Against All Odds (Completed)

Chapter Seventy-Two

When Ellie and Felicia were done munching on their fries and gobbling up their drinks, they got up from their seats, ready to leave the cafeteria.

Felicia gestured at John, "I think we'll have to leave Mr. Loverboy with his crush. He looks so happy."

Ellie smiled and nodded. "And I'm happy for him too. It's good to face your fears sometimes."

They grabbed their purses, waved at John and headed to the exit. When they were finally out of the cafeteria, Ellie pulled out her phone from her purse and began to dial Lily's number. "I'm sure Lily's back from visiting her mother."

"Hey, missing me already?" Lily's bubbly voice came into the phone when she placed it against her ear.

"Yeah, I am and I hope you didn't forget to grab my things from the salon-"

"I'm not coming back today," Lily cut in.

Ellie frowned. "Why? Is everything okay over there?"

"Everything's fine. I just thought I need to stay with mother. She's getting so nervous with the court hearing fast approaching. I need to be around to assure her everything will be fine."

"Sure. That's great."

"Yeah."

"Take care of yourself and extend my greetings to her for me."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye." Ellie sighed and disconnected the call. "She's staying home till Friday." She told Felicia.

"I see." Felicia nodded. "And you're sure you'll be able to sleep alone in that room till Friday? Maybe I should come-"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Felicia."

Felicia sighed. "I'm not convinced, Ellie."

Shaking her head, Ellie walked to the pavement and tried to stop a cab. With a sigh, Felicia followed.

"So, what should we do tonight? I'm totally sleeping over so you should come up with something fun."

A cab soon pulled in front of them and they hopped in.

     ******

"OMG, I hope it's not who I'm thinking it is?" Felicia exclaimed, a horrified look in her eyes as she stared at the white envelope in Ellie's hand.

They'd found the envelope underneath the door when they'd pushed it open. Someone might have slipped it there. 

Standing by the door anxiously for almost five minutes, they contemplated on whether to open it up or call the cops first.

"Is it Paula? Why would she send another note?" Felicia asked impatiently.

Ellie mustered courage and tore the envelope, revealing a cream note. She sighed in relief and shook her head. "This is not Paula.

"You think so?"

Ellie turned to her and nodded. "She sends blue notes, this one is cream..." She went on to unfold the note and began to read.

"What's in there? Don't tell me you have a new secret admirer!"

Ellie chuckled. "Let's see..." She sighed and read," I know you must be very stressed out after all that had happened, and so I've figured out a way to help you relax."

Ellie furrowed her brows and went on, "Would you like to go somewhere with me? I'll be waiting for an answer... Ashton."

"Ohhhh...." Felicia gushed, throwing her arms around Ellie. "Isn't that romantic?"

Ellie wriggled herself from her embrace and sighed. "I'm shocked you know something about romance. You never once saw Sammy's gestures romantic."

Felicia rolled her eyes. "Spare me that and let's talk about you." She grabbed Ellie by the shoulder and cupped her chin, "You need to look as sexy as ever. You see that dress I bought for you, you're wearing that."

"And who said I'm going somewhere?" Ellie asked, raising her brows at Felicia. "Didn't we just plan today's going to be our night? And you're supposed to sleepover, remember?"

"Forget that," Felicia rolled her eyes again, "This is a date with Ashton, Ellie. You're not going to choose our sleepover over that."

"I'm not ditching you, Felicia. I'll call him and say no."

"What? Are you crazy!" She stopped her from dialing Ashton's number by grabbing the phone. "I can still wait for you. I'm not going anywhere."

Ellie sighed and walked to her bed and sat down. This was actually going to be her first proper date with Ashton Anderson. Surprisingly, it meant a lot to her.

Why was he making it so difficult to stay away from him? She'd thought giving each other space would help keep her feelings in check. And gradually they'd disappear. Hopefully.

But with him acting all sweet and caring would definitely get her into trouble. Maybe she wasn't supposed to read so much into this date. He might be only trying to be nice. And who knows, Lily might have requested him to do so.

"Are you going to call him or not?" Felicia asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She looked up at Felicia as she handed her phone back to her. "Alright."

She indeed needed something that'd help her relax. A change of environment would surely do. She dialed Ashton's number and waited for it to ring.