A welcome distraction

She picked up her phone. She had unknowingly crossed her fingers. She checked the caller ID, it was Lou. She let out a sigh and picked up.

"Hello"

"Hi, girl?" Lou sounded chipper. It was her default state so it was not a surprise to Scarlett. "You haven't replied to my messages."

"I was about to reply" she lied. "I just came from the weekly meeting so I did not have time to reply, until now, but then you called"

"Okay, no worries, so what's your answer?"

"Answer to?"

"My proposal to marry you! my text silly, what did they give you in that meeting?"

"Nothing, it was just boring as usual" Scarlett was having a hard time remembering what Lou had asked her in the text. "Well, I um..."

"Are you free or not?" Lou asked impatiently. "if you are, I have been invited to this white party and guess where the venue is?"

"Where?"

"The Fine Breeze!" Lou said with an excited high-pitched voice.

"The new place uptown?"

"yeap, the one and only. I heard that only famous celebrities get in. And now I have a ticket. And it has plus one and you are the lucky lady"

"I have heard about it, I don't know if I will make it"

"What? Are you serious? Come on, Pleeeeassse" Scarlett could picture Lou pouting on the other side of the phone.

"Shouldn't your plus one be your boyfriend?"

"What boyfriend? if you are talking about Jason, we broke up two days ago, did you not see my IG status update? I am a single girl now"

"I swear, Lou you never cease to amaze me. Didn't you just date for a month or so?"

"Three weeks and it's over. I have moved on. This party will be my best chance to find my next conquest. So I am not taking no for an answer. I will pick you up at 4 pm on Saturday"

"Lou, I told you...."

click

Lou hang up on Scarlett before she could give her an excuse.

"Looks like I'm going to the white party" Scarlett sighed.

That was Lou for you. Louise Hutton was Scarlett's best friend, she was a warm person, she rarely got angry at anyone and when she did all you had to do was apologise and buy her nice things and it would be as if nothing had happened. They met in college and they had remained close after graduation. She was the only person Scarlett had kept in touch with.

Louise was the happiest person Scarlett knew. She lived her life one day at a time. She said what she wanted and did what she wanted, no apologies, no regrets.

This was the reason why Scarlett loved her. She was a reminder of what life should be like. Making your own decisions, the slogan Scarlett used since she left home six years ago.

Thinking about Lou had distracted her from her thoughts for a moment. She looked at her phone, it was already 1:30 pm. Initially, she had decided to stay in the office to have some work done in the afternoon but now she did not have the motivation.

She picked up her stuff from the table and exited the boardroom. She looked around the open office only to notice that she was alone. Most of her colleagues had taken off and the others were probably having lunch at the cafe Mia had told her about.

She walked to the table where she had left her other belongings. All this time Dec's words kept running through her mind."I know you will make the right decision... "  If only she knew what the right decision was.

She read the rest of the text. Her mum had given her all the details she needed to know about Vic's wedding. In fact, she even asked her if she could go home during the week because there was going to be a bridal shower at the family home before they left for the venue, and the whole family was invited.

Scarlett could remember playing the bride with Vic when they were younger. She was always the bride because they thought she could get married first. Vic would play her best maid. They could walk around the house with makeshift flower bouquets. At one time they even asked their dad to officiate the marriage. She had wedded her long-loved fiancé, Teddy, the teddy bear. She was barely four when she named him hence the immense creativity.

Scarlett felt something wet on her lap. She had been crying but she was so into her thoughts that she hadn't realised it. She picked some pocket tissues and wiped her face.

Deep down she knew her answer. Deep down she knew her decision, and it was not going to be easy. She couldn't miss Vic's wedding. If she did Victoria could never forgive her. There were a lot of things that she needed Vic to forgive her for and she did not want to add missing the wedding to that pile.

How was she going to face her family? How was she going to explain the decision she made six years ago? What if they couldn't understand her reasons?

**********

That night Scarlett sat on her couch in a very sombre mood. Nothing seemed to be okay. Even her favourite TV show that night seemed distasteful. She flipped the channels trying to look for something to lighten her mood. Nothing. She finally gave up, switched off the TV and went to bed.

This was definitely going to be a long night. She wanted her mind to stop, she wanted to shut off the memories, but that was not going to happen. She remembered that night, the way their house looked like a ghost town from the back of the cab. The busy airport where she had always been afraid to be alone. Before that, her dad always held her hand, but that night she was alone with just her suitcase. The tears fell down her face endlessly. Nothing about that night was pleasant.

Scarlett sighed, she shook her head in an attempt to shake away the thoughts. She felt a wet patch on her pillow. She had not even realised that she had been crying. Another deep sigh came from her mouth, with it more tears. She did not hold them back.

"I am the head of this house and you will do as I say"

"But dad," Scarlett was cut short by her father. She had never seen him that angry before.

"You will do as I say even if that means I will lock you in this house. You hear that Amy?"

Scarlett jolted up. She looked at her surrounding. Relief washed over her face when she realised that she was still in her own bedroom in the city. That was just a dream, a nightmare really, a moment she thought was deeply buried in her brain until a few hours ago. She must have cried herself to sleep last night.

