Status: on-going
Fated to Love You
Chapter 1.3
Abigail walked home in a daze tired from her long overnight shift. A gust of cool October wind brushed past her causing her to shiver. She crossed her arms to keep in the heat and quickened her pace so that she would reach her destination and the warmth of her apartment sooner. She glanced around recognizing the street signs and then after confirming her location she approached a tall mirrored building. She walked up to the automated doors and after greeting the man who stood before them headed toward the elevator. Her apartment was on the fifth floor of a twenty story building. Housing such as this was typical for the city and this particular one was the cheapest renting situation she could find. She always had a bit of money left over from her bi-weekly pay check so she considered herself to be doing just fine. She pressed the number five button causing it to glow then watched as the doors slowly shut.
When the elevator stopped she exited and made her way to her apartment. APT 517, she verified the number in her head before fumbling through her many key chains until she found the lone key among them. After unlocking the door she entered and swiftly made her way to the leather sofa where she plopped herself down and promptly fell asleep.
Her apartment was on the smaller side, it had one bedroom, a kitchen/dining room, small living area and one bathroom. The kitchen and dining room were considered one area because the island off to the side doubled as a prep station and a bar-type table. She lived alone, except for her feline companion Mrs. Fluffikins, so the size was acceptable.
The décor was modern, white high-gloss kitchen cabinets and counter tops were complimented by black leather bar stools which matched her sofa. On the walls she hung several pictures of her past creations. They were enlarged and framed in white reflecting the modern feel, but while adding her personality to the space. The floors were done in marbled tile except around the sofa where she had laid a large black shag area-rug. On the wall in the living room was a small window, the ledge filled with varying books. She had told herself that she would buy a book case eventually, but had never gotten around to it, so on the ledge they remained. In front of the couch was a small television, she rarely watched TV, but felt it appropriate to have one.
Her bedroom was located behind the wall the TV was mounted on. She had a double bed and a small night stand, but there was scarcely any other furniture. It looked as if she had given up on decorating the bedroom. In truth she was slowly buying the pieces to complete her apartment, but she was afraid of acquiring debt so only bought what she could afford in full. In the corner of the dark-mahogany night-stand sat a small glass jar filled with change and dollar bills. Handwritten on a small post-it note and stuck to the front of the jar was the word France. She would collect her daily change in this jar hoping to one day have enough to visit the country she envisioned herself studying in. The jar was close to overflowing, but she still had a long way to go, even so she refused to give up her dream and continued to make a daily contribution.
The Sun began to shine through the living room window and onto Abigail’s face which caused her to stir and begin to rub her eyes. Opening them, they met with Mrs. Fluffikins who had planted herself on top of Abigail’s chest and was purring softly. Abigail stroked the cats long fluffy grey fur and then gently moved her to the side so that she could sit upright. Taking out the earrings she had received from Jason earlier she held them to the light and smiled. She then removed them from their packaging and after carefully taking off the small silver backing she tried them on. Her fingers traced the outline of the earring and felt the small stone embedded in the surface, then she made her way to the bathroom to see how they looked on her. She leaned over the sink to be closer to mirror and smiled again when saw them. The moment when he had given them to her replayed over in her mind. For the present, she thought to herself as she gently touched her cheek where Jason had kissed her earlier that day. She then met with the realization that she had begun to fall for Jason, she blushed and to distract herself from the thought she headed for the kitchen.
She opened the stainless-steel fridge revealing empty shelves which contained hardly more than a carton of milk. She closed it and turned to Mrs. Fluffikins.
“I guess I’ll be going shopping then. You want a treat Mrs. Fluffikins?” She walked over to the cat who was still seated on the sofa and rubbed her head with her palm.
The cats eyes, half open, watched Abigail and after letting out a small “meow” Mrs. Fluffikins stood up and began to rub her body against Abigail’s open hand. Abigail leaned down and kissed the cats forehead, she could hear the soft purr getting louder.
“I’ll be back soon,” She patted the cat one more time before grabbing a soft-knitted brown scarf from where it had been laying on one of the bar stools and wrapped it around her neck.
Abigail exited the apartment complex and headed down the road toward a convenience store that was located a few blocks from her home. What would make for a good birthday meal? She thought about what to buy as she walked, so focused on her thoughts that she didn’t think of where she was going, but instead let her instincts take over. The convenience store was a regular trip that she made at least twice a week, so even emerged in her thoughts she wouldn’t get lost. She approached a traffic light at the bottom of a slight hill and watched the red hand blink waiting for the okay to cross. A few seconds passed and the red light was replaced with a glowing symbol of a person, signaling her to cross the street. She looked both ways first, paranoid of reckless drivers then, once she knew it was safe, she crossed. On the way to the store she passed several flower shops and a pizza place, she used these as landmarks to let her know she was almost there.
