Chapter 1 - Ella
The ran battered down on me in the middle of the night while I slowly approached the house in front of me. Behind me, a couple cars passed by, the sound of the road roaring in my head. I stood in the rain, my clothes soaking in the water. Staring up at the house, I readied myself to walk up to it. The cold air hit my lungs, spiking pain all throughout my body. I shook my head a couple times and gulped, letting my boots hit the gravel as I made my way to the red door.
Softly raising my hand in a fist, I debated if it was worth it all. What if he hated me? Am I going to be a burden? All the air escaped my lungs as I gently knocked on the door. The cold from the rain made my body shake. I glanced down at my feet, waiting in fear.
A moment later, the lock on the door clicked and opened, bathing me in light. I refused to look up. “Hey,” I started, my voice quivering and stuttering, “I know you-you probably are bus-busy and are not in a social mood but I- I just had to see you.” Another moment passed and I glanced up. My heart raced, thinking I showed up at the wrong person’s home. “I’m-I’m sorry.”
He stood in the doorway, tall and intimidating. He looked at me, confused. “Ella? What are you doing here?” He glanced at the watch on his wrist, holding a simple glass with an amber liquid in that hand. “It’s 2 in the morning.” His heavy accent carried through the air to me. “Even in this rain, you shouldn’t be out this late.”
“I know. I know I shouldn’t be out here, or even in this country. I just had to see you.” My fingers screamed at me as I picked at my nails. I glanced back down, unable to look into his icy eyes.
“Come inside. You’ll freeze to death. You are shivering like a skeleton. By the gods it’s cold out there.” He stepped aside, opening the door a bit more.
I stepped inside slowly. “Thank-Thank you.” I stared at the wooden floor.
“Let me get you a towel.” He set the glass down in the entryway and walked down the nearby hall, then opened a door. A moment later, he walked back carrying a white towel, handing it to me.
“Thanks.” I took a shaky breath. “I should have called first..”
“How? You don’t have my number.” He said, his words slightly slurring together. He grabbed his drink, walked into the front room, sat on the couch, set his feet on the coffee table. He drank the full glass, then set it on the coffee table. “So, what’s the craic?”
“I’m sorry? What?”
“Sorry.” His accent dropped and was replaced with an American accent. “What’s up?”
I shook my head, not used to the switch. “I uh-” I hesitated, “Well I wanted to-to see you.”
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“Why? Not much here.”
“Look sir-”
“Where is this ‘Sir’ coming from? Just because I’m older than you doesn’t mean anything. Gods.” He looked at me. “Are you going to come sit down? Or just ominously stand in my doorway?”
I nodded slightly, walking towards the couch. Drops of water followed behind me with every step. “Are you sure I should sit on your couch?”
“It’s just water, plus it’s not like ya are gonna be dying on my couch. It can be cleaned.”
Slowly, I folded the towel, set it on the couch, and sat down on the towel. “Okay.”
“So what’s the craic? Why come here? How did you find me? Most importantly, what do you want?”
I flinched at the words, my mind screaming and telling me I’m angering him. “Well, I just wanted-wanted to see you again”.”
“After all these years? Even after coming all the way across the ocean from America? You picked Ireland? Of all the places?”
“Yes-Yes, because you are here. I wanted to see you.”
He took a moment to digest that, then simply poured more liquid into the small cup. “Want a drink?”
“What is it?”
“Whiskey.”
“No thank you.” I almost gagged at the thought. “I don’t drink.”
There was a click from him, then a whistle. His hand shook a bit while holding the bottle. “Alright. Now why are you really here?”
I stared at him. “I wanted to see you. I miss you. Grammy gave me your address.”
He sighed, setting the bottle down and taking the glass back into his hand. “I gave her my address because she started cursing me out in Italian if I didn’t. She’s been sending stuff constantly.”
I gave a small chuckle. “Sounds like my Grammy for you. Even though you no longer live with her, she’ll still want to care for you.”
He laughed in response. “She’s more helping the little gremlins.”
‘Wait, did you get poss- possession of River and Harper?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Took a lot of fighting in your courts, plus having to convince Lauren. Yet, I managed to get custody of my children.”
“That’s great. Are they here at the moment?”
“You’re ignoring my questions with your own. Why are you in Ireland?”
“To-To see you.”
“Bullshite. Why are you really here?”
“I,” I paused, taking a shaky breath. “I had to get away from Max.”
“You’re still dating him?”
I looked down, picking at my fingers again. “I actually got-got married to him-him.”
Silence filled the air, making it feel like the minutes turned to hours.
“Married?”
“Yeah. Last spring.” My voice quivered.
“Good for you? I guess? Even though he’s a total eejit.”