Remake

by A. J. Sand

  “E! Erica! Erica!” Bryson! She spun and he was running dazedly from his car, left idling in the middle of the cul-de-sac. From the angle, she could see that the front end of damaged and a shadowed body was lying a few feet in front of it.

  “Erica!” Naomi called out as she ran toward her, too. Thank God. She was okay. Oh, thank God. The air filled with the sound of voices and neighbors littered the street now; people were running every which way. Some to the accident site and some toward her. Bryson got to her first. She threw herself into his arms, needing him to hold her. Just needing him. So glad he could be there this time in the aftermath. She was trembling against him. “I thought he was going to kill her, Bryce. Oh, God. I’m so glad you heard. I’m so glad the call got through.”

  “I called the police from the landline, but I stayed on the cell the entire time. I wasn’t going to leave you. I wasn’t, E. Never. Ever. Ever.” Bryson pulled back and cradled her face. Rage pulsed in his irises for a few seconds, but sympathy quickly replaced it. It was the look she had been so afraid of seeing before. Yes, it was pity. But there was compassion, too. I love you with such a magnitude that I don’t know how not to carry your pain as my own. A swell of emotion was sitting in her throat, and she pressed her face back to his chest. “He can’t hurt anymore, E. That fucker can’t hurt you. It’s over, baby. You got away. My brave amazing girl, you got through it.” Her adrenaline was withering, and she felt Naomi’s arms curl around her, too.

  She pulled away from him to hug her sister, and they held each other tight for a moment, both crying, both thankful. “I love you so much, Erica,” Naomi said. “I love you.”

  “I know…me, too. We’ll get through this.” As more people gathered around them, a swirl of red and blue lights reflected against the parked cars and Erica went back to hugging Bryson. She pressed her head harder against his chest. Until it hurt. Down to her toes. But the pain reminded her that he was there. How could she ever have thought that getting through this completely alone was better? Wanting to be strong was fine, but it was also great to be thankful when help was available. And it was okay to want it. “Oh my God. I was so scared, Bryce. Oh God. I was so fucking scared.” And admitting that wasn’t weak at all. A few tears fell. Then many fell. And she just let them.

  Amazingly Remade – Epilogue

  Three Months Later

  “Was that necessary, Ellis?” Erica said after Bryson jumped from the railing outside of their thatched-roof bungalow, and into the water next to her. The resulting splash had drenched her completely. But if one had to get soaked and blinded, it was better to have it done by the Pacific Ocean while on the island of Huahine in French Polynesia, Erica decided. They were honeymooning at a beach resort in a bay that was only accessible by boat or plane. It was a beautiful and quiet place where twenty or so bungalows were grouped together in threes and splayed over the water with bridges connecting them back to the white sand shore. They had done so much in the few days since arriving: snorkeling, shark feeding, a culinary lesson and a visit to the nearby village of Fare. All of it was just what she needed. What they needed. She was doubtful that she had really chosen anywhere near here on the globe, but Bryson had assured her that this was where she’d picked based on the guidelines they had set that night. Kudos to her.

  Bryson gripped her by the waist when he pushed up through the crystal blue surface and apologized for the splashing with a damp, sloppy kiss. “You can’t call me Ellis anymore, you know, ‘cause you’re Ellis, too, now.” Erica wrapped her arms and legs around his body. She certainly was Ellis now. They were still healing and going to therapy, separately and together, but it seemed worth doing it with a commitment behind them. To remind them of what it meant to be resilient together. Sometimes she had bad days, but she always made sure to share with him when she needed to be alone for a while. A work in progress, for sure, but one they actually wanted to work on, which made it worth it.

  “Well, how about my husband?” They looked at each other in silence before they both burst out laughing. “No, let’s not do that. We’re reaching ‘Team Dick’ grossness if we do that.”

  “Wait…but do we get a nickname?” he asked.

  She smirked in disapproval. “Hell no.” He smiled for a flash, but Bryson’s expression suddenly turned grave. “What? What’s going on?”

  “I didn’t want to bother you with this until we got back home, but I found this out from the DA before we left. Chase took a plea bargain on the harassment and assault charges, so he won’t do that much time, but you and Naomi will have a restraining order in place immediately when he gets out. It’s part of his plea deal. He has to stay away from you for two years.”

  “Good. And you’re not bothering me with it. You don’t have to keep this stuff from me,” she said with a smile and a kiss to his neck. “I’m just glad that’s over with. Oh! Heard from Odette before we left, too. She was finally able to give a statement about Thailand. So that’s everybody. McKenna is still flaking on her statement, but at least she handed over what she had. I can’t force her. I’m surprised but happy that Adam gave one. He really wants to be someone his son can be proud of, he said. I’m glad.”

  “Well, either way, the map photo, the prepaid card and the money deposits are part of the evidence in Thailand now, right? So maybe they don’t need anything from McKenna. I hope not,” Bryson said.

