A Love Trap

"Ellie! Stop... talking... like that!" he spluttered.

Francis might have been with a lot of women, but he took nobody seriously. Those women knew it and they didn't mind.

But Ellie was different. He never thought of treating her badly.

He could not fathom why she had to hurt herself like that.

He was really upset. Not because of what she thought about him, but because of how she saw herself.

The worst part of it was that she called him "Mr. Francis." The fact that she called him "Mr. Francis"

hurt him the most.

Ellie closed her eyes and pursed her lips. She didn't say anything.

Francis grabbed both her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "Ellie, please tell me you're joking." He looked at her, his eyes firm with pleading and frustration. "Please tell me you didn't mean any of what you just said."

Francis' eyes spoke sincerely to Ellie.

She couldn't take another look at him. She needed strength to say what she was about to say, "No, I meant everything I said."

Francis could see right through her lie. He shouted, "Look me in the eye and tell me again! You didn't mean any of that, right?"

Ellie looked into his eyes, her visage as fierce as the crunching in her chest. "I meant it. I meant every bit of it. You may leave Mr. Francis."

Ellie pointed to the door gesturing for Francis to leave.

"Fine!" Francis clenched his jaw and gnashed his teeth in anger.

He let go of her and turned around to leave.

The thud that came from the shutting door made Ellie flinch. As the door closed, the room fell into silence.

Ellie could only look at the direction where he had gone.

shaking arms to hold herself. Her

the tough facade she had shown him

herself now. Everyone had left for real. She

why Ellie went to L City

meals with them. But none of that

home when she arrived. She assumed that they went out for some groceries. She wanted to surprise them and didn't call. But when it was

answer. All of them just looked at her with sad faces and tried to

she started to panic after she didn't hear anything about

tried to avoid talking about them at first. She tried to

neighbors told her that her grandparents had

hardly caught a cold in their lives, but this sickness caught on them all of a sudden. With their age, it took their lives very quickly. No one had

time they had before they passed. They told the neighbors not to tell Ellie. They said that they might fight it through and they didn't want to make her worry. They also told them that if the sickness got worse, they would

story, she didn't believe them.

She didn't

had known, she would not agree to let them

days she mourned until she decided to return home.

house and saw her sitting on the bed,

it was so hard for

something first." He places a breakfast platter on the table in front

at him, surprised, "Why are you still

looked miserable. Her eyes were red and swollen, but she couldn't keep her

closer to her, Francis sighed, "Did you forget what I told you last night?

looked at him with a

didn't know if she

he told her she would not be alone.

over

didn't know what to

had left a huge traumatic mark on her. She had stayed

was different. She didn't hate the idea of getting close

it, but she was happy when he was around.

him, she felt lost. She wasn't sure about what she was feeling, but she knew