She sighed again for what felt like the umpteenth time. She glanced at her phone, it was only 5.23 AM. She yawned as she walked to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror to see giant eye bugs around her eyes. They looked like two giant ice balls ready to melt. She quickly turned away, too afraid to look at her reflection. She walked back to her bed. She lay awake for a while staring into the darkness. When it was clear that sleep was a long-gone idea, she decided to get up and find something to do. Some bit of light had started showing through her window which was an indication that the sun was about to rise.

She walked to her closet, searched for the nearest leggings, a sports bra and a hood. She had decided to go out for a run, who was she kidding, a walk. It would be a pity to waste the one sunrise she was awake to witness.

She quickly brushed her teeth, picked up her phone and was out the door as soon as she put on her favourite snickers.

She walked slowly past her street. It was quiet. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who liked to sleep in. The streets got busier as she walked towards the park. Some shops especially the coffee houses and restaurants had already opened in anticipation of the morning customers. Some neatly dressed people would occasionally walk in and out minutes later with takeaway cups and brown bags. Nothing like a good morning's cup of coffee and a doughnut, or a bagel. Not that she had any idea though. Usually, around this time she was deep in dreamland. She walked into the nearest coffee shop to get a mug of coffee.

It was fascinating to watch all the busy people. Unlike during the day where you could spot people chatting away on the streets, everyone was busy rushing somewhere.

She was finally in the park, coffee in hand. Carrying the coffee was her secret way of avoiding running. There were quite a few more people than she had anticipated. Most wore gym clothes and were running in the park. She even passed a group of people who were doing some coordinated moves, maybe yoga? "Isn't it too early for that?" She wondered. She walked until she saw a bench that faced directly to the sunrise. "Bingo," She thought as she approached it.

Sitting down was so relaxing. Maybe she should run across the park for at least one lap. "Yeah right..." She laughed at the thought and sat into a comfortable moment, staring at the sun as it showed off its majesty as it painted the sky with beautiful gold rays.

"I must be seeing things"

Scarlett was shaken off her stance by a familiar voice. She looked up to see a shadow standing over her. She couldn't see clearly as she had been staring into the sun, but she could recognise this person anywhere. His broad shoulders, his masculine body that seemed to calm her down.

"Wow, this is a rare sight. Scarlett Gray outside her house before noon. This is one for the newsstands." The man hovering over her continued. If she has not been so stressed she would have a nasty comeback of her own.

He sat down next to her. Her eyes had started to clear up. She looked at him to see a smirk on his face.

"It's you" she feigned nonchalance though her heart was pretty excited.

"Good morning to you too Scarl," Dec said with a smile as he nudged her with his shoulder.

"Hi, Dec" Scarlett finally greeted the all too happy guy beside her.

"Was that so hard?" Dec asked with a very childish pout.

Instead of replying Scarlett nudged him with her shoulder as he had done earlier.

"What are you doing up this early on a Friday, Scarl?" Dec asked with a curious look. Ever since he had known her, she loved to sleep in at any chance she got. He on the other hand always loved to jog in the park in the mornings.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk and watch the sunrise"

"Oh..." Dec replied as if he had just recalled something.

"How was the morning run?" Scarlett asked as she looked back up at the sun, a move she regretted immediately. The sun had become so bright already. She quickly looked down. Her vision clouded with bright colours.

"It was great, if I don't come here I feel sickly the entire day," Declan answered.

When Scarlett did not comment, Declan looked at her. She was looking down but he could see her swollen eyes. He immediately felt his heart sink into his chest. He hated to see her sad. He had grown fond of her from the first time they met.

He had learned everything there is to know about her, her favourite colour, books, TV shows, music. He knew stuff that she didn't like also such as the colour yellow. He didn't get why either. They would talk about anything and everything. Yet any topic related to family matters was off-limits. Not that Scarlett had told him that. It's just that any time it came up, she would change the subject.

In the years, he had known her, she had never mentioned her home or parents. She would spend all holidays alone. Maybe that is how his feelings started, he wanted to fill the holes in her life. He wanted her to feel at home there with him. He wanted to give her the world. Yet at any moment he felt close to her, he would also feel a great distance that he didn't know the cause or how to get rid of.

"Scarlett, are you okay?" He finally asked her.

"No, I'm really not," Scarlett told him as she looked up at him.

He was a bit surprised at this response. Every other time he had ever asked her that, she would always say yes, and shrug it off. Therefore, he knew that whatever was on her mind was very serious.

"What really happened yesterday, Scarl, the friend's wedding, I know that's not the whole story"

Scarlet took a deep breath. She looked into Dec's blue eyes, she noticed the concern that filled them. She knew how Dec felt about her. She also knew that he wanted more than their current casual relationship. But since leaving home, she had always kept everyone at arm's length. If you didn't let someone in, it meant that they wouldn't hurt you, right? She had made that mistake once and she was determined not to make it again.

"Wanna go get some coffee?" Declan asked her when he saw her hesitation. Why couldn't she trust him? Why couldn't she see that he was willing to do anything to make her happy? Declan had been a ladies man before he met Scarlett. That was how the casual flirting turned into casual dating. What he did not anticipate was that he would develop deep feelings for the brown-eyed girl. And that those feelings might not be reciprocated.

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