AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When we got home, I shoved the shopping bag in a corner of my closet. Back in my room, I grabbed my sketchpad, ruler, and pencils and spread them over my desk. The best light was in the kitchen, but I needed complete silence to work on art. My environment needed to be a cocoon of artistic energy. My eyes roved over the walls, where I pasted photographs of some of my favorite corporate designs: Apple, Google, and Facebook. The sleek modern designs. Classic minimalism.
One day, I’ll design something amazing for a company known all around the world.
But for now, I was working on penguins. My boss gave me the assignment to redo the pamphlets for the penguin exhibit. It was one of the most popular exhibits at the San Francisco Bay Aquarium, especially among children. I drew a line across the page and my hand flinched. An image of a wooden spoon cracking over my knuckles echoed through the years and I tightened my fist.
It was only a sketch, but it had to be perfect. I used the ruler even for the text; to make sure the crossed “T”s were straight.
Hours later, when I finished perfecting every little detail, I sat back and admired my work. Now, it was time to do it all over again. This time on Photoshop and Illustrator. By the timeit was done, dark orange light glowed on my wall through my blinds. I stared at my stupid, cartoony graphic that burned my eyeballs for the past few hours.
What an empty life you have. Work, work, work.
I spent my whole Saturday working, wasting most of my time on a sketch I didn’t really need. The emptiness of my life swallowed me like a black hole in my chest, always needing more, more, and more.
I’m one of those stupid girls who made everything in life about their boyfriend.
Every weekend, holiday, and party revolved around him. And now he was gone, there was nothing to invest my energy in, besides work and my possessions.
Get a grip, Natalie. He’s just a man, and not a very good one, anyway.
* * *
The town car whisked across the Bay Bridge and I stared out the window at the indiscernible black, rolling hills in the distance. The car stopped in a quiet suburb deep within the San Francisco and the noise in my head stopped. I could hardly believe that such an ordinary place could exist in the city. The homes had driveways. I stared. Some of the houses were tall, vertical and pastel-colored. We were in front of a giant, white Victorian mansion that looked like a small castle. On the side was a greenhouse. The black gate opened and pink and yellow tulips lined the driveway and encircled the whole house. I got out of the car and walked up the steps, surrounded by white roses. As I passed the glass house, I realized that it was a huge solarium, not a greenhouse. The floor was laid out in marble in a checkered black-and-white pattern. Beautiful patio furniture covered the gleaming floor and guests sat in wicker chairs, enjoying themselves, drinking champagne, and admiring the view.
As I blundered inside, I couldn’t stop staring. There were countless rooms: a room for the pool table, a library, and a study. Upstairs on the second level was a massive patio with its own garden and above that I could see porches sticking out of the bedroom doors. There were several private courtyards surrounding the first floor where one could sit on a sunny day, obscured from all traffic, and read. It was incredible.I grabbed one of the bubbly glasses of champagne bobbing around the rooms on gold-plated trays and wandered.
The alcohol slipped down my throat as I walked toward the crowd of well-dressed men and women, most of them Luke’s business associates. They were too intimidating to approach, so I wandered around on my own. He hosted the party in this ridiculously gorgeous mansion to celebrate the success of his multi-million dollar business deal. As his girlfriend’s best friend, I was invited. Jessica wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. She refused to leave me alone in the apartment. Part of me loved that about her. Another part, the part closest to my bitter heart, was sick to death of being coddled.
My fingers bit into the now-empty champagne glass. I walked through the mansion as the lounge music boomed in my ears, marveling at the number of stairs and the art displayed on the walls. I passed the living room where a Steinway & Sons grand piano stood. It probably cost him at least forty thousand and I knew for a fact that neither of them could play. I sank my finger down on the ivory middle c and winced as a harsh note glared at me. Not only that, but it was out of tune!
The glass tiers of intricate petit-fours and Kara’s Cupcakes, which had been customized with golden “P”s just for this party, and the bottles of champagne raised out of dripping ice to provide an endless pour of bubbly excitement—all of it irritated me. They were showing off.
Look at me! Look at what I have! It was excessive.
I wanted to spit. I hated myself for being so jealous.
The muscles on my face ached from smiling too much. I grabbed the door that led outside and pushed it. Desperate to get away from all the noise and people, I stepped into the cold outdoors andsighed with relief. I wanted to be alone so I could feel like crap without anyone asking me if there was something wrong.
A redwood porch with tables and chairs overlooked a sprawling garden and backyard. I clutched my shrug around my shoulders and shivered in the freezing, starless night. I set the champagne glass on the rail and leaned so that the wood dug into my ribs. The noise of the party shut out, I closed my eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
“Bad night?”
A husky voice shattered my sanctuary and my body turned—right into another body.
“Whoa.” I looked up and saw a broad chest. I backed away and saw a man standing in front of me, looking disheveled in his dark gray suit. It wasn’t his attractiveness I noticed right away; it was the restlessness of his black eyes, which seemed to hold me still.
A slow smirk stretched across his rugged face. His hair flared around him, just as wild as the rest of his appearance: loose tie and shirt untucked, a shoelace trailing behind his scuffed patent leather shoes. He looked drunk, except he held nothing in his hands. There was no stink of alcohol.
“Speak for yourself.” I felt a surge of annoyance toward the man who spotted my dark mood. Surprise registered in my brain. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to talk to an attractive guy like him, but I didn’t find him intimidating at all.
He gave me an unconcerned shrug. “What, this?” He tugged his collar. “This is my low-effort party outfit.”
“It’s…fetching,” I said, suppressing a grin.
A smile flickered on my face and he grinned back. “I hate parties, but I’m always expected to go to them.”
Even in his haphazard attire, he was handsome. He had a straight nose and a hollowed face. His flushed cheeks would have made him look like some dark angel if it weren’t for his narrowed eyes. How could someone be so attractive but look like shit at the same time?
“I don’t want to be here, either.”
