"Count on it." Belle winks, pushing through the crowd toward the camera, leaving me with a strange, warming thought. Maybe there’s more to all of this than views and filters and likes. Maybe this isn’t exactly what I envisioned an influencer was when I first started out. Maybe I’m ready to acknowledge that. And maybe, that’s not the worst thing in the world.
I glance down at my phone. Seven missed calls. My stomach drops as I duck into the stairwell and press the phone to my ear.
"Ellie," Jasper’s voice is low, urgent. "It’s me. Call me back as soon as you get this. It’s important."
Panic flares in my chest as I hurry down the stairs. Mom’s been homebound for over a year. What if something happened?
The warm, smoggy air hits me as I push open the side door, heart pounding loud enough to drown everything else. I tap Jasper’s name. One ring. Two. Three.
"Ellie?" His words crackle through, and relief floods me.
"Jasp." I release a breath. "What’s going on?"
"Is that her?" Brooks’ voice echoes in the background, steady.
"Yeah." Jasper’s tense. "Ellie… are you sitting down?"
My palms are slick. "Yeah," I lie, bracing against the wall.
"There’s been an accident." The words hang heavy.
"Mom?"
"It’s… Dad. He was out cutting wood, and he had a stroke. The doctors say it’s serious. Ellie, you need to come home."
My hand flies to my mouth. "I have a brand deal in Bali." Empty words. Wrong words.
"A brand deal?" Jasper’s disgusted tone slices through. "Dad’s in the hospital, and you’re talking about a brand deal?"
Shame scorches me. Who am I if I even hesitated?
"I’ll book the first flight," I whisper. "I’m coming home. I promise."
"Okay," he says, relieved. "Love you, Ellie."
"Love you too."
I lower the phone with shaking hands, shame and panic twisting in my chest. Bali feels like another planet, a world I don’t belong to anymore.
For the first time all evening, the thought of likes, comments, collabs… it all feels unbearably small compared to what waits back home.
My heels hammer against the pavement as I run down Sunset, neon blurring past.
For once, I’m not balancing on plastic pretending to be glass. No spectacle, no ring lights, no hashtags.
Just the pounding of my heart, carrying me away from the collapse I’ve been living in and toward the one place that still feels real.
CHAPTER TWO
No Signal
I clutch my skinny vanilla latte like its armor, staring out over the slow-motion chaos of LAX. People move in waves around me, blurs of color and sound, yet I’m rooted to the spot, feeling every inch of the distance that’s separated me from home these past three years.
The screens overhead flash delays, cancellations, and gate changes. A constant reminder that nothing is ever steady here. A baby wails, a businessman curses into his earpiece, and the smell of fast food mingles with stale air until my stomach turns. I never thought I’d miss the silence of the mountains.
It’s been three years since I last saw Mom. Back when shadows still made her flinch but hadn’t swallowed her whole. She was so animated, full of life, even if anxiety had started creeping in around the edges.
When we were little, she was fearless. Always the one to pull us up mountainsides, pack picnics, and take us stargazing way past bedtime. Mom was the kind of wild and free that made you think she’d never change. And then… everything started scaring her.
