I'm well aware I haven't written anything in ages and I apologise profusely. Life is busy, I'm trying my hardest haha.
"Chloe, coffees, pronto!" The shrill voice of Rachelle Rodgers - or better known as Rae- pierced my ears as I stood at the copier, waiting for the sixty eight copies of a script to spit out as I juggled three carry trays of piping hot beverages.
It was my second week at Lyle Productions and things were going swimmingly... that was only if I could drown out the sickly sweet voice that belonged to the copper haired beauty that was Rae. The bronze skinned woman had a real knack for telling people what to do, and not actually doing much herself.
My job mostly consisted of coffee runs, photocopying and location bookings, but Michael also wanted me to listen in on script writings and content development meetings, which bugged Rae to no end. In her opinion, interns should be seen and not heard, but I could tell she had a problem with me being seen, too.
The fact that Michael had taken such a liking to me seemed to twist the knife in her side too.
I handed her the tall, skinny latte that she greedily took without a word and continued to distribute drinks throughout the office before settling down at my desk. I had a mountain of paperwork to sort, along with a bunch of location research. After working at Lyle Productions for two weeks and seeing the amount of paper I had to deal with, I finally understood how Derek struggled to keep on top of things at home. My desk was a mess. Half of my computer screen was covered in post-it notes and the keyboard was covered in a stack of papers that somebody had left there for me to deal with.
"Chloe, there's my favourite intern!" Michael beamed over the office divider, a wide grin spread across his face when he saw me mid way through an eye roll. I was his only intern, and that was his favourite joke. He thought it was hilarious.
"I'm just about to book the location for this shoot, I just need to tidy-"
"Shhhh." He interrupted. "I was going to say you can get an early start to your weekend. Go home, put your feet up." He grinned, flashing a set of straight, white teeth.
I nodded at him gratefully and shovelled all the loose papers into a folder for me to take home and organise over the weekend. "I'll just book this location and I'll be out the door."
"Thanks, Chlo. And by the way, a bunch of us are going out tomorrow night for drinks at the bar on Cumberland street if you want to join..." He trailed off.
"Sure." I smiled before even realising what I had agreed to. Before I could go back on my word, Michael had left me alone at my desk.
God damn it, I thought to myself. My last bar experience was a nightmare, but at least this time if Liam were to show up, I already had left a report with the police from last time.
I pickled up the telephone and dialled the phone number scrawled on the neon pink post-it note. "Hi, this is Chloe Saunders from Lyle Productions. I was just calling to book your location for a shoot after talking with Mr Stevens last week. We've faxed through copies of our action plan and-"
I was cut off by a woman on the other end ranting on about our schedule for the shoot and I slumped back in my chair. My early start to the weekend had been defeated.
For the next hour I worked with this woman over the phone to break down our action plan, offering to fax through a revised one the following Monday but it wasn't good enough for her. I watched as my colleagues left one by one, leaving only myself, Michael and one of the content producers, Christopher, left in the office.
After I had finally fulfilled this woman's wishes and hung up the phone I slumped back in my chair in defeat.
"You've got the patience of a saint." Michael said from behind me. "I would have told her to eat shit half an hour ago."
"Yeah well you run this place, you can do whatever you want." I teased as I packed up my remaining items and stuffed them into my backpack. "Have a good weekend, Michael." I said before making a beeline for the doors.
The bus stop was crowded as people huddled under the shelter from the rain. I still didn't have a car, but this new job was a bus ride and a short walk away from home so I didn't really need one. The cold winter air, however, made me second guess myself sometimes.
I rounded the corner with my apartment building in sight and my stomach dropped at the sight of the truck out the front.
It was moving day.
Tori's moving day, which I had promised to help out with.
I rushed over to the lobby where Tori was juggling one box on top of another. I grabbed the box that was just about to topple over.
"Tori I am so sorry I completely forgot and then I had to stay back at work and-"
"Will you save your rambling for a time when I'm not carrying a forty pound box?" She interrupted me and hauled the box into the truck, dusted off her hands and turned to face me. "Calm down, Chloe, it's fine." She effortlessly plucked the box from my arms and set it down with the other.
"Tori I'm sorry, I'm the worst-"
"God will you just shut up? I've got like six boxes total and Simon's been here all day helping me pack. Besides, you'd just drop everything anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You can help by coming to get a coffee with me because I am seriously caffeine deficient."
LINE BREAK PLS REMEMBER
A short car ride and two lattes later, Tori introduced me into her new apartment.
The kitchen was situated to the left of the entrance, looking modern and spacious. The living room to the right of me was big enough to be a whole other apartment itself. Natural light flooded the room and I couldn't help but gawk in awe at the high ceilings and beautiful living space. A pang of envy hit me in the guts.
Her apartment was huge.
The living room was empty save for a few moving boxes and a taupe, faux fur rug.
Tori excitedly gushed over the many potential colour schemes she had in mind, even asking me some of my own opinions. Unfortunately she wasn't too crazy over my idea of having a Harry Potter themed bedroom.
As night fell, our takeaway lattes were replaced with glasses of red wine as we sat cross legged on the rug. The only thing that could have made it better was a fireplace and a cosy couch.
"You know, I actually really enjoyed staying with you and my brother." She admitted.
"You were a pleasure to have. Sometimes." I flashed a cheeky grin at her.
She smiled back. Although Tori and I got off to a rough start, we eventually became close friends and I actually started to appreciate her blunt, sassy attitude. She helped me through some of the hardest times and I helped her regain her relationship with Derek.
Tori filled my glass up before tending to hers and taking a sip.
