The flight back to Los Angeles was long. I had a hard time falling asleep and whenever I did manage to get some sleep we would hit some turbulence and I was awake again. So I was grateful to when the tires hit the tarmac of LAX. Once again I sat in the back of the plane and was able to get off unnoticed.
Eli was waiting for me by the baggage claim area and when he saw me he barely kept himself from running to me. I dropped my bags as he pulled me into a bone crushing hug. It took us a while before I let go of him and wiped away the few tears that fell from my eyes. We didn't say anything and he just grabbed my duffle bag for me. As we walked towards the exit I could see all the flashing of paparazzi outside. I sighed and pulled my hat down over my eyes as Eli grabbed my hand and led me to his waiting car.
Pushing through all the paparazzi was hard. They barely let us get to the car. Finally we were able to get it and get going towards my apartment. It didn't take us long to get there. Once we were inside my apartment Eli plopped down on the couch and I went right to bed to get some more sleep. I set an alarm on my phone and sent Thea a text to let her know that I'm home safe before knocking out for a few hours.
When my alarm went off I wanted to snooze it but I knew I couldn't. I'm only here till tomorrow night and I have to pack up my whole apartment. I grabbed my phone to make sure I didn't have any updates from Lindsey when I spotted a text from Thea. It was from earlier this morning and when I opened it my heart melted a little. I hope you have a productive day; it was weird not to wake up to you next to me this morning.
It put a smile on my face as I walked out of my bedroom to find Eli still passed out on the couch. I sighed and started getting some coffee together before waking him up. As I sat the cup of coffee down in front of Eli he perked up a little bit more.
"So how much of this are you taking back to Salem with you?" He asked as he turned on the TV.
"The only things I'm taking with me are my person effects basically. I told the landlord that anything that isn't in a box is his to either leave here for the next owners or sell. The moving company is coming tomorrow night to ship my stuff back to Salem." I answered and sipped on my coffee some more.
"Not staying longer then you have to then I see." Eli said and stopped on TMZ.
"There is nothing left for me here Eli. I rather be home." I answered and watched the TV as videos of my return to LA was broadcasted.
"That was quick." Eli commented before changing the channel to the news.
"I'm not surprised, you ready to help me pack?" I asked and finished off my coffee.
"No but I'm guessing I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?" Eli asked and drank some more of his coffee.
"Absolutely not. Let's start with the bedroom, I feel like that is going to take the longest so let's get that out of the way first." I said and hit his thigh before getting up from the couch.
Eli and I spent most of the day packing. My bedroom took a majority of the day because I had more stuff then I thought I did here. I had to go ask my landlord for more boxes because we already ran out with just packing my clothes away. After we ran out of those boxes Eli and I took a break to get something for dinner and a trip to Home Depot to get more boxes because my landlord didn't have more to give me.
Needless to say after we got back home Eli and I went right back to work. Thinking about how much more we need to get through made me think I should push my flight back a day. Once we got my bedroom sorted we both laid on my bed, tried from the long day.
"I can't believe I have this much stuff here." I said and rubbed my forehead.
"Yea well you did basically live here for the last couple of years Ash." Eli said and flipped through a journal of mine.
"Is that a song book?" I asked and looked at the cover.
"Yea you have some good unfinished stuff in here you should look at again." Eli said and handed me the notebook.
"I'll read through it on the flight home." I said and tossed the journal in the direction of my backpack.
"I hope you know I'm not moving from this spot." Eli said his voice getting lower.
"Neither am I." I answered.
The next morning I was woken up by the sunlight streaming through my windows hitting me right in the face. I groaned and pushed Eli to get up. It took us a little while to get going but we didn't have a choice. My flight is leaving LAX tonight at 1am and I'm not pushing it back.
I finished up working through my bedroom while Eli packed up most of my living room. After I was done I went and started my office. Eli met me and we worked to get all of my paperwork together and kept anything important I might need. I also grabbed my original contracts from my label because I want Lindsey and Jack to take a look at them.
Next came my music equipment. I'm going to be taking two of my guitars on the flight with me while the other three are going to be shipped home. Eli and I took great care making sure everything was wrapped up and stored in the cases extra padding.
