I S A B E L L A
"So, Jonathan. How is the new school treating you?" I questioned.
Currently, Jonathan and I were enjoying a cup of coffee at his while basking in the afternoon sun on the balcony.
"Still need to get used to the new environment. So far I don't have any problems other than it being so damn far. And as you know, I'm not a morning person." He says as he drinks down the last of the liquid.
The promised coffee outting that Allistor was supposed to take me on turned to Jonathan's responsibility. Jonathan actually suggested it because of how busy Allistor was and was worried that he might overwork himself. Of course, I declined at first and I didn't want Jonathan to feel responsible for his boyfriend's promises but turns out he genuinely wanted to hangout.
"I'm sure you'll get used to the new routine soon enough." I affirm.
Jonathan humms as a reply and empties his mug.
"Any news from your family?" I ask.
He went silent and simply slumped back with a sigh, running his hand through his hair.
"Christina keeps me updated but I haven't heard anything from my parents in years, as always." He replies monotonely.
Jonathan's parents are very religious so when he came out as gay, they lost their cool. He was a mere teen when he announced the news which led his parents to making an absolute mockery out of him by sending him to so-called 'doctors' as a way of getting him 'fixed'. They couldn't accept that their son was attracted to men and tried finding different ways of making him 'normal'. According to Jonathan, there was a time when his parents lost all hope and sent him to a church camp in hopes of him 'finding the way of God'. The experience left him traumatized due to the other kids he joined on the camp bullying him and the priest who sexually assaulted him.
When he returned home, he packed his bags and left without a word. His parents didn't bother calling him nor care about his whereabouts. But, his sister was worried sick about him and searched for him. Thankfully, he was easy to find and was infact by one of his close friends. Long story short, his sister keeps him updated about how things are with their parents.
"How is she by the way?" I ask.
"She's doing pretty good, pregnant with her third child now actually." He says with a smile plastered on his face.
"I can tell she's a great mother, even though I've only met her once. As weird as this might sound, but,she's like the light of a dark room." I commented.
Jonathan turns to me with a look of utter confusion.
"Don't you mean the highlight of your day?" He questions with a raised eyebrow.
I simply humm as a response and check my watch.
"I need to go." I tell him as I take my keys and phone from the table.
"Oh, you meeting that photographer today?" He perks up.
"Yup, thanks for the coffee. Tell Allistor he still owes me though." I say and make my way to the door.
I heard a 'Will do' from Jonathan when I made my way out.
Today I'm meeting up with Luciel for the shoot. She sent me her address around six this morning and told me we would meet around 3pm because she had classes. I agreed and told her she just needed to tell me when she made it home.
When I arrived at the address, I noticed that it was in fact an apartment complex. I looked at the address Luciel sent me just to confirm and was satisfied when I actually noticed her leaning against a wall.
Luciel, she resembled a man when I first looked at her. But now that I'm taking a good look at her, even from afar, her features looks 'soft'.
She was wearing black jeans and sneakers, with a hoodie topped with an oversized T-shirt. Her hair was in a half-up, half-down style revealing a few piercings on her ear.
I heard my phone buzzing on the passengers seat. And sure enough it was Luciel.
Luciel
Are you on your way? Do you have trouble finding the place?
I got out the car and replied.
'Look to your right.'
She looked up with a look of confusion and when she finally spotted me, I waved at her and her confusion was replaced with a smile as she waved back at me.
I quickly make my way across the street when I made sure there was no cars in sight.
"Isabella!" Luciel greeted me with a even wider smile, revealing her dimple.
She pulled me into a hug which caught me by suprise, but, I returned the gesture and wrapped my arms around her back with a light tap. She was quite tall making me stand on my toes for a proper embrace.
"I thought you wouldn't be able to make it." She said as she gave me a light squeeze.
"I told you, I was off from work for a week. Rather, I'm more suprised you were able to fit me in your busy schedule." I tell her honestly.
She chuckles and pulls back from our embrace. As she did, I got a whiff of her cologne; a strong scent of lavender with a mix of vanilla.
I followed behind her as we made our way inside.
"Luciel."
Luciel and I turn around to see who called out to her.
A few feet from us, we saw a girl with a wide smile plastered on her face and waving at Luciel. She looked quite vibrant and cheery. Her long brown hair was in a loos plait that rested on her right shoulder decorated with bright coloured hair clips. She was dressed in a plain green dress with thin straps, stopping just above her knees. The sunlight gave her caramel skin some type of glow, making her look somewhat innocent. Her facial features were cute as well, puckered lips and eyes that caused crows feet whenever she smiled.
She approached us with a little skip, her braid bouncing of her shoulder.
"Fucks sake..."
I quickly turned to Luciel when I heard those words. It was faint, but seeing as though I was standing so close too her, I could make out exactly what she said.
It surprised me to see her expression. Just a few minutes ago she looked content, now she just looks annoyed. I look back at the girl, who who was now standing in front of us with a giddy smile. My eyes then look back at Luciel's face and see her expression worsened.
