Diamond S Ranch

2 Going Home

Elle slid into the limo with Jake following behind her. After giving the driver, whose name apparently was Curtis, instructions to head to the airport, Jake settled into his seat. Elle had placed herself up against the door on the passenger side while Jake took the seat facing her behind the driver. She wondered if it felt weird to ride backwards in a car, well, she wasn't going to find out today, she decided.

Not long after they had pulled out Jake got a phone call, not really interested in what he had to say, Elle turned her attention to what was passing her outside the window. She watched as the familiar landscape began to slip away. 

The row of homes she was familiar with having walked many miles in this neighborhood were quickly out of sight. There was the corner of North Ave. and Arrington St. where she and her friends hung out for hours at a time. A few more streets down they passed the road which her school was on, it was way down there somewhere, she couldn't see it, but she knew it was there.

Next up was the corner convenient store that Mr. Woo owned. The Quik Stop, she gave a half smile remembering all the candy bars and drinks she had stolen from poor old Mr. Woo. She knew it wasn't right to do that, but she was poor and she kind of liked the thrill it gave her when she got away with it. Not far from there was the Spin and Dry the local laundry mat that they would raid sometimes. They had found a way to get the candy and chips out of one of the snack machines without paying. Hey, it wasn't their fault for taking it without paying, or so she told herself, they should have fixed the machine.

The last bit of her current life slipped into view, the old abandoned automotive repair building that her and her best friends, Deonte and Lindsey would hang out, before, after or even during school sometimes. She thought about her friends. Would they wonder where she was? Would they even miss her? She suddenly felt sad. Cowboy Boots said she could call her friends, but truth was, she didn't know their phone numbers. She didn't have a cell phone. They too were now getting further away, just like the Aldridge home, her life and all she could really remember. She didn't want to be afraid, but deep down she was terrified and working on a plan to some how, some way, get back here.

Jake tried to concentrate on his phone call, but his thoughts kept going back to Elleana as he watched a range of emotions slid across her face. The last one made him want to reach out and take her into his lap and hug her. She just looked so sad, so lost and so alone. He knew he needed to give her time and space and hopefully, he silently prayed, she would come to embrace her new life and her home. However, right now, he would really like to know what she was thinking.

"Jake, you still there?" The voice on the other end asked breaking through Jake's thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, that is fine. Just make sure they are all there by the time we get in, which should be in about three hours. I'll text you when we land."

There was a pause, "Okay, will do....bye." He said as he finished his conversation and put the phone down.

Before Jake could say anything to her, his phone rang again. He shook his head, he really should have just turned it off, but seeing as he didn't, he took the call.

The rest of the ride to the airport was Elle looking out the window and Jake talking on his phone. Soon they arrived at their destination, Curtis remarking something about the traffic being decent today as they exited the limo. Looking around Elle was confused, she turned to look at Jake.

"I thought you said we are flying out?"

"We are," Jake answered as he took her single box from Curtis and thanked him for his services with an obviously generous tip based on the smile on Curtis's face.

"Oh," Jake remarked as he saw the look of confusion cross her face. "You must have thought we were flying out of the Atlanta airport. No, we have a private jet, we don't need to go to the big and might I say crowded, main airport. We are flying out of here, come on this way." He directed as he motioned with his head for her to follow him towards the stairs that were leading into a white sleek looking private jet that had a big letter S inside a diamond on the tail. Could that S really be for Jake's last name Steele, she wondered as she walked towards the plane.