine, and I have no idea if I’ll go wherever she’s planning to take me Even knowing that the chance of running into Leon is nearly impossible, I’m sure he’s in New York by now, not in Chicago. " I don’t think it’s a good idea. " My cousin stops and looks at me. " Why not? Haven’t you two worked things out yet? " I let out an ironic laugh. " To work things out with someone, they have to at least answer my calls or respond to my messages. He hasn’t done any of that in the past sixteen months. " " Then that’s a sign he doesn’t care about you. Get ready, we’re going out! " Olivia says as she opens the door to my room. To my surprise, the room had been completely set up for Lola. Gently, I place her on the floor and watch her hop around until she reaches an enclosure filled with straw. The space looked like a playground for any animal. I glance over at my suitcases in the corner and think for a moment about going out on my first night here. I had already called my parents, who were now sleeping peacefully, knowing I was surrounded by my cousins. I sit on the floor long enough, watching my little hopper, that I end up deciding to go out and have a little fun. I’m sure Leon has done much more than kiss a few girls while I’ve been here suffering for a love I once believed was mutual. " Mommy’s going to have some fun, since your dad didn’t care about me, or about you, not even once. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find you a new daddy. " I smile and place her gently inside the enclosure. I watch her hop over to one of the little houses and hide inside. " Be good. I’ll be back later. " I run to one of my suitcases and start looking for something to wear tonight. There were so many beautiful pieces in there, and I knew it would be hard to choose just one. I lay a sparkly black dress on the bed, along with a blue one and a green set made of shorts and a crop top. I glance at the clock on the nightstand and sigh. " I think I can take a quick shower… " I rush to the bathroom and take a fast shower. I’m still in my robe doing my makeup when I hear Olivia entering my room. " You’re not ready yet? " She asks. I shake my head. " I can’t decide which one to wear, " I say, glancing at my bed. " The black one, no doubt about it… " I see her narrowing her eyes. " Is that a Dior? " I nod, and she smiles. Now that my cousin is in the room with me, I hurry to get dressed. An hour later, I’m fully dressed and standing in front of the mirror. " You should probably ditch the panties. They're showing through the fabric. " I say, staring at my reflection. The shiny dress ends mid-thigh and is incredibly seductive. One shoulder is bare, and with the plunging neckline, wearing a bra is out of the question. " Let’s go. If Grandma sees us like this, I’m sure she won’t let us leave. " We giggle and tiptoe barefoot down the hallway, trying not to wake anyone. At this hour, I’m certain our grandparents are already asleep. As soon as we step out of the mansion, a car pulls up beside us and I see Lucas opening the door with a smirk. " Did they run out of fabric for that dress? " He asks, eyeing my thighs. " They had plenty. I cut it myself on the way to the car… " Lucas grumbles that he won’t be able to have any fun tonight, since he’ll have to babysit me and his sister, or else our parents would kill him and disinherit him. We arrive at the nightclub owned by Leon’s family, and I’m relieved the security guards at the door know my cousin. They let us in without a problem, and we headed straight to one of the exclusive mezzanines. " I want to dance down there… " I shout, trying to be heard over the music by Lucas, who’s walking behind me. " No way. Wearing that, you’re basically a honey pot for starving bears! " He looks visibly annoyed. " Oh, relax, Lucas. Go find a girl and work off that stress, " Olivia says, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the crowd. " Let’s go, Ella. " I feel the heavy beat of the electronic music and start dancing with my cousin beside me. In no time, two guys are dancing with us. " Comment allez-vous? " I ask the tall guy holding my waist. " How are you? " " Hmm, a French girl. I’d love to take you to bed and find out what your moans sound like! " I roll my eyes and turn to face him. " Je pense que mes gémissements ressemblent à ceux de n'importe quelle prostituée ! " " I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded soooo sexy… " And within seconds, the guy was being dragged away from me. I watch the commotion unfolding in front of us and take a few steps back, looking up to find Lucas. I grab Olivia’s hand and pull her away with me. The last thing I want is to end up on the front page of some gossip site on my first night in Chicago. " What happened? The guy was just about to ask me to go have some fun. " " If we’d stayed there, I’m sure we’d be grounded! " I start laughing, and my cousin agrees. " What did you two get into down there? " My cousin asks. " I don’t know. There was a hot guy dancing with me, and I was almost getting into it when someone dragged him away. " My cousin rolls his eyes, and I get a strange feeling, like someone’s watching me. I turn and start scanning the room, looking for whoever might be staring. I looked everywhere, but I didn’t see anyone. So I go back to dancing with my cousin, who is now sipping her second drink, while I go for my first. I don’t know what this night has in store for me, but it’s the first time I didn’t mind being touched by another man. I may still love Leon, but since he’s clearly made up his mind not to reach out, it’s time I start enjoying my time here.