Chapter 5: Ghost from the past 2

Beep

Beep

Beep.

My hands fumble from my bed and I switch off my alarm.

god my head hurts.

I sit up and stare around at the darkened room. I can see that the day is bright outside of the curtains and use the remote to open the windows.

The blinds begin to part, giving me a more than welcome view of the sunny day.

I fall back into my sheets. Christ last night was long.

We had danced, taken shots, got the boys the move a bit , taken more shots and ended the night with me being dropped off at my apartment and the others heading home.

The doorman had to carry me in. Lord.

I pick up my phone and scroll through the pictures from last night. Anna’s very public following has video updates from the previous night and I can’t help but smile.

Last night was so needed. I missed being around them so much.

Santo Paulo was nice, very relaxing. I had made a few friends and we were cordial with eachother but none of them felt like home for sure.

After a long war with myself I drag myself out of bed and begin my planning my itinerary of the the day. I need to focus on getting a job first. I have to brush up my CV and send it out to some companies.

I could very much live extremely comfortably off the allowance my dad still sends me paired with the trust I had inherited from my grandparents at 21 but I like to work and have something to do so getting a job is essential.

I finish taking my shower and put on my causal outfit. A tanktop and flared leggings for the day. I tie my hair up in a bun and head into the living the room.

On the table I find take out and a note from Lance . Couldn’t go grocery shopping.

Of course. I open the bowl and my stomach growls when the scent of curry sauce makes its way into my nostrils. I don’t waste any time and dig into the bowl.

My laptop remains open as I work on my CV and send them to the list of places I had curated with plans to work for.

My phone rings mid way and when Anna’s face flashes across the screen I pick up.

“Last night was so fun” she yawns. “It’s always a good time together”

I bite my bottom lip remembering that we weren’t together. Damien and Parker have always been apart of the group, without them it’s still very much incomplete.

I hate that it has to be weird and awkward with them.

“Tell Lance thanks for the take out for me” I tell her, taking another spoonful of rice. “I needed that”

She laughs. “So plans for today?”

I hm. “Definitely have to look for a job, and I’m going grocery shopping”

“Oh yeah, we wanted to help you get some but we didn’t know if you’d begun some Italian only diet”

I choke out a laugh. “What even is that?”

“You tell me” she laughs. “I have to work today, there’s a client coming in from Dubai, really huge. I have to show her around and get her settled”

“Look at you being a busy bee”

She groans. “What I need is to sleep in, I’ll catch up with you later okay?”

“Of course” I smile. “Have fun with your multi millionaire client”

She laughs and blows a kiss through the phone. “Love you, bye”

She cuts the call and I take the last piece of chicken. I look around the house. It’s awfully big for one person and even though I’m used to big spaces before I always lived with people.

Rahi in uni, Lance after uni, Lance, Damien and Parker 5 years ago. A penthouse for just me sounds awfully lonely.

I make a mental note of the things I need to grab around the house and chuck the empty take out in the waste bin. I grab my bag and head downstairs to the front of the building.

As soon as I step on the streets I tsk.

I should really get a car.

I open the Uber app on my phone and put in the address of the closest supermarket I had found and waited for the sleek black car to pull up in front of me.

He acknowledges me with a nod and we drive in silence until we get the supermarket. Thankfully it’s not as crowded as I thought it would be, I pull out a trolley and begin to make my way down to the vegetable aisle.

I stop at the produce, picking off the things I made in the list of my head. Lettuce, spinach,cabbage,onions, some tomatoes, zucchini for sure.

Then I head over to the dairy section. Eggs, milk, butter… that reminds me I need protein.

“Excuse me” the voice that speaks is a haunting sounds and I freeze mid carrying the almond milk. The person stretches past me and grabs oat milk.

The smell of his cologne surrounds me and I don’t think it’s a smell I could ever forget. He doesn’t acknowledge me and I know I shouldn’t draw attention to myself, I should run away but something stirs in me.

“Damien” I call out his name.

He pauses mid step and turns. When his eyes meet mine he sucks in a breath. He looks around the mall, then he looks at me.

I attempt a smile. “You’re back”

He lets out a scoff and his lips curve into a small smile. “You’re back” he purses his lips. “Lex…”

“I heard you were on a work trip” I tuck my hair behind my ears, trying to ignore the nervous feeling in my belly.

He coughs and I see his ears turn a shade of pink. A horrible tell he has when he lies . “ I was”

The feeling shouldn’t hurt as much as it does. He didn’t want to see me, of course. He doesn’t have to jump for joy that I’m back, not after the way I left.

“You uh.. live around here?” He asks, dropping his milk in his basket.

I nod. “Yeah not too far. Just had to stock up on some..” I gesture to my cart.

God this is awkward.

“How have you been?” I ask instead. I don’t know what I want to hear.

He pauses for a second before he responds. “Good”

One word answers and Damien is something I’d never thought could happen, but here we were. His dark hair stops right below his name and come curls fan his eyes, he’s in a hoodie and shorts.

“You live around here?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Heading over to Parkers, he said I should help grab some stuff”

I smile. “Still taking care of him?”

That brings a smile out of him and he shrugs. “It’s a tit for tat you know”

The air of awkwardness dissipates a bit and he looks around. “Did you come with your car?”he asks. “I could wait and drop you off”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much. I just need to grab a few more stuff”

He nods and follows me to the protein aisle. I pick up the things I need and we both head over to the counter to check out. He doesn’t let me pay per usual and then we head over to his car with the groceries.

“I saw Parker last night” I strap myself into the passenger seat.

He cocks his head. “And how’d that go?

I watch him take his car out the parking lot and drive back the way I came from.

“Eventful” I purse my lips thinking. “He has a girlfriend”

Damien chuckles. “Cassidy?”

I roll my eyes at her name. “She was so annoying”

“Everyone thinks that, I don’t know his thought process behind her” he makes a turn. “Let me know your address”

“Don’t worry it’s along this stretch” I tell him, peering out the window.

His brows furrow. “Really?”

I nod watching as my building comes into view. I’m about to tell him to stop when he makes a turn to the left of the building.

There’s a pin machine to the wall and when he quickly types in a code, the gates open leading to what seems to be the apartment garage.

“How did you know?” I ask him, mouth still slightly ajar.

He stares at me for a second scanning my face before speaking. “Parker lives here”