Second Chances

Rachel.

                                     "It's okay. Thanks for bringing the laptops." I say to him and leave the room as quickly as I can, moving my hand on the spot. I go to the terrace and feel the breeze of the air hitting me. I close my eyes, breathing in and out slowly. I do this a couple of times. Don't cry. I say to myself. As I head to the office, I see him leaving. I go back to my office and open my laptop. After setting it up, I connect it to my mobile's internet and download some stuff I need to draw the designs and style them. I start by drawing a little but I can't concentrate on anything. I run my hand through my hair and as I was about to put it into a messy bun, Zack and Sara knock. I let my hair down quickly and adjust it. "What is that?" I ask; beckoning to the bag Sara was carrying. "It's lunchtime," Sara says. How come it's lunchtime already? I ask myself. As Sara unboxes the food, I close my laptop and take my food. It was a white sauced pasta with mushroom and some cooked vegetables as a side dish. While we are eating, Zack and Sara talk about something but all I do is play with my food. "What do you think Rachel?" Zack asks. "Huh?!" I look at them. ''We need to advertise our line but we don't know which agency shall we work with." Sara says "Oh. Anything is suitable for me." I say and eat some pasta with one piece of carrot. "You are not with us," Zack says. "Yeah, did something happen?" Sara agrees with him. "I-I'm just...." I sigh, "I'm just worried that we would not thrive as we planned." I lie, "I don't know." I play with my food again. "We will succeed and you know it. You are just stressed out and worrying too much." Zack says and Sara nods. I smile at them and continue eating as they start to joke about something that happened to Sara at the airport. I smile at them and thank god that he gave me such good friends.    

                                   After lunch, we order from the office boy coffee for the three of us. We chat a little and then Sara and Zack go to their office after they finish their coffee. It was sunset by then. I grab my cup and stand by the window that filled the whole wall. I watch the sunset. The flaming red-orange color of the sky and its reflection on the water, the wind is hitting the trees, the waves are huge and people are surfing. I drink my coffee while leaning on the meeting table. By the time I finish my coffee, I start to gather my stuff. I unlock the last drawer and take what's inside and put it into my Gucci briefcase that Sara left for me in my room. As I put them in the briefcase, Zack knocks. "Are you ready to leave or do you have anything else you need to finish?" he asks, "No, no... I'm ready. I'm gonna grab my stuff and come right behind you." I say and put my laptop in the briefcase and close it. I take my phone and leave right behind Zack. We get on the elevator and press on the G floor. It stops on the second floor of our office and a boy enters the elevator. He presses the first floor and the elevator starts to descend again. It stops again on the floor where Second chances is. "Please do not be him," I whisper to myself. "What?" Zack asks with a low voice. "Huh?" I ask him. The elevator door opens and he comes inside. I look everywhere but to him. He leans on the side of the elevator beside me. I clear my throat and turn to Zack who was looking at both of us but mostly me. I could see in his eyes that he knew that I wanted to get out of the elevator as soon as possible. He holds my hand and I grab it tightly. Thank you. I mimic to him and he nods smiling. We reach the first floor and I pray that he leaves now but the boy only leaves. When we reach the ground floor, I leave past him and go to the car as fast as possible. 

                                   When we reach the hotel, Zack asks me if I wanted for him to stay but I tell him that it's fine and that I was gonna go straight to bed. I enter my room and turn on my speaker. It plays Time by Mikky Ekko. I change into black and white pajamas and put my hair into a messy bun. As I remove my makeup, I start smiling at just the thought of me seeing him today. As much as he had hurt me as much as I still love him. I never did stop. I go to my bed and open my briefcase. I take out a photo and look at it touching every inch of it. I touch his face and kiss it. The day I left, I didn't want to take anything related to him but I couldn't. I took the photo that we took in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc  with me and since then it never parted me. I take the photo with me and sit by the fireplace. I take a blanket and sit crossing my legs, looking at the photo. I hold it close to me and close my eyes, smiling. I was fast asleep. The next day, I wake up with the knock of someone on the door. I take the photo and put it into my briefcase quickly. I open and Zack enters. "Are you not ready yet?" he says taking the blanket and sitting on the chair that I was sleeping on. "What time is it?" I ask rubbing my eyes. "It's almost past 9," he says. How did I sleep that long? I say in my mind. I never slept that long since I was with.... the photo! I smile and take the briefcase with me to the dressing room. "Hey. Can we pass by my new home today? I need to put the suitcases there." I tell him while I get dressed. "Aren't you gonna furnish it first?" he asks, "I took care of it yesterday while I was at work," I say to him. "Oh, okay...sure.Zack had been my best friend since I was in college. He was so nice and caring from day one and never wasn't since that day. He would always charm the girls with his blue-green eyes and his brown hair. He would always put it into a ponytail or half up half down. His skin is tanned a little and he has  a muscular body with one tattoo below his elbow. He had it when his first girlfriend broke up with him. She was his first love. It is a small compass and at the end of the arrow is a small heart.