By Chance (Accidentally In Luck #1)

22. The So-Called Fun of a Bad Parent - Cora

I agreed. There was no point for me to stick around when Elle was perfectly able to pick me up and take me home. I felt a little guilty about leaving E, but it wasn't like I was going to steal his car and license and leave him stranded.

I hung up my call with Elle and took a deep breath. I had no clue how to go about getting my stuff back from the beach.

I thought about it for a minute and made my decision. I just wasn't going to get it. Diving into that mess could only make things worse and might make it easier for his fans to deduce what had happened. Besides, I couldn't kid myself. I didn't want to see E being Theo again, it made me uncomfortable and slightly sad actually. Seeing him go from the guy he actually was to the guy he pretended to be was painful and I wished that he could just be the guy he actually is.

I shook my head and sent Elle a quick text.

got my stuff. come get me please and thanks.

Within a few seconds, Elle had responded.

already?? aw my gurl's growin up and bein brave

I grinned at Elle's lack of 'g's and was typing a reply when my phone buzzed with another new message.

venice beach right?

I told her yes and added a few of the businesses around me to give her a closer proximity. She sent back that she'd be here in ASAP and I leaned back against the chilly wall of the ice cream shop, getting comfortable. Now I had to let E know what was going to happen.

i'm sorry. elle's picking me up and taking me home. i wasn't sure how long you were gonna be so i called elle. i'll text you when i get home all safe and sound and see you at the thing tomorrow.

I purposefully didn't make mention of the tournament. He was taking a big risk letting Elle and me in on his and Jay's secret and I was pretty sure his manager didn't know about it, so I figured leaving out specifics in a text she might see would be best.

I locked my phone and set it down, eager for the next 20 minutes to be long gone. I reclined my head and try not to think.

After what felt like an eternity, I felt my phone start buzzing. Elle was calling.

"Yo," I answered quickly. "You here?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"Oh." I grinned. Of course she couldn't see me squished between the building and planter as I was. "Hang on a sec." I emerged and immediately tried to look more covered than I really was and started looking around for her Jeep.

After a few minutes of turning in place, looking intently for any flash of her car, I heard my name being called.

"Cora! Over here!"

I did a slight fist pump. "Elle! Mon amie, finally!" I turned and saw her jogging towards me, grinning.

"What up, bitch?" That was our way. I use cute French terms and she uses tough curse words as greetings. I love this girl. "I swear you've been AWOL for ages! Is a pack of rabid fans really what it takes to get you to call me anymore?"

I grinned back at her. "Sure is. Can you blame me?"

She made a big show of thinking it over before replying. "No," she finally sighed dreamily. "No, I can't." All of a sudden, she snapped to attention and narrowed her eyes at my arms full of nothing. "Cora, where's your stuff. You said you got it."

I ducked my head, grinning maliciously. "I lied. I'm not going back to get it. I have my phone and wallet. That's really all I need. When we get home, I'll send E a text asking him to grab the rest. We're seeing him tomorrow anyway. He can bring it then."