Los Angeles, When Will You Save Me? [H.S.] - ON HOLD

Prologue: Fix You (Coldplay)

Welcome to the sequel of "In the Heat of Los Angeles" if you haven't read that you can find it . Thank you to everyone who read that and followed along as I wrote about Everlee, Harry, and The Circus of friends and family they surround themselves with. The story screamed for a sequel, mainly because of its cliffhanger ending but also because Evie and Harry's story wasn't finished. So here goes nothing...

Here's a little bit about where this story picks up.
Everlee Scarcello was on cloud nine. She found the love of her life, her success was at an all-time high, her friendships rock solid as they all moved on in their lives. Her life was picture perfect, nothing could possibly go wrong. Then life threw a curveball at Evie that she wasn't prepared for. Her life changed in an instant. Maybe, picture perfect isn't meant to be.

Will her relationship with Harry survive?
Will her friendships change?
Will she crack under the pressure of her new life or come out stronger than ever?
Will The City of Dreams take all of Evie's?

Los Angeles, when will you save me?
Los Angeles, when will you save me?
Los Angeles, when will you save me?
Los Angeles, I'm never coming home.
"Los Angeles" by Blink 182
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I hope you enjoy "Los Angeles, When Will You Save Me?"

Okay Everlee. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay.

My eyes were darting around the room back and forth. My hands were shaking. My breathing erratic. I opened my mouth to speak and nothing happened.

Come on Evie snap out of it. I didn't move. I barely blinked. I'd heard people say before that sometimes when you're experiencing trauma that it feels like an out of body experience. I believed them when they told me but I also didn't think it was literal or that I'd ever experience it. But here I was watching the commotion in the room as I stood there. Still and silent. No reaction to what was going on around me. No tears. No screaming. Nothing as they rolled my father past me and out the front door of the house. I moved my focus to the door where Sam was rushing in. He hurried to my side and turned me to face him.

"Everlee," Sam said in his most calming voice. "They are going to transport Jimmy to Cedars Sinai. They said they can't take you within the ambulance so I'm going to take you. We can call Rachel on the way so that she can come to be with you."

Perfect. We can call and she'll come to be with me. Sam looked at me waiting for an answer and looking like he didn't get one. Fuck. He can't hear me. This is just my goddamn inner-monologue and for once it's only IN my head and not something I accidentally say out-loud.

"I will get some stuff together and head straight to the hospital after you. I will also call Jessica and I'll call Mr. and Mrs. Scarcello," Linda added. I was looking back and forth between the two of them, still unable to speak from the shock. I wanted to tell Linda that I appreciated her calling my grandparents but evidently, words were impossible for me right now. She caressed my face. Her hands felt like fire against my skin. "It's going to be okay, Everlee. It's going to be okay." I didn't even know what was going on, how did she know it was going to be okay? I glanced from Linda back to Sam, I still couldn't speak or move.

Alright, Evie, you've had a million panic attacks before, it can't be that much different than this. Take a deep breath, think happy thoughts and open your mouth. Deep breath. Happy thoughts.

Nothing.

Come on Evie. SPEAK! I was screaming at myself. Still nothing. I was standing there unable to move. Unable to have any sort of reaction to the situation I was experiencing. Sam started to move me through the house, out the front door, and down the driveway to the awaiting SUV. I was moving slowly, guided only by Sam. I stared down at my feet and watched them get tripped up on the cracks in the driveway. Cracks I'd known were in this driveway since I was six years old. This didn't happen. I knew the cracks in the concrete the way I knew the way my father drank his scotch, that his favorite color was PMS 294C, the Pantone shade for the Chicago Cubs, and that his lucky number was 14 because it was Ernie Banks jersey number.