Good Enough

Months Earlier

Nathalie sat in a yellow cab on her way to meet her new roommate and best friend Isabel. After debating for years about moving to California all the way from Sweden, she was finally going to take a leap and live in the state that has called her name since she was young. She would miss her country, but California held so many opportunities for her. She was already enrolled in college and had a job waiting for her. It just the perfect time to move.

Isabel, a friend of six years through the computer, proposed she move in with her. Nathalie was always so scared to do it because it would be such a drastic change, but she decided to take the leap when someone close to her died. Her boyfriend. They didn’t date long, only a year, but she had come to love him, and the accident changed everything.

Nathalie realized was short. She needed to grab it by the reins and take control. Yes, it would take a while to get used to the climate and the time change, but she was sure that soon it would feel like home. She didn’t regret her decision as she passed by so many great buildings. She would get to Isabel’s home in a few minutes.

Nathalie saw the sign that welcomed her to Huntington Beach. A grin spread across her lips. She let out a small breath to calm her racing heart. She ran a hand through her brown hair that looked red in the sun, and now that she lived in California, she would spend most of her time outside.

It was the middle of the summer in California, so the heat was high. The taxi made a turn and the houses started to appear. The taxi stopped in front of a home she recognized from the pictures Isabel sent over their six years of friendship. Nathalie took out her cell phone and called Isabel.

“You’re here?!” Isabel exclaimed happily.

“Look outside your window, you dork,” Nathalie chuckled and got out of the taxi. The front door of the house burst open and a girl in three inch heels rush out of the house. She wore a faded Slayer shirt and ripped jeans. Isabel had black hair, green eyes, and a very fit body.

It wasn’t the first time the girls had met face to face. Two years ago, Isabel had saved up enough money to visit Nathalie at Sweden, and the girls had many fond memories of their adventures. Now, after two years, they were going to live together.

They hugged tightly and their eyes watered. It was so surreal for them. They always talked about how they would eventually move in together but it had been all talk. They didn’t actually think it was going to come true.

Nathalie couldn’t believe she was breathing the air of California. She paid the taxi driver, and the man helped put the luggage inside of Isabel’s home. Isabel gave him a ten dollar tip for it. She took Nathalie on a tour of her two story home.

At the top floor there were three bedrooms. One was Isabel’s, the second would be Nathalie’s and the third was the personal gym of Isabel, which she was welcomed to use any time she wanted. There was also three and a half bathrooms. Nathalie’s room had a whole one. On the first floor there was the foyer which had the stairs that led to the second floor, the living room, a den, and the kitchen.

There was also a backyard with a pool and Jacuzzi. Isabel was a model, but not the skinny kind. She had meat on her body and it was one of the reasons she owned her personal gym.

Once the tour of the home was over, it was time to do the one task they thought they should get out of the way, unpacking.

They struggled to get Nathalie’s luggage to the second floor, but somehow they managed. Nathalie and Isabel started to unpack and chatted about what they should do. Nathalie wanted to sleep for a while because of the jet lag. Isabel thought it was best too.

“And then at night,” Isabel smirked, “we can go out.”

Nathalie grinned widely. “Of course!”

Nathalie’s window gave a clear view of the front of the home which gave her access to see the other houses. She noticed that across the street there was at least four cars parked outside. Two on the driveway and the other two in front of the house. It was a two story house like Isabel’s.

She looked away when Isabel called her name.

“So, I’ll wake you up at six so we can get ready to go out tonight.”

“Sounds great.”

Isabel hugged her one last time and stepped out of the room.

Nathalie changed out of her jeans and into some short shorts pajamas. She got on the comfy bed and slowly drifted to sleep.

Hours later, she was awaken by light knocks on her door. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She checked the time. It was exactly six. She got out of bed and opened the door for Isabel.

“A taxi will be picking us up in two and half hours, is that long enough?” Isabel asked.

“It’s enough,” Nathalie stifled a yawn.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Isabel clapped her hands.

Nathalie laughed at her child-like ways, but it was one of the things she loved about Isabel. She was care-free, but not naïve. Nathalie closed the door and took out her clothes for the night. It was her first night out in the Golden State, so she made sure she dressed to impress.

First, she took a shower to take away the sleep. She did the whole ritual about doing her hair and make up. That took her about an hour and a half. She still had an hour to kill. She decided to take out some of the pictures from her boxes and place them on her nightstand.

She took a picture of herself and her dead boyfriend on the other nightstand, Dave. She looked down to her wrist and saw the two hearts she got tattooed after being a year together.

Isabel walked into the room in a dress that just screamed ‘Do me’, but not in a slutty way.

“Are you ready?” Isabel asked.

“I am, but we still have an hour.”

