he's got a lot to learn about the world beyond his screens. she's willing to show him the golden beaches and every secret corner of the city she loves. they just have to work out how they're going to survive when his existence is a secret from publi...
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IRENA GROANS AND ROLLS over. It's a restless night. The past week and a half has been filled with similar nights...laying in bed for hours scrolling through Tik Tok, then Twitter. She'll switch from app to app until the sun starts to come up. When she forced herself to give her eyes and mind a break, she can't stop thinking about him.
Gods, she didn't even talk to him, ( Izzy hasn't let that go yet ) but the memory of icy green eyes are always swimming just below her subconscious. He's the stranger that she'll never forget. She replays his smirk a hundred times an hour, remembers the sound of his laugh. It rolls around in her head like the most annoying pop songs always seem to. At least this is a better soundtrack than anything they play on the radio.
Her apartment is absolutely mocking the fact she can't sleep. Especially since she has to be up early so she can drive to her parent's house.
Irena Gold was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale. It's where her parents and younger siblings live. There's only two of her siblings at home now that she's moved out.
The Gold family has an excellent tradition of visiting family every Christmas. It was less of a hastle when all five kids still lived at under the same roof. Now it's a lot harder to coordinate the trip.
Irena is driving to her childhood home and following her parents' car throughout the three hour drive to Orlando. While she's excited to see her younger brothers again, the long trip and leaving her cozy apartment for a week is something she's not looking forward to.
Again, the ancient radiator by her window crackles. There's a groan from the walls and the hiss of air moving through the cracked window sealing as a gust of wind hits the apartment building. Irena sighs into the dark room. The temperature has plummeted in the past few days, probably due to the winter storm that's affected the north at the moment. It was sixty during the day. Now it's closer to fifty.
Her fingers feel cold. Especially when she picks up her phone and the blanket falls away from her hands. The harsh blue light nearly blinds her before she lowers the brightness. Even then, the room is washed alight by the device. The numbers at the top of the screen are starting to mean nothing to her.
There's a notification from Izzy. The time stamp reads an hour prior. Has she really been laying in the dark for that long?
She's sick of not having anything to do. In a spur of productiveness, she flicks the light on. The bags for the trip are packed...she finished those the previous night in a fit of insomnia. She almost trips over them as she leaves her room. A groan trickles out of her mouth as she stubs her toe on the plastic part of the closest one. Using the opposite foot, she shoves them away from the door.
Maybe it is too early to be walking around. There's three hours before she starts the drive to Fort Lauderdale. She can fill that time with a decent movie and some early breakfast.
