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In The Heat of Los Angeles

Epilogue: Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)

“I feel like we just did this,” Harry said as he pulled me into him in the back of the car.

“We pretty much did. Three weeks ago.” I rested my head on his shoulder and watched the street fly by outside the window as we headed to the airport.

“You could just stay. I only have a week left here and I don’t even have much to film. We could explore and have some time together.”

“We could, but I have work to get back to. Plus I’m currently failing really terribly at the whole ‘Ty and Eliza not living with us when you get home’ thing.”

“That’s fine. I’ve told you that’s fine. I won’t be home for long before I take off to work on the album.”

“I know, don’t remind me.”

“You get to come at the start of that.”

“I know but still,” I replied while I pouted. “You are going to Jamaica for at least a month. We both know my life can’t let me stay there that long and I’d cramp your style.”

“You will never cramp my style. I’d let you come for the entire thing but you definitely can’t just pick up and leave LA for a month or two right now. We know that.”

“We do.” I was pouting again. The few days I’d been with him had been perfect. Each trip I’d made, three total, had been better than the one prior. We were developing a system on how this worked. We were working. The distance hadn’t killed us, it had made us stronger. Strong enough that I was excited for him to take off with the team he’d picked for his album to go to Jamaica and have time away from the world to work on it. To write without the pressures of society, of the machine, of me telling him what he needed to be working on. He claimed he wanted me to A&R his record but I knew I couldn’t just take off and be there the entire time. I knew that a label would want him to work with them, once he picked one, and not just me. We were doing this process different so that he could have the freedom he needed to write the album he needed to write.

“But you can make as many visits as you want. I want to be around you as much as you can and when I’m done with Jamaica we can have some time together in LA before we figure out what’s next.”

What’s next had been the big talk for us while he was gone. Would we decide to keep the schedule we’d done for this film while he finished an album in LA and in London? Would I take off with him and work out of the London office for a while? Would we pick New York and do something new for both of us? We’d decided we would just let the universe take us where it wanted. We’d had more talks about the future and what’s next than I’d had with every other boyfriend I’d ever had in my life combined. I knew he’d want to go home to England for a while and I’d started prepping the board that I’d be heading there with him, potentially for the entire fourth quarter of the year and the start of next year. It would depend on what he wanted to do because I was willing to work from somewhere new for a while. It would be good for me, good for the company and good for our relationship.

The car pulled up to the airport and stopped. Against his wishes I’d flown private. Pops had finally talked him into letting me do this. When your company has access to multiple private jets and you can avoid a lot of the hassle of travel, why not? I was able to sleep, work and do whatever I needed to without my anxiety spiking, without a single migraine from the travel and could fly out when it was convenient for us, not when a flight was available. Harry opened the door and I slid out of the car behind him. The driver grabbed all of my bags out of the back and took them to the staff from the plane.

“Hello Miss Scarcello,” Laurel greeted.

“Hello, Laurel. I’ll be onboard in just a minute.”

“Take your time,” she said smiling at me. She knew these goodbyes had been hard each time. She typically had everything you could ever imagine needing to calm down once I walked onto the plane, knowing that my emotions had to go through a rollercoaster as I said goodbye each time.

“Thanks,” I replied. I turned my attention back to Harry who had sunglasses on despite the fact that the sun had decided to take the day off and leave us with a gray sky. It actually fit the mood perfectly. “What’s with the shades, Styles?”

“Trying to be manly,” he answered with a small laugh. “Sending you home this time feels different. Like you should be staying here or I should be going with you. I don’t want to be apart from you.”

“We will be okay.”

“I know we will. We are getting really good at this, but something just feels off. Like I should be getting on the plane to go home with you.”

“It’s because you were supposed to be on the plane with me. I’m sure that’s it.” He was supposed to be going home with me, it’s why this trip had been planned. A few of the scenes he needed to be in had been pushed back to this week so he was staying longer than originally planned. I had been disappointed but I got it. There were shooting delays all the time, this wasn’t abnormal. It just wasn’t like rearranging the schedule for a normal client, it had meant rearranging a planned weekend to Malibu, just the two of us, which of course wasn’t a big deal. He’d actually taken it harder than I had.

