Don't Engage the Enemy
Listening to Ella admit that she was essentially a prisoner in her own home broke Rome’s heart. He didn’t know what to do about it. He needed to figure out a way to get her out of there, but the only person who could help him was Tim Bolt, and he knew there was no chance the actor would want to have anything to do with him, let alone find out that his cousin had been speaking to the enemy.
He wished he could drive over to Tim’s place and tell him that he would do whatever it took to win his approval. Ella had said the night before when Rome was standing outside of her window, at first when he was listening without her knowing it, that she wished he’d just throw off his name. She was right--it was just a name. While he loved his dad and the rest of his family, he didn’t understand this ridiculous feud, and he didn’t want to be part of it.
For the moment, he had other things he needed to do, including getting a new phone. He’d need to get his from Ella and give her another one that night so that he could have his contacts back. It seemed almost unbelievable to him that she didn’t have her own phone. Clearly, her stepmom was a nutjob who needed a good swift kick in the pants--or to do some jail time.
After leaving the phone store, Rome went home to check his social media sites. He had a feeling Bart would send him a message to see how it went the night before, and he was right. There were several messages from his cousin waiting for him. He wanted to know all about what had happened the night before. Rather than hashing it all out through messages, they arranged to meet for lunch at a local hangout. Maybe Bart would have some insight as to what he should do about Tim. Bart was a smart guy, and he knew a lot about family dynamics that Rome didn’t ever pay attention to.
Over his sandwich, Bart said, “Tim Bolt is never going to accept the fact that you’re seeing his cousin. That’s the bottom line. It doesn’t matter what either one of you say. Approaching him for help is a sure fire way to cause a fight, and that jackass is one strong dude.”
Rome raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying I’m not?” He smirked at Bart, half-joking.
“Compared to him?” Bart asked.
“Bart, I’m just kidding. I get it. I just want to talk to him, let him know I love Ella, and I want to do whatever I need to do to be with her.”
Bart was already shaking his head before Rome was even halfway done. “Love? Man, that’s a strong word. How long have you known this chick?”
“Doesn’t matter. I know what I feel.”
“Didn’t you feel that way about the last three or four girls you dated?”
Rome rubbed the back of his neck. Perhaps he had jumped to that word quickly in the past. “This is different. I love her. She’s the one. I want to be with her forever.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think Tim’s gonna go for it. If it were me, I’d stay away from that. Let Ella be the one to break it to him. Otherwise, you’re going to end up getting your ass kicked.”
Rome appreciated the feedback, but he wasn’t sure he agreed. He wanted to go to Tim man-to-man and have a conversation with him, let him know he was serious. But he wouldn’t do anything until he talked to Ella. Checking the time, he saw that was still fifteen hours away--way too long. How in the world would he make it until 3:00 AM to see her beautiful face? He’d have to find away, but he couldn’t wait until she was his all the time.
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