Chapter 9
Flashback Friday
"We may have crossed paths a million times now yet never exactly meeting. A million scenarios and a million close calls. Until destiny picks one where I finally stand right in front of you,"
1 year ago
'I can't be there by Saturday,'
That's how it starts.
Beca just didn't know it yet. She had been clueless, foolish even. If she had known how it would've ended she might've wished to be blind instead.
"It's okay we can celebrate when you come back," Beca had assured her girlfriend.
Rachelle had been on tour for the past two months. She's in New York at the moment and Beca terribly misses her. All the video calls and messages just can't be compared to being a breath away from each other. They've done everything together since they became a couple and the distance is killing her but seeing Rachelle reach for her dreams was worth every sleepless 2am call.
Admittedly, they've both been busy this past few weeks, missing calls and delayed messages yet Beca plans to make up to it. She was aware that between the both of them, it's her that needs to adjust. Being the girlfriend, or as of recently, fiancée, of one of music industry's most in demand artists, she's the one who needs to be more understanding when it comes to time.
That's why she's completely certain that after this week, everything she's worked hard for will finally pay off and she could finally give all the time in the world to her love. She smiles to herself just thinking about it, her eyes cast down dreamily at the picture of a beautiful 2-storey, three bedroom home. Along with all the wedding plans going along smoothly, it's perfect.
The wedding has been pushed to next year due to schedule conflict. There's also a lot of conflict regarding secrecy. Paris Blake, Rachelle's celebrity pseudo name, remains single in the public eye because unfortunately, it does add to her appeal for the fans. Hollywood has it's lies and secrets after all. Beca hates that part the most because it physically pains her to be unable to hold Rachelle out in public. Their dates are always done in very private restaurants and even then, it's still not safe to show affection. So they usually stay at home instead. To everybody else, Beca is just Paris Blake's roommate and best friend.
But really, it's a small price to pay for fame and it doesn't bother her that much as it used to.
What's important right now is that Beca has news and it's big. It's not official yet though so she has to wait a few more days before she tells Rachelle about it.
Her upcoming promotion.
She won't be hanging on to that secret for long though. Her fiancée will finally be back home on the weekend for a short break before continuing her concert tour, this time, outside the country.
Coincidentally, it just so happens that it's Rachelle's birthday this coming Saturday and as mentioned she can't make it back by then. In that case, Beca would have to wait for four more days and honestly, she can't wait until Monday.
Also, there's no way in hell that she'd miss the love of her life's birthday. More so, knowing that she'd be alone on that day, something Beca's promised will never happen ever again.
So, without even a second thought she secretly books a roundtrip ticket to New York.
Excitement bubbles in her chest and she naturally annoys Stacie all day—and night—about it.
Stacie surely does get annoyed because Beca tends to be picky when she deeply cares for someone so every suggestion just doesn't seem to be enough and when Stacie is annoyed, so is Aubrey that by the next day the extremely organized and precise blonde is wheeling in a white board with a long list of 'Things to surprise your significant other with on their birthday'. Of course, the list is done with a perfect mix of frustration and sarcasm, especially when the first one writes 'Yourself, because there's nothing more surprising than you turning up out of nowhere, duh' but Beca doesn't complain because that sort of thing is sweet and that's just Aubrey being a sweet supportive—in an aggressive way—friend.
In the end, she goes for the first suggestion, flowers, a flowery cake and Rachelle's favorite dessert, ice-cream. Singing has deprived her fiancée of cold sweet desserts and now that she's getting a break, she can finally eat ice-cream. It's actually been their Saturday ritual but as Rachelle rose to fame they've settled for their ice-cream Saturdays during hiatus or short breaks like this.
She doesn't even pack much, just the essentials. It's just two nights anyway and they practically share clothes.
It's the early evening when she arrives and as soon as she lands, she's asking about the nearby flower shop, cake and ice-cream store. It takes her a while because she keeps mentally debating about which was perfect enough to give.
By the time, she's reached the hotel, her arms are full with beautiful red roses, a small box of strawberry cake and a big tub of vanilla ice-cream.
