Ellen wasted no time getting the tent put together. The space underneath the large boulders where the two girls chose to spend the night was large enough to house the tent and still provide a little bit of room outside too.
It turned out to be great hiding place.
It was located partially up a hill nestled along a series of mountain ridges overlooking the dense, thick canopy of trees below. Anyone below the canopy would never see these large boulders at all. The only way to be spotted was from the air, and the camouflaged-colored tent would be impossible to spot hidden inside the space of the boulders.
"Will they ever find us here?" Julia asked Ellen.
"It's doubtful. I don't think Sheriff even knows about this place. But, we don't have any food or water. We're going to have to think of something by tomorrow morning."
Ellen helped Julia down to her hands and knees so that she could crawl into the tent. Ellen followed her inside.
Julia laid her shirt and skirt on the bottom of the tent and used them to lay on. The warm summer air made it comfortable to be nude. Ellen found a place next to Julia to lay down as well.
"Hey, thanks so much for getting me out of the Home." Julia expressed. "There's just no way I could let them get me."
"Oh, don't even think about it!" Ellen reassured. "I just needed a reason to get out of there. Look at it this way, you're doing me a favor!"
"I hope this is not going to get you in trouble." Julia added.
"Oh Hell no! Sheriff's almost like my big brother. He's known me since I was a baby. He won't do anything to me."
"Well... I'm just really grateful." Julia said, opting to close her eyes and try to relax.
Ellen smiled. She remained looking at Julia. Ellen was older by only a few years, yet felt so much more behind in terms of intellect and knowledge than Julia. She turned to look at herself, her arms, legs, and her body, then compared them to Julia. She felt Julia was more beautiful and feminine than she. Ellen was not jealous, but just in awe to see a young woman who looked just like the ones in fashion magazines.
"I had a boyfriend show me this place a couple of years ago." Ellen explained. "He had been living right here for two months! He would walk into the town the same way we came up and he would bring food and water up here. Except he didn't have a tent. He just had a sleeping bag. I can't imagine staying here for that long."
"Must have been nice to just live so free." Julia remarked, still with her eyes closed.
"I guess! He didn't have anywhere else to live! He wanted me to live with him, and I told him no way! I needed a house, you know? Some place proper. And I wanted a man who could work and provide, and he didn't want to get a job. So, I stopped seeing him."
"I used to think that way too." Julia said. "I wanted a beautiful house, and a husband who worked hard and went to church, a couple of kids, and... Well, I don't know now."
"Really? You don't want that anymore?"
"No! Well, I don't know. I mean, Lara really opened my eyes the past few days. Well, the past few weeks actually. The past few years probably!"
"Huh." Ellen said, looking at Julia's body. You seem so much more refined than me. Not like any of us girls here in these mountains. You're so much more beautiful. You talk proper, and you walk with elegance, and your hair is so..."
Julia laughed.
"Elegance? I'm hobbling around now!"
"Well, you know what I mean!" Ellen chuckled. "You've got so much more going for you! And me, I'm just trash for sixty bucks."
Ellen paused and remained quiet.
Julia opened her eyes and turned to look and noticed her looking troubled. She reached with her hand to touch Ellen on her arm.
"Hey... That's not going to happen anymore! You deserve anything you want. You've already taken the first step! You left that Home! And you're pretty good looking yourself too. I wouldn't put yourself down."
Ellen smiled, feeling a little coy.
"Thanks. I really appreciate that. Hey, I hope I'm not imposing, but I think I'd really like to tag along if you don't mind. I mean, after you get back with Lara."
"Oh." Julia muttered. "Well, I don't see why not. Yeah, that would be fun!"
"Thanks." Ellen felt hopeful.
"Well, we're going to need food and water." Ellen continued, snapping herself back into survival mode. "I'm thinking of hiking back down and seeing if I can get us something."
"Really? You mean now?" Julia asked.
"Yeah, probably a good idea. We still have plenty of daylight. If we wait until tomorrow morning, we're going to get way too thirsty and hungry."
Ellen sat up and crawled out of the tent. Julia sat up and watched. Ellen peeked her head back into the tent.
"Don't worry I'll be back before dark. Just stay here, okay?"
"Okay, but be safe!"
Julia watched Ellen leave. Part of her felt safe knowing she was someplace no one would ever find her. But another part felt afraid to be alone and so far from home. She laid herself down again, this time on her side. Julia thought about her parents and of Lara. She knew her father would be more angry this time than ever before. She preferred not to even see him again, just to avoid the confrontation, though she already missed her parents. On the other hand, she ached for Lara. She recognized that after all these years of being her best friend, she had actually been in love with her and not known it.