“I was supposed to get time alone with you in Malibu, instead I’m going to spend a few more days drowning.” I giggled a little. The idea that he wanted to go to Malibu and Jamaica after having spent his summer ‘swimming’ in France seemed crazy to me. But he wanted warm weather, some fun and maybe a little bit of a sun tan before heading off to Jamaica to work.

“You look cute when you’re drowning.” He laughed at me before hugging me tightly.

“I just don’t want you to go. Can you just stay?”

“I can’t. I have a lot to do at work this week. Plus I’ve got dinner plans with Jimmy tonight. He wants to start the discussion of what’s next.”

“I told you to wait until I was home for that.”

“I know you did. He and I scheduled this for tonight when we thought you’d be home. He might decide to wait to talk it over when you’re there but at the same time, you don’t need to be there to discuss what’s next. It’s a company thing, it’s a father/daughter thing. You’ll maybe understand that someday.” His smile grew huge at the ‘someday’. With Rachel being pregnant and all of the things I was doing to help her prep Harry was developing a case of baby fever. She’d FaceTimed me a couple of times while I’d been here visiting him. He was excited to get home to see her in person.

“I hope I get to.” His smile was so bright, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to get to watch him someday have a relationship with a daughter. I knew how important those relationships were. I was lucky enough to have two of those relationships, each drastically different than the other. I knew kids were far off in our future, we were both much too focused on our careers to begin thinking about a family, at least not currently.

“I need to go.”

“I know,” he replied. His voice heavy with the emotion of saying goodbye again.

“It’s our last time doing this here. You’ll be home before you know it.”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you. Have a safe flight, call me when you get home.”

“I will.”

One last kiss.

One last embrace.

One last wave.

One last flight.

“Miss Scarcello, is there anything I can get you?” Laurel asked as I got settled into my seat.

“Just my usual coffee for now. I might want to eat in a little bit but I’m going to try and get through my email first, prioritize things.”

“Of course.”

I opened my laptop and found that laying in between the keyboard and monitor was a hidden love note. Harry had been hiding notes in my work items and luggage each visit. It usually took me a few days to find all of them. In his scribbles on the outside of the envelope read ‘My Love. My Life. My Evie.’

I carefully opened the envelope pulling out a card and opening it. A photo of the two of us from my first visit this summer fell out. He’d taken it of us in bed. We were sleepy, naked, and barely covered by blankets. He had one arm around me, my face was buried in his chest and his lips were resting gently on the top of my head. Despite his self-imposed social media hiatus, outside of the Instagram account he ran for the cat, he was almost constantly taking selfies to send me or photos of us together. A whole lot more than I’d realized he was doing. He’d also found every sneaky photo someone from The Circus, our other friends, or my family had taken. Every single day we’d been apart he would send a photo of us, most I didn’t even recognize, and tell me how many days it was until we were together and a reason he loved me. It was a new reason every day. Some silly like, he loved the way I yelled at the TV during a Cubs game or the voice I used when I talked to Little Harold. Some sweet, like he loved the way I smelled when I first got out of the shower or the way I smiled when I first woke up in the morning. Some romantic, he loved the way my lips tasted or the way my body perfectly fit inside his when we slept. Some raunchy, like the way I sounded right before I reached orgasm or the way my nails felt when they scratched down his back. The love notes were usually about how he missed me and was excited about our future.

Everlee Mae,

I miss you already. I hope you understand how heartbroken I am to not be returning home with you today. Thank you for supporting me through this experience and for the way you have taken so easily to this. Without you by my side none of this would matter.

I am counting down by the hours until we are together again.

Love you with all my heart.

-
H.

I glanced back down at the photo and flipped it over. There was almost always a quote he’d found that made him think of me on the photos he snuck into the love notes. This particular one read ‘I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone. - J.R.R. Tolkien’ I smiled at the photo and grabbed my planner, prepared to tuck it inside only to find a second photo. This one was cheesy. We were dressed for our triple date with The Winstons and Cordens. He had an arm wrapped around the front of me as he stood behind me. The photo was taken in the mirror that hung on the wall in the entry way of the house. He was kissing me on my temple in this photo, I’d discovered that there was a fair amount of photos where he was kissing me.

