Last Flight to L.A.

chapter fifteen: sunset conversations

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But, you can either run from it or learn from it."

~The Lion King

Kelsey and Ethan pulled into the sandy parking lot of El Matador Beach.

"Shall we?" Ethan asked, his tone bright, but forced.

Kelsey unbuckled and got out, leaving her shoes in the car.

They hiked up a sandy boardwalk that had grass waving across its edges.

When they crested the hill, Kelsey's breath was taken away.

A cool breeze caressed her warm face as the sky blazed red and yellow and orange across that vast, glorious horizon.

The water shimmered beneath the sun, like someone had spilled glitter across a velvet cloth.

"Wow," was all she could say.

They found a spot on the beach and sat for a while, watching the sun take its time sliding down the sky.

Kelsey kept waiting for Ethan to say something, but every time she glanced at him, he was watching the ocean.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Ethan..."

He licked his lips and dropped his head a little. "I...I wasn't trying to lie to you. I don't know what you and Becca talked about, but I know how she is. And it doesn't matter. I should've been more honest with you before."

Kelsey stayed quiet, turning her attention back towards the horizon, figuring it was best to just let him talk.

"I went down a bad road," he sighed. "One moment I was sleeping in my uncle's attic, living off of In-N-Out, and singing my heart out at every show. And the next I was having a tux thrown at me before I walked the red carpet. I was sixteen, and had all this success piled on top of me at once. Before I knew it, everyone thought I was the greatest thing in the cosmos, I was rolling in more money than any kid should be making, and I had everything I wanted."

His jaw clenched and he watched the sky, squinting as if it were bright, or as if he were in pain. "My parents tried to get me to come home, but I thought I was better than a small town in Iowa. As soon as I was eighteen," he gestured forward, "I was out. I bought a house here. You think Becca's place was big?" He shook his head, but didn't elaborate. "And so, I just lived life as if every second was a party. Whatever Becca did, I did. She tried to watch out for me, but after a while, we just automatically did everything together."

He paused for a stifling moment and he kept rubbing his hands together and glancing down.

"I did everything imaginable—before I knew it, I met Althea at an after-party and we were living together. Then my mom got cancer," he said, "and I drank every night to try and get rid of the guilt I felt. It's humiliating." His words were angry and Kelsey could tell he was still mad at himself. "In reality, I was just drowning. Running."

"So I haven't always been like how I am now," he said. "I was selfish, rude, arrogant. A typical product of fame."

Kelsey swallowed before venturing to ask the question burning in her mind. "What happened? With Althea?"

Ethan glanced up at her, a scared expression crossing his features for a second. "Um, well, we were together for almost four years. We broke up a year ago. It ended horribly," he gulped and looked down at the sand. "We uh—we got into an argument. I was wanting to go out with some friends, and she wanted me to stay and go to her brother's birthday party. He was turning seven."