Rachelle's manager, Brian, happily gives her a key card to the room with a wink and Beca almost hugs him.
Her smile is wide when she arrives. She fixes herself at the door, inhaling and exhaling before opening it.
A huge mistake
What greets her wasn't what she's expected and her body goes numb. It's like she's in a nightmare she desperately wishes to wake up from but can't.
Her eyes loose the life in them as her perfect world shatters, the air knocked out of her lungs and heart on the floor along with the flowers, cake and ice-cream.
The crash jolts her to life.
"Beca I-I can explain—"
A tear slides down and she hears nothing despite the noise. She almost stumbles when she backs away slowly and then her legs finally come to life, suddenly feeling free from the invisible chains and then she's running. Fast.
Hands that aren't hers on her bare body, lips that aren't hers on her neck, chest to chest and legs tangled underneath the sheets.
It was too much and she finds it hard to breathe.
It's hard to face the end.
2 years ago
'I have something to tell you'
That's how it starts.
Chloe arrives home to find her boyfriend, Matt, waiting for her outside the door of the apartment she shares with a friend. Katy is still at work though which is why Matt was waiting outside.
There's this glint of excitement in his eye and Chloe wonders what the good news may be. Matt has always had such a serious personality yet she knows deep down that he's just not used to showing feelings and taking things lightly due to a rough upbringing.
But if Chloe only knew what this news could bring to her life, she would've not looked forward to it as much.
He follows her to her room, talking about this opportunity of a lifetime and Chloe pauses to face him.
Matt's an aspiring DJ and he has been working hard to get his talents recognized. Chloe gives her full support in every way she can and her smile widens at the thought that maybe a music producer or talent scout has finally reached out to him.
"I found the perfect apartment for us and the rent is reasonable enough. With the both of us working, we can do it. And besides, you'll love LA!"
He was going on and on about all the plans that he's got covered not realizing how silent she got, eyes blinking slowly down at the floor.
Her stomach turns at the thought of it all. The information itself is still something she's still processing as she sits on the edge of her bed, legs suddenly feeling weak.
His words start to become gray noise and it's only when he's kneeling in front of her, eyes expectant and face full of hope, that she comes back to her senses.
"I… this is… it's a lot," she finally says and she watches the disappointment flood his features. It doesn't deter him though.
"Well, we still have time. We can move there next month. One month to settle everything here and make—"
"I'm not sure if I want to go, Matt," she cuts in softly and his face hardens at her words.
"What does that mean?" his voice indifferent and far. It scares her a bit.
"I-I… I have a job here—"
"That isn't stable enough, Chloe," he reasons, finishing for her. "Besides, it's Hollywood! You'll find something there. The opportunities and chances are greater!"
"Hollywood is not Broadway. I don't want to be a celebrity. I want to be a performer and I've come this far. I can't just leave and start over again from zero," she stresses and he huffs in frustration.
He stands up, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand frustratedly.
"Then you're going to have to choose. This life you have here or a life with me," he looks down at her, expecting her to choose him in a flash but when she looks down again and remains quiet he angrily smacks the wall, Chloe's chest jumping at the action, and then he storms out the door.
Left all by herself, she buries her face with her palms and sighs heavily, wondering if she was the problem.
It was a simple thing, to choose, and yet she finds herself wondering if she was being greedy asking for both.
Giving up one would still end up breaking her heart.
The result will always be the same.
1 year ago
12:10 am
Chocolate Kisses & You Café
New York
"I forgive you," Beca says, her quivering voice betraying the emotions only pain can bring as she reaches out towards the other end of the table, fingers holding on to Rachelle's hand.
"We can forget about this. It's just… another bump in the road," she continues despite the silence. The falling tears are the only reply.
Beca looks down at her hand on top of Rachelle's, matching diamond rings placed as a promise on both their fingers.
She'd very much like to hold on to that promise.
…even if the world around her feels like crashing down.
"I can't do this, Beca…" the words uttered softly proceed to rip her heart apart.