“I can call the cab company to send someone now,” Isabel took out her phone and called the cab company.

In no time, they were outside of a bar. The girls got their drinks and began to chat. The night wasn’t about hooking up with guys. It was about having fun. They declined guys who asked them to dance, and just enjoyed the night.

Nathalie didn’t get drunk. She didn’t want her first night in Los Angeles to be blurry. She wanted to remember it, but Isabel was another story. She had about four shots of tequila, and two beers. She started to sing along with Carrie Underwood’s song ‘Cowboy Casanova’ and it was all out of key.

Nathalie just laughed and tried to get her to be quiet because people were starting to get annoyed.

“I think it’s time for us to go,” Nathalie grabbed Isabel by the arm and dragged her out of the car, hauled a cab, and got her home.

Even at home, Isabel kept singing the same song.

“I see that look on your face. You ain’t hearing what I say. So I’ll say it again, cause I’ve been where you’ve been you can’t get away!” Isabel sang.

“You need to get rest,” Nathalie dragged her friend upstairs to her room and got her in bed. She sighed and helped her get undressed and into her pajamas. “The things I do for friendship.”

“This is why you’re my best friend, Nat,” Isabel slurred. “You’re so awesome!”

“Thanks, bud,” Nathalie put Isabel to bed and retreated to her bedroom. She was sure going to remind Isabel about her singing career the next morning. How she shouldn’t pursuit it.

Nathalie was in the middle of putting her pajamas on when she heard a shriek that came from outside her window. She pulled on her shorts quickly and walked over to the window and saw that across the street, the house with a lot of cars, a man had a woman trapped against a car.

The woman wasn’t fighting the man, so Nathalie realized it wasn’t rape. The woman had her arms wrapped around the man with large arms with tattoos. He kissed down the her throat.

Her turned to look at Nathalie, straight at her as if he knew all along she was there. Her face reddened, the light was on, so he could probably clearly see her. She stepped aside quickly, and then ran to the lights and turned it off.

She was caught looking, though it wasn’t on purpose, but he probably thought she was a pervert. Not the best first impression.

Early the next morning, Nathalie was up and she made breakfast. She didn’t like to sit around and do nothing. She liked to be active, and do what she could do to help.

She was still embarrassed of the event of the night before. She hoped the man didn’t think she was a peeping-tom. He just caught her a time when she was figuring out what exactly was happening.

“Why did you let me drink so much?” Isabel’s groggy voice came.

Nathalie looked up from her plate of food and saw her friend. She was in her pajamas and her hair was a tangle.

“I didn’t let you. You just kept ordering drinks,” Nathalie laughed.

Isabel groaned and sat down in front of Nathalie. “It’s a nightmare. I hate hangovers. I can’t eat anything until six hours later.”

“Aw, but I made breakfast.”

“I’m sorry, Nat, but I seriously can’t anything.”

“It’s all right,” Nathalie sent her a sympathetic look. “So… who lives across from us? There’s so many cars. It must be a big family.”

Isabel scoffed and glared at the direction of the house which Nathalie spoke about.

“It’s not a family, per se. They’re just a bunch of guys living under one roof.”

Nathalie was surprised. “They’re gay?”

Isabel laughed. “No, not all. They’re just… people you shouldn’t make acquaintance with because they are unable to remain fucking faithful.”

Nathalie quickly caught on. “Brian lives there?” Brian had been Isabel’s boyfriend for six months until he broke her heart and cheated on her. Isabel told her that he lived across from her. Nathalie had forgotten about it.

“Yup,” she popped her P. “Why do you ask? Did someone try to talk to you last night at the bar? I didn’t see any of them there.”

Nathalie shook her head. “No, um, last night I heard a shriek and I thought it was someone in trouble, so I looked out the window. The woman wasn’t getting hurt. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The man saw me look at them.”

Isabel smirked. “Well, Nat, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re into watching.”

Isabel laughed and Nathalie narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want the guy to think I’m a pervert.”

“What did the guy look like?” Isabel asked.

Nathalie thought back. “He had sleeve tattoos.”

“Both arms or just one?”

“I think it was both. He was also muscular--”

“Matt.” Isabel answered at once. “He’s the most muscular of them all. Though, Brian comes in close second.” Her mind drifted off for a few seconds and then she blinked. “He’s bad news, Nat. They’re all bad news… which makes them all much more tastier.” she sighed sadly.

“I don’t plan to get involved with him. I just want to clear things up with him, that I wasn’t looking on purpose.”

Isabel shrugged. “All right then, go if you want, but you might as well be signing your death sentence.”

“You’re so overdramatic sometimes, Isabel,” Nathalie laughed and shook her head.

Isabel grinned. “I know.”