I'll Lift You Up

*Ring-Ring*

I let out a puff of air as I held onto my ringing phone.

"Hello?" I pressed the cool phone against my ear.

"Miss. Natalie Carter. Boy, do I got a huge opportunity for you." Austin, my manager, spoke through the speaker.

"What is it?"

"Elite wants you. They wanna fly you out to Australia for a couple of days."

My mind was racing, not really knowing what to think. The last time I flew out to a photoshoot, it ended up a nightmare. I cried myself to sleep numerous of times after that entire experience.

"Natalie? Natalie, whaddya say?"

I shook out of my daze, gripping onto the phone tighter.

"Uh, I don't know Austin."

"C'mon Natalie. This is a huge opportunity. You turned down Ford agency for crying out loud!"

My breathing quickened. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

'You can do this, Natalie. He won't hurt you. No one will. You have to take risks!'

The voice in my head took over. Telling myself the reassuring words actually helped. I wasn't going to let the past affect my dreams. Being a model was my dream, now that I finally had it I needed to take advantage of all my opportunities.

"Fine."

One word, thats all it took. My stomach started to churn. My head started to flutter as I heard Austins cheering through the phone.

"Yes, Nata-." I hung up the phone before I heard anything else. I ran to the bathroom feeling sick. I looked at myself in the mirror, staring at myself.

"What the hell did I just do?" I asked myself.

I turned the sink on, making it the coldest it could get. I rinsed my face and patted it dry with my towel.

"You'll be alright, Natalie. Don't let anyone take advantage of you." My voice cracked as I said the last sentence.

I focused on my breathing as I made my way into my living room.

*Ding*

I grabbed my phone, seeing Austin's name. He sent me a message telling me that all the details for the flight were in an email he sent.

I checked my email, seeing that I'd be leaving in just two days. The agency had already booked me for a week and a half.

My eyes widened.

"Just getting to Australia seems like an entire day." I said to my phone.

I took out my credit card and added another week and a half, knowing that I'd need it. Being jet-lagged wasn't something I craved. Plus an extra couples days in an exotic country seemed like fun.

I read the rest of the email, seeing if I needed to bring anything. I threw my phone on my bed and took out my luggage.

"Australia for 3 weeks and I have no clue what to bring. Great." I huffed, shuffling through my closet.

*Ring-ring*

"Emily!" I screamed through the phone. I heard my best friend squeal.

"Open the door!"

I laughed and ran towards the front of my apartment. The short brunette stood behind the door with a huge smile on her face.

"Natalie! I missed you!"

I wrapped my arms around her and grabbed her inside, closing the front door.

I dragged Emily to my bedroom and told her about Austin calling and how short notice everything was. She squealed as I told her about Australia.

Emily is my best friend. She had been there with me through everything. She was there in high school and when I dropped out of college. She was there when I decided to model. She was the only true friend who stood by me and told me the truth, no matter how harsh it was. She was the only true friend that stayed true unlike the other 'friends' I had through my early-stages of modeling. Emily knew everything about me. She was like a sister to me.

She even knew what happened the last time I had to fly out of the country.
Well, kinda.

I haven't told anyone the actual truth.

"I don't even know what to bring, Em."

She laughed and picked out all the suitable clothes for Australia.

I yelled, struggling with the zipper. Emily jumped and sat on it, finally letting me zip the entire luggage. We finished all the packing and set it aside.

Emily walked out into my living room as I went into the kitchen grabbing two bowls. I put ice cream in each and walked out.

"You know me too well." Emily smiled, eyeing the bowl of neapolitan ice cream. I laughed and plopped next to her.

It stayed silent as we dug in into our bowls.

"Soo.." Emily started.

I stayed quiet, putting the spoon into my mouth. I looked at her through my lashes.

"Why did you finally wanna go back to modeling?"

I shrugged, I hated talking about this subject.

"I decided that I need to move on. My career won't last if I just sit at home and mope."

She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Just don't be too open to strangers. Always have Austin around."

I nodded and smiled.

"I don't want nothing to happen to you, Nat."

"I know."

The subject died down and we talked about random things.

"Can you take me to the airport in two days?" I gave her a cheeky smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Mhm."

"Thanks, sis." I laughed.

Two days had passed in a jiff.

"Alright, be careful!" Emily pulled me into a hug. The airport was filled with chatter from everyone.

"Hi, Austin." I heard Emily say. I turned on my heels and greeted Austin.

He grabbed my luggage and said goodbye to Emily.

It was hard saying bye to Emily. Leaving home was scary. Home was a place you were comfortable and knew people you trusted. Going to a different country was something that scared me.

I sucked in my breath and walked in step with Austin.

I knew I had to do this. It was better now than never.

'You'll be okay.' I reminded myself as I handed the lady at the security check point my passport.

I made it through all the crowds of people. I held onto Austin as he trudged his way through.

"You ready, champ?"

I nodded and smiled.

"You'll do great. The time you took off was nothing. You'll snap back easily." Austin assured me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelt as we begin to take off in a few moments."

The ladies voice over the intercom made me jolt. It made me realize that this was real life, that this was all really happening."

'Don't trust anyone and you'll be fine..' I said to myself as I looked at the ground becoming smaller and smaller.