The Apprentice (Girlxgirl)

Chapter Nineteen

The mountain started to look familiar, as I got further up it. As I rounded a bend slowly, I saw my car parked on the same place Alex and I stopped the other day. I parked Ellie's car behind mine, and got out.

I checked in my car to see that Alex wasn't there, and walked away from the cliff, and over the hill that would lead me to the meadow and waterfall. It was starting to get dark, but I could see where I was going for now.

"Alex?" I called out when I couldn't see her.

"Jamie?" I heard a quiet shaken voice from near the waterfall. I walked closer to see she was sitting behind the waterfall. And she was crying.

I slipped past the water falling from the rocks and sat beside her. I didn't say anything, I just put my arm around her shoulders and let her cry. She rested her head on my shoulder and we sat there like that, for what felt like forever.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you," she said, after a while. She wasn't crying anymore, but her voice still sounded shaky.

"It's okay, I found you," I said, "you wanna talk about it?"

"It was my dad," she said angrily, "he paid her off."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"He called her into his office this morning, told her that he would make her a millionaire, if she left the country today," she said, starting to cry again now, "she now a millionaire living in a villa in Spain somewhere, and I'm never gonna see her again."

"What the fuck?! How could he do that to you? And how could she take him up on it?" It made me so angry to hear her story. It was so horrible that Damien paid his daughters girlfriend to leave her, but I couldn't understand why Mona would do it. She had been with Alex for almost a year, she must have loved her.

"I don't know, I thought she loved me." Alex cried. I pulled her into a hug, and tried to calm her.

"Alex, I told you, any girl would be lucky to have you. If she wasn't going to fight for you, then she doesn't deserve you. You can do so much better than her." I said truthfully.

"No I can't, she's so beautiful, and smart, and-"

"And so are you," I interrupted. Alex looked at me, and our eyes locked. The familiar flecks of yellow, dancing in what was left of the sunlight. "Don't let this put you down Alex. You're a great girl, and you'll find someone who deserves you, one day. It doesn't need to be today."

She smiled slightly, then looked away from me, the sadness overtaking her again.

"But how am I ever going to be with someone, when my dad is controlling everything in my life?" she asked.

"Don't let him," I told her.

"But I live with him, I work for him, and he has all control over my money."

"Technically you work for me, and why don't you come and stay with me and Ellie for a while?" I asked.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"Nope, it'll be good. I have a four bedroom house now, and I'm running out of things to fill it with. But speaking of that, we kinda need to go soon. My furniture will be delivered soon, and I have Ellie's car, so she can't get to the house in time." I explained, and Alex stood up and walked with me back to the cars.

"You really drove up here on your own?" Alex asked me, surprised.

"Yeah, I was worried about you," I told her, and watched her cheeks redden again. It was cute when that happened.

I managed to convince Alex to drive Ellie's car back down as it terrified me, and I got back into the comfort of my BMW. We drove back down to the studio to pick up Ellie.

Damien was waiting when we got there.

"Alex, where have you been?" He shouted, and tried to hug her as she got out of Ellie's car. She pulled away from him, and walked around to me.

"She's fine Damien, but she's gonna come stay with me and Ellie for a while," I said.

"Don't be ridiculous, she's known you for less than a week." He looked angry with me.

"I'm staying with them dad." Alex spoke up.

"Why?"

"Because I can't live with you anymore. You won't let me be happy. You've chased away anyone who's ever made me happy, and I'm 21 now dad, you can't control my life," she said, holding back the tears that threatened her eyes.

"If you don't come home, I'm cutting you off, and this apprenticeship is over." He threatened.

"That's really my call, Damien." I interrupted and he turned on me.

"You are in my employment, therefore it's my call."

"I have a contract with you, that states the first month is a trial, which either of us have the power to end. I'll have the company's resignation drawn up tomorrow," I said sternly, and noticed Ellie was standing I'm the doorway of the studio with a look of horror on her face.

"Fine. But you'll regret it." He said, and got into the back of a black car with tinted windows, which pulled away quickly.

Ellie and Alex both looked at me in shock, and I smiled.

"C'mon, furniture will be delivered soon." I said, and started to get in my car.

"Jamie..." Ellie started.

"We don't need his money Ellie, and I have enough money to get some decent advertising out there for us now. Now please, can we go, before they leave all our furniture outside."

Ellie got into her car, and I got into mine, Alex joined me, and looked at me in disbelief.

"Thank you for what you just did." she said quietly. I smiled sweetly, and drove away.