"Please," she begs just as softly, so vulnerable and filled with fear. "We can still fix this."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't say that. Please…"
"Maybe we need… some time apart,"
"Please… don't."
Her own tears blur her vision as the pink and blue lights of the café blend in with the image of the woman she loves walking away from her.
2 years ago
1:12 pm
Chocolate Kisses & You Café
New York
"Do you love me?" Chloe's boyfriend Matt asks, a mixture of hurt, disbelief and anger etching his features.
"Did you even love me at all?" he follows up and Chloe looks up at him the same way.
"Of course I do!" she says without a hint of hesitation.
"But? There's always a 'but'," he says hands sliding further away as he coils back.
Chloe rushes to hold it in between her own.
"This isn't easy for me, you know that. I can't just throw everything away and leave," she says, eyes brimming with unshed tears.
"We had a plan, a life that we're going to build together! Does it really matter where if we have each other?" he argues.
He has a point, she knows but the timing just doesn't feel right.
Chloe's been chasing her dreams and now she's not even sure what she's trying to chase.
"LA has a lot to offer, Chloe. We have to be practical. Do you really want to stay stuck, struggling here for the rest of your life, uncertain and falling back into the same tiring cycle?" he questions her and she stutters for an answer.
"I love performing and it is a struggle right now but…"
"Alright, I get it," he bitterly says, nodding as if trying to swallow down what's happening right now, his gaze avoiding hers.
"Matt, please…" she pleads.
"No, it's already clear what you're trying to give up right now... and it's certainly not New York," he says, jaw flexing as he forcibly slips out his hand out of her grasp.
"Don't do this, please…"
Tears slide down her face one by one as her heart painfully aches heavily with every footstep he makes away from her. The slow 80's synthwave by Timecop1983 filling up the café and drowning out her muffled cry.
1 year ago
Los Angeles
"Becs, talk to me, please. I know you're there and this is like my tenth message. You can't hide from the world forever. Please, for the love of god, at least call me back to let me know that you're alive," Stacie's voice rings out Beca's apartment yet she remains unmoving underneath the covers, eyes empty before she closes them again.
It's been days since New York and now she's back home. Everything hurts, even breathing feels like a struggle. Especially when every time she inhales she smells the scent of Rachelle's perfume. They've always had the same preference when it comes to scents which was why they'd always buy the same bottle of perfume.
The thought is another sting to her chest and the tears start to swell once more.
Everywhere she looked, there are memories. Every item they owned had a story. Every corner of their apartment had been a witness to the life they shared and now all that's left is sorrow, pain and longing. She doesn't even bother opening the lights and instead lets the darkness swallow her whole.
Rachelle, who decided to extend her stay in New York, is busy doing god knows what and no matter how many times Beca calls and sends messages not a single reply has come.
She's desperate but she doesn't care.
A sob breaks and she curls up, clinging to all that what has been and all that'll never be.
She doesn't want to give up but everything looks bleak.
This might be the end.
When the morning comes, she'd be reaching for the invisible mask she's learned to put on as she drowns herself in the only thing that can distract her, work. The only thing that matters to her now.
There is no rest for the new overall producer of live events.
2 years ago
New York
"Chloe, are you ready?"
Chloe suddenly looks up, momentarily disoriented as she finds their director looking at her in concern.
"Yeah. I'm ready," she says, trying her best to smile.
She does the last retouches of her make-up before standing up, checking herself in the mirror one last time.
When she glances down to her bag, she eyes the one way ticket to Los Angeles and takes a deep breath.
She's made a choice.
Stepping behind the curtain, she blinks away the tears. No time to feel sentimental. She wants this to be perfect…
...one last time.
The music starts and the lights open. In seconds she lets herself be carried away. It's always like the first time. The thrill, the nerves and that exciting feeling in the pit of her stomach before she floats away into the story she sings.
Her heart soars with every beat until the last note.
Until the end.
The lights dim, the curtain closes and a tear finally slips. She's given her all and now it's time to say goodbye.
