Home / Storm Warnings Never Meant for Me / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Storm Warnings Never Meant for Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

At 7:00 am the next morning, the dorm manager's call jolted me awake."Zelda, remember, all graduates need to move out before noon today."I looked at the cardboard boxes piled across half my room. Then, I remembered that my brother, Ethan Sawyer, had promised to come by that morning to help me move. My childhood friend, Yohan Harrison, had promised to disassemble my bookshelves. My boyfriend, Connor Langley, had even teased me for packing too slowly."Don't touch a thing," Connor had scoffed playfully. "The three of us will come tomorrow and have everything moved out in two hours."At 8:00 am, I texted them, but no one replied.At 9:00 am, Ethan finally picked up the phone. An electric drill was buzzing in the background."What's up?" he asked, sounding distracted."What time are you guys coming over?"He paused for a moment before saying, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. The window in Willow's apartment leaked last night. Half the wall was soaked, so we came over to help her find

Chapter 2

Two days later, I got a call from my supervisor, Julian Hartley.Something was wrong with my graduation restoration project. The ancient painting had taken on moisture damage after it was removed from the exhibition.Julian told me to take it to the temperature-controlled restoration lab at the city museum immediately."You have to get it there before ten," Julian urged over the phone. "The paint layer is only damp right now, but if you wait a few more hours and it starts to peel, there'll be no way to fix it."I had spent seven months working on that painting. I had painstakingly restored it step by step, from cleaning and repairing the paper to retouching the colors.The university had already submitted it for the Young Restorers' Exhibition. I couldn't afford to waste a second.The problem was the frame. It was nearly six feet tall, far too large to fit in a standard cab.I had no choice but to call Ethan."Wait there. I'll be there in twenty minutes," he said, without missi

Chapter 3

The night before my graduation ceremony, I sent one last message in the group chat to confirm everything."Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. Don't be late."Ethan replied, "Don't worry. I'll be sitting in the front row by 8:30 am."Yohan sent a cheeky emoji. "Can't wait to watch you trip over your own feet on stage."Connor was the most serious of them all. He replied, "My camera's charged. I'll record the whole thing when you get your diploma."I stared at their replies for a long time. Then, I registered their names for the three family seats in the front row.By 8:30 am the next morning, all three seats were still empty.At 8:40 am, there was still no sign of them.At 8:55 am, Ethan finally called."Zelda, we might not make it in time for the ceremony.""Why?" I asked, tightening my grip on my graduation cap.The line went completely quiet on the other end.I broke the silence, asking, "What happened to Willow this time?"Ethan cleared his throat before answering. "She's mov

Chapter 4

There was only one day left to accept the job offer from the studio in Fordham. HR had already sent me two reminder emails, but I still hadn't clicked the link to accept it. It wasn't because the job wasn't good enough. It was because I couldn't bring myself to leave the people I cared about back home.Ethan had been by my side since we were kids. Yohan had been my friend for over a decade. I'd been with Connor for four years.Human nature was a strange thing. Even after being let down so many times, a small part of me still couldn't let go of one foolish hope. What if they chose me next time?So, that afternoon, I sent a message to the group chat. "Dinner at our usual place at 8:00 pm tonight. I have something important to share. Can all of you make it?"It was the first time I'd ever made an invitation sound so serious.Ethan replied instantly, "Sure."Yohan replied a moment later, "Eight o'clock, right? I'll make sure to be there."Connor called me directly."What's so

Chapter 5

After sending the email, I paid the bill for the dinner that no one had shown up for.By the time I stepped outside, the rain had stopped.Connor didn't get back until after eleven.I had just finished taking a shower when he called me from downstairs."Come down," he said, his voice urgent. "We need to talk."I didn't move an inch."Let's just talk on the phone," I replied.There was a brief pause. "Zelda, how are we supposed to talk about something like this over the phone?" he demanded. "You didn't even bother discussing it with me before signing a three-year work contract overseas?""I told you three times," I said flatly, leaning against the window."Does that even count?" he shot back.Connor was clearly getting frustrated."You just dropped a few messages in the group chat. How was I supposed to know you were serious?"A quiet laugh escaped my lips."When Willow mentioned a training trip to Halston, you already knew the temperature was going to drop three days ahe

