City Lights, Country Nights

14. a dream for a different life

Liora stood at the kitchen counter, a cup of steaming hot tea in one hand and a pen in the other. It was late, nearly midnight, but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. After tossing and turning in her bed for hours, she finally gave up and found herself here, tackling her math homework.

As Liora took a sip of her tea, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she pondered the mathematical riddle before her. The problem beckoned: "Solve for x: 3x + 7 = 16."

Liora swiftly set her mind to the task:

Subtracting 7 from both sides of the equation, she deftly manipulated the expression: 

3x = 16 - 7

3x = 9

Dividing both sides by 3, she swiftly unraveled the mystery:

x = 9 / 3

x = 3

With a confident stroke, Liora inscribed the value of 3, then turned her attention to the next one.

"Hey," Liora's head jerked up to the kitchen doorway to see Cole. She rolled her eyes, focusing back on her papers. "What are you doing up?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Nothing," Liora replied, still visibly mad.

"Look, I can explain about the other night," Cole said. Liora's eyes snapped up, skepticism evident.

"I'm sure you can," she said, working on the next problem. "I just don't want to hear it because I know you're not really going to tell me."

"Rory, look, something just came up," Cole explained, taking a step toward her. Liora's head snapped over to him.

"Something came up? Are you kidding me?" Liora put down her things. "Nothing 'came up,' Cole. What happened was your little blonde called you, and you went," she accused.

"I didn't... Rory," Cole started, but she didn't look up. "God, Rory, just look at me for a minute," he pleaded, grabbing her arm.

"I don't want to talk about this," Liora said, pulling her arm away. "You stood me up, my mistake thinking you would actually go. That's it; it's over."

"No, Rory, I had every intention of going," Cole insisted. Liora's eyes moved to meet his.

"But you didn't, Cole. You went with her, knowing I was going to be there. You left me there for an hour in the dark; I would have had to walk back if it wasn't for Danny," she accused. Cole looked down, admitting, "I'm sorry."

Liora just turned away. "You know you could have texted or something so I wouldn't have wasted my time," she said, looking him up and down. "But I guess you were busy, right? He was there all night; she very well knew what they did, and the more she thought about the whole thing, the madder she got.

"I shouldn't have just left you there," Cole admitted. Liora just touched back up her tea.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," she snapped off.

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Cole asked. Liora tilted her head to look at him.

"Go away," Liora sighed with a fake smile, taking a sip.

"Liora, I'm serious," he said. She just shook her head.

"Get it through my head that no playboy is going to work out," she mumbled more to herself. Maybe she just have bad luck; she had boys in the past. Not that she saying she wanted Cole, but she couldn't keep a boyfriend or a guy friend that hadn't been there from the beginning.

"I want to make it up to you," Cole said.

"So you can stand me up again? No thanks," she said, grabbing her papers and trying to walk away, but he stopped her.

"Rory, come on," Cole said, stepping in front of her. Liora let out a sigh and looked down.

"Why did you ask me to go?" Liora asked, looking up into his eyes. "What were you going to show me?" She asked as Cole held out his hand for her to take.

Liora slowly brought her hand to his as he led her up the stairs and to his bedroom door. Liora lightly pulled her hand.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. He just pulled her with him and closed the door behind them.

"The window," Cole said, making Liora look back at him. "We're going out the window." He said walking over to it and pulled it open.

Liora watched him step out before he looked back at her. She took a step forward and looked out; there wasn't that much room for them, but she still found herself climbing out the window.

Cole slowly led her to a spot on the rooftop that was flatter than the rest. He led her to it and helped her to sit.

Liora looked at Cole as he looked up at the sky. She moved her eyes up; the night sky stretched out before them, a vast and wondrous tapestry of stars. The Milky Way arched overhead, its ethereal glow painting the darkness with celestial beauty.

"It's better to see it at the watering hole," Cole said, looking to her. "It just feels different when you're there," he explained. Liora's eyes moved across the night sky before looking back at him.

"I'm not going to take the full ride," Liora said. Cole looked at her as if asking why. "That scholarship? Was a dream for a different life, a life I don't have anymore," she said.

"You're not going to dance anymore?" Cole asked. Liora shook her head, her eyes moving back to the sky. "I love dance too much to just stop. There are things I can do where I can still compete, but it won't be like it was back home."

"I wouldn't jump into anything too fast," Cole advised, looking at her intently. "You might not think you want to now, but you might later."

Liora nodded in acknowledgment. As they lay side by side, watching the stars, the night sky became a canvas for their unspoken thoughts and the connection between them.