In a couple of hours she'd be flying off to the other side of the continent to save the only thing her heart cannot give up.
Love.
11 months ago
Los Angeles
"Beca, that's enough," Aubrey warns her, voice calm yet traces of concern are audibly evident. It's the softest warning her friend's ever given but Beca doesn't find it in herself to tease her.
The only thing that matters to her right now is finishing up the bottle of whiskey she paid for.
It's a Friday and drinking like no tomorrow is a requirement for Friday night hang outs.
The only problem is, her companions don't seem to know how to have fun, dragging her out the bar when she's not even done yet and trying to take away her expensive whiskey.
It's two in the morning but still for Beca, it's too early to go back home.
She's worked so hard all these years and she deserves nothing but the finest alcohol. So she doesn't appreciate their attempts to stop her.
"You're drunk and almost caused a bar fight with someone twice your size. You're done for tonight," Stacie says in her warning tone, a much stricter one than Aubrey's.
"He was an asshole," she slurs, almost tripping as she makes her way back up the front steps of Stacie's house.
Both her friends were quick to catch her, bringing her back up to her feet.
She waves them off, repeating the words she's been regularly saying these days, "I'm fine."
"Don't worry. I've seen her like this before—although not this bad but I'll manage," she hears Stacie say as Aubrey looks on in concern, reluctant to leave.
"I said I'm fine! I'm living my best life!" she yells before truly loosing her footing and tripping just as she reaches Stacie's door.
She hears them both sigh before rushing to her side.
"I'll stay for a bit longer, just in case," Aubrey mutters as they pull her up.
She shakes them off the second she's up, smiling like a fool as she assures them that she's got it before banging on to the door several times.
Aubrey stops her before she wakes up the neighbors while Stacie slips in the key to open the door.
"Open the fuckin' door!" she yells out and Aubrey's hand instantly clamps down her mouth as she struggles to break free.
Unable to do so, she starts to bite and Aubrey starts to curse in a million ways.
Take note, Aubrey rarely says anything 'vulgar' as it is as she says, 'cheap and shows bad upbringing'.
"This is why I don't go to the zoo," Aubrey says after literally pushing her inside. "It's animal abuse to put them in small enclosures and the wild will always belong in the wild," she eyes—the wild—Beca sharply while Stacie inspects her hand in concern—for rabies.
Beca, in the meantime, has clumsily stumbled down the floor and is crawling towards the sofa, unbelievably still clutching her whiskey as she does so.
Climbing up, what she has made into her own bed these past two weeks, makes her head spin so she settles on the floor, sitting with her back against the sofa.
She begins to drink from the bottle only to have it harshly taken away by Stacie.
"No more alcohol," she tells her and anger quickly seeps in Beca's chest.
Alcohol may not be a solution but it numbs the pain for a while and on this Friday night, the last Friday night of the month, she badly needs it right now. Maybe even desperate.
"That's mine! I bought that!" she almost growls but Stacie doesn't budge.
"No."
Beca hates the word so much by now that she's so close to punching her friend on the face.
"Give it to me," she says in a low threatening voice, crawling over to the taller brunette. She stretches her arms with her palm open like a child demanding candy.
"No."
That's it, she's had enough. So she abruptly stands up only to fall back hard on her ass down the floor. Aubrey tries to help but Stacie stops her.
"Let her be," she warns and Aubrey stays still behind Stacie.
"I said give it to me!" Beca is screaming now yet Stacie remains unmoving, eyes glued down on her pathetic state, determined not to give in.
"No," she replies yet again and it's infuriating.
"You work like no tomorrow with no regard for your health and then you drink all night until you knock yourself out. So, no, this has to stop," Stacie continues.
"Because the worst part is, you call her and beg like all of this was your fault when it's not!"
"It is my fault!" she throws back, the silence that follows almost deafening that's why she breaks it.
"I wasn't there when she needed me. I was always busy. I didn't have time... for her. I wasn't good enough that's why she…" she trails off, tears building up as the pain grows.
