The Crimson Bond

CHAPTER 1

            The sun was setting behind the enormous stone grey building that rose high into the quickly darkening sky above me. My stomach fluttered precariously as I took one step away from the relative comfort of the sleek black Audi I had parked on the curb in front of my new home. Home… I was having a hard time imagining this place as a home. How this huge concrete building would ever feel comfortably like home, I had no idea. I glanced back at my car. I hoped it wouldn’t get dinged or scratched by any of the other cars whizzing in and out of traffic or squeezing into the tight parking spots that lined the street. It had been my one splurge after graduating college and landing this new job in Charlotte. The run down Honda my aunt and uncle had scraped together the funds for when I started driving was now a thing of the past.

            People walked with quick determination on the sidewalk in front of me. Most barely glancing my way as they talked or text on their phones. I wasn’t used to such anonymity. In the small town I was from you were expected to smile and wave at just about everyone you encountered. That obviously wouldn’t be expected here. But then again, that was the point of moving to Charlotte. Leaving behind all the expectations of living in a small town felt like a lead weight off my shoulders. I took a calming breath, deciding I had better stop staring and move out of these people’s way before I was trampled. I glanced down at my soft brown cowboy boots and aqua blue sundress and then to the people walking hurriedly by. Yep, there was a kaleidoscope of styles going on. I was relieved I didn’t stand out. I had worried that it would be clear to everyone who walked by that I was completely out of my element. Goosebumps were popping up on my arms in the cooling night air and I wished that I had thrown on a cardigan before setting out.

            Seeing a break in the traffic I hurried up the stone stairs and into the building. A doorman whisked open the front door and I hurried in. As I stepped into the entryway I took in the dark cherry hardwoods that covered the long corridor. It was lined with rows of white doors that were elegantly adorned with shiny brass hardware. Wow, it was beautiful in here. The floors sparkled, the railings gleamed, and I could see a state of the art gym to the right just off the entrance. I was definitely not used to this kind of luxury. Life with my aunt and uncle hadn’t afforded many luxuries and the only luxury I could possibly have looked forward to back home was a small house with my long time boyfriend, Brad. He hadn’t shared my passion for moving somewhere with a population bigger than 10,000, so we had amicably parted ways just before I left. Surprisingly, as long as we’d been together it wasn’t very hard to end things. Our relationship had always been a little too comfortable, without the sparks and fire that people sometimes describe. He had acted pretty upset, but I was sure in a few months he would move on and find someone whose vision of the future included staying right where they had always been.

            Once I had made the decision to leave, no amount of pleading could deter me and I had set about looking for a place to live in Charlotte, NC. I lucked out when I saw a post on a social network from Anna, a friend of mine from high school. Her roommate had recently moved out and she was looking for a replacement. We had always gotten along really well in school, and though it had been four years, I was looking forward to renewing our friendship. Anna was always a positive, outgoing person who made good grades and was very reliable. At least she used to be. Hopefully she had not changed too much, but either way I would make do. She now worked as an assistant editor at Mode magazine. Honestly, by the rent she was charging me, she probably didn’t need the money. It was more likely that she wanted the company of having someone else living with her.
            I swallowed back a tiny bit of nervousness and made a beeline for the stainless steel elevator up ahead. After stepping off the elevator onto the seventh floor, I found the door to my new apartment and knocked several times. Almost immediately the door flew open and Anna stood in the doorway. She had straight, strawberry blonde hair, big green eyes and a tan, slender figure. Freckles scattered her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She wore black yoga pants and a black tank top. “Brooke!” She stepped forward and gave me a tight hug. “You have no idea how happy I am you’re here. I’ve been so lonely living by myself these past two months!”
            I laughed with relief that Anna was obviously excited about my arrival and stepped back. It was a little nerve racking moving into someone else’s place. I had always lived with my aunt and uncle, commuting back and forth to the local college, so I wasn’t use to the whole roommate thing yet. I smiled back at Anna. “You have no idea how happy I am to be here! The timing was perfect. I think this must have been meant to be.”

