Fire And Ice

Chapter 10- An Unexpected Encounter

Natalia's P. O. V

I yawned as I walked out of my house. My stupid internal clock had gotten me up before the sun again so I'd only caught three hours of sleep at most.

I hailed a cab and told the driver to take me to a good real estate agency. I watched the city through the window. It never seemed to rest. Even now, there was quite a bit of traffic and the sun hadn't even grazed the horizon yet.

The cab dropped me off at a place called Palace Homes. I walked into the lobby and to the front desk.

"Good morning. Welcome to Palace Homes, what can I do for you?" The brunette behind the desk eyed me up and down, sizing me up and probably making judgements that were most likely wrong.

"Can you get one of your agents to show me some houses?"

"Sure. Just write down your requirements and we'll narrow it down." She handed me a paper and pen then went back to texting.

'Can we please get a walk in closet?' Candy pleaded before I even put the pen to the paper.

I chuckled in my head, 'Of course.'

After a few minutes of contemplation, I'd written: at least three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a walk in closet, a balcony, a big kitchen, a Jacuzzi, a study, a chandelier in the dining room, a fireplace in the living room and an outdoor pool. The balcony, walk in closet, Jacuzzi, chandelier and pool had been Candy's idea. I just hoped she wasn't planning on trying to get me to throw any parties.

I looked over the list, 'This'll be expensive, Candy.'

'Aww. Come on, Nat. You saw the numbers, this'll barely put a dent in your account.'

She did have a point. 'Fine, but you only get three picks on the furniture and you can only choose the paint for one room.'

'Deal'

I handed the paper and pen to the lady and wrote my number down.

"You should get a call before noon about your appointment. Have a nice day." She didn't even bother to look up from her phone. I thanked her and walked out.

I took my phone out and called Hail. It was surprisingly easy to figure out.

Her voice was laced with worry and tension, "Hey, Ari. What's up?"

"Hail, is everything okay?"

"Fine! Everything's fine!" She uttered a nervous laugh. I could imagine her eyes darting from side to side while sweat droplets dotted her forehead. Why didn't she want to tell me the problem?

I guessed she needed her secrets. We'd only just met.

"O-kay then. I was just calling to ask you the name of the college you're going to attend."

"Oh. It's called Killdrain Puncturial University. Is that all you need?"

"Yeah, that's all. Are you alright?" She was breathing so heavily that I was pretty sure that I would hear it without my advanced hearing. I also caught a few sobs.

"NO! I mean yes. Yes, everything is fine. There is no need to worry. Everything is fine." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than trying to convince me.

"Alright, if you insist. You know you can tell me anything, right?" she made a distracted sound of agreement, "Call me if you need anything, kay?"

"Okay. Bye, Ari."