“Morning, sweetheart,” Nora said as she set a cup of coffee down on the nightstand next to Ella’s bed, in her old room and sat down next to her daughter. “Are you ready to talk about what happened last night?”

“There is nothing to talk about, Mom,” Ella sighed as she made no attempt to move in the bed.

The night before, when Ella had finally picked herself up from the floor, she walked up to Max’s room. She wished he was there because she needed to see the one thing in her life that kept her grounded. Suddenly her heart ached and she simply had to see him. She hurried back down to the hallway and pulled her phone from her bag then called her dad’s number.

“Hello,” he croaked and Ella realised she had woken him up.

“Daddy, it’s me,” Ella sniffed as she was unable to hold back the tears. “Can you come and get me please?”

“Ella?” Henry said, his voice suddenly clearer and Ella knew he was now wide awake. “Sweetheart, what is it, what’s happened?”

“Nothing’s happen, Dad,” Ella sobbed. “I just want to come home.”

“Where are you?” He asked as Ella could hear him moving.

“I’m at my house,” she replied. “I just want to come home.”

“I’m on my way, Sweetheart,” Henry said before the phone went dead. Ella packed two bags. One for Max and one for herself. She needed time to think and she knew that staying there in her house, she wouldn’t get it. She was too close to Nate. Right then she needed to be somewhere she knew he couldn’t get to her.

“Ella,” Nora said as she watched her daughter lying in the bed, staring into space. “Is this to do with Nathan?”

“I’m just tired, Mom,” Ella sighed. “I promise, I’m okay.”

“Ella, you’re far from okay,” Nora replied. “Please talk to me. Did something happen?”

“No,” Ella said as the tears began to burn her eyes once again. “Nothing happened.”

“Then what is it, Ella?” Nora begged. “Because you have me worried sick.”

“It’s nothing,” Ella snapped and instantly regretted it. “I’m sorry, Mom. I just need to figure some stuff out.”

“Okay,” Nora said and smiled as she leaned forward and kissed her daughters head. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ella replied and gave her mother a grateful smile.

Nora stood up and walked towards the door.

“Mom,” Ella called out as she turned over to face her mother, stopping Nora in her tracks. She turned back to Ella and looked at her expectantly. “Is it okay if Max and I stay here for a few days?”

“You know you never have to ask that, Ella,” Nora replied. “You know you and Max are welcome here for a long as you want. This is still your home, it always will be. Remember, family takes care of family.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ella smiled gratefully. Nora turned to leave but stopped again and turned back to Ella.

“Brandon will be here later,” she said and Ella could see the worry in her face.

“I see,” Ella replied, unsure of what else she should say. She knew her mother was upset that she and her brother hadn’t spoken in a couple of weeks and she was desperate for them to sort things out.

“Maybe you and he could have a chat?” Nora suggested. “Maybe clear the air.”

“Okay, Mom,” Ella nodded and smiled once again.

“Max is down stairs with your dad,” Nora continued. “He doesn’t know you’re here, so why don’t you try and get a little more sleep. It will do you good.”

“Okay,” Ella replied as her mother turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone once again.

She lay there on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she had done so many times growing up there. This room held so many memories, some good, some bad but all will stay with her for the rest of her life.

She remembered the night she came home from hospital with Max. She sat next to his little crib and stared at him for hours in this room, as she cried tears of both happiness and heartbreak.

She had never felt love like she felt when she looked at her little baby sleeping, but her heart was breaking because she wished more than anything that Nate could love him as well.

Now he did, and he said he loved her too, but Ella didn’t know what to think. She loved him, the truth was she always had, but she was scared. For them to be together, it meant the end of a marriage. Granted, their marriage was in trouble long before Ella even came into the equation, but she had been raised to believe marriage was for life. That it was about facing your problems and working through them together. She didn’t know if she could be the reason they stopped trying.

She closed her eyes and remembered how it felt to be in Nate’s arms the night before. If being with him was so wrong, why did it feel so right?

Ella knew she could try and move on, but Nate had gotten beneath her skin. He was what she wanted.

Suddenly her phone beeped on her nightstand. Ella opened her eyes, reached out and picked it up. She wasn’t surprised that it was a message from Nate.

I’m sorry about last night. Can we talk? N x.

Ella stared at it for a moment and thought about her reply. The longer she stared at the phone, the more she struggled to find the words. In the end, she just closed the phone and set it back on the nightstand.

She pushed back the bed clothes and got out of bed. Lying there wasn’t helping. She needed to be with her son, and focus on what was the most important thing to her.

After a quick shower, Ella got dressed and made her way down stairs to where her mother and Max were in the kitchen, baking brownies.

“Hey, Noodle,” Ella said as she walked into the kitchen. “What are you doing?”

“Making cakes,” Max replied as he licked the spoon.

“Can I help?” Ella asked as she sat on a stool across from her mother and her son.

“Yep,” he replied as he stuck his spoon into his little bowl and started to mix it again.

Ella picked up the roll of grease proof paper and tore a large piece off, then placed it into the baking tin.

“Where’s Dad?” Ella asked as she looked up at her mother and gave her a questioning look.

“He is gone down to the station house,” Nora replied with a smile. “He spends more time down there than he did before he was retired.

“I think he misses the good old days,” Ella laughed.

“It was hard for him to retire so young,” Nora sighed with a sad smile. “But the damage he did to his back when he had his accident left him with little choice.”

Ella’s father had retired six years earlier. He had been in a big accident that had left him with a broken back which meant he could no longer do the job he loved. When it first happened, the doctors weren’t sure he would even walk again, but thankfully that was not the case and her father made a pretty good recovery, but the damage was done.

He had been offered a desk job, but he declined, knowing his heart belonged in the field with the rest of his fire house.

