Sing It for the World
Chapter Eleven
It had been approximately four hours since the car accident had happened, and Aurelia still wasn’t speaking. All she could do was cry and shake as Frank held her in his arms, her sobs never stopping. He knew that she was upset, and he had no idea what he was going to have to do to get her moving. They needed to get out of here before someone reported the wrecked car, and he knew that might not take that long. Nightfall was starting to come, so he knew that the night would cover the accident for at least a few hours, but he wanted to get her out of here before sunrise.
“Baby,” he murmured into her ear softly, pulling some hair off of her face before looking down at her frightened eyes. “We need to get out of here before the cops show up. I’ll find a way to get us there. You trust me, don’t you?” He asked her. She looked up at him and nodded without hesitation. She was scared out of her mind, it was true, but she still trusted Frank to take care of her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Alright,” he whispered, standing up before he pulled her to her feet. She shakily stood, and then leaned into his arms to give him a tight hug. He knew that she needed his support now, so he wasn’t going to turn her away. He hugged her for several minutes before letting go of her, walking over to the wreck with her before letting her stand by the side of it as he reached inside to salvage some of what they had packed. He made sure to get everything that could be used by the authorities to identify either of them, and then walked around the back of the car to pry of the license plates so that they wouldn’t be traced or looked up, and he did the same with the front license plates.
“Where are we going to go?” Aurelia’s voice asked. She was almost too quiet for Frank to hear, and if he wasn’t attuned to paying attention to her, he wouldn’t have heard her. “What are we going to do, Frank?”
“I don’t know just yet,” he said soothingly, grabbing her hips before pressing a kiss to her neck. “We’re going to be alright though, ‘Rel. I promise you,” he whispered.
She knew that she could depend on him. He wasn’t going to lead her astray, and she had trusted him up until now. She wasn’t going to stop, and looking into her eyes, he knew that. She smiled up at him and then leaned closer to press her lips against his, and he then slung one of the backpacks in the backseat that had some of their clothes in it onto his back before handing her a smaller one. She put it on before reaching in to grab Biscuit’s leash, and then called the white dog over to her before clipping the leash onto the collar. Frank put his wallet and hers into his pockets so that neither of them would get lost, and then they started walking through the field. She didn’t bother asking him why they weren’t going to walk along the highway, because she figured he had everything sorted out in his head.
-x-
They didn’t stop walking at all throughout the night. By the time the sun came up, they had reached an old country road made out of red scoria rock, and there were no houses alongside them. They had no idea where they were, but Frank figured that they’d gotten several miles away from the wreck. All they needed to do now was find a pay phone in some town or something, and he could call Gerard and the others to find out what he should do. The simple fact was, he didn’t know how they were going to get to California. In fact, he was scared to his core. If anyone found the two of them, they would identify Aurelia in a second, and as a result, they’d arrest him for all of the charges he was sure had added up against him.
“If you stop thinking about it, it’ll help,” Aurelia murmured to him, her voice shaky as she looked at him, a small smile on her face. He gave her his own small smile, and then nodded before he stopped and pulled her into a tight hug.
“I just don’t want you to have to go back to that hellhole,” he murmured into her neck as he held her tightly. “I know how much you hated it there, and I don’t want you to have to go through that again.”
“I won’t have to,” Aurelia shook her head, looking at him. “You’ll keep me safe, and I trust you. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but you’ll get us to Los Angeles, and everything will be okay. We can let the world know who we are then. But for now, we need to get out of this…emptiness.”
As Aurelia looked around, she began realizing for the first time that they were in a very desolate area. The tall grass that surrounded them was a wheat-colored tan, and the sky was a soft sort of blue with billowy white clouds that were unhidden by smog or pollution. The scoria road was vivid reddish orange against the lay of the land, and if she didn’t love the city, Aurelia might think this place was lovely enough to stay. She didn’t know where they were, and Frank couldn’t remember the state’s name, so they were out of luck when it came to knowing exactly where they were.
On the horizon of the land, both Aurelia and Frank could see a few buildings, and they wondered if perhaps it was just a rather large farm, or a very small town. Frank looked over at her, and then looked at the skyline again before smiling at her.
“It shouldn’t take us long to get there,” he murmured to her softly as she grabbed her hand. She nodded, and then held his hand as they started walking again. Biscuit was beside them, her stub of a tail wagging happily as she trotted alongside. In the dog’s mind, there wasn’t a worry in the world. Aurelia wished she were like that, because right now, she was worrying about a lot, even if she’d just convinced Frank that everything was going to be alright.
