Our Goodbyes

The sun peered through the white curtains hitting Ella's face. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes tiredly and rolled over to her right expecting to see Sidney beside her, instead he was replaced by a note and a piece of paper on his pillow. Furrowing her eyebrows together, Ella picked it up gingerly and began to read it.

I did some research this morning. Couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you, you look beautiful sleeping. Just thought you'd like this, don't worry, everything's covered. So start packing :).

Love, Sidney.

It said, making Ella look at the note weirdly. She then looked at the larger piece of paper and saw flights and the departure times of those flights. Scanning the paper, her eyes immediately landed on the highlighted line, beside it was Sidney's writing.

Flight 2740 from Pittsburgh International Airport to John f. Kennedy Airport. 6:25 pm. I'm getting the ticket after practice and the hotel is already booked. Don't worry.

Ella grinned. Sidney Crosby had to be the most amazing man she had ever met. She never would have thought that someone could do so much for her even though they have a busy schedule and their own things going on.

Getting out of bed, she changed into sweatpants and one of Sidney's old t-shirts. She smiled when she could smell Sid's Old Spice on it. Ella took a long whiff of it, allowing herself to think that Sid had his arms around; the same arms that always made her feel safe.

Putting on her shoes and locking the door behind her, Ella walked to the elevator. Just as she was about to press the button, another hand went for the button. She looked up and saw a pretty brunette girl.

She had a smile on her face as she apologized and let Ella press the button. Ella noticed that beside her was a black Cello case with many stickers adorning it. Waiting silently for the door to open, Ella let the girl in first before she entered the elevator.

"So, I haven't seen you around. You must be the new neighbors," the girl said after awhile of awkward silence.

Ella nodded. "Yeah, my friend and I just moved two days ago."

"Yeah, Sidney," the girl answered, Ella's eyes widened. Sid didn't want people knowing that he was moving out of the Lemieux's in fear that there would be fans that were daring enough to find out where he lived. "I'm sorry, my name's Taylor Wright," she said and stuck out her hand.

Taking her hand, Ella smiled despite her surprise. "I'm Ella. Ella James, it's to meet you," she said sincerely. "How do you know Sid?"

"My family knows the Lemieux's. They're actually neighbours and when Mario mentioned to my dad that Sid was planning on moving out of their house, my dad asked me if there was any condos here," she explained.

"Oh, so, you've known Sid for awhile then?" Ella asked curiously.

Taylor shook her head. "I don't really know him. We weren't that close, he was into his hockey and I was really into my music."

Ella's interest was spiked when she heard that her new neighbour was into music. "You play the Cello then huh? I used to play the violin for Julliard," she mentioned.

"That's cool. I always wanted to go to Julliard, but Pittsburgh has been my whole life, I don't know if I could ever move."

Ella nodded, knowing how Taylor was feeling. If it wasn't for Sidney being with her, she probably would have never thought about moving out to Pittsburgh alone. And thinking about moving to New York was a whole other story. New York is much more difficult to live in, especially alone.

The door dinged and the two girls stepped out. Once they reached the front of the building, they both smiled at each other knowing that they were going to get along great.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. We should hang out some time," Taylor offered and pointed to her right. "I'm going this way, I have practice."

"We definitely should. It would be nice to have someone to talk to other than Sid. Being alone in an apartment is going to be lonely," Ella said and pointed to the opposite way Taylor was pointing to. "And I'm going this way."

"Bye," Taylor waved.

"Bye."

*
Ella sighed as she closed the last of her bags full of clothes. She didn't even know how long she was staying in New York but she was excited about the prospect of finally getting to see her son again. She was determined to find out what happened to her son, she owed it to herself.

Hearing the front doors open, a smile appeared on Ella's facing knowing that Sidney just came home from practice. She rushed out of the room she now shared with Sidney and ran to the front. Before Sid could even put down his bag, Ella engulfed him in a hug.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how in love I am with you!"

Sidney smiled at the girl in his arms. His heartstrings tugged a little bit hearing her confession but he knew she meant it differently from what he wanted. "I just want to see you happy," he said truthfully.

"Thank you so much," she gushed and kissed his cheek.

"Anything for you, besides, you deserve to know what happened to Wyatt. I know you didn't want to give him up, but you chose what would have been a better life for him." He explained. "Now, are you ready? I have the ticket," he said and pulling out his wallet from his back jean pocket.

Ella nodded. "Yeah, they're in the room. Let me just get them."

"I'll get them," he offered and went to the room before Ella could protest. He reappeared in the front foyer with the two bags Ella had and motioned for her to start leaving the apartment. "What do you have in there, rocks?"

Playfully sticking out her tongue, Ella laughed and lightly punched his arm. "For your information, a lady can never be too prepared," she joked as they both made their way out of the condo. "I met one of our neighbours today," she mentioned as they waited in the elevator.

"Oh? Who?"

"Taylor Wright. I didn't know that you knew her and that she helped you get the apartment."

"Yeah, her dad's a good friend of Mario's. Taylor's a nice girl, sarcastic, but nice," he said shrugging his shoulders. "You guys would get along well."

"I think so too," Ella agreed with Sidney as she entered his car. "How long am I staying in New York anyways?" she asked once he entered the car and started it.

"Five days. I didn't know how long you wanted to stay and I was lucky enough to find a good hotel that would allow short notice bookings," he rambled making Ella laugh.

"Sid, five days is enough time. Besides, I'm going to miss you if I stay any longer, and I can always come back to find Wyatt if I don't find him this time."

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

Ella gave him a small nod. "Yeah, I'm nervous. What if I don't recognize him or what if I he's already been adopted?" she asked Sid worriedly and looked to him for advice.

Taking her hand, Sid caressed it and looked at her for a second before looking back at the rode. "El, relax. Everything has a way of figuring itself out, you'll find him," he said firmly as he silently prayed that she would have a safe trip and that she would find her son.

Sighing, Ella opened the door once Sidney stopped the car. She went to the back and got her carry on bag, Sidney not far behind her grabbing the heavier bag. They both walked into the airport in silence, just enjoying each others company.

This would have been the first time since Ella and Sid had been apart for such a long time since they had met. Even when Sidney went back to Pittsburgh for three days, to check out the condo that Mario suggested to him, he came back to Cole Harbour as soon as he could.

Walking up to one of the check in ladies, Ella did everything the woman instructed her and soon they found themselves in front of the gate. Sighing, Ella went to hug Sidney. "I'm going to miss you," she said teary eyed. "Don't forget me while I'm away," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I could never," he said and hugged her tighter. He breathed her smell, trying to remember it. "Have a safe trip," he said and broke the hug.

Ella nodded and gave him a small peck on the lips, before walking into the gate. Once inside, she looked back at his lone figure and waved before the gate closed.