I sigh loudly, pushing away from my desk. My best friend and coworker smile at me.
"So now that you're done with work, margaritas?"
I smile, standing up and grabbing my jacket. "Sorry, I already have plans." I say this as we walk to the elevator. "Plus, you and Jake seem to like each other."
She blushes deeply. "Is it that obvious?"
"Well, I would say in the way you drool every time he looks at you."
She scoffs, looking offended. "I do not!"
We make our way to the parking garage and go separate ways. Not before agreeing to go out clubbing next weekend. As I get in the car, I type in my sister's number and start making my way to my apartment.
"Hello?" Jessica's voice comes through the speaker.
"Hey sis." I turn the corner, stopping as the light turns red.
"Hey, are you leaving the office?"
"Yup, heading home to get ready for my date." I laugh as she gasps over the phone. I could picture her biting her lip in order to contain her excitement.
"A date?!"
"Yup, a blind date."
"So, Autumn finally got you into online dating?" Jessica asks before a crying Blake could be heard over the phone.
"Sorry, he's been crying a lot lately."
"No worries. I know how babies can be." I say, sarcastically.
"Very funny, but seriously, I can't believe you're going on a date. I mean, you hate anything to do with relationships."
"I know. I thought I would try just once, you know?" I pull up to my apartment, disconnecting my phone from the car and making my way inside before taking the elevator up to my floor. "Anyhow, can I call you later?"
"Yeah, just don't forget to call before I get on my flight tomorrow, k?"
"I won't promise; I love you, sis." I say hang up the phone.
After contemplating whether I should even go on this date, I decide to wear a simple dark blue ruffled top and jeans. I applied some light makeup and simple lip gloss before doing my hair up in a low bun. Driving to the local bar, I ordered a club soda and waited for my date to arrive. All that I knew about him was from his dating profile. I knew that his name was Daniel and that he was 23 like me, looking for a girl who was outgoing and liked a party.
To be honest, he wasn't really my type, and if it weren't for Autumn pushing me to go on a date with him, then I wouldn't have. It was true that I liked a good party and I liked to drink, but I wasn't exactly the party animal type. I prefer to read or binge-watch a show on Netflix and go out with only a few friends once every few weeks.
"Hi, are you Amelia?"
I jumped, turning, and I'm met with a pear of sea green eyes and fluffy dark hair. The boy chuckled, and after a minute, I realized he was Daniel. I quickly shook his hand, introducing myself, before he directed me towards a table.
After about 15 minutes of us talking back and forth, he said he had to go to the restroom. I smiled, slightly uncomfortable, as he left. I texted Autumn to see how her night was going. After 20 minutes, I knew that something wasn't right, so I went back up to the bar, asking the bartender if he had seen Daniel anywhere.
"Oh, he left about 5 minutes after he got up from the table, miss. He told me you would pay the bill."
My heart sank. I coughed up my drink; embarrassment was hot under my skin. Had he really stood me up? After paying the bill, I immediately headed back to my apartment. Face planning into my fluffy bed.
"Why can life never be easy?" I said, into the empty space. Picking myself up, I headed into the bathroom, quickly undoing my hair and cleaning off my makeup before changing into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt before brushing my teeth and climbing into bed.
I picked a book off my nightstand titled The Selection. At some point, I must have dozed off because the next morning I woke up to my alarm screaming at me that it was 6:30 in the morning.
"Ugh." I slam my hand down on my phone. Getting up, I made my way into the bathroom, started the shower, and picked out a black skirt and white top with a jean jacket to go with. Making the shower as quick as possible, I went into the kitchen, grabbing out my protein shake from the fridge, quickly blending it, grabbing my keys, and heading out.
I normally like to go into the gym before heading into work, but I had an early client meeting this morning as Autumn texted me while I was in the shower saying that the boss wanted to meet with me at 7:00 a.m. sharp.
Getting into the office, I quickly set my stuff down and got to work. The client had requested a blueprint for new computer software and wanted a new outline that would look the best for their new website. Me being a quick learner, I had done most of the work a few days prior to lessening my workload.
I sent a quick text to my sister, asking her if she had made her flight and saying that I was looking forward to hearing from her when she landed in Paris. Cody had finally gotten the money to surprise Jessica with a very expensive anniversary trip to France, where they had gotten engaged. They hadn't been there in over 5 years.
"Miss Hale, could you come into my office, please?"
"Right away, sir." I grabbed the final printout of the software and headed into my boss's office. Liam was at his desk typing away at his computer, but I entered. He immediately shut it and offered me a soft smile before extending his hand.
Looking over the final results, he smiled and looked up at me. "The client will be very pleased."
"Thank you; I worked really hard."
"As you always do, your skills never seem to let me down, Amy." Liam said. Pride echoed through his voice, and I blushed at the compliment
I have worked at this company since I turned 18. At first, I started as an intern, and then I worked my way up from assistant all the way to marketing consultant. The salary had been good and had increased over the years, and just last year I bought my first apartment. Autumn used to be my roommate for the first 3 years, but now we live by ourselves, and we love it. We still spend time together every week, though, and the fact that we still worked for the same company meant we still saw each other 24/7.
As I finished work and headed out for my lunch break, my phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, I picked it up. "Hello?"
"Is this Amelia Hale?"
"Yes, this is she." Holding the phone up to my ear. "May I ask who's calling?"
"There's been an accident."
***
I stared at the floor, my eyes red and puffy from crying. Autumn sat next to me, gripping my hand tightly. I couldn't describe what I was feeling at that moment. Anger, fear, sadness, and most of all, guilt.
The plane had crashed due to an unexpected failure, and the authorities were still trying to figure out what exactly caused the plane to lose control and crash. Out of the three hundred and seven people to be on that flight, none of them had survived.
I was currently sitting at the police station, waiting anxiously for what to do next. Following those days, I booked a flight to New York to meet with my sister's attorney and see how my niece and nephew were holding up. They have been placed in foster care, and we're currently being taken care of by a family friend while we deal with all of the funeral affairs.
You see, when I was 15, my parents passed away in a fatal car accident. My sister, being 20 at the time, was forced to raise her 15-year-old sister and pull herself through college while being 5 months pregnant.
"Miss?"
I looked up at the front desk, slowly getting out of my seat. The woman offered me a small sympathetic smile before nodding at the door to the far right.
Entering the room, I saw Greg, our family attorney. He was a 50- to 60-year-old man, but he looked not a day over 45. He offered me a smile and moved to give me a hug.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered, his voice thick.
"Thank you."
He cleared his throat, slowly taking out a few documents from his desk and grabbing a pen. "Jessica always said that if something were to happen to her, she wanted you to have the best life that you could."
I looked at him, confused. "What?"
"Jessica came to me a few years ago; she wanted to make sure if anything were to happen to her, you and her children would be well taken care of." He explained, "She put at least over $10,000 in an account for you and the kids. In her will, her last wish was for you to take care of Makayla and Blake."
A lump formed in my throat, and a sob threatened to warm its way out. I gulped, my hands shaking uncontrollably and my eyes now stinging with unshed tears. Jessica had always made it a point for something to happen to me or her that at least one of us and the children would be okay.
I had laughed at her, saying nothing would tear our family apart again. But fate is cruel, and so is life.
Leaving the office, I made my way downtown toward where my niece and nephew were staying. My heart was beating so fast and so hard against my ribs that it hurt. How was I supposed to tell Makayla that her parents would never be able to come home.