"I'm not saying that I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy."
When I said that there was no way that my life could possibly get any worse, I was kidding. I didn't actually expect...
"Do you know how much thinking and feeling I've done? It's terrible. And nothing's come of it."
—Andrei Platonov, Happy Moscow
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The sun cracked into a thousand shards, dusting the sky with fire, as if wiping away all the sorrows that the night had brought with her. I sucked in a breath as I looked on in awe. I'd seen countless sunrises, yet they always seemed to take my breath away, each one more beautiful than the last.
"It's perfect," Hailey whispered, reaching for my hand.
I made a face and pulled my hand away. "Too mushy, Red."
She punched me on the arm and uncrossed her legs. "I'm just trying to do my part to thaw that frozen heart of yours," she shrugged innocently.
I laughed and gently rocked the swing that I was seated on. "Are you buying into idle gossip now?" I asked, amusement seeping into my voice.
"No, I'm simply stating facts," she corrected. "You're cold, you've always been cold, and if you don't let a little warmth into your life, you'll always be cold."
As if on cue, a cool breeze touched my cheeks and neck. I ignored the hairs prickling on my arm and rolled my eyes. "Where did you hear that?" I teased. "Because I know you didn't think of that on your own. Wait a minute, have you been talking to my ex's again?"
She groaned and rose to her feet, shoving me before going into the house. I didn't follow her. Instead, I pulled my legs up and hugged them, staring once more at the sky. The transformation was almost complete, but I was still awestruck at its beauty.
I know, I know. I totally didn't strike you as the nature type and that's partially true, because for the most part I'm not. If someone asked me to choose between spending a day in the great outdoors, and sitting on the couch, eating pizza while binge watching Friends, I'd choose number two without any hesitation. But there are a few times when there's nothing that I'd rather do than spend a few hours (okay, minutes) just to sit and appreciate my surroundings. There is so much beauty around us, but we're often too busy to take notice.
Speaking of beauty, I had an appointment at the salon in a few hours. One that I was not looking forward to. My hairdresser, a leggy blonde with all the right curves in all the right places, was always complaining about something or the other that was wrong with her not-so-perfect life, which— in case you hadn't already guessed— annoyed me to no end. It was a torture that I endured every couple of months to attain a semi-presentable appearance to the public for the sake of humanity.
I know. I'm such a selfless person.
Besides, my mother would probably have a heart attack if I ever decided to just let nature take its course when it came to my hair.
I was trying to decide whether I should add highlights to my brown locks or just change the color entirely when I heard a car door slam.
"Hello, gorgeous," Jamie drawled, walking up the driveway.
