A Beautiful Mess

1|| A New Start

The plan was simple. Whatever you do- Don't fall in love.
Xiomara Winter left home with one plan. She was moving cities to have a fresh start- a new beginning. This was going to be her personal rehabilitation. A new home in a new city with quite possibly, new friends. She had one exception however, not to get too close to anyone and more importantly, not to fall in love.
All of that changed however, when she met him.

•••
"Xi, are you ready?" My aunt's shrill voice echoed through the house. Her voice had been like that for quite some time now- the unfortunate end result of a vocal accident.
"Uh, I'll be ready in a minute!" I shouted across the hall way. I looked around the contents of my room knowing that I would definitely need more than a minute before I was ready. I sighed exasperatedly before hauling another suitcase on to my bed and hurriedly stuffing it with clothes from my drawers.
"Gonna need another minute?" I heard my aunt releasing a low distorted chuckle behind me before fully entering my room to help me pack.
I rubbed my temples before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Thank you so much Aunt Karen... For everything."
"Sweetheart, you know that I love you and I would gladly do anything for you." My aunt said before joining me at the edge of the bed. "Biology says you're my niece but the Lord knows that you're my daughter." She had now held me in a tight embrace and placed a light but lasting kiss on my forehead.
"I love you too Aunt Kar, more than you know."
A comfortable silence passed between us before she spoke up again.
"How about we finish this packing... And you know that I'm going to be emptying these suitcases and properly folding these clothes that looks like they've been thrown in from half a mile away" she laughed and I joined in while nodding my head a bit too animatedly. I knew that I was going to miss that laugh and my aunt's crazy OCD like ways but I had to go.
•••

2 hours and 15 minutes.

That's how long it had been since Aunt Karen dropped me at my new home. A small flat I found on some real estate site. I had been fortunate to find a nice place that my budget could afford, plus with the little help from my inheritance fund, I think I would be pretty okay for a while. I was still sat in the position that my aunt had left me in. That was after she had thoroughly checked the house for any signs of default or so she said. We also went into the neighboring town to go shopping for groceries so she could be satisfied with seeing my cupboards and fridge stacked with food. When she was fully pleased, we bid a somewhat teary goodbye before she drove off back to Manhattan.

I knew living on my own was going to be hard but I needed this time alone. I had been living with my aunt for five years and in that time she had proven to be more than my caretaker, she became my own angel on Earth and God knows, that I needed one. I was truly grateful for all her help but I knew that it was time for me to move on, not just physically but also emotionally. I had been in such a bad place for all these years, I was shut down in my own hurt and pain. For all these years, I had shut everyone except my aunt out. I knew I couldn't continue like this because I was spiralling downwards.

How does moving help then? Leaving from living with my aunt to living on my own. It was a paradox when you thought about it. But it was a sign for me, a new beginning if you will. If I didn't leave, I would live my life not only being dependent on my aunt, but I would be so shut off from everyone and everything. I needed to start somewhere, so moving was just the first step. I had my rules though, while I wanted to make a few friends, I don't want to get too close to anyone. It's for their own good really. My main rule however, is that I will not, absolutely not, fall in love with anyone.

I sighed and shook myself out of my thoughts and finally got up from my bed. "Well, time to unpack."

•••

Author's Note

Hey lovelies! Welcome to "A Beautiful Mess." I'm so glad that you chose to read this book. This book was inspired by recent changes in my life and by a disorder that I'm unfortunately challenged with. I wanted to produce something that was relatable to most persons as depression really is a pain in the rear but every dark cloud really does have a silver lining. Please stick with me through this journey. I promise this book will not disappoint.

Let me know what you think about the story as you go along. Don't forget to vote and comment!

With much much much love,
Cal

*P.S: Just in case you were curious as to the pronunciation of the main characters name. Xiomara is pronounced Zee.oh.mara. Hope that helps!