a sunshine boy meets a broken girl
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"ugh I hate packing "
"I'll help " I shrug .
"no , I'll do it on my own " she says checking the clothes on the hanger
"but you hate packing "
"I hate breathing too , I do that just fine "...
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"Perfect, all the pictures are fab, and now let's take a break so you can get changed into the 6th outfit. That's the last one for the day." I nod at the photographer, having no energy. It's been one hell of a week. I've barely been home. I leave early in the mornings and usually reach back around 3 or 4 in the mornings.
It's like I've forgotten how to eat, sleep, or breathe. It's just exhausting at this point. Luckily, today's shoot will end quite early, and I'll finally be able to go skate today. I haven't had the time to do so in more than a month now.
"Where's Grace?" "Um, she's in the vanity. Want me to call her?" "No, I'm going there anyway."
I enter the vanity and notice Grace on a call with someone. "No, babe, I can't. I know we haven't hung out much, but the workload is just too much right now. Can we please shift the date night to some other day?" So she's talking to Phoenix. I carefully snatch the phone from her hand. "Ivy, what are you doing?"
"Phoenix, ignore her. Just tell me when she has to be there, and she'll be there." "No, Ivy, we have deadlines to complete." "Good lord, thank you, Ivy. I've been missing her for so long. The date was supposed to be at 7." "She'll be there." I cut the call and hand her back her phone. "What did you do, Ivy? I cannot leave. There are way too many emails unattended, and the shoots go on till 8 at night." "As far as I remember, I have to work on shoots, not you. So you don't have to grind so hard. Besides, the shoot here will be over early today. I won't be as late, and emails won't die if left unattended. Phoenix might, with the way he sounds so desperate to meet you."
She exhales sharply and squeezes her head. "But you'll be here till 8. I can't leave you alone." "I don't remember needing a babysitter. So go and have fun with Phoenix. It's already 5, so go home and get ready." She looks so hesitant and tired. This week really did pull all the strings on us. "You sure?" "Yes, you've been eating my head, Grace. Eat his now. Go." She smiles brightly. "Thank you, Ivy," she says, giving me a side hug. "Eww, don't touch." "Oh, sorry, I forgot only Lucas can do that," she says, picking up her bag and smirking. I mock her smile. "Get out."
Weirdly, I'm excited to see Luca today. I haven't seen him since the day after the trip. He texted after I didn't go to the treehouse, but the workload was just too much, so I told him my schedule and we decided to meet today.
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I finally reach home and fall straight onto the bed. After 15 minutes, I force myself to take a bath and change into grey lounge pants and a top. By 8:45, I leave for the rink. However, he wasn't there when I reached. Weird. He's always here. He might just be late. I shrug off the thought of him, take out my EarPods, and start skating.
I skate for about an hour or so when I get severely exhausted. I remove my skates, ready to go back when I hear someone behind me. I turn around to realize it's Luca, texting on his phone, smiling. He soon notices me and loses his smile. "Storm, I'm really sorry. I was on a call with Bella and I lost track of time and-" He stops speaking when he realizes that he said her name.