She walked up to a small mini mart, a huge “Open” sign was taped to the front window and a smaller one hung on the door. She went in a picked up a bright orange hand basket then walked around still considering what she should buy. Maybe a cake, she paused, no there would be too much for one person. I could make soup..or spaghetti, maybe fish. She walked down the aisle still debating in her head then she stopped in the freezer section. She grabbed a couple ready-made dinners and placed them in her basket then moved on to the pet aisle. She looked for the best sounding feast and placed two cans in her basket. She always meant to start cooking real food, but in the end she would give in to the convenience of frozen meals. She looked down at her selections and a bit dishearten she had second thoughts about the cake. Since I’m off tomorrow I could always take the rest to the café, I’m sure Mr. Henry would like some, or maybe Jason if I can catch him after school. A slur of thoughts flew threw her mind as she stared at her soon to be purchase. Then, before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, she picked up a package of mini-cupcakes using the small quantity as a means of justifying the purchase. She placed all of her items on the register counter then watched silently as the cashier scanned every one.
After completing her purchase she headed home taking the same route that had gotten her there. The sun had begun to set, the street bathed in a deep golden yellow. She came up to the cross walk and stared at the flashing red hand once more this time with a single brown paper bag in her arms. The signal switched and she began to cross, not even one-third of the way across her bag gave in to the weight of the food, a tear forming on the bottom. The cans of cat food fell to the street one rolling to the center of the crosswalk. She sighed in annoyance then looked back at the signal checking to be sure it had not switched to red. The signal began to flash and showed a count down starting at fifteen. She picked up the can that had fallen by her feet, then moved to grab the other.
The wind picked up as she walked toward the middle of the street, her long scarf fluttering with the current of the wind. She bent down and grabbed the last can and placing her hand on her thighs for support she pushed herself back to the standing position. As she placed the cans back in to the bag she heard a loud almost frantic horn sounding. When she looked over, it was too late. A large truck barreled down the small hill, any attempt it made to stop was futile. Abigail, unable to move out of the way, could only look on in horror. The moment played by in slow motion, the distance between Abigail and the truck was too small for her to escape. It drew closer in an instant, then everything went black. Abigail felt an intense pain, so strong it surpassed anything she had ever felt before, then she felt nothing. Not the pavement that laid beneath her, not the wind that was still blowing strongly, not the pain, just nothing.
When the elevator stopped she exited and made her way to her apartment. APT 517, she verified the number in her head before fumbling through her many key chains until she found the lone key among them. After unlocking the door she entered and swiftly made her way to the leather sofa where she plopped herself down and promptly fell asleep.
Her apartment was on the smaller side, it had one bedroom, a kitchen/dining room, small living area and one bathroom. The kitchen and dining room were considered one area because the island off to the side doubled as a prep station and a bar-type table. She lived alone, except for her feline companion Mrs. Fluffikins, so the size was acceptable.
The décor was modern, white high-gloss kitchen cabinets and counter tops were complimented by black leather bar stools which matched her sofa. On the walls she hung several pictures of her past creations. They were enlarged and framed in white reflecting the modern feel, but while adding her personality to the space. The floors were done in marbled tile except around the sofa where she had laid a large black shag area-rug. On the wall in the living room was a small window, the ledge filled with varying books. She had told herself that she would buy a book case eventually, but had never gotten around to it, so on the ledge they remained. In front of the couch was a small television, she rarely watched TV, but felt it appropriate to have one.
Her bedroom was located behind the wall the TV was mounted on. She had a double bed and a small night stand, but there was scarcely any other furniture. It looked as if she had given up on decorating the bedroom. In truth she was slowly buying the pieces to complete her apartment, but she was afraid of acquiring debt so only bought what she could afford in full. In the corner of the dark-mahogany night-stand sat a small glass jar filled with change and dollar bills. Handwritten on a small post-it note and stuck to the front of the jar was the word France. She would collect her daily change in this jar hoping to one day have enough to visit the country she envisioned herself studying in. The jar was close to overflowing, but she still had a long way to go, even so she refused to give up her dream and continued to make a daily contribution.