‘People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. - Elizabeth Gilbert’ The quote on the back of this one brought a tear to my eye. It was true. He was my soul mate but we were drastically different from each other in so many ways. But he brought ME to my attention so I spent less time focused on everyone else and time focused on where I truly wanted my life to go. And here I was, being his mirror and helping him through one of the biggest changes his life would know. The fact that he’d saved this quote for this photo showed the care he put into each of these little love notes and items.

I took a deep breath and opened up my email. I hadn’t even bothered to look at my laptop much while I was on the trip. I got it out when I got there, sent an email to my family to let them know I’d landed and didn’t touch it until I packed it back up. I watched the number climb until it was done chiming. 207. Not bad considering I left part way through the day Thursday and was gone all day Friday. Eliza and I had it down to an art how we handled this stuff while I was gone, it was almost becoming too easy. I started to go through and sort what would need a reply, what didn’t need a reply and what was a completely useless email that someone on my staff sent me for a reason I couldn’t determine.

“Miss Scarcello, here is your coffee and a water. I also took the liberty of putting together some snacks for you.” Harry had taken it upon himself to send a note to Laurel with information on how I should be taking care of myself on these flights. Something he’d figured out from family, Eliza, and studying my habits. She brought me avocado toast with an egg on it. I smiled knowing that he was doing what he could to take care of me even when we were apart.

“Thank you, Laurel.” I took a sip of the iced coffee and relaxed into my chair as I read through the emails. Settling on a few from family and The Circus. This had become habit and honestly, it wasn’t even that bad. Sure, the long flights sucked, but I got work done. Sure, my bed was lonely every night, but we’d found ways to make sure we talked every day, most of the time twice. I loved him and all of what we’d been through was worth it. It wasn’t always easy but it was always worth it.

From: Eliza Richards
To: Everlee Scarcello
Subject: Week Ahead

Hey Ev,

With me being gone this week you’ll have Marissa covering your office. While you were gone Friday I went over everything with her and made sure she had all of the information she needed on your week and how you work.

Thank you for letting me take this week off. I know I normally try to make sure that I’m on vacation at the same time as you. The weekend so far with Joe’s family has been great. We all miss you in the Hamptons and can’t wait to see you we are all back.

I hope you had a great trip to visit Harry and have a great week.
E.R.

This week was the annual week vacation of the Jonas and Mackin families in The Hamptons. Cameron and Victoria had a giant house right on the ocean with a pool, tennis courts, and everything the two families needed for a fun summer vacation. The families had all been spending more time together since Kammi and Nick got engaged and they had been spending more time on the East Coast. They were trying to plan a wedding and a life together. Kammi had spent part of the summer working out of our New York office because Nick had work to do in New York and it gave her a chance to spend more time with her family. Ty had opted to stay in Los Angeles because of his relationship with Eli and it helped that Kammi’s youngest sister, Blair, needed a summer job so she was working as an assistant out of the New York office which meant when Kammi was there she was actually allowed to boss her younger sister around. Eliza and Joe would take off for the occasional weekend when I was gone but had mostly stayed in LA. I had instructed Eliza that she was not to work at all while she was gone and told Joe to kick her ass if she tried to.

I took a deep breath and drove headfirst into the rest of my email. I’d never enjoyed a full email box but I’d never dreaded them the way that I do now. I used to get a rush of endorphins and energy for every email I replied to and filed away where it belonged. I no longer felt that way. I hated the tasks I’d have to add to my to do list from the emails. I dreaded Mondays in a way I’d never felt before. And tomorrow was worse than normal. I’d been out of the office for several days and knew that I’d not only have these emails, the tasks from them but also a good portion of my staff vying for my attention about the things they either wanted to brag about, bitch about, or be handheld through.

