AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m ready.
I send a quick text to Beth and Theo.
Beth
We’re at the curb.
I pocket my phone and make my way quickly through the lobby to the doors. A few heads turn in my direction and in my peripheral vision, I see a phone raised. I quickly dash to the car. Beth is there and holds the door open, so I can slide in.
“Where’s Cliff?” Theo asks. I shake my head at him.
“Just go. He said he needed a drink and wants to call Mr. Townsend.”
Theo pulls the car away from the curb and out into traffic. Beth turns to me and I can see from the way her eyes narrow that she is not happy. “He left you alone?”
I shrug. She knows he does it frequently, and I usually just contact them as soon as it happens. “He needed a break,” I tell her, sticking up for him, even though it feels wrong.
“How was the meeting?” Theo asks, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
I hand the folder to Beth. “Good. This is the new itinerary that he wants us to follow. We will need to leave earlier.”
Beth glances over all the paperwork and whistles under her breath. “Wow. I’ve never seen something so detailed before. Not even from BNE.”
“That's good,” Theo adds. “It means he takes his job seriously. This is what we meant by him being good for you.”
“He called his job babysitting,” I mutter and lay my head back. I don’t know why I feel so stuck on it. For some reason, those words hurt. I may be fifteen, but I’ve had to grow and mature faster than most at my age. This career is also my job. It’s my way of paying back everyone who stepped in to help raise me when my parents passed.
“I’m sure until he cleans things up it will feel that way,” Beth adds gently. I hear Theo scoff from the front and mumble something about my uncle. I’m too tired to fight with Theo today. I know he thinks my uncle should be doing more and I will defend my uncle because he cared for me when I could have just as easily ended up a ward of the state. Right now, I just want to pack. I refuse to be one minute late in the morning. I’m going to prove to Ezra and the world just how capable I am.
“What doyou mean he isn’t awake?” Beth asks me while I stand at the top of the stairs. I’ve been packed and ready for the last hour, waiting for Uncle Cliff. I finally decided to check his room. I hadn’t heard him come home last night.
“I just went in there and he’s passed out,” I tell her, my eyes quickly filling with tears of frustration. I’ve only known Ezra for twelve hours, but I do not want to disappoint him.
Beth contemplates me and looks to the closed door before lifting her phone up. “No, you need to get in here now.” She hangs up and gives me a small smile. “We’ll deal with it.”
Minutes pass and I’m starting to freak out. I glance at my phone again and watch as the hour crawls on. I’m about to break down and call Ezra when the front door opens and hurried footsteps sound in the landing. Gerard, one of our back-up bodyguards to Theo and Beth, finally reaches us.
“You need to wake him up and get ready for the next flight out at 8 a.m. We’re taking Ocean now. She can’t wait,” Beth explains the situation and I appreciate her no-nonsense attitude. Gerard looks flustered but also nods along. Beth grabs my arm to guide me down the stairs right as Gerard goes into my uncle’s room. Once we’re in the car and Theo is speeding away from the house, I let myself go. The tears continue to fall while the pressure in my chest eases. Leaving without my uncle shouldn’t have made me feel relieved, but it did. It has to be the situation. I want nothing more than to prove myself to my handler, my record label and my fans. My uncle almost ruined my first chance today all because he was mad at having to give over some of the power to Ezra.
Theo drives us to the smaller airfield outside of the downtown area. The clock on the dash is flashing exactly four when we pull into the garage. The small, white plane sits on the runway. The stairs are still down and I breathe a sigh of relief. With Beth and Theo’s help, we carry my bags to the plane. A man in a suit and a captain's hat meets us and helps bring our bags in. His smile is friendly when he shakes my hand. The minute I step onto the plane, the air becomes thick with tension.
Ezra gets up from his chair, a frown pulling at his lips. He eyes Beth and Theo as they move around me to find a seat. I clutch the black folder with the schedule to my chest, holding it tighter. His gaze tracks over me carefully, probably noting my heavier breathing and the way my hands are shaking. I had been terrified I was going to miss the plane because of my uncle. Quickly, his eyes dash behind me and his frown deepens.
“Where is Cliff?”
I shake my head. “He was out late last night. Arrangements were made for him to take the later flight. He’ll get in around ten.”
I force myself to meet the angry flash of green in his gaze. “Have a seat,” he says before lifting his chin toward the flight attendant. “Tell the captain we’re ready for takeoff.”
Following his lead, I take a seat next to the available window. Once Ezra sits back down, the plane starts to move, and I finally take a deep breath. I made it. My eyes sting with tears, but I blink them back, refusing to crumble. I’m determined to make this work for my benefit as well as the people who work for me. Theo meets my eyes and nods his head in encouragement. I take that as my sign to let myself be comfortable. Well, as comfortable as I can be on a plane anyways.
The interior is a soft, buttery gold that reminds me of caramel. A vase of mixed flowers sits at the front where a large screen resides, presumably for a movie. Besides myself, Theo, Beth and Ezra, there are enough seats for four more people.
“I’ve never been in a private plane before,” I say more to myself than him, but Ezra turns to me anyways. For the first time he doesn’t look angry and instead a small smile settles on his lips.
“I find it’s the best way to travel. On your own time, when you need it, and peaceful for the most part.”
“I don’t usually like flying,” I share with him while my cheeks turn pink.
