California
Over the next few days, Ella had plenty of time to ponder what her new life on the beach in California would be like. Staring out the window while Rome drove, or letting her mind wander while she was behind the wheel and he dozed in the passenger seat, there were lots of opportunities for her to daydream about all of the possible outcomes if she tried to stay hidden away in the house, versus letting her parents know she was alive.
In the end, she couldn’t imagine how guilty her father would make her feel when he found out the truth, that she’d faked her own death. She didn’t think she could live with herself after hearing him berate her about all of her transgressions, even if she had felt as if he deserved it at the time and still felt that way right now. So… even though she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of staying inside of the house for the majority of her time, not going out with Rome to events, and basically living almost as much like a prisoner now as she had before she’d run away from Teresa’s attic, she decided she’d have to wait until her father passed away before she dare give anyone an opportunity to discover the truth.
They were almost to California after days of driving a few hours at a time and then finding a place to hide out, always looking over their shoulders, when a thought slipped between her lips. “Maybe I should get a nose job,” she said, mostly to herself.
“What?” Rome’s head flipped around so quickly, Ella was glad they weren’t in traffic or else he might’ve hit another car. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, I wasn’t kidding. Just thinking aloud. I wasn’t serious, though.”
“Good.” His eyes were back on the road now. “Because I love your nose. I would hate it if you changed it. Or any part of your beautiful face.”
She let out a small sigh and folded her arms. They’d talked about this before, just in passing, as they discussed possible ways for them to come back without her parents knowing she was alive. “I know,” she said. “I just… don’t know what else to do.”
He reached over and squeezed her leg. “You’ll have more freedom than you think, Ella. There aren’t a lot of people who met you in California, anyway. I know your picture was all over the place, but you look a lot different with your hair that way. You’re much tanner now. People won’t ask.”
“They might not ask, but they’ll wonder if they see me. And if they wonder, someone is bound to say something to, or in front of, my father or stepmom eventually. Or one of my evil stepsisters. Then, they’ll come to investigate.”
He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him. “If you are uncomfortable, babe, we’ll leave.”
“We won’t be able to leave once you start your career again. You know that. I don’t want you to have to sacrifice your happiness for me. I’ll be fine. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I was just thinking, and it slipped out.”
“Maybe we can get you a prosthetic nose,” he said with a small laugh. “Something like what King made for us. Then, when you go out, you can look like someone else.”
Ella could tell he was joking around by his tone, but it wasn’t a half bad idea. What if she had a fake face she put on whenever she went out in public? She could ask King to make something for her, something different than all of the other looks he’d created for her before. He’d need to send them their belongings they left behind eventually anyway. Of course, they’d have to make sure Rome’s father didn’t know there was a connection, or else he could trace the packages to their new location….
All of this sneaking around was demanding, and it was making her tired just thinking about it. Ella closed her eyes and tipped her head back, not that she would go to sleep. She wasn’t able to sleep while the car was moving. She trusted Rome’s driving, but she always had a sensation she was falling that woke her up.
“There it is,” he said, and her eyes came open. With a smile on his face that reminded her why she was doing this, why she had left paradise, he said, “Welcome to California.”
Ella managed a smile. It had been so different the last time she’d arrived in California. She’d flown in, landed at the airport, and been greeted by what she thought was a loving family. Tim had been there, his arms open wide. Ella had thought she would have many great adventures with her favorite cousin. Instead, she’d hardly gotten to do anything with him before his tragic death. Now, she was back in California, and her eyes were wide open to the fact that life wasn’t always what you thought it would be.
She loved Rome, though, that was something she was absolutely certain of. And he belonged here. He was made to be in movies, and taking him away from them would be like snatching a goldfish from its bowl and expecting it to live on dry land; it couldn’t last.
It would still be several hours of driving until they reached their new home, and Ella imagined Rome would start looking for an out-of-the-way place to stop for the night before too long. He’d be on high alert here because he’d expect his dad to be watching every car coming into the state. They’d considered trading in their rental SUV for another one, one that they were fairly certain his father’s men hadn’t seen, but it would slow them down, be a lot of trouble, and there was no way to know for sure that his father wasn’t somehow monitoring the car rental locations since they knew who this rental had been through, assuming they’d read the sticker on the window. It seemed easier to just monitor whether or not they were being followed the closer they got to their new home.
Rome drove on, a smile on his handsome face, and Ella did her best to be happy, too. At least she was with the man she loved. That was more than some women ever got in their whole lives. With any luck, she’d be in a beautiful home on a pristine beach, she’d be able to get back to her work, and Rome would be able to make all sorts of wonderful movies.
The unsettled feeling in her stomach should’ve been a warning that that wasn’t the way it would all work out, but Ella chose to ignore it and focus on the positives. The misfortunes of her past could all be left behind now as they started their new life together again. It wasn’t as if bad luck was written in the stars and couldn’t be erased, after all.... was it?
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