"She slept with one of her dancers and you think that it's your fault? When will you wake up, Beca?! She's the problem! It's her fault!" Aubrey lets out, breathing heavily as she shakes her head in disbelief.
She chokes back a sob, refusing to shed a tear but her efforts all go to waste because when she blinks, it's like a dam breaks inside her and there's no stopping it once it starts to crack open and spill.
"Becs," Stacie kneels down next to her, voice now gentle and soft.
"I need to drink. I need alcohol because… it hurts. It hurts so much," she sobs.
"Please, I need it. I need to forget. It's too painful," her voice cracks and her fists ball up against the floor.
When Stacie holds her, arms tightly circling around shoulders, she finally lets go and cries.
"It hurts so much. I just want it gone. Please… just take it way," she begs at Aubrey who kneels down to hold her hand and brush away her tears, looking at her sadly, not knowing how to help her.
For the first time since Rachelle left, Beca completely falls apart. All the pieces she tried to hold together breaking away and scattering down into something irreparable.
She cries and cries some more for the probably the longest time. Beca doesn't cry often. Her feelings were mostly kept tightly shut all her life, afraid to look weak in front of others and be vulnerable. She grew up knowing that she had to be the strong one in the family and she has carried that way of thinking until Rachelle came.
She broke down Beca's walls piece by piece until she was bare.
The only problem with it is that Beca gave too much of herself in the process, maybe even all of herself, her heart and soul. Falling this deep, it has its consequences and when the foundation breaks, everything else shatters.
Nothing is left after that.
When Aubrey suggests moving out of their shared apartment, Beca decides that maybe listening to Aubrey for once could actually do her good.
So she spends almost all of her savings, savings which she had worked so hard for the wedding that is now never going to happen, to get a place she could finally call her own.
Bit by bit she starts re-building, finding that brand new things, designer clothing, expensive perfume, delicious wine and cleaning sort of helps clear her mind, makes her feel freshand unbroken even if it's just a façade.
Months later, she's buying a brand new car, selling her old one as the memories made with it were too hard to bear.
Stacie gives her Bella as a birthday present—the best one she's ever received as a present—and an invitation for a fun last Friday of the night get together with the gang. They never talked about that incident ever again and Beca appreciates that neither she nor Aubrey push further.
Months later, Paris Blake abruptly finishes her tour and goes on an indefinite hiatus.
Beca, on the other hand, holds her first music festival for Amplify and its huge success would give her reputation a boost. It lands her with a much larger group of connections in the industry but despite that, the hollow feeling in her chest remains the same, growing larger even and it has turned her into this cold person who has forgotten what it's like to feel.
Surrounded by so many people, she's never felt so alone and yet being alone is better than another damage to her heart.
Some nights are harder than the rest and sometimes she still feels like breaking down so she dives into work, avoiding the world and filling up the space with nothing but silence.
She gives up mixing beats and making music because it reminds her of the past and she refuses to look back. She sells her guitar, letting Jesse handle the transaction because she couldn't bear to do it herself. Rachelle gave it to her as a gift and looking at it only gives her pain. She later finds out that any kind of guitar gives the same effect.
Occasionally she sleeps with women she randomly stumbles into. Never making a connection. Always fleeting and a spur of the moment thing. Always wandering and never settling.
Nothing permanent. No, never permanent. The damage was too great that mistakes can't be made again.
She wants to keep moving forward. Even if she has to go through it blindly.
This time, she's made rules and she strictly abides by them.
Nothing and no one can possibly break them.
Unfortunately… she spoke too soon.
"Hi! My name's Chloe. Chloe Beale,"
Because a few months later Beca finds that she was wrong to assume that by now she'd be safe.
That she has already learned from experience.
Chloe, the first mistake she'd ever make since Rachelle.
And perhaps it's the biggest one she's ever made.
Because after everything she went through, all the precautions she's made and attempts to keep herself from falling for another mistake, she trips clumsily and falls down easily. So easily.
What's worse about this is, she doesn't even regret it.
Beca makes mistakes, all of which she regrets except for one. And truthfully, she doesn't even consider it as one.
