After rinsing off and grabbing a warm towel from the rack, she made her way to the closet and pulled out a pair of black jeans, a white, cotton shirt, and her favorite black flats. She looked at her reflection once she was done with dressing and frowned.
Aria was on the rather short side, even for a girl, with barely-there curves, a head full of ordinary brown hair that fell flat over her shoulders, big blue eyes and full lips which she has always found too big for her small face. People often described her as cute and pretty, but try as she might, she could not see what they apparently did.
A small glint caught her eyes and they fall on the golden cross peeking out of her shirt. It was a birthday gift that her mother had given her a long time ago and the only thing that Aria had managed to keep from her childhood.
She felt a pang of sadness in her chest when she thought about her mother; about her beautiful, smiling face and always welcoming arms and the fact that Aria would never see her again almost brought her down to her knees.
She was brought out of her musings when a knock sounded off at the apartment door.
“Hello, love! How are we on this fine Monday morning?” her best friend Nura said before Aria had even finished opening the door to let her in.
With her wild, brown, curly hair, and fiery personality, Nura was a force to be reckoned with and Aria’s complete opposite.
She still wasn’t sure how they came to be best friends since the only things they had in common were their place of work and the fact that they both had questionable pasts.
They met the previous year when Aria got hired to be a bartender at the club called ‘The Echo’. Nura was already working there and she was the one to show her the ropes of the job.
After that, Nura wouldn’t leave her alone, always asking her out, telling her about her childhood and trying to befriend her even though Aria spend most of their time together actively ignoring her.
Aria had been reluctant at first, afraid of being hurt again, but if Nura was anything, it was persistent, and over time she managed to worm her way under Aria’s skin.
“How can you be so happy on a Monday morning; I will never understand.” Aria said absentmindedly while looking for her keys and wallet.
“Well, my dear Ari, you would be too in my place. I spent the night at Nate’s and guess what!?” Nura said, practically vibrating with excitement, reminding her of a puppy preparing to go for a walk.
“He asked me to move in with him!” the girl suddenly screamed startling her, before proceeding to jump up and down around the apartment.
After getting over the initial shock, Aria joined her friend in celebration and hugged her tightly. She felt over the moon for her, since she knew very well how perfect Nura and Nate were for each other and after all the things that have happened between them, they deserved all the happiness that they could get.
Even though Aria was wary of the guys from the club or any guy in general, she thought of Nate as an exception to the rule.
You only had to look at the way he treated Nura; how much he loved her and cared for her, to know that he would never even think about hurting her intentionally.
“So, when are you moving?” Aria asked her once they were settled on the comfy chairs in their favorite café with cups of steaming coffee warming their hands.
“In a couple of weeks, since Nate has that conference in Europe next week, and he doesn’t want me to do everything by myself.”
“That’s great, Nura, I am so happy for you.”
And she truly was, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but be just a bit jealous of her.
Even though she tried to keep distance and all the regulars at the club knew that she was not interested in any sort of a relationship, a small part of Aria still desired someone like Nate; someone who would love and care for her.
But Aria knew that that was probably never going to happen even if she somehow managed to get over her fears and let someone in. She was sure that nobody would want her for long after learning just how much of damaged goods she was.
After parting ways with Nura, Aria went to her first class of the day at the local community college where she was studying to be a nurse. That had not been her first choice of career since, once upon a time, she wanted to be a pediatrician, but that was, like a lot of things in her life, a long-lost dream.
The day flew by and the last lecture finally ended. Aria had just started packing her things, desperate to get home and bury herself under a pile of warm blankets with her favorite book keeping her company when she felt a light pat on her shoulder.
She closed her eyes and sighed inaudibly, not even needing to turn around to know whom it was.
As soon as she turned, she saw a tall, blond boy smiling down at her with his hand still on Aria’s shoulder, which he was now squeezing lightly, making the brunette wholly uncomfortable.
“Hi, sweet cheeks!” the boy said, making her roll her eyes at the stupid nickname.
“Brian, I told you not to call me that.” she barely managed not to whine out, feeling already fed up with him after mere seconds in his presence, while she tried to discreetly move away from his grasp.
“I think it’s cute, just like you are, but fine, I’ll
