(Complete) Joe Walch was in love with the girl of his dreams. Everything was perfect until it all changed...
Ella Burke had a wonderful family, a job she loved and a man she was completely in love with until her dreams were shattered.
Can Ella lear...
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It was a good thing Ella hadn't been planning on going back to Joe's, because Ava decided to crash with her for the night. From the moment, Ella stepped off stage, Ava acted strange. She repeatedly asked her how Ella was and at one point she even asked if there had been any surprises.
Ella assured her it was a great performance with a large, responsive audience. "Not as if it matters. I can never see past the first row. I always know where you are, but often can't even see your faces."
Her answers were mostly true, because the few times she tried to look toward Joe she couldn't see him. She didn't see when he left. Still, she felt like she sang better than ever knowing he was in the audience. She relished the jolt she felt every time she remembered their morning together. Every day, she thought less about the past and more about their future.
The future meant she would eventually have to tell her family and the way Ava had reacting she wasn't in a hurry to do so. Ava wanted to protect her, and Ella had been emotional the first time she saw Joe. She winced thinking about when she slapped him.
When they woke Ella hoped Ava would be done questioning her, but over coffee, she asked, "Do you still hear from Owen and Natalie?"
She answered truthfully. "No. I switched schools to avoid him, remember?"
Although Joe talked to his friend, they had not made an effort to get together with the other couple. Ella wasn't ready to revert all the way back to how things used to be. She accumulated a lot of resentment towards Owen and needed to let it go.
Ava's excitement over moving back to Maine superseded her Joe sighting and Ella listened, as she discussed her plans which included giving two-weeks-notice on her current position. Ava was the center of attention with the entire family, when they gathered.
Ella found herself sitting next to Granny. "You're content. Did you think about our talk on forgiveness?"
She smiled. "I did. Thank you, Granny. I do feel a lot better."
She was careful not to lie to her grandmother, although she omitted the fact she had actually forgiven him. Uncle Nick sat down beside her and pulled her in for a hug.
