Convergence II: Ella's Mystery

Chapter Eight: Mystery Solved

Ella had decided that very night that she'd go to Wellfleet, though her plan was not very well fleshed out.

She knew Wellfleet was right on the border of Norton, but that the exact location of her father's house wasn't very obvious. Ella would have to ask around once (if) she got there, and even then, apparently he was a famous writer. Maybe no one would know.

The next morning, Ella started to prepare for her journey. She'd stayed the last night at Nick and Jackie's apartment, and was looking her best, which in her opinion, wasn't very much. But she made it a point to remember her mother's photo, and the gold necklace from Lydia's house.

She stood up from the couch, feeling nervous before she left. It'd be, at most, a three-hour bus drive there and back, so no one would miss her for too long—

"Ella?"

She turned around, and Nick was there. "Oh, hey!" Ella waved, leaning against the couch again.

"Where ya going this early?" Nick smiled. "It's, like, eight in the morning."

"Uh, just thought I'd get an early start. Go for a walk or something."

"Right." Nick nodded.

"Right, so I'll be going—"

"Ella."

Ella turned around again. "Yeah?"

Nick's expression faltered momentarily. "Did you find anything?"

She wasn't expecting that question.

All Ella could do was stare for a moment, the question hurting more than she realized. She couldn't exactly tell Nick everything, about how she killed a woman and still turned up with nothing. How she directly lied, and went to another country all in two days. But, still, she had to let something out.

"...I feel like I'm about to." Ella exhaled. "I'm really close, I think. I just need something more to go off of."

Nick came closer, and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry, kid."

Ella seemed absolutely flabbergasted, but returned it. "Who told you?"

Nick's eyes widened, shrugging. "I--uh—no one told me, actually, I just—nobody."

Ella let go, smiling smugly. "You went and talked to her, didn't you?"

"And what if I did?" Nick smiled back.

She laughed, feeling a bit better about the situation. "I won't go if you don't want me to."

"No, I want you to go." Nick straightened her hair out a bit as they spoke. "I think some good could come out of it for you, if you do find anything." They put their hands down, shoving them into their pockets. "And if you need me to come with you, I'd be happy to."

"That would actually help a lot," Ella smiled.

Nick grabbed a pair of keys from the counter. "Okiedoke. Where we going?"

"Wellfleet. I don't know where yet, though."

"Wellfleet? Isn't that, like, the next town over?"

"I think so?"

Nick put the pair of keys back on the counter, opened a drawer, and took out another pair. "Well, then, we'll need another thing for this."

Going down the stairs of the apartment building, Ella trailed behind Nick as they sped down the stairs. "Are we not taking your car?"

"To Wellfleet?" Nick laughed. "Don't you wanna get there fast?"