We were just starting to finish up when the movers arrived. While Eli finished getting my office broken down I started to direct the guys what to take. It took us about an hour to get everything into the truck and once we were done Eli and I went out for dinner. There was only one thing I really wanted before I left and that was In-N-Out Burger.
"How are you doing now that some of the dust has settled." Eli asked as we camped out on the hood of his car overlooking the ocean.
"I don't know. I mostly feel relieved not having to be around Bobby anymore or forced to make music I don't want too. Even though I have two really great attorneys helping me through this I still feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like something is going to come around the corner and take me out." I answered as I popped a fry into my mouth.
"Maybe you just aren't used to being free and not having to watch your back anymore." Eli suggests as the last reds of the sunset start to fade.
"That too. But I'm not out of the woods completely yet, the trial needs to finish first to really feel like I'm free. But right now I'm content with hiding out at Thea's house and letting the world spin around while I make music for myself for the first time." I said after taking the last bite of my double-double.
"Who is Thea?" Eli asked and looked at me.
"Simply, Thea is my angel. The night I ran out of the party I went home and saw Ed being wheeled out by the EMTs and that was my final straw. I wrote you that note and I went to the bridge over the river and was going to jump off. Thea pulled me back over just before I started falling and I've been staying with her since." I said.
"She cute?" Eli asked with a straight face.
"What if she is?" I asked trying to keep a blush from rising.
"Just be careful Ash. I know you now get to be yourself and don't have to worry about being sued for being in a relationship with another woman but you just got your freedom, would you really want to be tied down in a relationship before you really got the chance to explore yourself and what you want?" Eli asked.
I sighed and looked at him. Eli did have a point but I was never really the person who liked to party. I've always known what I wanted and that hasn't changed. I'm a lesbian and I don't really think I need to explore any other possibilities.
When Thea pulled me over the railing I wanted so badly to die. I didn't think I had anything to live for. Now a week removed from the incident I can see that I do have something to live for. My siblings. Their lives were so tragically cut short and I owe it to them to live because they couldn't. I can't let the remainder of my life be a waste.
Eli and I finished our dinner and headed back to my house to finish the last of my packing. There really wasn't much left in the place now that the movers came and took everything. Eli is going to come visit me when Bobbys trial starts and is going to be a witness against Bobby. At first I tried to hide the bruises from everyone in my band but one day Eli walked in on me before I could finish applying the makeup. I've always tried to brush him off but after one hard night Eli wormed his way into my heart and has been helping me recover from Bobbys rage.
Not before long I gave the apartment one final walk through and I left my key on the kitchen counter. Eli helped me bring all of the stuff I'm taking on the plane to the car and we were off to the airport.
"I have a question for you." Eli said as we were nearing the exit for the airport.
"Shoot" I said and looked over at him.
"If people reach out to me about working with you what do you want me to say?" Eli asked.
"I can't do anything until my contract is voided. I'm just going to be working on my own music at home. Don't be surprised if you get phones at all times of the night if I need some advice on a song." I said and chuckled.
"You got it boss." Eli answered and took the exit.
"Have people called you asking for me?" I asked putting my hat on again.
"Yea. Once Bobbys arrest went viral a lot of people have been wanting to hear you side of the story and to get the chance to work with you. Also all of your music has been in the top of the charts." Eli said as he worked this way through the airport finding the right terminal.
"It's not like I'm making that much money off it anyway. I'm going to have my attorneys look into the contract some more about me release my own music for the moment. So I can get the chance to tell my own story." I said as Eli pulled up in front of the terminal.
"I just want to see you happy dude." Eli said and shifted his car into park.
Eli helped me get everything out of his car and grabbed me a luggage cart for my stuff. I gave him a tight hug and thanked him again for helping me pack my apartment up before leaving him to go inside the terminal. I checked in for my flight and got myself some food before I took a seat by the window while I waited for my flight to board.
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and opened my messages. As promised I typed out a message to Thea and hit send. I can't wait to come home to you, see you soon.