I loved my work but I’d begun to hate portions of my job. Being in charge wasn’t fun anymore. I didn’t get fulfilled from the achievements of my staff anymore. I often found myself scowling at my computer screen or wishing I could be anywhere but my office. Pops and Cameron were both constantly telling me to leave my laptop at home when I traveled to Harry. They were encouraging I visit more than I’d planned, which was shocking. They both admitted to me that they were sensing my burnout coming. I’d spent so much of my life trying to get to where I am and not any time enjoying it. I was now trying to enjoy it but spent too much time worried that people would think I lacked focus or that I wasn’t working hard enough. They were worried that I’d make myself sick if I didn’t actually allow myself to step back. Kammi hadn’t ever been married to her work quite the way I was, she had Nick from the very start of this rollercoaster ride to success. I hadn’t had someone that supported me and gave me a reason to shut off when I left the office. I did now. But I hadn’t figured out how to balance the two parts of my life without either ruining my relationship with my partner or ruining my career. My relationship was what too often took the backseat which only made me grumpy and depressed.

I clicked down through my email, marking what needed follow up in the morning and what could be forwarded on to a different agent. Then I landed on the email from my father.

From: James Scarcello
To: Everlee Scarcello
Subject: See You Sunday!

Hey kid.

I hope your trip to see Harry was fun and that you listened to my request and didn’t work while you were there. This was your last chance to be there as his partner and support him through this experience. If you’re reading this before sitting on the plane home I will know, trust me.

I’m proud of the way you’ve tried to focus on your life for a while. You and Harry are really building a solid relationship that is healthy for you.

I can’t wait to see you on Sunday and hear about your trip. Download the photos from your camera while you’re there so I can see them when you come for dinner.

Love ya kid!
Pops

His perspective on everything had changed since the very beginning. He no longer wanted his daughter to focus on her job. He wanted her to focus on her life and her future outside of work. Something both of us were really unsure how to handle. He’d rarely allowed for his personal life to be a priority over his work life. There were a few occasions but it wasn’t common for my father to decide that something should be more important than work. He saw the changes in me and I think they were inspiring changes in him and we were trying together to figure out how to have a healthy work/life balance. It was shocking to most, myself included.

For the first time my father and I both looked at the future past what profits for the year would be, what contract we could get for a client, and if we could hire a really great rep from another agency. He listened to me talk about my visits to see Harry and our talks. He knew that I was considering spending time in London so that Harry and I could be together. He knew that I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure that my relationship stayed healthy and lasted. I wasn’t just having fun in a relationship anymore. I was in this for the long haul. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Harry and my father, surprisingly, was trying to help me figure out how to make that happen.

A notification popped up in the corner of my MacBook Pro. A new text message. I toggled the screen over to my Messages app and saw the new text came from Harry.

HS: I miss you already.
ES: I miss you too.
ES: Thanks for the pictures. I love them. I can’t wait to add them to the collection I have at home.
HS: I’m glad you like them. Though I wish you were here taking more with me than on a plane headed home.
ES: I know. I do too. But you know how it is. I need to be home. Responsibility sucks.
HS: It does.
HS: So are you prepared to have the future conversation with Jimmy on your own?
ES: I am.
HS: What are you going to tell him?
ES: That he and Cameron are right. I’m headed towards a burnout. I need to allow my personal life to not always take a backseat to my professional one.
HS: Does that mean you’re willing to spend time in London?
ES: I told you that.
HS: I know but I still feel like you’re only joking and I’m going to get packed up to leave and a meeting will pop up and you’re ditching me.
ES: Not happening. I need to be able to allow myself to have a personal life and let it be a priority.
ES: I love Jimmy. I worship Jimmy. Jimmy is my hero. But I do not want to grow up to be Jimmy anymore.
HS: Wow.
HS: I did not expect that.
ES: I want to be able to at some point have a life that is fulfilling. I don’t want to be like him and allow my career to have a negative effect on our relationship. It needs to come first. If I want to ever have a family and the life that the two of us talk about and dream about I need to figure out how to not allow my career to make me the worst mother this planet has ever seen. I don’t want kids raised by nannies and I don’t want to end up at some point down the road with you resenting me because my job is my priority. You and our future need to be my priority.
HS: I love you. God. I wish I was there with you so I could kiss you and hug you and tell you how much I love you.
ES: I love you too and I can’t wait for our future. I’m prepared to tell Pops that I need to figure out how to allow our future to become a reality and if that means me working from London or New York or LA or occasionally a movie set or tour bus I’m prepared for that. You get to be #1 for a while.
HS: I don’t ever want you to give up your job for me. I love that you are passionate about your career. But I also don’t want to see you burn out early. I don’t want you to get sick from the amount of work you’re doing. I hate seeing you suffer the panic attacks from work that you have been having this summer. I just want my girlfriend to feel herself and happy and get through everything she’s got going on.
HS: I wish I could be there with you as you talk about this with Jimmy.
ES: I know you do but let’s be honest, this is a big step for me to be able to have this conversation for myself. Me telling him that I want this life and that I need to start to focus on having a healthy work/life balance is a big thing. If you were there and part of the conversation it might seem that I wasn’t making the decision for myself but that I was allowing a man to make the decision for me. I don’t like those optics.
HS: I can understand that. Just know I support you and I wish I was there with you while you do this.
ES: I just wish you were going to be at home when I got there. Our bed is lonely and I hate not having you there. I hate this feeling. I hate how empty the house feels. How empty I feel when you’re gone.
HS: You’re doing great, love. I know that you’re going through a lot and I hate that my absence is contributing to it.
ES: It’s okay. We knew this was coming and I’m doing my best to take care of myself. I’m just anxious for you to get home and for the future. For a point in our lives where I spend more nights with you in a month than I do away from you.
HS: I know. We will get there. We can survive the time apart and the time together is so much better.
ES: You’re right. I just miss you and it sucks.
HS: I miss you and it sucks too.