No, meeting her wasn't a mistake.
Chloe isn't mistake number 5.
She was a dream that made her hope again. Her beautiful dream.
Chloe.
2 months ago
Los Angeles
The rain pours heavily, something that piles up among the list of things that are wrong today in Chloe Beale's life.
Her phone is dying and all she wanted was to get over the worst day of her life with chocolate and a bunch of snacks that are deemed unhealthy.
She doesn't care. She just wants to be okay for once. Just one good thing to help her pull through this shitty day.
One thing is all she asks.
But of course it rains, hard. The evening sky is covered with dark clouds as it mercilessly pours harder.
Chloe doesn't have a car. Well, she has one but Matt is using it and he's working at the club right now. She doesn't have an umbrella either because it definitely wasn't raining when she made her way to her local grocery store.
Now here she was, waiting for the downpour to stop for almost an hour now and her menstrual cramps are killing her.
Having no choice, she stands outside the entrance, dialing Tessa's number and hoping that her phone doesn't completely die just yet.
"Chlo Chlo nut! What's up?" her friend greets her and instantly, Chloe's chest floods with relief.
Tessa might just be her one good thing today.
"Tess! Hey, I really need your help. I hope it's not a bad time," she says weakly.
"No, no it's not. Anything for you, babe. What's wrong?" her friend says with concern and Chloe smiles for the first time today.
"Well, for starters I just quit my job because my boss is an ass who thinks women belong at home and should just nod along to whatever men say—it's the worst even though it pays good—bottom line is, I don't have a job anymore, my heels broke on my way home, somebody's child spilled iced-tea on my shoes, I'm on my period and now I'm stranded in front of Destiny Mart because the rain isn't stopping and I don't think it will anytime soon," she says, inhaling deeply after that small breathless rant as she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Can you pick me up, please? I'll totes share my chocolate with you!" she adds but after a second or two she frowns at the lack of response.
"Tess?"
Her heart drops and she looks at her phone to confirm her suspicion.
Her phone died and now she's not even sure if her friend even heard where she was.
Chloe feels like crying. Too much frustration and helplessness in addition to her having 'that time of the month', she might just have an emotional breakdown in front of Destiny Mart, of all places, this very second.
Moments like this, she starts questioning everything that has led to this and the frustration builds up even further. She's already hating on herself, questioning her decisions and cursing at the heavens as tears fill up the corner of her eyes.
It's pathetic and normally, Chloe's the kind of person to look at the bright side and think positively—like, at least there's music coming from the mart's speakers and it just so happens that it's a song entitled Midnight Rain by a band Chloe is familiar with called Best Youth.
But then again, unfortunate moments and bad days like this still get to people like Chloe. At some point, they'd still be vulnerable to a depressing state.
She feels like crumbling down the ground when a light tap on her arm catches her attention.
Sniffing and wiping a tear, she looks to her side to find a black umbrella being offered to her.
She fixes her gaze at the kind soul who offered her help and sees a woman about her age with dark brown hair, pale skin and stands just a couple of inches shorter than her. She's dressed like she's just come out of work, definitely someone with a high position, probably a business executive at some top company with her long dark expensive coat. Underneath it, a white blouse tucked in black cotton pants paired with what seems like expensive designer shoes.
On top of that, she also happens to be really beautiful.
Like an angel.
In contrast to her corporate look, a green tote bag hangs around her arm containing what looks like newly bought rolls of tissue and cat food similar to the brand her own cat, Mallows, eats.
Said woman isn't even looking her way as she intently looks down at her phone, probably something too important to even bother giving her a glance. Despite that, her hand is outstretched towards her, holding a black umbrella on her hand, her ring clad fingers loosely wrapped around it.
Uncertainly, Chloe takes it, still finding it hard to believe that someone just offered their umbrella to her. To be honest, she's still expecting the woman to take it back like it was a mistake and that she might've thought that Chloe looked like an acquaintance or something but wasn't after all.
