“Stubborn jackass.” I cursed under my breath.

As adamant as Tony had been with his statement, I couldn’t help but get furious with both Mike and him. A small part of me jumped with glee to know that Tony still cared for me, but it was just a small part. The other fraction of me—which happened to be the dominant part—wanted to smack the shit out of both of these boys. Couldn’t he see that I’m going through all of this trouble to keep him safe?! Was he that stubborn to realize that I wasn’t the girl for him? I’m a mess, I’m damaged goods, I’m a train wreck! All my pondering fueled my angst enough to grow a back bone and snap back at him.

“Like hell you are!” I snapped with a snarl. “You’re not coming with me Tony. It’s not your problem so butt out.” I added emphasizing the sound of the t in “butt out”.

“Not my problem?” Tony said with anger. “I love you, you idiot what’s your problem becomes my problem!” He added while taking a few steps closer to me. We were now face to face with each other, glaring into each other’s eyes.

“It’s not your problem! I’m trying to keep you safe you jackass, so please for the love of God. Let. Me. Go!” I shouted, huffing and puffing with both adrenaline and anger.

“Goddammit Effie!” Tony yelled, and in an instant Tony cupped my face and pulled me in for a kiss. It was heated passion that ignited on my skin, buzzing every cell in me, and eliciting a satisfied sigh from my lips. I couldn’t help but react by kissing Tony back. I was lost in his touch, his lips, the way his hands were gentle but his hands were oddly rough. It wasn’t until Mike cleared his throat that we separated. I mentally kicked myself for letting my emotions get the best of me.

“Effie, do you seriously think I’ll let you out of my sight again? You have run from me one too many times that I don’t want you to vanish from me.” Tony pleaded while his hands still rested on my cheeks.

“It’s too dangerous.” I whispered trying to blink back the tear that almost ran down my cheek. He couldn’t come with me, I wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t want Tony to be an easy target for my father.

“Do you think I’m such a wimp that I don’t know how to take care of myself?” Tony asked in a joking tone, but I wasn’t in the mood for kidding around. “Baby, I would never, never let anyone hurt you.” Tony said softly looking me directly into my eyes.

But it’s not me I’m worried about getting hurt. I thought to myself.

My heart stuttered because Tony was so protective over me. The only other person who would stick up for me, who would care so deeply for me was Emily. In some ways Tony reminded me of her. Emily would always push me to open up, just like how Tony had tried so many times. They were both passionate, both caring, and both so protective. I guess it was the reason I gravitated towards him. I’d usually brush people off because I gave off a reclusive vibe, but with Tony I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity with him and it wasn’t until now that I realized why that is. He—in one way or another—reminded me of Emily.

“If you come then you’re not stepping a foot out of the car.” I instructed sternly. I knew that I couldn’t argue with him. As of right now we were wasting too much time arguing in circles.

Tony was silent as he looked at the ground.

“If you can’t agree to those terms then you can sit your ass on the curb and watch me leave.” I added with a smirk on my face.

Tony sighed while Mike just snickered to himself. “Fine.” Tony agreed.

---

It had been four hours into the drive back to Seattle and I could feel the guys getting restless. Mike sat in the back while Tony took shotgun. They tried to fight me on who was gonna drive, but I won that argument. I was tired, hungry, and a little agitated from Mike’s snarky comments about my choice of music.

“What is this whiny crap?” Mike asked with an edge in his tone.

“This is my favorite kind of music.” I snapped.

“It sounds like some adolescent bullshit.” Mike muttered.

“For your information Michael Lana Del Rey is an amazing artist.” I replied while cranking the volume higher. The song that was currently playing was American by Lana Del Rey and I gotta say that it did sound a bit whiny, but Mike’s incessant grumbling just made me want to make this car ride as miserable as possible for him as he did for me.

“C’mon Tone, back me up and tell your girlfriend to change this crap.” Mike pleaded while leaning towards the front; his head popping out between Tony and I.

“I’m Switzerland right now; I’m neutral. This is your guys fight, not mines.” Tony replied with a small laugh.

“Effie please, please change the song to something a little less girly.” Mike pleaded nicely. He sounded like a brat, but I had to agree with him because the song was rather slow and making me tired.

“Fine.” I sighed then hit next. Safe and Sound by Rebelution began playing; a nice reggae beat with a great guitar intro that woke me up a bit.

“You listen to reggae?” Tony asked while cocking his head to the side, staring at me with a curious look.

“Sometimes.” I admitted. “But I don’t listen to it often; it’s mainly this group and Tribal Seeds I tend to gravitate towards.” I added with a shrug.

“There’s so much I don’t know about you.” Tony commented while looking out the window.

I sighed debating whether my next suggestion would ultimately be a good idea or not. I figured that since we had nearly five hours left of driving that this wouldn’t be that bad of an idea.

“Okay go ahead, ask away.” I said breaking through the silence that settled over us—well, besides the music that played in the background.

“Ask what?” Tony asked confused.

