luxe (sebastian stan)

Nine

"Vanna where are you?!" I screeched as I burst into the apartment. The kitchen and living room lights were off and I feared that I was going to have to drive to every restaurant in the city to track her down. However, I wasn't emotionally capable of driving, considering I had almost gotten into like twenty accidents on the way here.

"Vanna!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, ready to burst into her room. She came out and her initial annoyance quickly transformed into concern once she saw my face. "What's wrong?" she asked and I nearly tackled her going in for a hug.

"Thank God," I cried into her shoulder, "Thank God you're here." "I was just about to meet Tom," Vanna told me, stroking the back of my head, "But I'll cancel if you need me to." I pulled away from the hug and nodded fiercely, gripping her shoulders, my eyes wide and bloodshot. "Please," I begged, "Vanna, you need to listen to me right now and please don't argue with me, okay?"

She hesitated before nodding and she tried to lead me to the couch, but I refused. I looked at the kitchen clock and saw that I had three hours to get us on the plane. "We have to leave now," I told her, "Pack a suitcase, pack two. I got tickets for a flight in three hours. We need to leave now." I walked past her and went into my room, searching for the suitcase I had packed the previous night for Romania. I thanked Sebastian for that little tidbit last night, but now I wasn't going to Romania. I wasn't going to meet his brothers and I wasn't going to pretend anymore. I was going to run.

"No," Vanna followed me into the room, "No, I'm gonna need so much more than that. What the hell is going on? What happened at dinner?" "Vanna, I can explain it all to you at the airport, but I need you to trust me, please," in our years of being friends, this was probably the most I had ever said please. I knew I was scaring her and I wanted to tell her about everything, but I had no time for an emotional explanation, I needed a quick departure. Vanna, however, didn't see it my way.

As I threw more clothes into the suitcase, wiping my tears with the back of my hand, Vanna slammed the top of the suitcase down and met my eyes. "Lola, I need to know what's going on," she said sternly, "Just give me a piece." I took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. In, out, in, out. Breathe, Lola. Count to ten if you need to. But don't be late for that fucking flight.

I was nearly calm when my phone started vibrating. Pulling it out from the bust of my dress, I saw Seb's caller ID and I threw my phone opposite from me, burying my face into my hands. "Lola...Lola!" Vanna grabbed my wrists and pulled them apart to reveal my face, "Please, just tell me."

"Someone's going to kill us," I choked out, "Someone's going to kill you." "How do you know, Lola?" Vanna's tone was soft and concerned, "We've been told that many times." She wasn't patronizing me, she just needed to know. "Sebastian..." I could barely say his name, I felt so guilty. In the distance I could hear the phone vibrate again and I wondered how long I had until he sent someone to check on me if he didn't do it himself. "What about Sebastian?" Vanna's voice hardened, "He didn't hurt you, did he?" In the height of my breakdown, I laughed and shook my head, "No...no! Sebastian's involved in crime. Like organized crime."

Vanna's eyes widened as two realizations formed in her mind. "You've been working for..." she began before she gasped loudly, "Oh my God, Tom!" "I know, I know. Vanna, I swear on my grave I'm going to tell you everything, but right now I need you to pack," I was on the verge of yelling, mainly just to cover up the buzzing of my phone. Sebastian was either getting angry or crazy concerned right now. It was probably a good thing I had his car, now that I thought about it.

Instead of fighting me, Vanna swallowed and nodded. She let go of my suitcase and rushed into her room. Within ten minutes the both of us had our suitcases ready to go. Tucked under Vanna's arm was our portable safe with emergency money. It had enough for us to have a fresh start until we could find new jobs. I was confident we could probably still use our cards to pay for stuff, but it was nice to know that was one of her first thoughts.