Oh...
"What're you doing here?" Luciel questioned the girl, not bothering to hide her annoyance.
"Hm? I came to visit you of course!" The girl cheerily replied.
"Didn't I clearly tell you not to visit today?" Luciel replied, emphasizing the 'visit' part.
"Too bad, anyway, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" She asked, changing the subject to me followed by her scanning me from head to toe.
"Isabella, nice to meet you." I introduce myself and offer my hand for a handshake.
Before I knew it, Luciel took my hand in hers followed by a 'Don't bother'.
Her eyes lingered on the girl before she dragged me along, confused, I simply tell my goodbyes to the girl and catch up with Luciel's pace.
Funny enough, the girl didn't seem offended with Luciel's behaviour and continued smiling with her hands behind her back.
We walked in silence to her apartment, when we finally reached hers, she shuffled inside her hoodie pocket for her keys. I glanced down at her hand that still held a firm grip on mine.
"Luciel?"
She quickly stops with her fumbling in her pockets and turns to me, her expression replaced with expectancy.
"Yes?" She says in a questioning tone.
"You can let go of my hand now." I tell her with a smile.
"Shit, sorry about that." She hastily says and quickly lets go of my hand.
When she found her keys, she unlocked the door and we made our way inside.
"My place isn't in its best condition at the moment, I hope you don't mind." She tells me awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it, I really don't mind." I reassure her.
I look around the place and notice that her place was quite spacious with a comforting aura to it. The sun rays that was shining through the windows gave the room a warm feeling.
Luciel guided me to the living area and gestures me to seat myself on one of the couches.
"You want something to drink?" She asks.
"Water is fine." I reply and seat myself on the two-seater couch decorated with two grey cushions, contrasting the white colour of the couch itself.
Luciel walked off and returns after a few minutes with a glass of water and a mug. She places the glass down on the coffee table and seats herself next to me. It's than that I noticed a few files scattered on the table.
Out of curiosity, I pick up one of the files and look at Luciel to be sure if I could flip through it.
"Go for it, just know it isn't my best work." She warns me.
"Best work?"
Confused, I open the file and start flipping through the content inside it.
It consisted of different pictures. Quite a few of them were of buildings and animals. There were some pictures of people as well which I assumed were her friends from university. As I flip through it, I noticed that the girl who called out to her started showing up even more in the pictures.
I glance to Luciel and notice she was focused on her mug.
"By the way, what was that about earlier?" I asked cautiously.
I place the file back down on the table and look at Luciel who was looking at me with confusion.
"Earlier?" She questions.
"That girl that called out to you, you seemed pretty wary of her." I reply.
She looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it and averted her eyes from mine.
"You don't have to tell me, sorry if I'm prying." I apologized when I noticed her shift in her seat.
"No, it's just..." She trails off.
I patiently waited for her to continue and gulp down some of the water.
"Rose and I dated a while back but it didn't last long. I couldn't give her the attention she needed because of how busy I was with assignments and my photography. She got fed up with my excuses and said we should just end it."
"I see, but if you don't mind me asking, why does she still see you? You mentioned earlier that she shouldn't have visited today." I incline.
Luciel's eyes widened with my words and with a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.
"She comes over now and then for you know..." She says and clears her throat.
"Oh, so the two of you have a friends-with-benefits type of relationship?" I ask.
She humms in reply and avoids my gaze, fiddling with her half-empty mug.
"No need to feel ashamed, it's part of growing up." I affirmed.
"Have you ever been in such a relationship?" She perks up.
"To be honest, it never even crossed my mind. I studied law so I didn't have time to think about relationships, I barely had free time." I responded.
Now that I think about it, I hardly enjoyed my youthful years. My mind was always invested on my future and how lavishly I want to live. Whenever my friends hungout I never bothered to join them. I wanted to, but, what held me back was the pressure from my mom and the pressure I was putting on myself. I always studied and only gave myself short breaks and even then I'd feel guilty. There was never a point where I thought 'Is this really worth it?', I just worked hard and thought about how succesful I wanted to be. When I finally became a lawyer, I wasn't satisfied. I didn't feel happy or sad, I couldn't understand why I wasn't jumping for joy like the rest of the people who got employed with me. Even now, I'm trying to find a piece to a puzzle.
"Well, are you in a relationship now?" Luciel asks, her eyes finally on mine.
"Unfortunately no." I reply with a smile.
"Why?"
Her question caught me off guard making me take a tight grip on the glass.
"W-what?"
"Why? Why aren't you in a relationship? I'm sure you're not as busy like you were when you were still a student, so why?" She repeats.
Why? Huh...
"I guess I just haven't might the right person yet." I affirm her.
Luciel held her gaze on me a bit longer with a stoic-like expression. I simply smiled at her and placed down the empty glass down on the table.
"Anyways, can you tell me more about your photography?" I ask.
"Sure."