“We still have a long drive ahead of us, so you might as well do the whole Spanish Inquisition on me now that you have your chance.” I clarified while looking straight ahead at the road.

“Sounds fair.” Mike mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, but was thankful he’d stop complaining about the music choice.

“Okay, so where are you from exactly?” Tony asked first.

“Miami, Florida. I used to live in the suburbs though, before…before Emily died.” I answered hesitantly.

Tony nodded, accepting my answer then pondered what his next question was gonna be.

“Who’s the group we’re listening to right now and how did you acquire a taste for it?” Mike asked. I scoffed a little because it would be him to ask about the damn music.

“The band’s called Rebelution, and when I worked in a little Tavern in LA I had this co-worker from New Zealand who was obsessed with them. She’s the one who introduced me to’em.” I replied with a smirk.

“Why didn’t you know about this settlement thing?” Tony asked, returning back to the serious questions.

“I figured it was because I was technically considered a run away at age thirteen. My guess is that whoever dealt with mines and Emily’s accident case couldn’t get a hold of me which left me in the dark for a lot of things. I mean, I never even graduated from high school because I was too busy running from my past and doing under the table jobs to support myself that it never occurred to me that I would get a settlement.” I answered rather long-winded. It was the most I had ever confessed about my past that it made me feel a little exposed especially when the sun was still present in the sky.

“You never graduated from high school?” Mike asked incredulously.

I sighed because I always felt like an idiot because I didn’t have that special piece of paper that qualified me as “smart”.

“I couldn’t technically enroll myself into school without a legal guardian.” I pointed out.

“Wow, you’re actually pretty smart for someone who didn’t graduate high school.” Mike commented.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” I muttered while rolling my eyes.

“By all means do.” Mike answered with a sincere smile on his face.

“You don’t have any other family members?” Tony asked—once again, returning back to the serious questions.

“Not that I know of. My mom and dad were never on good terms with our other relatives to a point where I never even got t meet them.” I answered a little bitterly.

“Sorry.” Tony apologized with sympathetic eyes.

“It’s fine. I mean, it’s better that I was on my own.” I replied impassively.

“Are you kidding me? You were practically robbed of your childhood! You had to grow up so fast to a point that you actually believe you’re better off by yourself.” Tony exclaimed. His voice made me jump because as of now we were talking normally—if anything a few notches above a whisper.

“Next question please.” I said ignoring Tony’s comment. I wasn’t ready to dissect my life just yet. I had other burdens weighing on my mind that I didn’t need a psycho-analysis on top of it.

“Would you ever consider going back to school?” Mike asked.

I didn’t understand what was up with him and the whole school subject, but it definitely got me thinking.

“I’ve considered it.” I admitted. “But I never saw myself as a career girl.” I added with a shrug. Being a bar keep was pretty much the only thing I knew how to do that going to school seemed pointless.

The conversation didn’t stop just yet, but in the silence you could hear my stomach growling beneath my shirt.

“That’s it.” Tony said then added “We’re gonna stop so you can eat.” His voice was stern and authorative.

“We can’t!” I protested not wanting to waste any time. “We’re more than halfway there, I can hold off till then.”

“Effie just pull into this truck stop. We’re gonna eat something because one, I need to stretch my legs. Two, I’m starving. And three, I need to piss really badly.” Tony instructed.

“Boo-fucking-hoo, I need to drop this money off and that’s that.” I replied with an edge to my voice. I knew I sounded like a bitch, but that was because I hadn’t slept good in months and I haven’t had a decent meal in what felt like forever. Maybe Tony was right; I needed to eat.

“Effie, pull the fucking car over before I do it for you.” Mike threatened.

I rolled my eyes then put on my turn signal and pulled into the truck stop. “Yeah, I really want to eat greasy truck stop food. That’ll curb my hunger.” I muttered under my breath.

“Try not to put up a fight, please.” Tony implored with warm eyes. I couldn’t stay mad when he looked at me like that. I felt my heart melt in a puddle inside of my chest as I cracked a smile.

“Fine.” I said then followed both boys into the tiny diner.

Tony and Mike shuffled to the men’s room as I snagged us a booth near the bay window. I felt my phone ring and I literally felt my entire body stiffen because I was worried that my father was calling, but when I pulled my phone out the screen read Tonya—my lawyer from Florida.

“Hello?” I asked mustering up my best sounding polite voice.

“Effie? It’s me Tonya. Did I reach you at a bad time?” She asked.

“Not at all.” I answered.

“Well I found out some good and bad news for you. Which would you like to hear first?” She asked.

I hated when there was a double edged sword present.

I sighed and said “I’ll take the bad news first.” I figured it’s better to rip the band aid off first.

“It seems that there is a settlement for an Effie and an Emily; however, it wasn’t under the last name Jane. So I did some digging and found that—well I’m assuming this last bit—but you’re last name is really Harper.” I cringed because it had been a long, long time since I heard my real last name. It was until then that I nearly forgotten about my real last name.

