Who you once Were || Volume One|| RuthTheNerd

Chapter One- Blissfully Alone

This wasn't the first of the dreams.

A cold splash of water cleansed Nadia's face as she grabbed around for the faucet handle. Reaching for a towel, she wiped her face and took a look at the girl in the mirror. 

Short, black hair styled in a smooth bob, some of the smooth hair covering her vibrant green eyes. Slightly tanned skin and slender fingers looked back at her from the fogged reflection and Nadia walked out of the bathroom and onto the balcony overlooking the living room.

Walking into the kitchen, she made a quick coffee and began adding a few dollops of white whipped cream. She turned to the blank holoscreen on the wall. "Holoscreen, on." 

The screen lit up and several icons flitted across the glass. A monotone voice rang out, "Good morning, Na-dia," stretching out her name as it had not been designed with it in mind. "What would you like to do first?"

Nadia wasted no time. "Screen, send out a holo- call to Delilah," She commanded. It dimmed and a silver cylinder popped out from the wall, a hologram appearing. Three spheres jumped up and down in sync, waiting for an answer.

Soon, a hologram projection of a girl with red, circle-shaped glasses and a cheeky grin was shown.

"Hey, ND! Sorry I took so long, I was finishing up another call with my boss," Delilah said. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Nadia replied, not bothering to tell Delilah about her dream. After all, this wasn't the first time she'd seen that girl, breathing hard and covered in snow. The image was engraved deeper and deeper into her mind each time she saw it. 

"So...how was your date with Ryan?" Delilah asked, grinning playfully. 

"Ugh," Nadia huffed. She remembered last night very clearly. Shaggy brown hair, milkshakes and ridiculous attempts at holding hands. Yes, that night was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

"It was horrible. He took me to this nice restaurant, but when it was time for dessert, he said he didn't have enough money for two milkshakes, so he ordered one with two straws," Nadia recalled.

Delilah snorted, almost collapsing from her couch as her 3-D form cackled. "A-Are you actually-no, no! He-he did NOT just-" Delilah fell over, still laughing. "-please, please tell me that's a joke!"

Nadia sipped her coffee, nonchalant as ever. "Nope. He actually did it."

Delilah made a huge show of taking a tissue and honking into it, dropping it somewhere that was off of the holo-call's view, probably a trash can, or the floor. Knowing Delilah, it could be either.

"Girl, I don't want to say this but...I feel bad for hooking you up with him." Nadia internally gasped. An apology from Delilah was rare.

"You should," Nadia said, finishing her cup and setting it inside the sink. "Anyways, I was wondering if you were free today."

Delilah grabbed her planner, the messy 'go with the flow' girl surprisingly even owning one. "Let me look..." She slammed the book close. "Nope, my schedule's all full. Maybe another time?"

Nadia sighed. "Sure, D."

Delilah flashed a timid smile. "Sorry, I'm just busy, you know?" A faint ringing could be heard from Delilah's side of the call and she picked up her holophone. "Ah, shoot!"

Turning to Nadia, Delilah hurriedly spoke. "I've got to go, my boss is calling! See you!" Soon after the hologram disappeared, Nadia heard the screen say, "Your call has ended. Do you wish to call again, send a message, or record a voice mail?"

"Screen, off," Nadia said, walking over to the living room and sinking into the plush couch. She listlessly felt around until she felt the hard rim cover of one of the books lying around and pulled it to her. She frowned at the title: "Antarctica's Mysteries."

Too tired to get another book, Nadia flipped through the pages of the thin book, skimming. It had been a few years since thousands of people had come to colonize on the island that the other countries deemed worthless. Since then, the economy had become very diverse as more and more people discovered potential on the icy continent, from the famous crystals that made their own heat and light to the sparkling capital city of Skadi.

Trailing one finger over a picture of the royal ice palace that resided in the capital and held the royal family, she glanced at her holophone. A message was displayed on the home screen: 

Jake: We're having a family reunion, soon. Mom is asking if you can make it.

Scoffing, she began to type: 

Nadia: Sorry, too busy. Don't think I can make it.

Placing her holophone down, she reminisced. Her mother was never the best of people. Sure, she was there, but she was only ever there to provide a foundation for Nadia, not to give emotional support. Besides that, Nadia had lived with five brothers and a sister she'd hardly ever met. They were all distant, no matter how close they slept together or whether they ate at the same table. When given the chance, they dispersed.

She heard a ding from her holophone but ignored it, the slick case slipping out of Nadia's hands. 

When she finally had the chance, she had left the chaos of her home and settled in a large apartment in New York, a bustling city that still reminded her of home. Every day, she would spend time with herself, becoming a person she could never have become living in a house where she was always outshined by someone else.

Her phone dinged again. Again she ignored it.

A few years later, she'd met Delilah, who had just come up to Nadia one random day and requested to be friends. Nadia had no reason not to say yes.

Her phone dinged again.

Now, she was away from everyone. Alone in her little nook.

Another ding.

Warm and safe and alone.

Ding.

Blissfully alone.

That is, until she heard a loud thud come from the other side of her door.