Forever and Always

~1~

The same exact fucking thing. Absolutely nothing had changed. It was almost as if the beautiful view was mocking her at this point. No matter how much she stared out across the city nothing clicked. Even though she came to the same place every single day, without fail, nothing changed. It infuriated her to no end. She knew it meant something to her. It was significant to her. It held meaning to her. She just didn't know why. 

She pulled her scarf closer to her hoping to fight off the cold. Even though it was starting to get dark out her bright shining cerulean orbs hid behind a big pair of sunglasses which took up a large amount of her face, hoping not to be recognized. The lengths she went through to avoid being recognized was astonishing. You would have thought she was spy on some sort of covert mission which how much effort she put into remaining hidden.

She stayed for another minute hoping something would catch her eye. Something that would spark something deep in the depths the of her mind. But she is sadly disappointed as it remains like all her other visits with nothing coming to mind.

Deciding not to dwell any longer she walks towards the elevator. She rolls her eyes at the couple blatantly making out by the railing near the elevator.

She understood that they were on the Eiffel Tower in the most romantic city in the world but seriously?

She swiftly moved past them and rode the elevator down to street level. She looked out the windows as she rode down like she always did. The familiar feeling of sadness washed over her. She always felt like this when her visits proved fruitless. She came here because she felt drawn to the place. For some reason Paris just called to her. And she felt that same pull and force of attraction when she saw the Eiffel Tower. She came here hoping it would help jog her memory. And no matter how many times she was disappointed, she still came back everyday.

Honestly it was kinda pathetic how hopeful she remained after all the failed attempts. But she just couldn't shake it. She wanted to know what happened here that made it so important to her but after all this time are her attempts futile? Should she just give up?

She was snapped out her daydream by the ping followed by the elevator door's opening. She brushes past a couple waiting for the elevator but she didn't make it far as someone grabs her wrist. She flinches and pulls her arm out of their hold but stops rubbing her wrist. She could see the woman who grabbed her frown but shrugs it off for the moment, "Ellie?"

Instantly her heart drops as she already starts to move away from the pair putting some distance between her and the couple. "I'm sorry but you have me mistaken for someone else" she says quickly putting on a faint french accent hoping it would throw her off enough to convince her. Thankfully spending a few months here had helped her pick up the bare basics of the accent to make it believable.

But she doesn't seem convinced, "Ellie I know it's you...where have you been? Why are you here?" But she pushed her sunglasses higher up in her face, "I'm sorry but you have the wrong person. Now excuse me I must go".

She moves to stop her again but the man with her pulls her back, "Jordyn stop". Jordyn watched sadly as the woman disappeared from sight. Jordyn sighed as she watched as the woman who had been missing from their lives vanishes around the corner. "Al...that was her I'm sure of it!" Jordyn whines as she turns to her boyfriend. "I know. But she clearly didn't want to talk Jord" Alphonso sighs.

She bites her lip as she stares at the last spot where she saw the missing american. "After all this time looking for her she turns up now" Jordyn whispers. Alphonso just wraps his arm around his girlfriend knowing how much the american's disappearance impacted her. They may not have been extremely close but her disappearance rocked the world. Everyone was upset with her leaving. While they weren't as close as others, Jordyn and Alphonso considered her a friend. A friend who always stood by their side when people attacked their relationship.

Their trip to the Eiffel Tower long forgotten, Jordyn instead pulled out her phone. There was only one person she could call right now who needed to know. She let the phone ring for a minute before they answered clearly groggy, "Jordyn? Do you know what time it is?"

She did feel bad secretly knowing that she probably hadn't gotten a good night sleep since that day a year ago even though she would never admit it to anyone. "I'm sorry but this couldn't wait". "Jords? What's going on?" Jordyn took a deep breath knowing that what she was about to tell her is about to shake her, "I saw her Jessie. I saw her".

"What?" Jessie spluttered over the phone instantly sounding awake. Jordyn could almost feel the despair through the phone. No matter how hard the earth shook at the news of her disappearance, no one took it harder than Jessie. Her disappearance was something Jessie could never recover from. And honestly Jordyn didn't know whether the news would help her, or completely tear her apart.

"I found her Jessie. She's here. Elliot's here in Paris".