  “I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but you know what? I’m done letting it halt my life. Our lives. I’d love for Jeremy to be punished, but whether he fights extradition or whether it even happens, I keep moving on. What happened is a part of me, and every day I feel it becoming a smaller and smaller part. I watched Dylan’s film of my story in its entirety, and I actually deleted it afterward. I think I just needed to get it all out and have my voice matter. It’s just the stuff in Traveler Lost left now, and I’m okay with it. And if the day comes, I’ll testify in court and look Jeremy right in the eye when I explain what happened to me.”

  “I’m so proud of you, Erica Ellis.” Bryson grinned. “And I have more news for you. Good news this time! Really good news. It’s why I came out here. The realtor emailed. We got the house in the Garden District, babe. They took our offer. And now we owe my parents a shitload of money!”

  “What?” Erica gasped then gaped.

  Bryson swam away from her and splashed her. “We’re moving to New Orleans, Erica Anne Ellis!”

  “Seriously? Oh my God! Oh my God!” Erica danced around in the water. They had planned that if this happened, Erica would finish up the year at USC before moving down there with Bryson and transferring to Tulane. She could still have her clients, and she was ready for a completely fresh start for the Ellises.

  Bryson glided toward her and lifted her so that her legs were around his waist again. “So, on to the other important stuff. When do the babies come?” His hands were suddenly cupping her butt in her bikini bottom.

  Erica smirked. “Ummm… babies? What babies?”

  “The four or five we’re going to start having soon.” Bryson smirked back.

  “Says the only child!”

  “Yeah, and that’s exactly why we’re having a brood. Brood. I’ve got names picked out already and everything.” He beamed.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yup. And you’ll love these. Hunter. His sister, Asparagus. The twins, Praying Mantis and Fern…”

  *

  Erica was starving. So while her friends ran for the bar, she headed for the buffet table at the back of the house where the runway show after party was being held. After a meticulous diet for two months in preparation for the show, she was literally ready to devour anything she could fit on her plate. No salad, though. Definitely no salad. Unless it was the potato kind. Chicken wings. Rice pilaf. Oh shit. There was pie!

  “I think you have an audience,” her friend, Tawny, said when she walked over. She gestured with her chin at a group of guys on the other side of the pool. A blond guy with dark eyes was staring right
at her. The rush of heat that hit her almost made her drop the plate. Damn, he was cute. And he pulled off male casual without looking like a frat boy. He was wearing a dark blazer over a Henley shirt and loose (but clearly tailored) dark denim.

  “Model groupie,” Erica said with a shrug, but when he turned back to talk to his friends, her eyes drifted back to him. Cocky, she bet. Dated half the women in here. If not, maybe a third of them, then. He was well known for bedding models. Damn, why did he have to be so cute, though?

  “Uh…not quite. That’s Bryson Ellis. Like son of Jeffrey Ellis….music guy. He’s at USC, I think.”

  “Yeah… I know who he is. He’s still a model groupie.”

  “Well, it looks like your fan base wants to meet you,” Tawny said before she walked away. Bryson arrowed her with a smile, and it was dripping of confident charm as he walked over. The kind she absolutely hated. Kinda. Not really. But a guy that cute probably had nothing going on in his head. Here’s my BMW and my fancy apartment, model chick I want to bang. Let’s fuck on this pile of money. Blah. Blah.

  “Hi…you were great tonight,” he said.

  “At walking? Yeah it takes real skill,” she said, shoving a fork full of potato salad into her mouth.

  “Sense of humor.”

  “Yes, Bryson Ellis, I’m not just arm candy.”

  He narrowed his gaze and leaned in. “Good, Erica Evigan, because my arm’s on a diet.”

  “What?” she asked, frowning.

  “Forget what I said about the sense of humor.”

  “You know my name. So, you’ve done your research. Is there a menu you pick us off, or what? Skinny redhead is your thing tonight?”

  He laughed. It was cute…gave her the tingles. Fuck. “Sense of humor,” he repeated.

  “Arm diet or not, I’m not interested, dude.”

  “You don’t even know me. There’s only stuff you think you know.”

  “What don’t I know?”

  “That I’ve seen your last three shows.” He named them. And then he smiled. Not the cocksure one, but a smaller one; one with a little vulnerability behind it. “And I also think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. You make a funny face when you’re at the end of the runway. It’s adorable, though.” Her heart fluttered and her cheeks burned. What was she thinking? No. He was definitely a no. Stop right now, Bryson Ellis.

  “This is the first night you don’t have a gang of guys surrounding you or other models or every other human in the immediate vicinity of you. I wanted to talk to you before any of them came over. Is that good enough to start over with? Huh?”

  “Fine…” she said, with a roll of her eyes, but she stuck out her hand, and kept her smile under control. She liked him. “I’m Erica Evigan. And I already know—”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’m Bryson Ellis. And I’d love to take you out sometime. And I think you should take a chance. You never know. We might be headed for something amazing.”