CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO

ELLA'S POV

I stared around my childhood bedroom, feeling a heaviness settle over me. Boxes were scattered everywhere, half-filled with my belongings tossed inside. This was really happening - we were leaving this place behind.

"Ella?" Mom's voice drifted in from the doorway. "Are you almost done packing up in there?"

Letting out a weary sigh, I turned to see her hovering in the door, wringing her hands anxiously. Our eyes met and I immediately looked away, Unable to hold her gaze for long these days.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between us until she finally spoke up again. "We could really use your help getting the rest of the kitchen boxed up. He'll be here any minute from now."

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," I mumbled, grabbing an armful of clothes and dumping them into one of the open boxes. Mom hesitated briefly before retreating back down the hallway.

Once she was gone, I sank down on the edge of my bed, burying my face in my hands? How had things become such a mess so qu