There was a suitcase in front of the door. The small, eight year old girl watched from the stairs as her parents fought again. Both her parents were screaming at the top of their lungs at each other, saying words they knew she shouldn't hear. Things had been like this for weeks now, but there was never a suitcase in front of the door. Finally her mother broke down.
"You don't love my anymore, do you?" she asked. There was a pause, everything seemed to stop in that moment.
"I have to go." her father took two steps to the door, picked up the suitcase and walked out the door. Her mother followed him, closed the door and locked it. From that moment on, the little girl promised herself that she would never let herself fall in love.
To secure her promise to herself, she made up a pretend man that she knew could never exist. She picked a petal from a different white rose for every trait she gave him.
"He will be known all across the world. He can ride a pony backwards and flip pancakes in the air. He will hear my call a mile away. He will have three fish and two dogs. His favorite food will be honey on toast. And he will have one green eye, one blue." she collected the petals in a vase filled with water from the stream and red roses, went to the dock that led out to the ocean behind her house and tossed the vase in.
"I can't get hurt, because I will never fall in love. This man will not exist."
The view from the window was one of a kind. The apartment was on the 15th floor and Central Park was right across the busy street. On crisp winter mornings like this one, the trees are all white and snow-covered, and the tall buildings on the other side of the park seem to reach the sky. She woke up early every morning to see the red, orange and yellow sunrise with a hot mug of tea in her hand and an oversized cashmere sweater slipped over her dance-shaped body. This morning was particularly beautiful. Maybe it was the winter air drifting through the open window, or the unusually peaceful hum of the cars below. Maybe it was her feeling of accomplishment, for she had danced perfectly in the show the previous night. Whatever it was, the whole city seemed to be peaceful and quiet. For her, it was bliss. For the rest of the city, it was the Monday hang over. Fifteen stories below, millions of heads throbbed with migraines, people dragged their feet to cabs, and drug stores were swiftly running low on Aspirin.
It was time for her to start getting ready. She lightly combed through her chestnut brown hair with those amazing large model-like waves you only see on Victoria's Secret models. She brushed on her make up and threw on a smaller, beige, cashmere swoop neck sweater and black pants. She made a quick breakfast and sprayed herself with her signature vanilla perfume. For her, breakfast contained of cinnamon raisin toast, a piece of fruit, and her daily vitamins and minerals that her mom still sent her. Coffee was purchased at the small Cafe on her way to work, along with the newspaper and her weekly gossip column.
"Morning Billy," she said sweetly as she walked into the Cafe. Billy was the owner of the Cafe and had been friends with her since she first moved into the city. He was also her hairstylist and fashion consultant.
"Oh, Haley! Darling I'm so glad your here. Running a little late today? Well, anyway, we just got the news! Congratulations. We're so proud." Billy said, referring to the show.
"Thanks so much. Where's Lillian?" Haley asked scanning the Cafe for her other best friend.
"Looks like we're all running late." Billy said, just noticing the absence.
"Well if you see her tell her to call me. I've got to get to work." Haley said when Billy handed her her coffee, newspaper and column.
"Will do. And, if you don't mind me saying so, there's some really juicy stuff in here." he pointed to the column in Haley's hand and winked. Glancing at the clock for the first time, she realized she was already hopelessly late. Damn, she thought, and began to jog down the street, careful to avoid the patches of ice. She turned a sharp corner, missed her footing on slippery ice and felt herself flying backwards towards the ground. Great, its all over now. She thought.
A pair of warm strong arms came out of no where and caught her just before she hit the ground. Suddenly, she was back on her feet. Slightly shaken, she turned around to see her rescuer. She gasped, looked around to see if she was really looking at him, and pulled herself together.
"Thank you." she said and put her hand out for him to shake.
"My pleasure." instead of shaking her hand, he grasped it and held it for a second longer than usual. "I"m Nathan Scott."
"I know. I'm Haley James and I'm very late for work." She turned on her heel and walked away as fast as she could without being rude.
"Nathan Scott!" Lillian repeated. "Nathan Scott! As in NBA star, Tommy Hilfiger model, and extremely gorgeous and talented actor?"
"Yes. And I just ran away from him!" Haley groaned into the phone. She let her head drop to her desk.
"Why don't you go find him?" Lillian suggested.
"What am I supposed to ask people? Hi, Nathan Scott just saved my life, I ran away, and now I"m trying to find him again. Have you seen him?" Haley sighed and fell silent.
"Ms. James. Tina has your next assignment." the secretary said quietly.
"Ok, thank you. Lillian, my boss has my next article. I'll call you later."
Tina Love's office was at the other end of the office. On most days, Haley's head was clear and ready to receive work. But today, that was the last thing she wanted to do. She knocked three times on the office door and let herself in. Tina was just finishing up a phone call, so Haley took her usual seat across the impossibly neat desk.
"Haley, I'm so glad your here." Tina said, finally looking at her. This statement was extremely out of the ordinary. Tina was never glad to see anyone!
"You are?" Haley questioned.
"Yes! Your column director just landed you an amazing interview for the column next week. It is nearly impossible to get an interview with this guy. Your the best journalist I have, and I need you on this column. This could earn you a promotion." Tina said, barely able to contain her smile.
"Wow! What is it?" Haley asked, thinking maybe the President, or a tribe leader in Africa, or something important.
"We got you an interview with Nathan Scott!" Tina squealed. Tina never squealed.
"What!" Haley almost yelled. This was impossible.
"I know! It's a lunch date at some little French place. Tomorrow at three o'clock. Don't be late. Now, I have a meeting so go shopping or something." Tina got out of her chair, handed Haley a slip of paper, and strut out of her office.
3:00 pm
Lunch-pick up at 2:30
Nathan Scott
Unbelievable.
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