Aurelia wasn’t sure that everything would be okay. She knew that Frank was going to do everything in his power to get them to Los Angeles, and that he’d do everything in his power to make sure that her parents didn’t get her again. But that didn’t matter when all she could think was that someone, somewhere along the way had recognized them and that they’d tip police off in the direction she and Frank had taken.
She missed Gerard and the others, as well. They had become good friends to her, and she had grown used to seeing them on a daily basis. She was so thrilled for Ray that he’d gotten the record deal, and she had no doubts in her mind that Gerard and Mikey would make it, too. Somehow, the whole world was going to know each and every one of them. Somehow, their names would become legendary, and everyone would know who they were. Someday couldn’t come soon enough for Aurelia, and she hoped that it happened soon.
-x-
The walk didn’t take long, like Frank had said, and within five hours, they were walking along the main street of the tiny town to find a pay phone. Frank eventually found one outside of a beaten-up, ghost town-reminiscent gas station, and he popped a dollar and twenty-five cents into the toll so he could dial Gerard’s number. He knew the red-haired man would pick up, and that somehow, his friends would help them get out of this sticky situation that they’d found themselves in.
Gerard answered on the third ring of the phone, and he was shell-shocked when Frank told him what had happened to the Trans Am, and that they were stuck in Podunk, Nowhere. After several minutes of silence, Gerard told Frank to just lay low for awhile. Aurelia found out the name of the town—Sentinel Hill, Kansas—and Gerard advised them to stay somewhere to wait for them to arrive. Gerard didn’t want to risk the two of them being noticed by airport security, so he told them that he and Mikey would drive out to pick them up and that they’d be there in a few days.
Once Frank hung up, he and Aurelia decided they’d walk back out of town and towards an old abandoned farmhouse they’d seen on their way into town. They didn’t have enough cash on them to spend another night in a hotel, especially one in a small town, and they couldn’t leave Biscuit tied up outside all night. Frank had already told Gerard about the house, so that if they weren’t in town by the payphone when he and Mikey arrived in Sentinel Hill, they would be able to find them.
Aurelia was still apprehensive about everything that was happening. She knew she could trust Gerard and his brother, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could trust Frank as well. But something in the pit of her stomach told her that the journey wouldn’t be over when they reached LA. Something told her that she’d need to confront her parents. She knew that was the only way she’d ever be free enough from them to sing, and she was going to do it. She just hoped that she was legally old enough to be free from them before they found her, or it would never happen.
“Baby,” he murmured into her ear softly, pulling some hair off of her face before looking down at her frightened eyes. “We need to get out of here before the cops show up. I’ll find a way to get us there. You trust me, don’t you?” He asked her. She looked up at him and nodded without hesitation. She was scared out of her mind, it was true, but she still trusted Frank to take care of her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“Alright,” he whispered, standing up before he pulled her to her feet. She shakily stood, and then leaned into his arms to give him a tight hug. He knew that she needed his support now, so he wasn’t going to turn her away. He hugged her for several minutes before letting go of her, walking over to the wreck with her before letting her stand by the side of it as he reached inside to salvage some of what they had packed. He made sure to get everything that could be used by the authorities to identify either of them, and then walked around the back of the car to pry of the license plates so that they wouldn’t be traced or looked up, and he did the same with the front license plates.
“Where are we going to go?” Aurelia’s voice asked. She was almost too quiet for Frank to hear, and if he wasn’t attuned to paying attention to her, he wouldn’t have heard her. “What are we going to do, Frank?”
“I don’t know just yet,” he said soothingly, grabbing her hips before pressing a kiss to her neck. “We’re going to be alright though, ‘Rel. I promise you,” he whispered.
She knew that she could depend on him. He wasn’t going to lead her astray, and she had trusted him up until now. She wasn’t going to stop, and looking into her eyes, he knew that. She smiled up at him and then leaned closer to press her lips against his, and he then slung one of the backpacks in the backseat that had some of their clothes in it onto his back before handing her a smaller one. She put it on before reaching in to grab Biscuit’s leash, and then called the white dog over to her before clipping the leash onto the collar. Frank put his wallet and hers into his pockets so that neither of them would get lost, and then they started walking through the field. She didn’t bother asking him why they weren’t going to walk along the highway, because she figured he had everything sorted out in his head.
