I was slow to wake up. I felt so warm and comfortable that I didn’t want to move. Even when my mind became conscious, I only sighed and hugged tightly at the soft thing in my arms. Then, I remembered last night and frowned.My eyes blinked open, to be met with the hotel’s pristine white pillow. Only, when I moved, there was a suspicious stain on it. I pulled back and rubbed at my chin, sighing when I realized I’d drooled.Well, that is embarrassing.“Jake?” I called out.I realized I couldn’t see him, and rolled around, but he wasn’t behind me on the bed.Could he be in the shower?I listened but couldn’t hear him there. So he was probably in the other room.With another sigh, I slipped out of bed. I was a little disappointed not to wake up with him beside him, but by the light coming into the room, it was likely no longer early in the morning. I headed for the bathroom, unconscious of my naked body. I felt an ache in my hips and between my thighs. When I looked down, I could see some
Though I’d thought of taking a bus ride home, in the end, I decided it was impossible. It would be a long trip, and while I wouldn’t mind the scenic route, I was now impatient to go back. I wanted to see my parents, have a good talk, a good cry, and go to sleep.Lucky for me, I had enough funds to purchase an airline ticket, and more money to pay back. I didn’t like taking loans. I didn’t have a formal job, though I did do some small stuff online that got me pocket money each month so I’d bother my parents less, I was hopeless with loans.I’d have to bother Mom and Dad to pay it back for me, I thought sadly.I wanted to try at least and sleep through the flight, but my emotions weren’t quite stable. I was excited, nervous, anxious, with apprehension growing in the background. I would have to face everything I’d been running from, after all. It wouldn’t be easy, and I did miss my family and friends.Did I make a mistake?I didn’t know how much time I had left. Maybe, instead of wasting
Two Years Later...A knock on the door sounded, and I looked up from the documents on top of my desk to the office door.“Come in,” I called.Mrs. Cove, a woman in her mid-forties with her brunette hair pulled back in a severe bun and dressed in a skirt suit, walked in. She was currently acting as my secretary at the company.“Sir, your meeting with the department heads is in half an hour. Should I go and make preparations now?”“What room are we meeting in?”“The third conference room on this floor, sir.”I nodded slowly. “Thank you, Mrs. Cove. And yes, please start the preparations, I’ll be done before the meeting.”“Of course, sir,” she said.With a short, bowing nod, she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. I frowned down at the documents in front of me, wondering if I could finish this before the meeting, or if I could postpone it until afterward.I glanced at my phone beside my computer keyboard and picked it up. I unlocked the screen and paused for a second, b
“All right, that’s it for today. Don’t forget your assignments, and I’ll see you all in our next class.”After his closing statement, the lecturer picked up his stuff and left the room. Right on his heels were student leaving the lecture room, going from silent to noisy in seconds. I didn’t get up, waiting for the crush of people to leave so I could follow after. As the room slowly emptied, I stretched my arms out and allowed myself to relax.How the hell did I ever put up with this? I grumbled to myself.I didn’t miss school. In a lot of ways, college was worse than high school. The classes were less, and I got plenty of free time every day, but I also had assignments and stuff to study that filled up that free time, and the lectures were incredibly long. I just sat through a more than two-hour-long lecture, and my ass had fallen asleep, my hand was cramping from all the notes I’d written, and I still had one more class for the day.Can't I just skip? I whimpered to myself, but I kne
It was the weekend. Since I’d petty much given up my previous, carefree life, I sometimes worked on Saturdays for half the day and took Sunday off. I didn’t go into the office when there wasn’t work for me to do there, but it was a big company that was still growing, so there was still plenty of research I did during my free time into the company’s future.On one such weekend, I was sitting in my home office, working on my computer, when I got a call from Dad. I only hesitated a little before answering it. If this was before, I might have even thought of ignoring the call, but those days were over.I couldn’t say Dad and I were closer than before, but at least, we didn’t go through moments of pretending the other didn’t exist.“Hello, Dad?”“Jake,” he said, voice deep and calm. “Do you have any plans this weekend?”I stared at my computer screen. I had my browser opened and was looking through a few pages. I was only in the research stage so far, so there wasn’t any hurry.“I’m free,
I arrived at school early on Monday, and all over campus, there was a building excitement.A guest speaker was coming to the school tomorrow. His name was Richard Black. I had been with the school for so long, so even though I liked to keep to myself, how could I not know who that was?There were photos of him spread all over campus, and one couldn’t help but feel excited. After all, it was a success story so close to home that could give anyone hope. Though he’d been at the school a long time ago, longer than I had been alive, only a few people from the school had copied his feat, so he was still a pretty big name, though the school had alumni to boast about.As I sat waiting for my morning lecture to start, I was practically vibrating with excitement. It was the first time since I’d been back to college that I was this excited about anything. I had my son to support now, after all. I had to succeed in life if I wanted to give my baby boy a good life.“Hey, Klara!”I looked up to see
Two days flew by quickly. I’d taken Dad’s advice to heart and gone around sightseeing my first two days in New York, but the talk day arrived quickly.Dad wanted me to be with him when he went to the school. I found myself wondering if it was for moral support or something. I’d always stayed in Cali, or when I strayed, at least stuck close, even when it came to school. I didn’t see much reason in me showing up at the school when I wasn’t an alumnus, but maybe it was hard for him going there? Especially since we’d all been there for my brother’s graduation, and Dad even gave a speech on that day.As far as I knew, it was the last time he’d been by.I figured I’d feel out of place, but under the impression that it would help Dad bear it easier, I decided I wouldn’t fight him on this.Ever since I lost my brother, I’d become more understanding toward my parents. Thinking of things from their point of view instead of staying a selfish brat that wouldn’t even listen to his parents’ words.
I’d arrived early for the speech because I knew the place would end up being packed, and if I wasn’t early, I’d end up sitting in the back. Julia had been there with me, and we’d found seats pretty close to the front.Walking beside Jake as we left campus, I praised that decision.Even though I had no idea how to search for him all this time, he appeared in front of me.Julia had been curious when I told her I’d be staying behind. I wasn’t the only one that hung back. Other people wanted to try and talk to the men of the Black family, but they’d been surrounded. I hadn't been sure how to talk to him. We’d locked eyes when he was on the platform, and I didn’t miss how he kept throwing looks at me, so he hadn't forgotten me, either.I’d been worrying about how I’d be able to talk to him in private when he walked up to me on his own.The two of us were silent as we walked. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be feeling. Of course, I’d been shocked to see him, and a part of me had been p