CHAPTER 1
- ELLA -
"You know you're crazy, right?" Maia asked, taking a huge bite of her bagel.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
"That you have now gone insane, and I think we need to lock you up. You know... straight jacket, hello Clarice, here's Johnny, all that!" she answered with a mouthful of bagel, making a string of references.
Movies were Maia's favorite thing in the world, and she never passed a single chance to insert a reference in any conversation. Having graduated from the Film Institute, the girl felt the need to showcase this minor achievement in any opportunity she had.
"Oh, really?" I laughed, sipping my black coffee. "You honestly think that just because I had this dream, I am now on the same level as the guy inSilence of the Lambsand the weirdo with the axe inThe Shining?"
I had just told her about last night’s incredibly vivid dream. In it, the two most beautiful, piercing blue eyes completely mesmerized me. All the while, the shadow of a man who bore them kept reaching his hand out to me, asking me, almost begging me to take it. I could feel my fingers wiggling, itching to reach him. If anything, just out of curiosity to meet the man with the incredible blue eyes. Then I woke up.
"Look, I don't make the rules and all. But, yes, Ella, I think it’s a sign," she stated.
“A sign of what?”
“A sign that you need to get laid!”
I couldn't tell if she was joking anymore or not.
"I need to get laid?"
I raised an eyebrow and continued sipping my drink. We were nestled in a small coffee shop just around the corner from where I lived in New York. Still, it felt cold. The dream had left me feeling a bit weirded out.
"Well..." she began, "you keep saying that the dream felt very real. And that the man you saw made you feel happy and safe. That’s oddly specific, don’t you think?"
I said nothing at first, and Maia took the opportunity to continue her lecture.
“Getting laid might also help you relax, you know. You’ve been uptight for the better part of the year, Ella.”
It had been a while since I felt relaxed. I’d been so engrossed in getting a jumpstart with our fledgling fashion startup… well, really, our two-girl show, and it had not been easy. It’s no joke that New York is one of the toughest cities in the world.
"I don’t think I have the time, Maia! Our business is more important right now than finding any man."
Maia dismissed my points immediately. "Listen, I agree that we’re in the hot seat here, but this could be good for you.”
I couldn’t hold back a grin when Maia did her audacious wink to back up her words.
“Besides, I think you're losing it in that little apartment of yours, Ella."
"Well, it might not be mine for long, remember?" I sighed deeply and held on to my cup of coffee for dear life. “I’m not even sure we can afford to pay rent for our shop for the next quarter, Maia.”
I knew this would eventually come up between us, but I sincerely wish it hadn’t. The truth is I was broke. Yes. Broke as broke can be. I would be jobless and homeless in a few weeks if I didn’t find a breakthrough.
I knew what I needed. Where it was going to come from was what I didn’t know. Maia was almost as broke as me, and her only saving grace was that she was living in her Aunt’s New York apartment, so she at least had a roof over her head. I didn’t have that luxury. After my mom’s demise when I was eleven, I’d grown up solely under the care of my father. My dad was as great a father as anyone could be, and he’d cared for me in every little way, but he didn’t live in New York, where Ihadto be if was going to get anywhere with my dreams as a fashion designer.
Throughout my days in Coldport, I’d always dreamed of the city, and I’d jumped at the opportunity to start a new life in New York early on in life. Dad had done his best to finance my education in fashion school, but I still had to take huge student loans.
All of which are now catching up with me, meaning I might have to go back to Coldport.
And what I dreaded most was returning empty-handed and maybe even worse off than I’d left.
“Ella?” Maia’s voice called me out of my reverie.
I looked at her and gave a sad mild smile while my finger traced the edge of the coffee cup idly. “I might have no choice but to leave New York, Maia.”