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Last Resort
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Rome had to keep his head down, even though he wanted to peek out the window and see where the cars that had been following them were. “What’s going on?” he whispered to Ella as she approached the toll booth. He could see her behind the wheel without lifting his head far enough to be noticed by anyone in other vehicles.
“They’re two back from us,” she said, rolling down her window and crushing a twenty dollar bill into the person’s hands. “Keep the change,” she said.
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“Howdy!” Ella shouted out the window at the bewildered man next to her. “Y’all from around here?”Beside her in the passenger seat of the SUV, she felt Rome’s nervous energy. Maybe she was taking a huge gamble engaging the enemy--assuming that’s who these people were there to try to kidnap Rome and take him back to his father.
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Nervous energy bubbled throughout the theater. Dressed in probably the most amazing gown she’d ever seen in her life, including her wedding dress, Ella sat next to Rome holding his hand, and waiting for his award category to come up. The long red ball gown shimmered in the dim light, its full skirt moving and flowing when she walked like butterflies’ wings. If Rome’s category didn’t come up soon, she thought she might explode with anxiety. It already seemed like they’d been waiting for half a day, even though it had only been a few hours since they’d gotten into the limo and made their way to the famous theater in Hollywood where the biggest award show of the year was always held.
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