As Long As I'm Here // Billie Eilish

The escape

TW!
This chapter contains light mentions about abuse.

The next day.

Me, Claudia, Finneas, Billie and one of her lifeguards are now standing at Arlanda Airport in Sweden. We have just left Shark and Ruby, they were too big to travel in our cabin and need to travel in a special animal section. We packed 3 big bags of my most essential things earlier this morning so that I'm good for a couple of weeks before we've come up with a plan. It feels really weird to just follow someone I met a weak ago home to a whole other country. And especially weird because that someone is one of the biggest celebrities of this century. A voice comes  from the speakers telling us that we need to go to our gate now. I'm really really nervous about this whole situation. I look down on my phone that just buzzed, it's a text.

Maggie:
Hi dear, Billie gave us your number yesterday. I just wanted to say that we are really looking forward to see you again, we just wish for your sake that it was under other circumstances. But we will do the best about the current situation to make you feel as good and safe as possible. See you soon!
/Maggie

I smile at my phone as I answer the text and thanks her. I feel Billie put her hand on my shoulder.

"We need to go to our gate now angel"

"Okay" I say, I still feeling scared.

"You okay?" She asks me.

"Yeah.. I'm just really scared and nervous"

She covers her head with the cap of her hoodie and puts on her sunglasses so no one will recognize her. Finneas and Claudia went ahead before us so that people wouldn't see them together with her. Everything to make her go as unrecognized as possible. Billie takes my hand and starts to walk towards our gate, her life guard walks close behind us.

"Your feelings are absolutely valid beautiful, but you don't have to be scared. I promise I will protect you and make you feel as good as possible, okay?"

"Okay" I say and smile at her.

"Your parents are so nice for letting me stay with you, I mean I've only met them like two times and they invite me to their home just like that"

"Tuva, that's how a parent should be and act. I'm so sorry that your parents always were so shitty to you"

30 minutes later.

The plane have just left the ground and we are now in the air. It's a long flight, over 15 hours. I hope that Ruby and Shark aren't too afraid without us. When we are above the clouds and I can no longer see Sweden it's like a breath that I've been holding in for so long finally comes out. I look outside the window as I leave my old life. I lay my head against Billies shoulder and she lays her head on mine.

"You are safe now Tuva" she tells me.

15 hours later.

I wake up to Billie patting my arm. In the beginning of the flight we talked and ate and watched movies to try and pass the time. But I've been asleep for the last couple of hours.

"Look outside baby" she tells me and points to the window.

We slowly glide through the clouds now making Los Angeles visible. I look out and don't really know how to feel. I'm of course happy that I've escaped. But I'm also scared, I don't really have a plan on how to deal with this whole situation. Like where to stay and stuff like that, I know I'm staying with Billie and her parents in the beginning but I can't stay there forever. And I need to get a job so I can afford to rent an apartment but I also need someone who can take care of Ruby while I work. And I don't even know if I'm staying in LA or if I'm moving back to Sweden or to another country? My thoughts are spiraling in my head.

When we have landed and walked out of the airplane we head directly to the parking lot. Patrick and Maggie will pick us up there. It's late now in LA, past dinnertime and everyone is really hungry.
A car pulls up and Billie walks up to it with all of our bags, I hold the dogs. Her parents step out and hugs her.

"How is she doing?" Maggie whispers to Billie.

"She's doing okay I think considering everything that just happened the last 24 hours" Billie whispers back.

"I can't believe how her own mom could treat her like that... She must have gone through so much" Maggie whispers back.

They pull out of the hug and both of her parents walks up to me. Maggie pulls me into a big hug and Patrick puts his hand on my shoulder.

"We promise to do everything that we can for you Tuva and you can stay for as long as you want at our house" Maggie says.

"You are very brave for doing this Tuva" Patrick adds.

When we arrive at their house Patrick helps us in with the bags. Since their house is really small I will be staying in Billie's room, they put a spare bed in there for me. I think they don't know anything about Billie and I.
I smell food from the kitchen, Maggie is heating up some vegan lasagna that she made earlier for us to eat when we got home. We sit down at the table and eats, everyone is really tired but also really hungry.

"If you need anything at any time, just ask and we will help you. If you ever feel hungry or else you know where the kitchen is, I don't want you to go to bed hungry, okay?" Maggie says and looks at me from the other side of the table.

"Make yourself at home and remember you can always talk to us, regardless of what time it is" Patrick adds.

"Thank you so much for opening up your home to me like this, I don't even know how to thank you enough"

"It's obvious to us that if someone needs help, especially one of our children's friends, then we are here to do everything that we can dear" Maggie tells me.

"It's really late now and I'm exhausted, I bet Tuva is too. Thank you for dinner mom, we will go to bed now" Billie says and hugs her mom.

I thank them both and walks with Billie to her bedroom. We let out a tired laugh at the separerat bed they've put in there for me. We both crawls down into Billies bed, leaving the spare one her parents brought for me empty. Only Finneas and Claudia knows that it is something between us, we haven't told them or  anyone yet because it's not like we're together or exclusive or anything. But I know they have their suspicions.
It's okay though, no one will ever know that we slept in the same bed tonight. We'll just walk out the door tomorrow morning pretending like nothing.
Billie cuddles up in to my side and before I fall asleep I think about the fact that I survived, I'm alive and I escaped. And I'm safe.

Thank you for reading my story, I hope you like it! Just a gentle reminder that English isn't my first language so if I spell or write anything wrong or use the wrong words sometimes, please tell me.
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Stay tuned! 💜