Ellie pursed her lips and replied, "She isn't doing well."
"What's going on with Ashley? Did something happen to her?" Laura asked her granddaughter with a
worried look. An anxious expression settled on her wrinkled face.
"It is yours and Grandpa's fault. She misses you dearly, but you and Grandpa refused to come to J City
and move in with us. Of course she isn't doing well," Ellie replied.
Laura was relieved. She poked Ellie's forehead and said, "You naughty kid."
"Grandma, please come to J City with me. That way, I and Ashley can take care of you and Grandpa,"
Ellie proposed sweetly, as she took a seat next to her grandma and leaned her head on her shoulder.
"You need to go to work. If we live there, we would disturb your daily life. Besides, your grandpa and I
have lived here for most of our lives. We're not young and we might die any time. All we want is to
spend the rest of our lives here," Laura responded with a sigh.
She knew why Ellie had invited her and her husband to move in with her, but she was old and she
didn't want to be her granddaughter's burden. Besides, she knew her own health. Knowing that she
might only have a couple of years left, she refused Ellie's invitation for she didn't want to cause her any
trouble.
"Please don't say that, Grandma. You and Grandpa will live to be a hundred. Promise me that you will
never say that again," Ellie replied in earnest, as she turned her head upwards to look at her grandma.
Laura was amused by her expression. With a cordial smile, she replied indulgently, "Fine, my little Ellie.
I promise that I will never say that again. All right?"
Ellie nodded her head approvingly.
"Ellie, when you went to the hospital, you left your phone at home. It vibrated many times. Someone
must have some urgent work with you," Laura added, as she grabbed Ellie's cell phone from the table
and gave it to her.
"I see," Ellie replied.
She swiped the screen to unlock the phone and found that she had missed dozens of calls from
Ashley.
"It was Ashley. Perhaps she has something to tell me," Ellie explained before calling her best friend
back.
No sooner had she dialed Ashley's number than she answered the phone.
"Hello? Are you still in L City, Ellie? Why didn't you answer the phone? Did you get into any trouble
there?" Ashley's voice, full of anxiety, resounded from the other end of the line.
"I'm all right. Where are you? Why is there so much noise?" Ellie inquired. Since the connection was
poor in the house, Ellie couldn't hear Ashley clearly. She told Laura that she needed to answer the
phone in the yard and strode out.
"I'm at the L City train station," Ashley raised her voice. Ellie could hear the sounds of the trains and
people in the background.
"Why did you come here? I told you not to come, and I said that I would come back after I've handled
things here," Ellie said with a stunned expression, as she rubbed her forehead.
Although Ashley had followed her here several times, she didn't think the former could find her way to
her house. After all, her best friend had a poor sense of direction.
"Stay where you are. I'm on my way," Ellie commanded before disconnecting the call.
"Grandma, Ashley is in L City but she doesn't know how to get here. I'm going to pick her up. Grandpa
is asleep in the hospital. Please go to bed early," Ellie said to Laura as she returned to the living room.
"Ashley is here? I'm going with you," Laura offered immediately. She couldn't conceal her delight that
Ashley was coming to her house. She stood up from her seat and walked up to her granddaughter.
Ellie was left speechless.
"Grandma, it's dark outside and the roads are bad. Please stay home and go to sleep. You can see
Ashley tomorrow," she persisted.
As Laura nodded in agreement, Ellie wasted no time in heading to the train station.
Afraid that Ashley might feel scared or bored there, Ellie called her en route. She filled her best friend in
on her grandpa's medical situation and explained why she hadn't answered her phone.
After knowing what was going on with Ellie, Ashley was a little upset. "Are you blaming me for coming
to you?" she asked sadly. 'I came here because I was worried about her, ' she whined mentally with a
hurt look on her face.
"I grew up in this place. Did you think I would get lost or something? I saw the missed calls, so I called
you back immediately. How would I know you are here already?" Ellie spoke into the microphone of her
hands-free earphones, as she was on the bus, still unable to digest the fact that Ashley was here.
"I was worried about you," Ashley whispered. She realized that she had overreacted this time.
"Ah-choo!" All of a sudden Ashley sneezed. She had caught a chill while waiting at the station.
Shivering due to the cold, she hugged herself to keep warm.
"Ellie, it's colder here than J City, isn't it?" Ashley asked.
"You're really an idiot, you know that? I have brought you here several times, how do you still not know
that? You didn't wear a coat, did you?" Ellie asked already knowing the answer.
Ashley looked down at her T-shirt and black jeans and remained silent.
'Ellie told me that the temperature here would be lower than that in J City when we were here last time.
But I was so worried about her that I forgot to bring a coat, ' she mused.
As Ellie didn't receive any response from the other end of the line, she knew that her assumption was
right. 'She must be sitting somewhere, ' she thought.
The instant Ellie arrived at the train station, she glanced around to look for Ashley. "Well, I am at the
train station. Where are you?" she asked as she couldn't see her pal anywhere.
"I am at exit B!" Ashley gushed, as she jumped to her feet and waved at Ellie who was standing at the
entrance of the station.
Ellie trotted over to her, took off her coat and put it on her. "You're not a total idiot. You knew to stay
here and wait for me," she joked.
Ashley simply rolled her eyes. 'Is she complimenting me or insulting me?' she wondered. Ashley stared
at Ellie, feeling a little irked.
She was about to snap back but another sneeze stopped her. Taking note of the displeasure on Ellie's
face, Ashley swallowed her words.
Ellie grabbed her hand and they walked towards the exit.
As an undeveloped city, there were few cabs in L City. It was hard to hail a taxi here.
It was just after seven o'clock, so they could still take bus. Ellie pulled Ashley towards the bus stop and
they waited for the bus.
Seeing that Ellie was wearing just a T-shirt now, Ashley said, "You can take your coat back. I'm fine. I'm
not feeling cold."
Ellie cast an exasperated look at Ashley.
Ashley was speechless when she met her gaze. 'Why is she looking at me like this? She makes me
feel like an idiot, ' she grumbled to herself.
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