"I think you're really good for my brother." She traced the rim of her glass with her index finger. "He's so much more lighthearted when you're around."
I chewed my lip thoughtfully as I mimicked her actions with my own glass. "I think I've grown on him."
She scoffed. "I think you've done more than that, Saunders."
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Do you remember when you interviewed with Michael?"
I nodded.
"Well..." she trailed off, looking around the empty room. "Remember how Derek was in a sour mood that whole week?" She asked sheepishly.
"What did you do, Tori?" I sipped my drink.
"I may have told Derek a teeny, tiny lie. Just to see how he'd react."
"React? To what?"
"You going on a date."
I nearly spat out my wine, instead I settled for sputtering. "A-a date? I haven't even been on a date in years."
"I may have told him that you meeting up with Michael was a date."
"May have?" I scoffed.
Tori bit her lip, as if she were contemplating. "I dunno, he's just so different now." She sipped from her wine glass. "But I've told you all of this before. Now how's that new job going?"
I scoffed at her glaringly obvious attempt at changing the conversation and ran my fingers over the rips in my jeans. "Great, Michael is awesome and I'm getting along with everyone."
"Except Rae." She interjected with a knowing look.
"How'd you-"
"Rae's a bitch. Gorgeous, but a bitch. And the things she did to get that job..." She trailed off suggestively.
I help up my hand to stop her. "I don't even want to know, Tori."
A fake retch on my end had Tori giggling away as she finished off her third glass and reached for the bottle again. "Oh no." She whined as she made a show of tipping the bottle upside down over her glass, only for nothing to come out other than a pitiful drizzle of the red liquid. "I can open another?"
I shook my head. "Nope, I think that'll do me for tonight." I told her as I finished off my own drink.
A text from Liz lit up my phone and I glanced down at it. The time in big, bold numbers read quarter past two in the morning and I balked. "O-oh my God, it's late. I need to get going."
Tori glanced down at her own watch. "Sheesh it's only early, Saunders. Come on."
I scrambled up from the rug and placed my glass in the sink and it hit me. A wave of dizziness came over me like a punch in the guts and I stumbled, thankfully catching myself on the counter. A giggle erupted from my lips once I realised this wasn't my usual clumsiness, I was just drunk.
"I don't have anywhere for you to sleep." She admitted through her own fit of giggles.
I waved my hand at her as if it were to say it's all good. "I'll just get an Uber home."
"Are you sure? It's pretty late." She said, this time concerned. "I can call Derek, he'd drop everything-" She stopped dead in her tracks. "He owes me a favour anyway."
"No no, it's past two in the morning. I'm not going to bother Derek." I whipped out my cell phone and requested an Uber to my apartment building.
A short ten minute wait went by before I was in an Uber, heading back home. The blur of street lights clouded my vision and my drunken ass had to swallow down that disgusting feeling of needing to vomit up the three glasses of wine I had just consumed.
"All good back there?" Jacob, my driver, called back to me.
Not trusting myself to speak, I bobbed my head and made eye contact with him in the rear view mirror. He didn't see too satisfied with my answer and instead of continuing, he pulled over down a side street so I could step out for some fresh air.
After thanking him a million times and tipping him heavily, I hopped out the sleek black Chevy in front of my apartment building and headed straight for the elevator. Stumbling this way and that while I buried my head in my phone, trying to message Tori to tell her I got home safe.
I jiggled my keys in the door, possibly a bit too harshly for two thirty in the morning. The door gave way unexpectedly and I fell through onto the floor of the living room. The door closed with a click behind me and a hulking figure towered overhead. My eyes travelled upwards and met with Derek's. Feverish eyes glared down on me, burning bright even though the living room was illuminated by nothing but the moonlight peeking through the curtains. If I wasn't embarrassingly drunk I probably would have stammered out an excuse as I tried my hardest to ignore the fact that my flatmate was shirtless and in his boxers, but luckily drunk Chloe didn't have a care in the world. And I kind of liked it.
"Most people try and be discreet when sneaking in at three in the morning." He lectured me as if I were a child. The look on his face said it all.
"Someone's a grumpy guts." I giggled as I tried scrambling to my feet. Derek's outstretched hand gently grasped mine and he guided me upwards. His hand was clammy and hot. "And I wasn't sneaking in, just so you know." I slurred.
By the time I had steadied myself on the couch, Derek had turned the light on. Sweat had plastered his black mop of hair to his forehead and his eyes glowed feverishly. His face was flushed pink and I resisted the urge to reach out and feel his forehead.
"Please tell me Tori didn't drive you back drunk." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke slowly through his teeth.
"Nope. Uber. Derek, why are you so sweaty?" I reached towards him and he swatted my hand away.
"An Uber? God damn it Chloe I know we're not in the worst part of town but you should have called me." He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated, and wiped the hair out of his eyes.
"I-it was late." I stammered, taken back by his outburst.
"I don't care if it's late. As long as you get home safe." My laughter seemed to set Derek off into a silent rage.
"Well thanks, dad, but I did get home safe." I snapped back and crossed my arms against my chest.
We glared at each other for a few moments before he finally sighed and I slumped down on the couch and turned the TV on.
"Really, at this time, Chloe?" He threw his hands up in the air. "Unbelievable."
"Lighten up, Souza." I yawned as I settled into the couch. "It's the weekend."
He groaned. "I'm going to bed." Derek threw his hands up in defeat.
"Goodnight!" I called after him as he disappeared into the hallway.
"It's three in the morning!" He uttered harshly and slammed his bedroom door behind him.
I grinned at my "victory" and sunk into the couch, ready to binge watch some Netflix.
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