-x-
They didn’t stop walking at all throughout the night. By the time the sun came up, they had reached an old country road made out of red scoria rock, and there were no houses alongside them. They had no idea where they were, but Frank figured that they’d gotten several miles away from the wreck. All they needed to do now was find a pay phone in some town or something, and he could call Gerard and the others to find out what he should do. The simple fact was, he didn’t know how they were going to get to California. In fact, he was scared to his core. If anyone found the two of them, they would identify Aurelia in a second, and as a result, they’d arrest him for all of the charges he was sure had added up against him.
“If you stop thinking about it, it’ll help,” Aurelia murmured to him, her voice shaky as she looked at him, a small smile on her face. He gave her his own small smile, and then nodded before he stopped and pulled her into a tight hug.
“I just don’t want you to have to go back to that hellhole,” he murmured into her neck as he held her tightly. “I know how much you hated it there, and I don’t want you to have to go through that again.”
“I won’t have to,” Aurelia shook her head, looking at him. “You’ll keep me safe, and I trust you. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but you’ll get us to Los Angeles, and everything will be okay. We can let the world know who we are then. But for now, we need to get out of this…emptiness.”
As Aurelia looked around, she began realizing for the first time that they were in a very desolate area. The tall grass that surrounded them was a wheat-colored tan, and the sky was a soft sort of blue with billowy white clouds that were unhidden by smog or pollution. The scoria road was vivid reddish orange against the lay of the land, and if she didn’t love the city, Aurelia might think this place was lovely enough to stay. She didn’t know where they were, and Frank couldn’t remember the state’s name, so they were out of luck when it came to knowing exactly where they were.
On the horizon of the land, both Aurelia and Frank could see a few buildings, and they wondered if perhaps it was just a rather large farm, or a very small town. Frank looked over at her, and then looked at the skyline again before smiling at her.
“It shouldn’t take us long to get there,” he murmured to her softly as she grabbed her hand. She nodded, and then held his hand as they started walking again. Biscuit was beside them, her stub of a tail wagging happily as she trotted alongside. In the dog’s mind, there wasn’t a worry in the world. Aurelia wished she were like that, because right now, she was worrying about a lot, even if she’d just convinced Frank that everything was going to be alright.
Aurelia wasn’t sure that everything would be okay. She knew that Frank was going to do everything in his power to get them to Los Angeles, and that he’d do everything in his power to make sure that her parents didn’t get her again. But that didn’t matter when all she could think was that someone, somewhere along the way had recognized them and that they’d tip police off in the direction she and Frank had taken.
She missed Gerard and the others, as well. They had become good friends to her, and she had grown used to seeing them on a daily basis. She was so thrilled for Ray that he’d gotten the record deal, and she had no doubts in her mind that Gerard and Mikey would make it, too. Somehow, the whole world was going to know each and every one of them. Somehow, their names would become legendary, and everyone would know who they were. Someday couldn’t come soon enough for Aurelia, and she hoped that it happened soon.
-x-
The walk didn’t take long, like Frank had said, and within five hours, they were walking along the main street of the tiny town to find a pay phone. Frank eventually found one outside of a beaten-up, ghost town-reminiscent gas station, and he popped a dollar and twenty-five cents into the toll so he could dial Gerard’s number. He knew the red-haired man would pick up, and that somehow, his friends would help them get out of this sticky situation that they’d found themselves in.
Gerard answered on the third ring of the phone, and he was shell-shocked when Frank told him what had happened to the Trans Am, and that they were stuck in Podunk, Nowhere. After several minutes of silence, Gerard told Frank to just lay low for awhile. Aurelia found out the name of the town—Sentinel Hill, Kansas—and Gerard advised them to stay somewhere to wait for them to arrive. Gerard didn’t want to risk the two of them being noticed by airport security, so he told them that he and Mikey would drive out to pick them up and that they’d be there in a few days.
Once Frank hung up, he and Aurelia decided they’d walk back out of town and towards an old abandoned farmhouse they’d seen on their way into town. They didn’t have enough cash on them to spend another night in a hotel, especially one in a small town, and they couldn’t leave Biscuit tied up outside all night. Frank had already told Gerard about the house, so that if they weren’t in town by the payphone when he and Mikey arrived in Sentinel Hill, they would be able to find them.
Aurelia was still apprehensive about everything that was happening. She knew she could trust Gerard and his brother, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could trust Frank as well. But something in the pit of her stomach told her that the journey wouldn’t be over when they reached LA. Something told her that she’d need to confront her parents. She knew that was the only way she’d ever be free enough from them to sing, and she was going to do it. She just hoped that she was legally old enough to be free from them before they found her, or it would never happen.