Chapter 27: Thankful and Grateful

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Ethan's hapiness had been palpable since the surprised birthday party, the smile on his face cannot be removed, much to the astonishment of his employees. Added bonus is that, though the suspect of the series of robbery near Ellie's place was already apprehended, they chose to stay with him - thanks to the twins' coercion.

That happiness extended until the day of Lucas and Claire's formal wedding. Everybody had been euphoric with the event, but it was replaced by the news of Penny's sudden death. She had a car accident and the car burst into flames, rendering her body unidentifiable because it was severely charred. Lucas and Claire came back earlier than scheduled from their honeymoon to attend the funeral. Claire was unconsolable, she and Penny were inseparable since they met during their prep school and had treated each other as a sister they never had.

Zach is worse, him and Penny had been in a relationship since high school and everybody is thinking that they will tie the knot anytime soon, something that will not happen anymore. Zach had locked himself inside his room, he refuses to go out since they buried Penny and had turned to drinking. Nobody can pacify him, Ethan is affected as well, and Ellie is sure it is not just about Zach's depressed state but something else entirely. She always sees him drinking by the porch these past few nights when everyone is already abed and he is doing it again now.

Ellie decided to approach him and sat on the other chair.

"Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, he looked at her - pain clearly written in his eyes and she felt that she wanted to take that away, she felt the protectiveness within her.

"Do you want to talk about it? I am willing to listen."

He didn't answer again and she thought he wanted to be left alone, so she stood up and about to leave. But she was stopped when his hand grabbed her wrist.

"Stay. Please stay." He said it in a whisper that she almost didn't heard it, if not for the silence of their surroundings.

His words touched her heart. He is begging. With his pleading, she sat once more and waited for him to speak. If he will not open up then she will just stay until her presence is needed. Roughly five minutes passed when he took a deep breath and talked.

"I think you have an idea that this is not just about Zach, about Penny's death. It is clearly taking its toll on everyone, but we have another problem - Ollie is missing." She saw his jaw tightened before he continued.

"Though this is not the first time this thing happened, him going off somewhere, but he keeps us updated everytime. This is different, I can feel it, the last time we heard from him was the day after the wedding and that was two weeks ago. His friends told us they do not know where he went, they thought he is with us, so they just let him be. They aren't contacting him either. They said that Ollie told them he wanted to take a rest for a while and be with his family." He took a other swig of beer before continuing.

"We are worried Ellie, mom doesn't have an idea that Ollie is missing, we just covered it up when she asked why Ollie did not came home with Penny's death. We have friends inside the forces but they do not know anything as well. We are all anxious, father is keeping mother in the dark, only me, Sean and father knows this, for we cannot put another on Zach's mind to think about, and it is becoming harder to keep it quiet without them questioning too much."

She doesn't know what to say about their current problem. It will really be difficult to keep it in the long run, especially if it is not Ollie's nature not to keep the communication with the family open whenever he leaves.

Loss for any words that will lessen his burden, she can only put her hand in his arm and squeeze it, telling him that she is there for support. The action made him look at her with a small smile before saying 'Thank you' in a whisper. They stayed like that for awhile until she cannot held the yawn that she's been holding back.

"Go to sleep Ellie. I will stay here for a little more. Thank you."

She stared at him to make sure that he will be fine. At his nod, she stood up and left but not before saying 'Goodnight' to him.

"Goodnight, Ellie."

---

Ethan felt that the weight of his problems has been lifted after he told Ellie. He had never been thankful to Ellie at this point, he doesn't know anymore what to do with it. Mourning the death of the woman who had been like a sister to him is difficult, much more is keeping the secret that Ollie is missing from their mother, especially on their father's part. He knows that he is being strong for them, but he can already see the lines forming in his face from worrying about the safety of his second son.

He finished the content of his beer then stood up. He checked the twins first then stopped at Ellie's door. He resisted turning the doorknob and went up to his room. His sleep was fretful and woke up feeling as if his head is being hit by a hammer. He saw that it is almost noon so he decided to stand up and washed himself. He went out and was met by the twins' bickering and the smell of Ellie's sumptuous cooking. He feels being home in his own house that his eyes started to water, his problems may have caused it, he thought. He held back the tears when the twins noticed him.

"Good morning papa!" The twins chorused.

Ally tilted her head to the side while Nate is staring at him intently, he swallowed the lump in his throat and prepared for the question(s) that he knows is coming.

