Sitting under their favorite willow tree, Kyra and Isaiah watched as students walked by them, most busy in their own conversations. Kyra sighed feeling fatigued and lazy as she laid her head on her best friend feeling the comfort of his shoulders. Instinctively he brought his arm up to wrap it around her shoulders, she smiled knowing that they had a good dynamic between them.
Kyra's family was well to do, her father owned multiple chain restaurants in Arizona and owned a few fine dining restaurants all over the world. While her mother managed the restaurants, her father managed the overall business. She was the only child of the Morello household and often felt lonely in her life. She was homeschooled for most of her life, when she turned 14 she begged her parents to send her to private school and begrudgingly they obliged.
There was where she met Isaiah, the first boy she laid her young eyes upon and the first boy who smiled at her in school. He lived just a few houses over hers, but because the area they lived in was filled with rich capitalists she barely knew who lived next to her. The houses in the area where she grew up were huge and luxurious, it was easy to get lost in.
From the moment they met Kyra fell in love with Isaiah, but kept her distance and somehow the universe decided that they should be partnered in an assignment. From then on, they maintained their friendship, and eventually, she fell in love with him however he always had a girlfriend.
He never truly knew about her feelings towards him, he was oblivious, to say the least. She kept her feelings to herself, loving him from afar. She watched as he went through girlfriends and relationships while she kept her secret to herself. She convinced herself that he would never feel the same way she did, and she told herself that her feelings for him were puppy love.
Going through high school wasn't easy for Kyra, she wasn't used to making friends and everyone around here has been friends for years. Constantly being in the same circle of friends, same cliques she often got lost in the mix with little to no friends. Kyra was always the odd one in the bunch, despite being one of the riches.
Money can't buy you genuine friends, she reminded herself.
Once high school was over, she knew she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, so she applied to a business school in California. She applied without telling Isaiah, she wanted to leave him in Arizona and move on with her life while maintaining her friendship.
The universe had other plans, during orientation she bumped into someone and she realized it was Isaiah. They caught up and ended up being closer than ever. It was hard for her in the beginning, however things got better with time. Kyra ended up moving into a two-bedroom apartment with Isaiah and their coursemate Olivia.
Living together was fun in the beginning, then it was harder when Isaiah got himself a girlfriend, Ava. She would often come over and the walls were thin, Liv- Olivia knew that Kyra was in love with their housemate. She always encouraged Kyra to move on or to confess her true feelings. Kyra was too self-conscious with herself to ever allow herself to admit her feelings for him and especially to him.
After three years of living together, Isaiah went through a series of heartbreaks with Ava. Drama and scandalous events took place, and finally, their relationship was done. Now in their final semester, Isaiah and Kyra were closer than ever.
Kyra stared at the beautiful buildings, she knew she was going to miss this place. She spent four years studying in the university, four years without her parents, and four years of freedom. In four years, she discovered herself and she worked on her own self-image. She was once a skinny girl, who always wore oversized hoodies and tights covering her body, now to a more confident young woman. She was a late bloomer, her body was now voluptuous and it gave her the confidence she never knew she needed.
She often reflected on herself, to see what has changed in her life and how things turned out. She was glad she came to California, and she was glad that Isaiah and her remained friends.
Kyra snapped from her own thoughts as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her head ever so slightly, she smiled at Isaiah who was looking down at her.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked
"This place" she answered, squinting her eyes as the sun was hitting her eyes.
"What about it?" he inquired, kissing the top of her head. Her stomach fluttered at that action. She noticed that lately he has become more attentive to her and showering her with more physical touches. Not that she was complaining, she enjoyed every form of him she could get.
"How far we've come, from our hometown and now we are completing our final semester" she sighed smiling as she played with the hem of her dress
"So what are your plans after this?" he asked
"I am not sure, I'll return home and I'll speak to my dad first. Then I will probably try to get a job here. Are you planning to get a job here or back home?"
"Here, my dad is starting a branch here and I'll probably oversee that branch. I will be taking over the family business eventually, my brother left me with no choice" Isaiah sighed.
Isaiah was the middle child, he has an older brother and a younger sister. His older brother was the rebellious one, he decided to be an actor and wanted nothing to do with the father's business. Isaiah's younger sister Isla was only 5 years old and all this was too complicated to understand being the literal baby of the family after all.
"What would you have taken if you had your own choice?" Kyra asked. He stared into blank space, contemplating on his answer as he drew circles on Kyra's shoulder. She hummed to a song that played in her head, as she waited for his answer. She always admired the university, it had a traditional yet modern touch to it. The traditional architecture could be found on the older buildings, and it had nice trimmings to it. She always had an eye for design, but she decided not to focus on it as she would inherit her father's empire once he retired.
Isaiah and Kyra's life was quite similar, both needing to take over their parents' empire instead of living a life they wanted to. When she was younger, she wanted to be an architect or a pilot. She was always afraid of blood thus being a doctor wasn't remotely an option. Nevertheless, she soon realized when she turned eleven that she needed to take over the business and learn its traits.
"I wanted to be a singer, and artist" he finally answered. She smiled, knowing that he had a melodious voice. He was able to command a room with just his presence, no doubt he would have made a wonderful singer.
"Sing me something" she requested
"What do you have in mind Principessa (princess)?" he whispered in her ear. She could feel goosebumps on her skin at the sound of his voice, she blushed as she felt naked. He noticed it, he noticed that he had that effect on her but paid no mind to it. He was half Italian, so speaking Italian was something he held dear to his heart, it was his way of connecting to his roots. Being half Italian has its perks, like girls constantly throwing themselves at him for his sexy accent and dashing looks.
"Anything you like," she replied.
"Maybe tonight Principessa" he commented. Kyra looked at her watch and she realized that it was time for her last class. They scurried away, rushing to the next hall running as fast as they could.
Kyra and Isaiah sat in the empty seats Liv saved for them, Kyra sighed thanking God that she was on time. Liv looked over at them, cocking her eyebrow eyeing them suspiciously.
"Where were you?" Liv leaned over to ask Kyra. Kyra looked around, watching all the students start to rush and flood in. She knew that within the next few seconds the Professor would be making his entrance.
"We were in the park, under the willow tree," Kyra answered as she pulled out her iPad to take notes.
The lecture hall was filled with students of different ethnicity, she knew that half of them weren't paying attention whilst the other half was just like her, religiously taking notes. The lecture hall smelled like oak, probably coming from the old oak trimmings on the wall. Kyra looked up to see the ceiling, she was going to miss the view. The ceiling had a very detailed wood carving, probably done in the early 1900s and it was simply beautiful. A rare gem these days.
Buzz buzz
Kyra looked over at Isaiah then at Liv, she just got a text and it wasn't from them. No one would text her, she didn't have many friends, to begin with. Wondering who it was she pulled out her phone from her bag.
From: Mama
To: Kyra Morello
Message : Una vez que haya terminado con su semestre, vuelva a casa. Tenemos problemas, mi amor. (Once you're done with your semester, come back home. We have problems, my love.)