The Sun began to shine through the living room window and onto Abigail’s face which caused her to stir and begin to rub her eyes. Opening them, they met with Mrs. Fluffikins who had planted herself on top of Abigail’s chest and was purring softly. Abigail stroked the cats long fluffy grey fur and then gently moved her to the side so that she could sit upright. Taking out the earrings she had received from Jason earlier she held them to the light and smiled. She then removed them from their packaging and after carefully taking off the small silver backing she tried them on. Her fingers traced the outline of the earring and felt the small stone embedded in the surface, then she made her way to the bathroom to see how they looked on her. She leaned over the sink to be closer to mirror and smiled again when saw them. The moment when he had given them to her replayed over in her mind. For the present, she thought to herself as she gently touched her cheek where Jason had kissed her earlier that day. She then met with the realization that she had begun to fall for Jason, she blushed and to distract herself from the thought she headed for the kitchen.
She opened the stainless-steel fridge revealing empty shelves which contained hardly more than a carton of milk. She closed it and turned to Mrs. Fluffikins.
“I guess I’ll be going shopping then. You want a treat Mrs. Fluffikins?” She walked over to the cat who was still seated on the sofa and rubbed her head with her palm.
The cats eyes, half open, watched Abigail and after letting out a small “meow” Mrs. Fluffikins stood up and began to rub her body against Abigail’s open hand. Abigail leaned down and kissed the cats forehead, she could hear the soft purr getting louder.
“I’ll be back soon,” She patted the cat one more time before grabbing a soft-knitted brown scarf from where it had been laying on one of the bar stools and wrapped it around her neck.
Abigail exited the apartment complex and headed down the road toward a convenience store that was located a few blocks from her home. What would make for a good birthday meal? She thought about what to buy as she walked, so focused on her thoughts that she didn’t think of where she was going, but instead let her instincts take over. The convenience store was a regular trip that she made at least twice a week, so even emerged in her thoughts she wouldn’t get lost. She approached a traffic light at the bottom of a slight hill and watched the red hand blink waiting for the okay to cross. A few seconds passed and the red light was replaced with a glowing symbol of a person, signaling her to cross the street. She looked both ways first, paranoid of reckless drivers then, once she knew it was safe, she crossed. On the way to the store she passed several flower shops and a pizza place, she used these as landmarks to let her know she was almost there.
She walked up to a small mini mart, a huge “Open” sign was taped to the front window and a smaller one hung on the door. She went in a picked up a bright orange hand basket then walked around still considering what she should buy. Maybe a cake, she paused, no there would be too much for one person. I could make soup..or spaghetti, maybe fish. She walked down the aisle still debating in her head then she stopped in the freezer section. She grabbed a couple ready-made dinners and placed them in her basket then moved on to the pet aisle. She looked for the best sounding feast and placed two cans in her basket. She always meant to start cooking real food, but in the end she would give in to the convenience of frozen meals. She looked down at her selections and a bit dishearten she had second thoughts about the cake. Since I’m off tomorrow I could always take the rest to the café, I’m sure Mr. Henry would like some, or maybe Jason if I can catch him after school. A slur of thoughts flew threw her mind as she stared at her soon to be purchase. Then, before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, she picked up a package of mini-cupcakes using the small quantity as a means of justifying the purchase. She placed all of her items on the register counter then watched silently as the cashier scanned every one.
After completing her purchase she headed home taking the same route that had gotten her there. The sun had begun to set, the street bathed in a deep golden yellow. She came up to the cross walk and stared at the flashing red hand once more this time with a single brown paper bag in her arms. The signal switched and she began to cross, not even one-third of the way across her bag gave in to the weight of the food, a tear forming on the bottom. The cans of cat food fell to the street one rolling to the center of the crosswalk. She sighed in annoyance then looked back at the signal checking to be sure it had not switched to red. The signal began to flash and showed a count down starting at fifteen. She picked up the can that had fallen by her feet, then moved to grab the other.
The wind picked up as she walked toward the middle of the street, her long scarf fluttering with the current of the wind. She bent down and grabbed the last can and placing her hand on her thighs for support she pushed herself back to the standing position. As she placed the cans back in to the bag she heard a loud almost frantic horn sounding. When she looked over, it was too late. A large truck barreled down the small hill, any attempt it made to stop was futile. Abigail, unable to move out of the way, could only look on in horror. The moment played by in slow motion, the distance between Abigail and the truck was too small for her to escape. It drew closer in an instant, then everything went black. Abigail felt an intense pain, so strong it surpassed anything she had ever felt before, then she felt nothing. Not the pavement that laid beneath her, not the wind that was still blowing strongly, not the pain, just nothing.