Page 29 of Willows and Waterlilies

“I spent the last few hours buying up every one of those gossip papers that I could,” he says sadly. “Do with them what you want. I wanted to save your dignity, as well as my own. And Miss Carter?”

Helena suddenly gets to her feet after having obviously watched this horrendous scene, and stands to attention, looking almost terrified. Elijah walks sadly up to her and hands her a small envelope, the size of a card you would find in a bouquet.

“Mr Hastings asked me to give you this,” he says and passes it over to her outstretched hand, which looks as if it’s now trembling.

“Thank you,” she barely manages to whisper, and immediately shuffles it under her desk.

“Elijah?” I call out as he begins to walk past me.

“Goodbye, Miss Russo,” he says, and continues walking.

As I watch him leave, I begin to feel as though I’ve lost a limb, like my whole life has just left without me. He grows smaller, and I soon feel a presence beside me. I turn to face whoever it is, only to find Helena standing there. She’s not been this close to me since we were kids, but now I see it; we do look much alike, a little fairer than her brothers, but still very much showcasing our Italian heritage.

“Ellie, if I may, I’d like to know why you’re still standing here?” she asks softly.

“Because I don’t know if I’ll survive it if he proves to be like all the others,” I whimper. “I care about him too much.”

“Far be it from me to offer advice on relationships, but I have always been very good at observing what others take for granted. This is not the image of a man who wants to be a part of this kiss,” she says, holding a copy of the paper out in front of us. “This is the image of a man who has no idea what is about to happen to him. This is a man who is, in his own right, not one of the people who have hurt you in the past.”

“God, I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

“We can all be accused of that when it comes to love,” she says wisely, “what makes us tragic is when we let it slip away.”

“What happened to you, Helena?” I ask while she remains staring at Elijah’s retreating form.

“Nothing that anyone wants to hear about,” she says with a small, fake smile on her face. “Now, go, before you lose something you won’t know the true value of until it’s too late.”

“You’re right,” I say resolutely and turn to hug her. She immediately tenses up, unable to hug me back, and I realize how thin she is. “That story, Helena, I want to hear it one day.”

She merely smiles before returning to her desk, where she sits down as if nothing has happened. I watch her with quiet fascination for a second or two before I shake myself out of it and bolt for the door.

Elijah

As I turn the corner, down a side street where no one will see me break down, I find an old garbage truck and begin kicking and punching it like a mindless thug. I’m beyond gutted; I thought she’d listen, thought she’d believe me when I explained everything, but she didn’t, not at all, not-

“Elijah!” I hear her shouting from the entrance to the side street. I whip my head up to find her panting for breath, all the while brushing away tears from her cheeks. My heart feels like it’s come to a complete standstill inside of my aching chest. It doesn’t start beating again until she begins running toward me like her life depends on it.

“Ellie, what are you doing?” I ask, now shaking away the pain I just inflicted on my fists.

“I trust you,” she blurts out, “and I believe you completely. I was just scared because of…well, everything, and I couldn’t stand it if you-“

“You believe me?” I ask with shock in my voice.

“One hundred percent; I’m all in,” she tells me. I literally laugh out loud before slamming my lips on top of hers, all the while taking in her scent, her fluster, and just her, all of her.

“Ellie Russo, for once, I am speechless!” I tell her when we pull apart just enough to be able to look at one another and only one another.

“Then tell me something off the cuff, without pre-planning it,” she says with a beaming smile on her face.

“I love you,” I tell her without hesitance. “We might not have been together long, but I already know I love you and only you.”

“And now I can finally admit I love you, all of you, Mr Woods.”

Epilogue

Helena

The card slips between my fingertips haphazardly while I contemplate whether or not to open it. After all, what good would it do? I am not the girl I once was, haven’t been for a long time. Come to think of it, I don’t feel like I am anyone anymore. Helena Carter is just a name, a memory, a label written across my security pass. And I know, I know with every fiber of my being, that whatever is inside this envelope is going to be so painful, I shall lose just a little bit more of myself.

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