Resilient

Chapter Twenty Nine

Georgie's Point of View

My alarm goes off way too early for a Sunday morning, meaning it's time for Stone to head back home. I roll over, and he pulls me tight against him. His eyes are still closed, making me chuckle.

"I don't want you to leave either," I respond and kiss his cheek. He nuzzles into my neck, and kisses it.

"Today came too quickly," he mutters. I know he doesn't want to go home. For multiple reasons. Now, he has to face what his father might be becoming. I feel so bad for him. I wish I could protect him from it all. That he could just stay here with me, in our little bubble. Safe from the outside world around us. He sighs, and gets up.

"Well, even though I don't want to, I have to go soon. It's a long drive back," he tells me. I sigh and get up with him. I start helping him pack his stuff, and soon he's ready to go. I take his hand in mine.

"I wish you didn't have to go," I tell him. He gives me a sad smile.

"Me either babygirl," he says, and kisses my forehead.

"I'll walk you to your car," I tell him.

"Sounds good," he says.

We walk down to the parking lot, and to Stone's van. We stop in front of the driver's side, and he takes me into his arms. I hug him back tightly.

"I love you so much Georgette. If anything bad ever happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," he says to me.

"I love you Stoney," I respond, close to tears. We look at each other and kiss. It's passionate, yet gentle and sweet. When we pull away, he rests his forehead on mine.

"Call me when you get home safe okay," I tell him.

"Of course," he says. We kiss one last time, and he gets on the van. He gives me one final wave, and then drives away. I head back up to my dorm, and climb back into my bed. I feel so lonely now, and my bed feels so empty. I hope Ellie comes back soon, so the loneliness subsides.

Only a few more weeks til Christmas break, and I can see Stone again. It could almost be considered pathetic how much I miss him already. Stone has always been my rock, my go to, and I just want to be there for him through this crazy mess. How could his father be so disgusting? Why does he have to be like that? Stone doesn't deserve this, and those poor people they're trafficking, Olive, they don't deserve this.

I sigh, and roll over towards the wall. I pull the covers up to my chin, and snuggle in. With all
the stuff going on, I really just want a nap. It isn't long before I drift off into dreamland.

I'm woken up by a knock at my door. I sit up and sigh. Ellie's alarm clock reads three in the afternoon. I climb down from my bed and answer the door. Standing at the door is a tall, dark hairs man, about late twenties, and dressed well. "Um hi," I say.

"Hello, I'm Peter Hollingsworth. A Mr. Garnett told me I would be able to find Georgia Collins here, and I presume you're her," he tells me.

"Depends on what you're here for," I deadpan. He chuckles and gives me an award winning smile.

"You and Mr. Garnett are producing a play, and I wanted to interview the both of you," he says.

"I'll get dressed and call Eli. We'll meet you on the common area," I tell.

"Are you sure?" He asks. "I can wait, if you'd like."

"No that's quite alright. See you in about an hour Mr. Hollingsworth," I tell him and shut the door.

I dial Eli's number immediately and he answers quickly.

"Hey sleepy head," he quips.

"Did you talk to a Peter Hollingsworth about our play, and send him to my dorm?" I ask.

"Yeah, I spoke to him. Is everything okay?" He asks. Genuine concern laces his voice. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, he just showed up, and offered to wait for to get dressed for the interview, so we could walk together. I just got a little sketched," I tell him.

"Understandably so," he says. "I'll be at your dorm in 5 minutes." He hangs up the phone, and I begin to get dressed. In five minutes, just like he said, there's a knock on my door. I open and Eli is standing there with his famous smirk.

"Just wanted to make sure he wasn't hanging around out here like a stalker," he tells me.

"Thanks, I texted Stone, but he's probably still on the road," I say.

"With everything that's going on with him, he's gonna freak," he tells me as we head to the common area.

"Yeah, but I need him to know. Just in case this guy really is a creep, he might be able to see if he's got connections to his dad or Joey's dad," I say.

"Or he might just want to interview us," Eli says.

"I love how you always look on the bright side," I say with a chuckle.

"The guy is definitely weird, maybe just overly nice, but hopefully that's all it is," he reassures me.

"The fact that life feels like a lifetime movie right now, blows," I complain. Eli chuckles.

"And this is only the beginning. You still gotta make it to the end final girl," he tells me. I sigh.

"Fuck," I breathe.