Everything important to Ella was in a small backpack she wore beneath three layers of shirts and the only jacket she still had that she even remotely liked, a jean jacket with a rip in the sleeve she’d brought with her from France. The rip looked cool now, but that hadn’t been the way it’d looked when she bought it. She’d been wearing it one day when Anna and Drew were in an even more foul mood than usual and had taken it out on her, knocking her down and ripping her jacket. The pants she’d been wearing also got ripped and had ended up in the trash.
It was past 6:00 when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Normally, she was let out around 6:00 to go to dinner, but sometimes it was late. That evening, every second felt like an eternity as she waited to see if she’d be released. When a servant finally opened the door, Ella realized why. She could hear Tim’s voice all the way up the stairs to the third floor.
Ella walked out of the attic and didn’t look back.