I spent time texting with Harry knowing that he was likely getting himself ready for tomorrow and the rest of his shoot. That he was laying in the bed in the hotel room and maybe recalling what last night was like. Thinking of what it would be like when we are finally reunited. I knew it was under 10 days until I saw him, but every day apart from him had felt like a lifetime. We stopped part way on the flight to refuel the plane for the second half of the flight. I took the opportunity to get up and stretch my legs a little and get some fresh air. The second half of the flight I opted to avoid work and read a book. My therapist had made a ton of recommendations that would help me through the process I was facing. I’d been reading them during the flights and at night when I’d lay in bed unable to fall asleep because Harry wasn’t laying in bed beside me. I’d increased my appointments with her to once a week earlier this year as my anxiety was increasing with changes in my life. Since Harry left there was more than one week where I saw her twice and several times where she would call me the day after to make sure I was doing ok. She was amazing and I was lucky to have her through the process.

The pilot came over the PA system in the plane to let me know that we were approaching the airport and would be landing shortly. I started to pack my stuff up and ready myself for the evening. It was going to be a long conversation with my father. I knew he was supportive of me in my relationship, I knew he wanted to prevent burnout, I knew he was sort of okay with my working outside of the Los Angeles office but I wasn’t sure if he was prepared for all of it. That as my relationship with Harry continues and at some point when I get married, because that was the plan, that I’d take a very large step back. That I’d grown tired of being the person in charge of my department. That I thought we needed to create another level in each department, someone who managed everyone and reported to each of the heads. With Kammi getting married I knew that her life would shift too. There would be parts of her job she no longer had time for, especially as she and Nick eventually started a family, something I knew they both wanted to do. That as he and Cameron aged that maybe they needed to have someone beneath them that could help as they both get to the point of transitioning into the next phase of their career.

I’d been working on a plan for quite some time and told no one about it outside of Harry. I’d practiced what I wanted to tell my father and Cameron with him and when Cameron was in town for our most recent board meeting I chickened out. I wasn’t ready to tell them this plan. I’d developed a new structure for the company adding in a VP for each department and then underneath that people handling each subcategory of each division. Something we hadn’t done ever. We all were overworked and needing to adjust how our lives worked but at the same time were all very invested in our careers, our departments, and our company. I was hoping that the idea was taken seriously and considered by everyone, including our board.