The woman releases her hold on the umbrella and proceeds to type on her phone with both her hands. All the while, she still hasn't bothered to look Chloe's way.
"Thank you," Chloe finally blurts out, frustrations now ebbing away as she looks at the woman like she's given her a million dollars and a mansion for free.
Opposite to her sincere gratitude, however, she only gets a hum and a slight nod in response.
Chloe was just about to ask if the woman had an extra umbrella hidden in her coat—which is so unlikely—or a friend she could certainly call to pick her up when the woman suddenly brings her phone to her ear, making a phone call.
"Hello, Mr. Landers, this is Beca Mitchell, overall producer of events from Amplify," Chloe hears her say as she notes how the woman, Beca, speaks smoothly with confidence.
The brunette continues to talk and Chloe waits, hoping for a chance to properly thank her, "Yes, my apologies, Glenn is no longer our promotions representative due to unfortunate circumstances which is why I'm personally contacting you to talk about the issues regarding the upcoming music fest you've previously addressed with Mr. Palmer," she continues while taking a clear plastic envelope which had been pressed in between her other arm and ribs all this time.
Using the plastic envelope, she holds it above her head as she begins to walk just as confidently as she speaks, walking calmly and not really bothered by the continuous downpour immediately dampening her shoulders.
Chloe was just about ready to open the umbrella and follow her because it just seems unfair that her mysterious angel gets her clothes and those really lovely shoes wet. She's given Chloe her umbrella—an automatic, one press of a button, high quality, expensive looking umbrella—and she couldn't help but feel guilty but she stops abruptly seeing Beca head towards a black car where she gets in effortlessly and drives off after a minute, leaving Chloe standing there in awe and gratitude.
Her actions were so smooth and cool, perfect dark brown hair swaying with each proud step, like an artsy shot from a film captured beautifully in slow motion, that it takes a while to snap out of her stupor.
It was only then that Chloe deeply regrets not having given a proper thank you or maybe one of her chocolates. She also has no idea how to give the umbrella back. Beca didn't seem to mind but it's only polite that Chloe returns it.
Walking back to her apartment with an umbrella over her head to keep her dry, Chloe thinks back to the conversation a while ago.
She abruptly pauses as she remembers the name of the company.
Amplify.
Chloe is very familiar with it. She's watched Amplify's annual music festivals and actually has their app on her phone where it streams and downloads all her favorite music. She's even got playlists for probably everything and she owes the app for giving her music to listen on any kind of day.
A genuine smile fills her face as hope rises out of her in seconds.
Amplify needs a new promotions representative for events, a job she is experienced in and qualified to do.
A real, good paying job in a famous company with an overall producer of events that has a heart as warm as the glimmering summer morning.
And as of today, Chloe is unemployed so, this must be a sign. Her one good thing today and maybe even, the one good thing that would finally save her.
"Beca," she softly mumbles, the name rolling effortlessly along her tongue, a genuine smile growing in her lips.
Her angel.
Beca.
Author's Note:
Calm down loves. I'm back.
Welcome to flashback friday! Where you'll find the good, the bad and the ugly. It's up to you which memory you'd like to conjure. Hopefully, more good than ugly.
Beca falling down the floor for a girl that doesn't deserve her. Sounds familiar? Turn to chapter 2.
Wait, does it even rain in LA though? I hear it's the same sunny weather all the time.
'Chocolate Kisses and You' is a cafe that welcomes broken hearts. You do not want to be in this cafe if you are in a rocky, toxic, abusive, unstable or weak etc, relationship (or you probably have a cheating partner). You will break up. If not this instant then soon... Single people are always welcome. If you are from the LGBTQIA+ community, you are immediately a VVVIP customer. We will give you hugs, discounts and a special rainbow drink. Homophobic monsters will be kicked out. And yeah, I own the place so if you are suddenly single, helplessly pining over a straight person or simply feeling unloved the hard stuff will be immediately available upon request. I'm talking about our addicting, death by chocolate dessert. Based on the name I do not need to explain what this is. Babe, just eat.
Happy Friday, sweethearts.