Flipped: Back Again (L.T. Sequel to Flipped)

Chapter 16: Same Girl

<LOUIS' POV>

Saturday. A day of uncertainty and excitement. A day where it'd begin the test of my restraint and the underlined feelings that may still burn for Eliza. Today was going to open old wounds, tease the shit out of me, and if it goes well enough, make me want to change time. I slept apart from Eleanor that night, I needed to clear my head. I wanted a fresh perspective when I left this morning. For some reason, I wanted to keep an open mind. I'd still try to be faithful, but I had a desire to keep my heart open for the possibilities.

I sat in the kitchen with a bowl of oatmeal, anxiously waiting for when Eliza would arrive. She was never specific on how our departure would go, just that I'd leave with her. Getting her number yesterday would've been ideal but she ran off while I spoke with Eleanor. She probably just got irritated and left since she can't stand her. I made a deal with myself that if Eliza didn't arrive by nine, I'd drive to her gallery and meet her there. One way or another, I was going to finish this deal and see where it left me.

A knock sounded through the empty halls, startling me. I nervously fixed my hair and adjusted my clothes, clearing my voice also so I didn't seem so tense when I answered the door. With one last deep breath, I twist the handle and open wide. A girl was standing just outside, arms folded whilst staring out into the distance. There was nothing extravagant about her; her hair was simply loose and her clothes like any other. I almost thought she had the wrong address until I saw her face.

"Good morning." She said warmly, a quirk to her lips. "Did I surprise you?"

"Yes." In more ways than one. I expected this over-the-top assortment of clothing and jewelry like I'd become accustomed to seeing. This girl here was a mirror image of who I knew years ago; time had no effect on her and I felt as if I'd already fallen for her all over again.

"Louis," she sings, "did you hear me?" She snaps her fingers. I stammer a quick "yeah" and jog back inside to grab the last of my things. Eleanor was still upstairs sleeping but I had already said my goodbyes last night. She wasn't too keen on seeing Eliza anyway.

"Traveling light?"

"No," I pop the boot and walk over to the car. "I hid- put my things in the car." I mentally slap myself from the mess up. There's no doubt Eliza heard what I said; the smirk on her said it all. She was satisfied with the secretiveness for some reason. It didn't surprise me though; the tension in my home is probably just what she wanted.

I grab my things and transfer them to back of Eliza's town car. And being a gentleman, I go to open the car door for her.

"Ah- Ah!" My hand is quickly smacked away as Hayden swoops in. "This is my job after all." I can sense the possession in his voice, the unsaid warning behind his words and the hatred for me in his eyes. Before I can retort, Eliza pulls me by the sleeve and I enter quietly behind her. I hear him with huff with annoyance as he slams the door closed behind me.

"Lovely driver you got there."

"He grows on ya." Eliza just shrugged her shoulders and got comfy. The car was a lot more spacious than it appeared. It's blacked out interior reminded me of the scandalous cars you'd see on the big screen. The irrational expectation for James Bond to suddenly appear clouded my mind and momentarily took me to a place without responsibility and morals; just fancy spy gear and sensual women dressed in leather with lethal intentions. That would be the life. On my own with no real obligation, just living day by day trying to survive the mission today so I could get tangled up in another tomorrow. But my life was nothing like that. The only similarity was the constant need to hide and the secret rendezvouses that were becoming more frequent with Eliza. It's hard to believe that it's only been little over a week since she's re-entered my life and already so much has happened.

I was literally in a movie. My life was becoming a dramatic picture right before my eyes and all I could do was sit back and wait for the next scene. As if our first encounter wasn't traumatic enough, she had to come back at such a sensitive time and jumbled the whole plot again. Eliza's presence in the story brought uncertainty and trouble. I had no control over this element after finely combing every detail of my life thus far. There was just no way of knowing how this would end. Even after all this time, I was still never quite sure what went on in that crazy head of hers.

I'm snapped back to reality when the car jerks to a stop. Eliza was thrown from her slumber and didn't wake in the cheeriest of moods. Her cold eyes instantly landed on Hayden and it was obvious he knew who was at fault. He immediately began apologizing before she could open her mouth to reprimand him.

"Miss Annette, please forgive-" he was silenced with her risen hand and was locked in her gaze. "Not the time." Was all she said and moved out of the car. I followed suit and scanned my surroundings. I didn't know exactly where we were, but we had left the city. Eliza was leading us to a new car that was waiting and slipped into the passenger side.

"You're driving!" She said over her shoulder before closing the door. Hayden and I both looked at each other quizzically. Who was talking to? The longer I hesitated to ask, it swept away the opportunity because Hayden spun on his heel and left me to transfer my bags in the new car. It answered my question though.

When I finally entered the car, Eliza seemed a little irritated. Scared to receive her wrath, I quickly started the engine and pulled out of the area, getting miles down the road. I didn't have a bloody clue where I was going but she seemed to relax when the scenery began to change and she knew we were in motion. Her countenance rubbed off and even though I was still clueless of this adventure, I was more than content with doing there. I saw it as a sort of game trying to guess where our final destination would be. Plus, this route seemed somewhat familiar and I was fairly comfortable behind the wheel.

"Here, follow this map." She handed me the crumpled mess and I gave her a look.

"You can't be serious.." I said flatly. "you know they made GPS for a reason, right?"

"Just follow the damn map, Louis. It isn't that hard." She rolled her eyes. I agreed. " I know it's not hard, Eliza. It's just unnecessary when they invented a device that tells you where to go instead of havin' all this," I hold up the map, "distractin' ya."

Her patience for my constant complaining soon ran out as she let lot a frustrated sigh and snatched the map from my hand. "If you're goin' to just whine about it, give it back and let me drive then." She demanded. "I'm not goin' to let you waste precious time 'cause you don't know where to go." I was in mid-traffic when she unlocked the door and began to open her side. I was forced to pull over since she wouldn't heed my demands to close it. She soon stormed around the car and forced me to get out. I couldn't imagine what the passing cars were thinking; probably that I'm some bitch for being ordered around by this little woman. I was too caught up in the moment to even react and just stumbled over to the passenger side. There was no way I would be able to get a word in anyways, she was just getting started and cussing up a storm at my idiocy. But for some strange reason, I was perfectly content with it.

Looking over at Eliza and seeing her irritation whilst hearing the insults roll off her tongue like butter, I was at home. She truly was the girl I fell in love with so long ago. And I knew deep down if I kept this nostalgic feeling, I might not come back the same way I came.

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I finally updated. I hope you all aren't too mad, I just didn't think anyone was reading this still. So I apologize. Also, since this was short, I'm doing another update actually starting there getaway. Hang in there!

~SamySayyss <3