“There’s a million dollar settlement for both Effie and Emily Harper. With that being said, in the death of your sister the money has fallen under your name but I couldn’t get the details for it because the clerk specifically needs you to inquire this.” Tonya finished. My head was spinning from what I was being told.

“That sounds like a whole lotta bad news.” I commented with a small laugh. By now I could see Mike and Tony making their way to my table. “You said something about there being good news.” I said with a hopeful tone.

“I decided to call back and impersonate you—which I apologize for, but I needed to get to the bottom of this—but anyway they said that all Effie Harper needed to do was head down to Miami’s judiciary office, present legal papers, such as birth certificate and a social security card, along with a picture ID and then the money would be yours.” Tonya explained. I felt my jaw drop; two million dollars at my dispense? It all seemed surreal.

“That’s it?” I asked disbelievingly.

“Fortunately yes, but the process of it all—because it’s a bug sum of money—would take a few months. It’s to make sure that you are who you say you are and whatnot.” Tonya clarified.

“That’s—that’s great news!” I said with an excited tone.

If I had the money then I can pay my parents to leave both Tony and I alone. It was like a dream come true. Tony sat adjacent to me while Mike sat across of us. I could see them exchange a confused look as I thanked Tonya before hanging up.

“What was that about?” Tony asked as I smiled broadly for what seemed like the first time in a long time.

“That was the answer to all of this bullshit.” I said feeling some weight lifted from my shoulders.

Our waitress finally came over, interrupting the somewhat conversation I was having with the guys, and took our orders. I didn’t get my usual, instead I opted for a burger and fries with a malt shake—vanilla of course. Tony got the same thing but with a chocolate malt while Mike decided to get their “special” which was basically a clogged artery waiting to happen.

“I’m guessing Tonya called?” Mike asked as our waitress returned with our drinks.

“She did.” I answered with a smile.

“Who the hell is Tonya?” Tony asked confused.

“It’s an attorney I hired to look into the whole settlement bullshit.” I answered while quickly stirring my milk shake. There were chunks of ice cream still present in it.

“What’d she say?” Tony asked.

“Basically saying that I have to go down there and show that I truly am Effie Harper then the money can be mines.” I answered.

“Effie Harper? I thought your last name was Jane.” Tony replied with a confused expression.

This is why he shouldn’t have gotten involved with me. There was so much he didn’t know that it seems almost cruel to be with me.

“I only went by the last name Jane because I was on the run.” I replied sheepishly. I was afraid because I didn’t want Tony to get mad with me. I didn’t want him to think my entire life was a lie. "I didn't want to be tracked down easily, so I changed my last name frequently. The other year I was Effie Thomas." I explained.

“Makes sense I guess.” Tony said after a few moments of silence engulfed us.

“What other secrets do you have?” Mike asked with a smirk. I expected him to make a joke at my expense or say something remotely sarcastic, but he didn’t and I was ultimately thankful for that.

“I’ll never tell you.” I joked earning a round of laughter from the two guys.

Our food came not long after that, and I ate every bite of it. For the first time I wasn’t looking over my shoulder waiting for the other shoe to drop. I felt safe—even if Mike was here. Things actually started to look up after spending all this time running, fleeting towards the darkness.

Notes

Phew! Finally found time to update. Between working two non-stop shifts and being hungover as fuck from the party I went to last night (which I have a story I will share with you!!) I think this chapter came out okay. Sorry if you think it's junk or long, but I needed to update because tomorrow my classes start up :(

You can skip reading this next bit because I'm just gonna tell you about this party I went to last night:
So, last night after I finished work, I had two parties to attend to. One was for my friend Chelsea who happened to be turning 20 and another party for my friend Lori who was turning 23. I literally had to haul ass home to shower, change into "party" clothes, and pick up my friend Katie then go to Chelsea's party first. Chelsea loves to play beer pong, which we played five rounds before I had to go to Lori's party.Mind you I have this pretty gnarly buzz going on so I decided to drive uber carefully. Anyway I reach Lori's house where we play Kings Cup (a drinking card game). If you never played that game before then don't! That game will fuck you up, no joke haha. For those who have played or know the rules to the game then you can imagine the fuckery I went through while pulling the last King of the deck. I literally had to drink a combination of Jameson, Crown Royal, Corona, Cranbrrita, and Mojito's. I'm surprised I didn't puke then and there. But our night didn't end at King's Cup because Lori wanted to go out to this bar/club called Karma's which I love because it's pretty much the only place you can go to in Hilo, Hawaii. Fortunately, I didn't drive to Karma's because I was hammered, but all the dancing I did helped me sweat out the booze. So yeah, that was my night lol. I am literally gonna stay away from drinking for an entire month because Kings Cup fucked me up ROYALLY lol.

Thanks for reading guys and make sure to comment!! :D

@lostinthemusic I hope I left you a decent spot to continue. I tried my best not to fuck it up hun, so GOOD LUCK! (:

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