RUSTED ANGEL
Part II
As he layed in bed and stared out the sunlit window his mind traveled somewhere far away, far from his heartache, his pain and all the drama. He didn't know if leaving was really the right answer or just an escape to run away like a coward. There seemed to be no other answer as he contemplated his options. No one would look at him the same way in the city below his mountain view. Everyone thought of him now as a liar, cheat and black sheep of the family. In his heart he knew he was misunderstood.
There would be no more pictures of him on front covers of magazines, in the headlines of newspapers or the representative for the magazine at the most prestigious modeling shows. As far as he was concerned he didn't ever want to see another model again, except for maybe one.
His shower was quick but satisfying. The hot water washed away his old self as he ventured to find someone else deep inside. He packed up all his clothes quickly; hoping to get away as soon as possible before confronting another hour lecture. The house needed no cleaning. He was hardly ever there and yet his father still paid the housekeeper to drop by the day before.
There was a knock at the door. He swore under his breath as he looked towards the window. A verbal fight with his father was not what he was hoping for to start the day. He charged the door quickly, ready to attack, when he noticed Chloe standing in the doorway.
"Chloe?" he asked in question.
"Uh, hi." she hesitated as she brushed her hair out of her face.
"I was just about ready to leave. Why are you here?"
She looked at him strangely. "You're leaving?"
He turned from her and grabbed his bags. "Yeah I am, as soon as you do."
She looked at his pile of luggage by the door. "But, why?"
He walked past her and opened the trunk of his car with his remote. "What do I have left here? I don't have anything, Chloe. The best thing for everyone is to just go away."
"So, you are going to just run away?" she asked as she turned to look at him in the driveway. "What about me?"
Lance smirked as he walked back to the door. "What about you? What about you, Chloe? I don't even know why you are here. You dumped me without hesitation, without thinking about it, without even knowing the truth."
"The truth was on the camera outside your office. Wasn't it?" she questioned.
"I don't know, Chloe! Was it? Somehow I don't remember. It could have all been a big setup for all I know. But, ya know, that still doesn't explain why you are here." he said as he grabbed the rest of his bags in the house.
"I thought you had a week to leave. Where are you going with all this stuff at one time? It's not like you have to move out of the state." she crossed her arms and walked with him to his car.
"I am moving out of this state. I'm moving all the way up to New York. And, right now I can't wait to leave."
"Lance, don't go. I love you." she said with urgency as she hugged him.
He pulled her off as if she were infected with a disease. "You sure don't act like it. Besides, you should of remembered that when you dumped me on my ass and left me humiliated in front of everyone I knew the next morning."
"But, I thought about things..." she started but was cut off.
"It's too late." he paused as his heart called out to her. "I do love you, Chloe. More than anything but I can't do this right now, okay. My life is a mess and I have to get things in order. I need to be alone and I need to find myself before I self destruct. I'm sorry but I really have to go now. I'll give you a call when I get to New York."
"Angel Face, please." she sighed with her famous frown as they stood by his car door.
Lance looked quickly to his parents house in the clearing on the hill above his and saw the Benz leaving the garage. "I have to go now! Take these." he said quickly as he gave her the keys to the house. "Goodbye Chloe."
"Goodbye." she called after him. It was the first time that her expressions did not affect his emotions.
As he tore out of the driveway leaving Chloe in a cloud of dust he saw his parents coming down the lane to his house. They stopped and got out to join Chloe who was standing in her own lonely heartache.
But, Lance didn't look back to see their reaction. He would never look back.
Part III >>
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