Chapter 6

The next day, Ethan showed up at my door.When I opened the door, his eyes fell on the twenty-eight-inch suitcase by the entryway. His expression changed immediately."You're really leaving?" he asked, a sharp edge of disbelief in his tone."Yeah," I said softly."When are you leaving?" he pressed."Three days from now," I replied, keeping my voice completely flat.He froze for a moment."So soon?" he asked, his eyes searching my face for any sign of hesitation.I offered no answer and turned around.Ethan stepped inside and saw the boxes scattered across the floor. The longer he stared, the darker his expression grew."How could you not tell your own family about something this important?" he asked, frustration creeping into his tone.I was sealing the last cardboard box. At his words, my hands stopped for a fraction of a second."I did," I said softly, without looking up."When was that?" he asked, stepping closer."I was going to tell you in person at the graduation di

Chapter 7

On the day of my departure, I didn't tell anyone what time my flight was.I didn't do it out of spite. I simply didn't have the energy for another messy airport goodbye.That morning, Mom made me breakfast. After I finished eating, she took my hand and gently pressed my passport into my palm."Let me know when you get there. Don't worry about money. Just come home anytime you want."A sharp sting prickled behind my eyes."Okay," I whispered.At 11:00 am, I ordered a ride to the airport.As the car pulled out of the neighborhood, a notification suddenly popped up in our five-person group chat."Shared calendar event starting in two hours."Only then did I remember that I'd added an entry to the shared calendar on the day I received my interview results.The entry was titled "Zelda's flight to Fordham". The date, the terminal, and the flight number were clearly listed.Back then, no one had asked about it.Now, the system was reminding them for me.A minute later, Ethan call

Chapter 8

During my first week in Fordham, I was so busy I didn't even have time to adjust to the jet lag.The apartment the studio had arranged for me was just a fifteen-minute walk from work. My mentor was an Ivorian woman in her forties who knew only two phrases in my language—"Eat well," and "Don't work overtime."On my very first day, she caught me hunched over the work desk for six hours straight. Without saying a word, she turned off the lamp."Tomorrow," she said, pointing firmly toward the door. "Go home."I couldn't help but laugh.For the first time in my life, I realized that I didn't always have to force myself through the night just because the work wasn't finished.The following week, Fordham was hit by a heavy downpour. I was just about to step out when a weather alert popped up on my phone screen.A moment later, a message from my colleague buzzed on my phone."Watch out. The roads are slippery. It's okay if you're late."I stood at the doorway, frozen for a few seconds

Chapter 9

Three months later, Connor came to Fordham. He hadn't told me he was coming.That day, the studio was holding an open exhibition. I was giving a presentation on a seventeenth-century oil painting that had just been restored.When I finished my presentation and looked up, I saw Connor standing at the very back of the crowd.He had lost a significant amount of weight. He wasn't carrying anything.I froze for a few seconds before walking over to him."What brings you here?" I asked."I'm here on a business trip," he said.As soon as the words left his mouth, he let out a small laugh."That's a lie. I came to see you."I nodded slowly, keeping my expression neutral.Connor clearly hadn't expected me to be this calm.After a long silence, he finally asked, "Do you have five minutes to talk?"We walked over to a cafe on the corner.He didn't beat around the bush or try to make small talk."I didn't come here to ask you to come back with me," he said. "And I'm not here to pressu

Chapter 10

Six months later, my first independent restoration piece was featured in the studio's annual exhibition.On opening day, Julian sent me a message from back home."Nice work."Right below the text was a photo of my damaged graduation project. The pigments in the bottom-right corner had been stabilized.He told me that although it had missed the Young Restorers' Exhibition that year, the university had decided to keep it as part of the department's teaching gallery.The display card read, "Unfinished does not mean failed."I stared at the photo for a long time.Just then, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call from Ethan.Over the past six months, we had slowly started talking again. He no longer tried to make every decision for me. Instead, he had learned to ask first."Is now a good time to talk?" he asked."Yeah," I replied.He turned his camera around.Mom was in the kitchen making pizza. Yohan was there too, holding a lumpy, misshapen piece of dough in his hand.I

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