∞ᴪ∞

Chapter 34 – Louella Cole

“Wake up, sleepy head.” Leon whispered and I found myself curled against him in the too small couch as I opened my eyes.

It was amazing how two straight hours of zombie-killing action (Resident Evil! And my first time too) could tire someone. I didn’t even realize that I fell asleep.

“We’re almost there.” His breath played through my hair, it made my heart race and I fell from the chair.

I peeked from the window and saw it. Los Angeles.

The towering gray buildings bordered by a spread of blue sea and traversed by arterial roads with the occasional green parks and a single small lake somewhere at the western side. The sun was about to setting into the lush hills and the city lights just about flickered to life. It looked magnificent and I could not help but smile at Leon who smiled back fondly at me as he wrapped his arm on my shoulder.

“Keep your hood up.” Arthur reminded Leon for the second time as we nudged our way against the swarming crowd inside the airport. Before we got out of the plane, Leon had to wear his disguise again and I realized almost immediately why it was necessary.

Left and right, people with cameras craned their necks in anticipation. Urgh. Media.

All the while, Leon did not let go of my hand. Before we covered the distance to the exit where a black service van waited, I heard girls screaming from the international flights reception area about fifty yards or so away from us.

Cameras started flashing and clicking everywhere though no one seemed to bother with us or Leon. After glancing back at the commotion, he muttered in low accented French to Arthur who nodded and beckoned to quicken our pace.

When we reached the car, Joe, the taller of the two bodyguards opened the door and handed Kidnap back to me.

I let myself in after Becky, followed by Leon and was awestruck when I saw who waited inside.

Daintily settled in front of me was a girl with black wavy hair that flowed just a little bit past her shoulders, beautiful big brown eyes, and full red lips. She was rather petite in stature, though by the way she wore that pink strapless sundress, she could’ve been in a teen magazine cover.

“Hi! You must be Sarah.” The girl said in a friendly way. I would’ve known that voice from anywhere; the same girl who answered Leon’s phone the last time he was in LA. “Oh my goodness! Kidnap, is that you? You’ve grown a lot.” She said leaning a bit to pat the tiny beagle’s head. Even my dog was famous. Go figure.

“H-hi,” I replied with a hesitant smile, dumbstruck by her presence.

“Elle,” said Leon, almost in surprise as he let himself in the car. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Len!” She hoisted herself a little from her seat to greet Leon with a hug, smiling widely. “How are you? I missed you so much.”

My stomach cringed, instinctively averting my eyes away from them as casually as I could. Right then, I knew my unreasonable fears had just been realized in front of me.

“Oh my gosh,” Becky’s eyes fixed at the girl. “Y-you’re Louella Cole.” She stuttered, still starstruck.

“At your service,” She said with a sweet smile after she and Leon finally pulled away from each other.

When we finally settled in, Arthur leaned from the front seat looking slightly upset. “Okay, so let’s go.” He announced as the engine purred.

The whole while, I kept my eyes on the window stroking Kidnap’s head, staring vacantly at the city lights that studded the streets of LA. At the side of my eyes, Louella Cole was smiling right in front of me (the seats were arranged so that we were facing each other) as she caught up with Leon about their celebrity lives. I had no idea what they were talking about so I just kept to myself.

Becky sat beside Louella, intently listening and turning her head as each of them spoke as though she was watching a ping pong match. I couldn’t help but feel out of place and it got scarier the more I thought about it.

Leon squeezed my hand and leaned closer to me. “Are you okay?” He whispered.

I nodded. “A little tired, that’s all.”

“Sarah,” Louella smiled at me. I could not help but admire her flawlessness; she’s gorgeous and perfect in all angles. “The concert’s in two days. Excited?”

“Y-yes,” I managed a smile though I was sure I didn’t convince anyone.

“So, how long exactly are you staying here?” She asked.

“For a week.” I replied making an effort of putting some life in my voice.

“Too bad,” She smiled apologetically then turned eagerly to Leon. “You too?”

“Yup.” He said it like he was ready to go home already.

A small smile pulled the sides of my lips. I did not have any idea why but it somehow eased my nerves.

“Aww… Too bad.” She pouted her perfect lips. “I thought we could go to the beach, like last summer.”

Leon pulled me closer to his side and kissed my hair, it almost made me jump out of my seat as my heart hurtled to a frantic race. “Elle, you know things aren’t like that anymore.”

“I know,” She sighed crossing her arms in front of her chest. Even when she was upset, she still looked unbelievably gorgeous. I would have to endure constant whacks on my self-esteem just by being in the same room as her. “So would you go to your rehearsals tomorrow?” She sounded hopeful.

“I guess so, though I won’t enjoy it.” He sighed.

“Nathan?” She asked worriedly.

“Nathan.” He echoed as though the mere name of his brother conveyed some private understanding between the two of them.

So she knew about it. They must really be close. A sinking feeling crept in the pit of my stomach at the thought of it. I shook the idea off my head and looked at Leon whose perfect face dimmed almost at once.

“So Sarah, do you need a tour guide?” She grinned enthusiastically. “Because I’m so bored with my life I’m volunteering.”

I smiled wryly, turning to Leon who smiled back ruefully at me.

“I’ll be at rehearsals tomorrow and the whole Sunday morning. It’d be a waste for you and Becky to wait for me.” He smiled encouragingly.

I very much wanted to ask him if I could just come to his rehearsals but the measly thought of his brother being there kept me cowering from doing so. I knew Leon thought ahead of this and he was just doing it to protect me.

“Come on, Sarah.” Becky whined. “Louella Cole is asking to tour us around. Can you believe it?” She blurted excitedly.

“I guess so… But only if it’s not such a hassle.” I answered with the best smile I could muster.

“Of course not.” Louella smiled at me and Becky. “I’m dying to go shopping for ages but I couldn’t get someone to come with me.”

Restraining the urge to laugh, Becky smiled breathlessly. If we weren’t in a car, I knew she would be jumping around screaming like crazy.

Louella Cole seemed nice enough but I really wasn’t sure if we could even get along. For example, shopping.

Yay…

Sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So as you have seen in my previous casting. The new character has finally shown herself. I've been looking forward to this for ages LOL. So... The question is, will Louella Cole be entangled in Sarah's current predicament? Please find out in the next chapters :) Please leave a comment or vote! and happy reading :)