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Chapter 24 ~ Goodbye

           Wednesday and Thursday flew by quicker than Elvis had hoped. Of course he spent as much of his time as possible with Ana. They had said their goodbyes already Thursday night, but Elvis promised he would stop by to say one last goodbye officially before he left.

It was Friday morning somewhere around 8 a.m when Elvis rolled out of bed and hopped in the shower. He was beyond excited to shave off his unruly whiskers and clean up his face. Although he was a little nervous about how Ana would feel about it and worried someone might recognize him for who he really was. But that would be a long shot since his hair and body was no where near what someone would recognize Elvis Presley for. His sharp jet black hair was long gone and replaced with dirty golden strands that hung a few inches below his ears. I'd be crazy to think anyone could recognize me.. He told himself running his hands over his newly clean shaven face in the mirror. He smiled, boy it feels good.

Looking at the time, he realized he'd wasted over an hour prepping himself. Shit, If I don't hurry I won't have time to stop by to see Ana. He pushed back his golden locks and looked in the mirror one last time before bolting out of the bathroom to his room to put the few things he wanted to take with him in a suitcase. The clothes can stay.. He thought to himself. Just gonna take this jumpsuit.. even though it probably won't fit now.. Running around the room, he grabbed all the keepsakes such that he and Ana had found and threw everything into the bag.

"Okay, all set!" He said aloud to himself. He picked up the suitcase and carried into the living room to see if Nick and Lance were ready. "Ready to go?" He asked them.

"Well Lance is getting the last of his stuff together, then we should be out the door," Nick confirmed motioning towards the hallway just as Lance was walking out.

"You driving, Nick?" Lance asked pulling his stuff to the door.

Nick grabbed his bags as well and followed Lance out the door with Elvis right behind him. "Yeah, I'm driving." Nick grunted throwing his stuff in the van.

Elvis jumped in the passenger's seat. "Oh, I need to make a stop in town before we officially get on the road."

"Ugh," Nick groaned. "Aaron, I swear if you make us late saying goodbye to your lady friend.. Neil will have my head."

"No worries pal, it's just a quick stop. Plus you guys can grab some drinks at the gas station while we're down there." Elvis assured. "I won't be long."

Lance scrambled into the back seat, Nick started the engine and they were on their way down the winding roads of the mountain to Brokenfold for one last time. Elvis was breathing everything in. He knew for a fact he was going to miss this quiet lifestyle. Also, Colorado was just breathtaking. Kinda reminded him of Tennessee in a strange way.

Before long, the van was pulling onto Brokenfold's main street. "Okay, Nick, just drop me off at the diner over yonder," Elvis pointed. "Y'all just pick me back up in five minutes or so."

"No longer than five minutes," Nick warned. "We'll be waiting right here."

Elvis nodded and hopped out of the van as soon as Nick pulled over to the diner. He jogged around to the diner's door and swung it open. Ana sat in a corner booth folding up silverware. Her face lit up when she saw him though her eyebrows lifted in surprise as she took in his newly clean shaven face.

Elvis laughed at her reaction. "Ya like it?" He strode over to her as she stood up.

"It's, uh— it's actually wonderful." She admitted drinking him in. God, he is beautiful. "Why have you kept this from me for so long?" She smiled running her fingertips over his jawline. There was something very strangely familiar about his face. She'd felt the same odd feeling before on the first night she saved his life, but she had never really thought about it again until now. He looks like... Oh, man, I just can't put my finger on it.. She sighed internally trying to place where she'd seen this face before. Of course this is just Aaron... So it's probably just a familiar feature..

Elvis' heart stopped. Oh, no, He thought. She knows. She knows who I am.. His palms started sweating as he stumbled for words. "Ana, I-I I'm sorry. I-I just couldn't—"

"Golly, Aaron." Ana realized he thought she was serious. "I was only joking."

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, of course you was.. Only joking.." He was strangely confused.

Ana's face fell to a sad smile when she remembered that he was here to say goodbye for the last time before his trip. "I'm going to miss you.." She admitted quietly.

Elvis' mouth curved into a slow sad smile when he saw the look on her face. "Ah, come on, it's not gonna be that long. I'll be back before you know it." He tried to assure her just as much as himself. He pulled her into his arms and held her. "I'm gonna miss you too," Elvis whispered pulling away enough to kiss her forehead. "I just might go crazy without you to help calm me down."

She smiled laughing softly. "Be safe. I want you back in one piece."

"Me too, honey. Me too." Elvis sighed regretfully pulling out of their embrace. "I-I have to get going. A couple of, uh, business fellas are driving with me. They're waiting outside." Elvis tilted her chin up towards him. "I'm gonna call you every chance I get, I promise."

Ana nodded reaching up to kiss him. As they pulled away from each other, Elvis gave her a quick hug one last time before backing away and heading to the door. "I love you!" He called just as he was about to walk outside.

"I love you too!" She called back and smiling as she saw him climb into the van that was waiting for him. Her heart sank lower and lower as she watched it turn around and disappear into the distance. For some reason, it felt like the last time she would ever see him.