“Welcome to Los Angeles, Miss Scarcello,” Laurel said. As she reappeared into the main cabin of the plane.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“I’ll get your bags and bring them out, I see that Sam is waiting for you.” I looked out the window and there on the tarmac was the giant black SUV that Sam drove me everywhere in. I smiled and thanked Laurel again as I pulled my backpack on and grabbed my purse. By the time I was down the stairs of the plane Laurel was behind me with my luggage handing it off to Sam.

“How was the trip, Evil?” he asked as he started driving. I’d settled into the front seat rather than the back. This was typical if it was just Sam and I in the car and I wasn’t intending on working.

“It was good. Too short truly and I hate that he wasn’t on the plane to come home with me.”

“You do seem a little more down than normal. At least you go tonight to Jimmy’s house for dinner. That usually cheers you up.”

“It does. It should be longer than normal, we are talking about the future tonight. He knows that Harry is coming home and going to dive into his music so I’ll be trying to figure out a better work/life balance plan.”

“Wait. You have a work/life balance plan?” He braced for the impact of my first against his bicep. He truly was like the big brother I never asked for in LA but I was grateful to have his humor on this drive because I was nervous. I was afraid I was going to walk in the door and get the version of Jimmy from the first part of my relationship with Harry back. Something just didn’t feel right, I was on edge more than normal.

“Funny. I don’t really. But I finally have a decent reason to develop one. Pops claims he wants to help but for some reason I feel like all I’m going to experience is pain from this dinner.”

“It’s probably the weather. It’s been overcast and shitty around here while you’ve been gone. You’re used to coming home to sunshine and warm weather. It’s not been that at all.”

“You’re probably right. But it doesn’t help me stop from being nervous about this.”

“I know. But we can make the drive fun at least. Tell me about the trip.”

“It was nice. Same as the rest of them have been. A lot of time spent in a hotel, I got to hang out and watch him work for a little while, though I tried to stay hidden. I’ve had a few clients work with Christopher Nolan and his team so I know him a little and he didn’t really mind me hanging out. It was cool to see Harry doing that, he was in his element which is incredible because I truly thought he was most at home on a stage. He impresses me more and more every day.”

“Look at that. Evil in love.”

“Oh fuckin’ shut up, Sam. It’s weird enough dealing with it and acknowledging it. I don’t need you picking on me for it too.”

“Sorry, I know it’s odd for you. It’s just mildly entertaining. You’re like my little sister and I truly thought that someday you’d figure out how to let the State of California declare you legally married to your iPhone or laptop.”

“That was probably true.”

“So straight to Jimmy’s right? No stop at home?”

“No stop at home. There’s no one there anyway. Ty is with Eli and Eliza is in The Hamptons with Joe.”

“Alright then, to Jimmy’s we go.” We made small talk while he expertly navigated through the Sunday traffic in the city. Maybe Sam was right and the uneasy feeling I had was just because I got off a plane to cloudy skies instead of the sunshine I’d been expecting. Traffic was heavier than normal for a Sunday causing the trip from the private airport to my father’s house to take a lot longer than normal. I knew I needed to let Linda know we were running late so I sent her a quick text message so that she knew when to have everything ready for dinner. She almost always sent an immediate reply because Pops had gotten her an Apple Watch and she was a whiz with it. She also always used her phone to play music while she cooked. But it had been nearly ten minutes later as we drove through the winding roads to my father’s house, slowed down by a passing ambulance and firetruck. “So what is Linda making for dinner?” Sam asked.

“I’m not sure. I sent her a text message and she hasn’t replied which is odd. Maybe she’s busy prepping something super delicious. I’d invite you to stay for dinner but Pops and are having this future conversation.”

“I know. It’s okay. I’m actually going to run home for a bit and just come get you when you’re ready.”

“I can get an Uber,” I replied.

“Yeah right. You get an Uber and I lose my job.” Sirens came up behind us again, this time a police car. “Must be a big accident or something up ahead.”

“Maybe. When I was a kid if an ambulance or cop car would pass us Pops would make the sign of the cross and send a kiss to the sky. He’s a superstitious Italian guy with Catholic roots. I always found it really odd.”

“Your Pops does have some really weird superstitions.” Sam turned onto my father’s street and it was suddenly as if everything was moving in slow motion. At the end of the block was the gated driveway of the house in LA I grew up in. The gate was standing wide open. The lights and sirens of the cop car in the street hypnotized me. “What the fuck?”