“How was your night with Ruby?” Nora asked, and Ella knew that her mother was hoping she would open up and tell her what happened.

“Good,” Ella replied without offering anything else. “But I’m paying for it today, my head is pounding.”

“It would do you good to get out more,” Nora sighed knowing that her daughter wasn’t ready to talk. As the three worked together, Ella’s phone beeped with several more messages, but she chose not to check them. She knew they would be from Nate, but she just wanted space.

A couple of hours later, Henry arrived home and made his way straight into the kitchen.

“Something smells good,” he said as he walked in and kissed Ella, then Max, and finally Nora.

“You can have some after your dinner,” Nora said as she patted Henry’s stomach. “You know what the doctor said.”

“When were you at the doctor?” Ella asked looking at her father.

“The other day,” Henry replied and smiled. “Don’t worry, it was just a check-up. Doc said I need to watch my figure because of my back. I told him, I leave it to your mom to watch my figure.”

He grinned and winked at Nora, as Ella rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Oh, I brought your car over,” Henry said as he pulled her keys from his pocket. “I picked them up in the house last night. I figured when I saw the bags, you would be staying a while, and you would need your car.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Ella said as she walked around the counter and kissed him on the cheek. Just then, her phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket and saw Nate’s name flashing on the screen. Ella didn’t answer, instead she slipped it back into her pocket.

“Who was that?” Henry asked as he watched Ella closely.

“No one important,” she replied and forced a smile.

“I thought it might have been Nate,” Henry said cautiously. “He was at your front door when I went by to collect the car.”

“Was he?” Ella asked, trying to seem as casual as she possibly could. “Cool.”

“He seemed a little upset,” Henry said. “He asked if I knew where you were.”

“What did you say?” Ella asked worried her father may have made things worse.

“I said you had gone to stay with friends for a few days,” Henry replied, surprising Ella. “I figured if you wanted him to know where you are, you would tell him.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Ella replied and gave him a grateful smile.

“Sweetheart,” Nora sighed. “I wish you would tell us what happened last night.”

“Nothing happened, Mom,” Ella replied. “I promise, I just need a break from everything. Nate has done nothing wrong, he is a good guy…”

To her horror her vision blurred with unshed tears.

“I just need time to think,” she continued as she quickly blinked back the tears. “That’s all.”

“Okay,” Nora replied and Ella knew her mother wanted to push her further and she was grateful that she didn’t.

Ella sat on the back porch and watched Max play in the backyard. She wanted to help her mother with dinner, but her mother had insisted she sat out the back with a bottle of beer and relaxed.

She pulled out her phone and opened her text messages. There was several from Nate and one from Ruby. She opened Nate’s first.

Please let me know you’re okay. N x.

She opened the next one.

Ella, I’m getting worried, please call me back. N x.

The third one made Ella feel like a complete shit.

I’m sorry. Please just call me. I’m freaking out. N x.

The final one near broke her heart.

Ella please, tell me what I need to do. I’m sorry for pushing so hard, it’s just I love you and I love Max. Please don’t take him away. I don’t want you to vanish on me again. Please call me. N x.

Ella had to choke back her tears. She knew ignoring him was wrong, but she just needed some breathing space. She loved him, rightly or wrongly but she needed to be sure that he knew what he would be giving up to be with her, because the truth was, she wasn’t sure he did.

She tapped in a response to Nate and hope she could find the words to set him at ease.

Hi, sorry I haven’t responded. Nate, you don’t have to be sorry, you’ve done nothing wrong. I just need some time to clear my head. I will be away for a few days, but I promise I will be back. I would never take Max from you. We can talk when I get back. E x

Ella hit send and put her phone back into her pocket.

“Mom said you were out here,” Brandon said from the back door, startling Ella.

“She insisted she didn’t need my help,” Ella smiled knowing what her mother was doing. “But I think now that she was playing peacemaker.”

“Maybe,” Brandon laughed as he walked out further and sat down on the swing next to her. Ella offered him her bottle of beer and he took it and took a swig, before handing it back. “Thanks.”

“No worries,” Ella replied then a silence fell between them both for a few minutes.

“So, how have you been?” Brandon asked as he gave her a quick sideways glance.

“You don’t want to know,” Ella sighed.

“I do,” Brandon insisted as he turned and looked at Ella properly. “Of course, I do.”

“Well,” Ella said and took a deep, steadying breath. “Max knows Nate is his Dad. They are getting on great. He has also met his two sisters and he seems to like them too.”

“That’s good, right?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah,” Ella nodded and smiled.

“And how is it for you?” Brandon asked.

As if on cue, her phone beeped and Ella new it would be Nate replying to her text. She just sighed but didn’t pick it up.

“Aren’t you going to get that,” Brandon asked.

“I already know what it says,” Ella sighed again.

“Oh,” Brandon replied.

“Like I said,” she said as she took a long swig of her beer. “You don’t want to know.”

“So are we okay,” Brandon asked as he gave her a nervous smile. “I mean, I know I acted like an asshole, but I love you and Max, I’m just worried about you.”

“We’re both okay,” Ella said and forced a smile. “I promise.”

“Okay,” Brandon replied with a smile as he stood up. “Now I’m going to go and see my favourite little man.”

Ella smiled and watched her brother head down the backyard to where her son was, she then picked up her phone and opened the message from Nate.

If that’s what you want.

Ella was a little surprised by his reply. She knew he was upset, but she didn’t know what to think. She sighed as she closed the message and she spotted the message from Ruby. She pressed the screen to open it and began to read.

Hi, Ella. I called Xander and he is free Thursday, so he is collecting you at eight. I gave him your address. Have fun xx.

FUCK!! She screamed in her head. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. What the hell was she going to do now?