"Are you crying papa?" Ally asked, still tilting her head as if to read if he will lie.

"No sweetheart." He answered simply.

"Hmmmm...okay." Ally said. Though Nate didn't say anything, his eyes squinted at him first before returning his attention to what he is previously doing.

He went to the kitchen, sat at the center island and waited for Ellie to turn to him.

"You want to eat something while waiting for this to cook?" He shook his head as an answer to her question.

"Coffee?" She asked while raising one brow.

"Yes, please." At his answer, she took a cup and made his coffee just the way he liked it.

"You remembered." He commented after he took a sip.

"Uh - yeah..."

He thought she will continue the sentence but she did not, so he asked.

"What is it Ellie?"

He saw her contemplate whether to answer his question or not. Until he saw her resolve, turning towards him with knotted brows, and arms crossed, she finally answered.

"You know I haven't had any relationship since you."

He looked at her intently and said.

"And I am glad."

His statement made her turn towards the stove again but not before he saw the blush creeping on her cheeks. He grinned at what he saw but did not tease her for it.

---

Ellie felt her cheeks still flushed even after several hours, and the reason was Ethan's comment that he was glad she didn't had any relationship since they separated.

Since she wanted to keep it out of her mind, she busied herself with her sketches. She doesn't want to be confined in the same space as Ethan, so she kept herself wherever the twins are and send them to call their father when dinner is almost ready.

She was thankful that Ethan did not made any notion about how she reacted with his teasing during the meal and even days after. He always keep himself at the office and says he is too busy to come down to eat so she will always bring him food and oftentimes, he will be fast asleep which bothers her the most. It's like he is not resting and sleeping well and she planned to talk to him about it. That time came when she brought his meal one day and she found him awake. She carefully laid the food on the table and stare at him. She was about to say something but he beat her into it.

"I know I am good looking darling so no need to rub it off of me." He said while looking up, eyes twinkling with mirth while wearing that smile of his. She groaned inwardly and pretended that it didn't affect her.

"Eat up." She quipped while raising a brow.

She saw Ethan sighed before answering. "I will after this." Then went back into the plan.

"I will not leave until you finish this food." At her statement, Ethan looked up once more at her and they had a staring contest, both are determined, but she won't back down.

At last the contest ended with Ethan standing up and walking towards the table. He sat with a grunt and mumbles something akin to 'If I don't love you, I won't follow your orders'. She pretended not to hear it or that it made her heart skip a bear. Instead she held herslef not to laugh at his attitude. It is like seeing the big version of Nate when he cannot get what he wants. She stayed there and when Ethan noticed that she is not leaving anytime soon, he looked at her and said, in all his grumpiness.

"I am already eating. Happy?" She answered 'yes' with the sweetest smile she could muster and sat down in front of him. He once again took a deep breath and proceeded to eating but not before she saw a smile that he so wanted to hide. Silence settled over them as he finished everything she brought. She took the tray and about to leave when Ethan stopped her.

"Ellie." He waited for her to turn before continuing. "Thank you." At his words, she smiled and simply answered. "Anytime."

---

Ethan cannot helped himself but smiled. Though he felt irritated at Ellie's bossy attitude towards him, he cannot helped but feel grateful that she is looking out for him. After taking another sigh, he got up and continued working. He must finish this today, because it is due to be presented to the client tomorrow.

---

Ellie is preparing breakfast when Ethan walked in and sat at the center island where the kids are already sitting and bickering. He gave the twins a kiss and greeted them good morning.

"Papa, you will eat with us?" Ally asked.

"Yes. But I needed to leave after. I will present the plan that I've been working to the client today, so I need to be early."

"Is it the one I saw in your office?" Nate asked.

"Yes."

"It's great Papa, the client will like it." Nate said, clearly cheering him on.

"You think so?" Ethan urged Nate.

"Yes."

"I think so too Papa." Ally also commented.

"Really?" Ethan said while tickling Ally.

She smiled at the scene in front of her before serving their breakfast. They all ate and finished their food then Ethan stood up to leave.

"I'm sorry, I cannot help in clearing away the dishes."

"It's okay." She said before shooing him away.

"Good luck Papa!" The twins shouted after Ethan who is now rushing out of the house.

The twins helped her clear away the plates and they proceeded to clean the house. She went to the home office and noticed a blueprint holder tube on top of Ethan's table. She went to check it, hoping that it is empty, but it is not and the plan that Ethan so diligently worked on the past days and nights is inside it. He forgot to bring it with him.

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