I felt my heart jump into my throat as the scene came into view. I wasn’t 100% sure what I was seeing but I knew the sinking feeling I’d had the entire drive definitely wasn’t about the weather. Sam pulled up behind the cop car and I jumped out as quickly as I could. Sam hadn’t even come to a complete stop yet. I slammed the door shut and took off running towards the driveway.

“Ma’am. You can’t go in there.” The police officer closest to me tried to restrain me from getting into the driveway. With every move I made trying to run he held me tighter.

“This is her father’s house. You have to let her go in there,” Sam answered. I could tell that the police officers didn’t want to allow me onto the property which made my nerves skyrocket. If it was just a false alarm or nothing major they wouldn’t worry about it. But they were holding tightly while Sam argued with them. I finally managed to break out of the officers arms and took off running down the driveway, zigzagging through the emergency vehicles and first responders. I had no idea what I was about to find but I knew that there was nothing that was going to come in between me and the house in this moment. I took a deep breath before I ran into the house screaming for my Pops and that’s when I saw it. The paramedics hurriedly moving a gurney out of the office on the first floor and carrying my father. He didn’t appear to be moving, he had an oxygen mask on his face and from what I could see he was unconscious.

What was going on?

What has happening?

Was my father okay?

Notes

Ok. Ok. I know. Cliffhanger. You can hate me all you want. But this is the vision I’ve had for the end of In the Heat of Los Angeles since I started writing it. I’ve imagined this chapter in my head for over a year, probably a year and a half. It’s exactly how I envisioned this ending story and setting up the sequel. So guess what that means....there’s a sequel! With the encouragement of all of you, I found my way back to this story and was able to not only finish it but find the inspiration to continue working on it and write the sequel I’ve dreamed of writing all along.
So here’s the good news - we know that Everlee and Harry are happy and in love and planning a future together. We know that Everlee wants to plan for the future and step back from her job a little so that she can have that future. This, however, is a giant curveball in the game plan she’s set. The sequel will give us a chance to see how all of this turns out, how Everlee handles the changes in her life, and how everyone else in Everlee’s life handles the changes that are coming.
I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am for all of you that stuck with me through the breaks I’ve needed to take while writing this. I am so lucky to have amazing readers. Writing this brings so much joy into my life. I am so excited about the future for these characters and their stories. Excited enough that I plan on starting the sequel tonight. I hope you’re all willing to stick with me and trust me I’m prepared for angry messages about the cliffhanger. But I promise it will be resolved. You will know what happens. It’s not going to hang out there forever.
I am excited to hear what everyone thinks of this. The whole story, the epilogue, the characters, all of it. Give it to me. The only way for me to improve is through feedback from readers and I want everyone to enjoy reading what I write because it is so fun for me. Send me a message, ask any questions you’ve got, don’t hold back. I’d love to hear from you.
Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through this.
xx. Annie

Comments

@En_1960
Thank you!

raybansncoffee raybansncoffee
5/16/19

LOVE this.

En_1960 En_1960
5/14/19

@xXFluffy_GruXx
HEY GUESS WHAT? THE SEQUEL IS A THING. A REAL THING. LIKE I PUBLISHED THE FIRST PART OF A SEQUEL! I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Your words of encouragement through all of this have meant more than you could ever truly know.

raybansncoffee raybansncoffee
12/18/18

@xXFluffy_GruXx
Hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later. I'm behind with work which is stressful. I work for myself so it's not like I can have anyone else help but the good thing is I can take care of everything I need to without worrying about punching a clock for someone else. I'm also at that point where my sleep habit is so screwed that I just honestly want to pull an all-nighter, hate my life for like a day and a half and then hope that it resets my sleep schedule. Maybe tonight is the night for that. I could write instead of sleep, haha!

raybansncoffee raybansncoffee
8/27/18

@raybansncoffee
Exactly! You are also 100% correct about growing through what you go through! I'm excited and anxious to see what comes next, but I'll wait patiently this time, promise. XD

xXFluffy_GruXx xXFluffy_GruXx
8/27/18