Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

15 Years Later......

As I got off the bus just down the street from my apartment, the cold breeze wrapped around me and welcomed me into the chilly autumn nights. I took a breath in and let myself get engulfed by the cold air. The bus pulled away, and I walked the short distance to the building my apartment was on. Opening the building door, I recognized the familiar scent of concrete and paint. The building was relatively new, and in the Mariners Bay area, apartment buildings were a new era. My best friend, Taylor’s parents, had bought her this apartment as a graduation present. She decided she wanted to stay in Mariners Bay and work here instead of moving back to Greenwoods, where we lived initially. They gave her a new tenth-floor sea-facing apartment to make her life bearable. After eleven years of being roommates, she said she would not ditch me that easily. So I became her housemate and contributed to her bills and apartment expenses, which worked well for both of us.

Walking up to the lift, I thought about how lucky I was to have an awesome friend like Taylor. Without her, my life in Mariners Bay would have been worthless. Even though she knew what kind of life I came from, she helped me forget my sorrow of staying away from my Mumma. She helped me make new friends. She helped me to get a fashion sense. She, at this point, was not only my roommate; she was my sister. Her parents were fantastic as well. They were super humble for people that came from a lot of generational money. Every time Taylor’s parents asked about my life, Taylor swiftly changed the topic and made them forget all about it. Even though she knew, she didn’t think it was a good idea for other people to know. She always told me, “Rosy, what happened back in Greenwood’s is no one’s business. You just focus on the present”, and she was right.

The lift pinged, and the doors opened. I was so deep in thought I had forgotten I was already on my floor. As I walked towards my apartment, I noticed the door opposite ours was open. It looked like someone was finally moving in. I opened my door and walked in. The sound of Frank Sinatra’s songs came rolling down the hallway into the lounge. Taylor was home and was either painting or cleaning.

“Tay Tay, I’m home,” I yelled out.

“Rosy posey, hi! Be out in a sec,” she yelled back.

I savaged through the fridge and pulled out the fried rice from last night’s dinner. I was starving since I hadn’t eaten all day. I had back-to-back meetings to finalize projects and reports before our CEO turned up on Monday. I sat on the bar stool with my now heated meal and a juice box. Taylor came out of her room in a pair of overalls covered in paint. She was an interior designer by profession but loved to paint. Both things worked in her favor. She tried to argue with me about dropping my profession and taking up my hobby. Unlike her, my sales and marketing manager profession had nothing in common with my baking hobby. I got paid a decent amount for getting work done and bringing sales up. I had staff that did about fifty percent of the work for me. Taking up baking as a profession would mean working for myself. I would be managing, operating, and delivering all by myself - not happening.

“Wow, Rosy, that smells good. Can I have some?” She asked.

“No, you may not because you said last night you didn’t like the fried rice. Plus, you’ve been home all day. So let the starving child eat will you” I scolded back.

She made a face and turned to the fridge.

“We have a new neighbor,” I said between my bites.

“Really?! It took them long enough to find someone that could afford that place.”

“Not everyone in Mariners Bay is rich like your parents to afford that apartment,” I snickered back.

She turned towards me and stuck her tongue out. I laughed and returned to my eating. Taylor grabbed a granola bar and sat next to me. She smelt of paint and lavender.

“So, how was your day?” She asked.

“Chaos! I’m drowning in sales reports, and Mr. Brady threw a massive tantrum because we had missing data from six years ago. So I’m like, dude, I’ve only been here five years; what do you want me to do?”

“The old fart needs to get laid. Why is the company so worried about data from six years ago?” Taylor asked.

Her interest in my work was the most incredible part about Taylor. She never really understood much of it, but she never let me feel she didn’t care. We could have chats about our jobs as if we worked together.

“Fuck knows. I’m just glad it’s the weekend. I don’t have to see his old ass till Monday.” I said and rolled my eyes.

It wasn’t long into our chat when there was a knock on the door.

“Huh, wonder who that can be? Are you expecting someone?” Taylor said while getting up and walking towards the door.

I couldn’t see who was at the door when she opened it, but I could hear clearly.

“Hi. Sorry to disturb you but I’ve just moved into that apartment opposite yours. You wouldn’t have a spare bucket, would you? We’ve opened up the place, and there’s a leak in the bathroom and might flood the apartment if I pop out to buy a bucket”.

His voice echoed through our apartment. I bent my head to see the face that went with the voice. I almost fell off the stool leaning myself. I heard Taylor introducing herself and inviting him in while she checked for a bucket. He declined the invitation and said some other time, and maybe she could bring the bucket over for him if she had one. I heard him leave, and Taylor closed the door.

“Oh my god! He is so hot. Ugh!”

“Keep your panties on and look for a bucket,” I cut her off.

The look of realization hit, and she went jogging toward our laundry.

“Yay!!!!” I heard her scream. Which meant she found a bucket.

She came running out with two buckets and headed for the main door. As she got to the door, her phone rang with the ringtone she had allocated for her Dad.

“Ugh, Dad, not right now,” she groaned, answering her phone. “Yeah, Daddy, what’s up?”. Her annoyed expression slowly changed and was replaced with a frown.

Taylor put the buckets on the floor and walked towards me, listening to whatever her Dad said. As she got closer, tears formed in her eyes, and she sunk back into the stool next to me.

“Taylor, what happened?”

“Daddy, I’ll see you soon. Bye”. That was all she said and hung up.

“Taylor, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Grace is in the hospital. They don’t think she will make it,” she said, pulling me into a tight hug.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter