What happened to her?

These four words kept ringing in my mind bringing back all the painful memories of my life that I have left hidden and buried deep down me.

"Hey! You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Please don't cry ." Ashton consoled me before I realized that few tears had slipped down my cheeks. I sniffed the tears back and rushed to the room I wake up in this morning. With him following right behind.

"Ella please I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any pain, please!" I left the door ajar and buried my face in the pillow.

After what felt like an hour though, in reality, it might have just been ten minutes, I lift my head and he was still there watching me with his forest green eyes. His one's beautiful eyes I saw minutes back before all this started, now dancing with emotions - sadness, probably from him thinking he caused me pain. There was another emotion in his green forest that I couldn't quite catch.

I pat the pace near me on the bed and he walked to me and sat beside me.

"Are you okay?" he murmured

I chose not to answer that because I surely wasn't okay but I don't intend to tell him that.

Flashback

It was my graduation day, and everyone was so happy for me. I graduated with the best grade in my class. After my speech, my elated parents walked up the stage to congratulated me.

But... I sobbed and he put an encouraging arm and put into his warm chest.

But Mum collapsed right before we hugged.

"Mum mum..." I was scared. I rushed and hugged mum unconscious body but she wouldn't bulge.

"Mum.." I cried. My mummy wasn't sick, that much I knew. If she was we would have known right? I reassured myself holding onto mum even when the ambulance man wanted to put her in the ambulance.

At the hospital, we received the most shocking news of our lives. Mum had cancer. She had been living with it for months but not even dad knew. And now she had less than a week to be with us.

All of the sudden all things made sense. Her happy self this past month, her change in the dressing which she claimed back then that she was just trying different things.

How did we as her family not realize that she was dying slowly under our nose? Those were the question i and dad couldn't decipher.

She died three days later, not after apologizing profusely about everything. After her death, everything changed. Dad started drinking and bringing different ladies home every day. My happy home of eighteen years was now shattered and replaced with one, I couldn't breathe in.

One day, I left the place I once called home.

I never heard from him again. I never called, and neither did he.

His best friend Uncle Bill tried to contact me but I cut ties with everyone, family and friends. And I started a new life. I buried my past and began afresh.

End of flashback

"You are always smiling and I never knew you had so much on your plate," Ashton spoke cleaning my tears with the back of his hand.

"Well... Just because someone looks happy doesn't mean they are. I had to go through each day smiling and talking as if everything is okay and normal. I taught myself that I could still smile regardless and Lena was a great help." talking about Lena, I didn't call her to tell her where I was or where she is? How can I be so insensitive?

"I should call Lena to come to get me. " I said lifting my head from his comfortable board chest.

"Not so fast," He said grabbing my face smoothly.

"Why" I raised my brows

"Because I will be dropping you home and about Lena, I already left her a text"

True to his word, when I checked my phone I saw and her reply "

"Ella, I want you to know that, I will always be here for you"

"Thank you, Ash, it means a lot"