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Life wasn’t perfect, but for now, I could breathe more freely than I had in a long time.
ChapterForty-Six
ONE YEAR LATER
Fall was my favorite time of year. It was the only time that the weather on the East Coast actually reminded me of Southern California. Plus, I loved watching the leaves change. The colors were all unique, and no matter how often I tried my best to paint them, I didn’t think that I would ever capture their beauty.
“God, I wish I had your talent,” my roommate, Prue, grumbled as she looked at my sketch book. “You are disgustingly talented.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes at her. “You aren’t even a studio artist,” I reminded her. “You are a sculptor.”
“True,” she said with a shrug, “but I love looking at your sketches. They are so…peaceful.”
I chuckled again. Prue and I had become roommates during the summer session. Despite being so different, we got along immediately, and we’d decided to move into a small place off campus.
“I think that you are the only person I know who would categorize my art as peaceful.”
Prue flicked her long, auburn hair. “Maybe it was all the therapy.”
“Probably.” I brought my teacup to my lips. These days I operated on a policy of honesty, and the first thing I told Prue when we’d become friends was about my past. All of it. Including the six months that I’d spent in a treatment facility getting daily intensive therapy.
Prue was supportive, and I didn’t think that I would have survived the last few months in Boston without her.
I’d chosen Boston for art school because of all the memories the city held. It was the only place I had truly wonderful memories, even if they were twinged with a hint of sadness.
“Don’t look so depressed,” Prue said, calling me out. “This weekend is going to be amazing. Sophia is coming, and I’m excited to have her dress me again. That girl knows fashion.”
“She’ll love that.” And Sophia would. She and Prue had hit it off immediately when Sophia came to visit me in the summer.
Sophia was the only person from New York I’d kept in touch with, and as much as I’d wanted to beg her for information on Eli, I couldn’t.
Things in my life were better, but they weren’t perfect, and Eli deserved perfection. Sighing, I stood up from the table we’d been occupying. “I’m getting another coffee; do you want anything?”
Prue shook her head. “I actually have to run. I need to check on a multi-media project that I’m hoping to put in a gallery.”
That made me smile. Prue was one of the hardest working artists I knew, which was one of the things I loved about being roommates with her. I felt like she was the type who pushed those around her, and I needed a little push.
“I’ll see you at home later?”
There was a mischievous gleam in Prue’s eyes. “Depends on how things go with my partner.”
I rolled my eyes as I watched Prue saunter out of the shop. Some people might think of Prue as a wild child, but I knew that she was just someone who believed in living life to the fully.
These days, I could get behind that.
As I walked towards the front of the shop, lost in thought, I didn’t notice the large body that stepped into my way until I slammed into the back of it.
“Shit!” I muttered as I tried to grab the cup before it smashed to the floor.
A large hand swiped it from the air just as the porcelain slipped from my fingers, and I felt a sigh of relief. The very last thing that I wanted was to draw the attention of the entire shop because I had butterfingers and a head that was in the clouds.
“Carla?”
The gruff, familiar voice killed the apology that was in my throat, and my head snapped up so quickly I was surprised I didn’t get whiplash. “Eli?”
Standing before me was the man who’d starred in my dreams for the last six months. The one who I’d wanted to call so many times but didn’t.
“What are you doing in Boston?”
