31. Julia
CHAPTER 31
Julia
The ride back to our apartments is full of Rocco and Max filling us in on what to expect once we get to Sicily.
“There are so many places I can’t wait to show you, Bella. And the food. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried the food.”
I sit up in the front of the car, hand tucked against Max’s thigh.
“Okay, but how worried do I need to be about Mt. Etna?” Tasha asks from the back.
“Nah, that volcano has been there forever. Sicily is strong. Besides, they’ve been prepping the surrounding areas on how to evacuate for the past few years. If we need to, we have some family with property in Tuscany that we can relocate to.” Rocco answers, pulling her against his side and rubbing her neck and shoulders.
Having Tasha agree to this hair-brained idea is making this all so much easier for me. The thought of leaving her was the one thing that gave me pause about going. Tasha and I have been through so much together that had she not agreed to come, I might not have gone through with it.
When we pull up to my apartment, we agree to meet back in an hour as they drop off Tasha at her place a few blocks over. I pass a black SUV with tinted windows before entering the vestibule of my apartment.
Opening my door, I stand there for a moment, taking in the space—the Christmas lights flickering across the small square footage, the minuscule kitchen area, and the bed smooshed against the wall. I realize now how I’ve just been existing all this time. Trying and failing to make the best of my situation. Working myself to death and hardly making a dent in the amount of bills I have to pay. Getting sick in America shouldn’t result in being unable to afford basic necessities.
My luggage is stuffed with clothes, photo albums, and beauty essentials.
It’s funny how nothing immediately comes to mind when faced with the decision of what to take. I begin to grab the most random items, trinkets that have followed me all my life.
I’m just finishing up when Max shows up.
“You ready?”
“Yeah, just about.”
I take one long look around my studio apartment before closing the door. It feels like I’m closing the door on that chapter of my life as I step into the unknown. My life might have been in shambles, but it was predictable. Now, I don’t know what to expect. And that knowledge thrills me.
Max throws my suitcase into the back, and we peel away, the four of us eerily quiet as the reality of what we’re about to do settles over us.
Faint Christmas songs filter through the car speakers as we drive into traffic. I check the mirror, busying myself with something to distract me from the nervousness that’s settled in my stomach. As I do, a flicker of motion catches my attention. I stare at it for a moment, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.
“Is that SUV following us?” I ask, noting the black SUV with tinted windows I saw earlier sitting outside my apartment. Oh God, what if they’re onto us?
“Which one?” Max asks, checking the review mirror.
“The black one. Tinted windows. I think I saw the same SUV sitting outside my apartment.”
“Shit.”
Once we’re able to move, Max merges into the next lane.
Sure enough, the black SUV does the same a few moments later.
This is not good.
Max catches my eyes, and a million unspoken words are said with that one look.
“Fuck, okay, hold on.” Max spots an opening at the next exit and takes it, revving the engine to get down the ramp.
The black SUV takes the same turn and my anxiety spikes. Max makes a sharp left turn onto a one-way street, dodging the cars coming directly at us. I grip onto the ‘oh shit’ bar like it’ll save me from an impending crash.
“Look out!” Tasha screams from the back as a U-Haul truck comes barreling towards us with nowhere to go. Oh God, is this how I go? I brace myself for impact, eyes shut and arms up.
Our car suddenly swerves, and I peek through my lashes, finding that we’ve turned into an alley that I didn’t see at the last minute.
Fuck, that was too close.
My heart feels lodged in my throat, and my stomach is churning like I’m about to throw up. I glance behind us to see if the SUV is still coming after us.
“Tasha, Jules, you need to get rid of your phones. They could have tapped into your location and be following the signal.” Max says, turning down another road.
I quietly dig my phone out of my purse and turn it off, hands shaking.
“Here, I have a burner for you both,” Rocco says, reaching into a bag stowed by his feet. He hands me a sleek black flip phone that looks like it was made in the early 2000s. When I open it up, there’s a dim gray background. The buttons light up with a neon green. It’s the kind of phone that you need to hit the numbers in order to send out a text.
I swallow hard. This is my life now.
On the run with the man I love.
At the light, Tasha and I toss our phones out the window. We listen to the satisfying crunch of them shattering as we pull away—our old lives severed completely. There’s no going back now.