CHAPTER 8: DEFYING MY WILL.

I left Evara Press like an angry bird, and not even sure why I was so mad. All I knew was that I had to get out of there, away from everyone. I practically threw myself onto the cab, and then I heard someone I knew calling my name from behind me.

"Nancy?" The feminine voice called out. I turned towards a girl with caramel coloured skin, hazel eyes and a nose piercing that matched the one on her left eyebrow.

She looked beautiful, crossing a camera around her neck.

"Raya?" I asked, as if unsure. The Raya I knew didn't have piercings and detested the color black.

"It really is you," she said as she enveloped me in a bare hug. Raya had been my classmate back in high school. Aside from Ric and Miss Geraldine, she was one of the only people who ever stood up for me. I was bullied a lot in high school for being so clumsy, but now it was merely spectacular and I couldn't care less about the opinions of others.

"What are you doing here?" She asked after almost suffocating me.

"Me? I could ask you the same question." I grinned at her, remembering that she had relocated to Oxfordshire when she had gotten a scholarship.

"I came home for the summer. My sister is getting married, apparently and I can't miss it for the world!" She smiled.

"What about you? Are you still in touch with Alaric? You two were quite an enviable pair back then." My face fell, and she caught it before I could hide it.

"You two had a fight, didn't you?" She stated in a monotone, and I just nodded quietly, and she dragged me into a nearby cafe. When we were properly seated, she ordered two glasses of wine and some bottles of water and began pressing me for details. I told her almost everything that had happened over a span of six years, including my misfortune with Michael and by the time I was done, the clouds outside were already painted in pink and orange, the beautiful light flickering through the glass window I sat close to. But I had to admit that I did feel better, like a weight had been lifted off me.

"Tragic!"

"Seriously! That's all you have to say?" I asked frantically. I literally just poured out my heart to her, and all she had to say was tragic?

"Look, Nancy, you want me to say what I really think?" She asked, an eyebrow slightly raised. She refilled her glass of wine and glanced back at me. I nodded, almost too desperately. One thing I hated was suspense, and that was exactly what she was doing.

"Well, for starters," she slowly began. "I think your brain and intuition are as clumsy as your body."

I paused. Was that an indirect insult? I kept my cool, holding back the brewing fire in me.

She sighed, putting down the glass of wine and said, "He wants to be more than friends, Nancy; he loves you."

"You think?" I asked, my nerves calming as I bit my lower lip.

"Of course. I mean, it's so obvious that it's painful to watch you be so melodramatic. And you obviously have feelings for him too," She snorted.

"Well, if he loves me, why didn't he come find me sooner?" I snapped, but lowered my voice immediately.

"Ah, so that's what this is all about?" Raya asked, taking a sip of her wine with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I can get a bit hot-headed sometimes," I apologized.

"I know. I don't mind," She smiled, a smile that I didn't even know my heart carved.

"So what's that about?" I gestured at the camera, trying to ease the atmosphere or at least my mind.

"Oh, this ol' thing. It's a camera."

"Raya. I know what a camera is, " I added, my face stern.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I was just messing with you. I'm a photographer. I travel around the world and take pictures."

I gazed at her as she smiled, her eyes dreamy. I never knew someone could take photography as a full-time job.

"A photographer? I thought you always wanted to study medicine?" I asked, curious about what had changed.

"No. That was my parents’ wish, and at some point, I figured that I was completely exhausted from letting them run my life, so I dropped out."

She said this, almost like it was nothing. A part of me admired her confidence and liberty. She wasn't ashamed about who she was, and she had an air of confidence around her, unlike me.

I gave her an assuring wink. "So how do you cope?"

"I own an art gallery back in LA. I'm thinking of opening a new one over here. New Yorkers really do have an eye for art, "she winked back.

"I also shoot for competitions and games," she added.

We chatted for so long that I actually lost track of time. We exchanged numbers, and she volunteered to drive me home, but I politely declined. She looked like a really busy lady and I didn't want to be a disturbance.

I was about to stop a cab when a black car stopped right in front of me, the tinted window sliding down quietly.

It was no one other than Alaric.

"Get in!" He commanded, opening the passenger’s side for me.

"What are you even doing here?"

My hands were akimbo, and I vowed to myself that there was no way in hell I was getting into his car. But he just sat quietly, letting his eyes do the talking for him.

Those eyes had the power to pull, I promise. Soon enough, I saw myself sitting right next to him. I had defied my will, yet again.