Before the confrontation with Sean….Chloe hiked her bag up her chest, peeling off the wet strands of hair that were glued to her cheeks.She resumed her workout sessions as a way to escape her current reality, and for a short amount of time, it worked.But then as soon as she's done, the world comes crashing down around her.It kinda sucks.“Hey, good one today Chloe!” Her trainer, Jackson boomed from the other end of the room, raising his water bottle to her in salute.Chloe returned one of her own before she focused on removing the straps from her knuckles.Hissing as she peeled it off, Chloe took a minute to examine her slightly bruised knuckles. There was a pinkish color, with faint purple marks around the center.The punching bag in front of her didn't dare any better.Punching off her anger wasn't healthy but for now, it was all she got.Bunching her hair up in a ponytail, Chloe reached for her water jug on the bench next to her but before she could take it, someone else swiped
Chloe rolled her left shoulder to get friction and blood flowing. That fucking bastard, Jackson gripped her arm too tight, stopping the blood circulation.Once she was sure that everything was well and good, she drew it back and slammed it into Clement's face.“Ow!” Chloe jumped up, clutching her hand which nearly dislocated from its sockets upon connecting with Clement's jaw.Clement's head snapped to the side, and he heard rather than felt something snap into two. He gingerly touched his jaw, flexing it a bit to be sure nothing was broken before he looked at Chloe.There was murder in her eyes...“Itching to get that one off your system huh?” He smirked, checking for blood. Luckily, there was none.“You're lucky I didn't do more than smack that annoying smirk off your face.” She growled, plopping her ass on the bench. “Don't you want to know why I'm here?” Clement thrust his hands into his pocket.“What I want is for you to get as far away from me as possible, so if that can happen
A slow knock sounded on his door, the sound grating on his nerves. Sean grunted at the door, turning his chair around to stare at the sunsetting.Trying to ignore the world around him for a week, Sean kept getting sucked back into the ever-revolving horror that was his life.Amber took great pride in reminding him just how much he had wrecked his relationship with his girlfriend and then she left.A hollow feeling had settled in his chest since that day.On his desk back home, were several unfinished letters which he addressed to Chloe, hoping that writing his thoughts out loud would be better.Maybe not.Because in the end, Sean couldn't come up with anything that seemed fitting enough.After all, what could he say?Hey, I'm sorry I drove out drunk and accidentally hit your mom's car.Abandoning the letters, Sean tried to reach out to her on her new line but he chickened out before she could pick up the phone.Every day, as Sean urged himself to come to work he was hit with bitternes
Magnus turned around slowly, almost like he was scared of what he would encounter. “Yes?” “Why did you bring this to me?” Sean grabbed the file that was now in disarray. “You could have kept it to yourself, why bother?”“Because you deserve to know the truth.” He shrugged. “Listen, even as an outsider, I'm not going to lie and say that your family dynamic doesn't look a little bit strange because it does, and if the least I could do is provide some answers, then it's fine by me.”Sean stared at the man before him, judging his sincerity. “Okay, fine. You can go.”Before the words were out of his mouth, Magnus had already fled through the door, closing it gently after him.Sean faced his desk once again, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him.Why?That was the only thing going around in his brain. He tried to make sense of it, but nothing seemed to connect.Sean remembered how supportive Moriah had been from the start.When he worked on Magnolia he solved the court case against
Staring into space, Chloe shut off her raging thoughts focusing on the only important thing.Nature.Being surrounded by trees and the distant sounds of children playing, she cupped her thermos between her hands trying to siphon the heat.The past few weeks of her life have been the craziest thing it has ever been.After getting the costs of the surgery Ethan had enough money to sustain them for a couple of months before he could get another job.After that, she deleted Moriah's number from her phone and any other device that she stored, effectively closing the last chapter of her life.The warm, summer breeze blew in her direction, sending her hair flying in different directions.Chloe blinked and jolted back to the present.Pushing back her hair from her face, Chloe took a sip of her latte only to discover that it had turned warm.Spitting the disgusting liquid on the grass, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, casting furtive glances to be sure nobody saw her.A glance at
“How about this?” Chloe asked, raising a white long gown to her chest so Maeve could vet.Her sister snickered, covering her mouth behind her palm. “Are you serious?!” She snatched it from Chloe's grip. “You're going for a date, not a wedding ceremony.”Maeve ransacked her closet, looking for a semi-decent dress to wear out.Chloe never cared much about fashion, and the clothes she always went for, were simple and comfortable… not the type meant to “Whatever, it's not a date.” She mumbled, sitting on her bed with a sigh.Maeve poked her head out of the cupboard, throwing her a sarcastic look. “You did see the place he made a reservation, right?”“It doesn't mean anything.” She denied, smoothing down the plain black skirt she wore. “Luke and I have been friends forever, and friends do hang out.”“I'm sure they do but they don't do it in expensive restaurants.” Maeve pointed out, resuming her search while she let Chloe stew on that fact.And Chloe did…maybe a little too much.“I could
Chloe swallowed hard, not sure what type of reply she was expected to give in the face of that kind of question.Thankfully, she was saved by the arrival of their waiter, who presented two gold-etched menus to tie them with a smile. “Are you ready to order now, sir?”Luke in response, turned to face her beaming wide. “Yes, please. Chloe, do you have any idea what you want?”A quick scan down the menu revealed various complicated and complex dishes that Chloe hadn't heard of, much less eaten.Spotting some names that were familiar to her, she opted for something she could identify. “I'll have the steak, medium rare please, and the fillet mignon too.”Luke showed off, rattling several dishes along with dessert, and handing the menu back to the waiter.Chloe followed suit, hiding her clammy palms beneath the table.Now that she was here, it was almost anticlimactic.“How are you?” Luke was brave enough to break through the strained silence. “I mean…after everything, you know.” He waved h
The expression on Chloe's face, coupled with the way her eyes were narrowed were starting to scare the shit out of Luke, and too late…he just realized that maybe he should have kept quiet.Do the right thing and help her heal.No, jackass.That was the same move Luke pulled that placed him squarely in the friend zone area.Granted, his timing was shitty but he was tired of bottling the truth up.Careful to keep his voice down, he tried to reach out for her but Chloe kept giving him killer looks. “Chloe listen, of course I know that you might still be healing from everything but I'm tired of just being your ‘friend’. I want more.”Chloe was conflicted. “That's what we are though.” “No. That's what you want me to be.” Luke insisted. “Why do you think I've been by your side now and then, sticking on you like a bee on honey?”Chloe couldn't think of anything to say to that that didn't make her seem dumb or just plain foolish. “But, Luke …” she tried and failed to put her thoughts into wo