CHAPTER 2
A few hours later I was admiring my new room. A pretty gray and white chevron bedspread and assorted yellow pillows now gave the stark white room some personality. I had added several framed pictures of myself with my some of my friends from Oakwood on the nightstand next to the bed. They added some personalization to the space, but really I found I couldn’t wait to add some new friends and coworkers to the collection.           My life had gone from monotony to a big fat question mark in a period of two weeks and my heart soared at the possibilities. My closet now overflowed with my brightly colored clothing and shoes. I loved to shop and had a real knack for finding designer pieces at prices I could afford. I wish I could say that I had saved the extra money from the part time job that I had through college but, no; any extra money now hung in my closet and lined the floor below.
            It felt nice to have my things settled into my new home. It still didn’t really feel like mine yet, but hopefully after a month or two it would grow on me. It was the first step in this new life and moving in had made it all the more real.
            Anna popped her head around the door to my room. “You almost ready?” Her face lit up when she saw that I had finished unpacking and she stepped in to check it out.  She glanced around at my newly decorated room. “Oh my gosh, this is so cute!” Her hand swept towards the open closet. “And look at all the clothes. Between the two of us, I don’t think we’ll ever wear the same thing twice!”

            I was glad that she seemed to be excited about renewing our friendship. Anna had been in most of my advanced classes and was one of the few, besides my boyfriend Brad, that I had hung out with regularly. She also shared my obsession for fashion and I was definitely up for expanding my wardrobe.
            I walked over to my closet and picked out a bright blue off the shoulder dress and matching wedges. Blue was my favorite color. I had it in almost every shade that existed. Few colors brought out my hazel eyes and that was one color that did. Most of the time my eyes came across a slate grey color. “Just let me get dressed real quick and I’ll be out in a sec.”
            Anna reached down and grabbed a pair of black heels from my closet floor. “You mind if I borrow?” She gave me a pleading look and I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Of course.” Just remember that when I’m raiding your closet!”
She was already heading down the hall. “You bet!” she called back.

            A warm breeze caressed our skin as we entered the bar and bistro a few blocks away. I felt so relaxed and at ease with the decision I had made to move here. Part of me, a small part, was missing Brad, but I was done with his stubborn refusal to leave Oakwood. He made it pretty clear that things were over if I left, and the more I was away, the more I realized how bored I had been. Besides, this city, the apartment, Anna, it all felt right. I knew in my gut that I was finally where I needed to be and I had a tingling anticipation in my stomach that something big was going to happen. I had felt it the minute I stepped out of my car when I arrived in Charlotte. And now I was just waiting for “it“ to happen. I glanced around the dark bar and took in the tables of well dressed people. There was a band at the back of the room playing music and the entire place seemed to have an excited energy. Most of the people I saw seemed to be young and gorgeous and I wondered if that was a prerequisite to hang out here. Hopefully they wouldn’t realize that I was completely out of my element and try to kick me out. A thrill ran through me at the thought that I had actually made this happen. It had all seemed so far away when I had been back in Oakwood dreaming about living this life. So far I had absolutely no regrets with my decision. I just hoped all went this well when I started my job next week.

            I took a deep, excited breath as we weaved our way through the crowd. We walked over to the bar and seated ourselves in the tall mahogany chairs. Anna caught the eye of a cute bartender who had just placed drinks in front of a couple at the other end of the bar. “Hey Kyle.” She flashed him a bright smile. “This is my new roommate, Brooke. I’m trying to introduce her to the area, so of course I had to bring her to my fav spot.” She turned to me. “Brooke, this is my brother Kyle. He owns this bar.”

            Kyle was medium height, well built with short sandy colored hair. He was wearing a tight black t-shirt and had an awesome sleeve tattoo that stopped right above his elbow on his left arm. I couldn’t make out everything but it looked like there was a dragon integrated into the tattoo. I immediately liked Kyle. He had warm brown eyes and a welcoming smile. He stuck out his hand and I shook it smiling at him. “Nice to meet you Kyle.” He was definitely cute, though not really my type, but I immediately felt comfortable with him.
            He pulled a white towel out and wiped the bar in front of us. “So, your Anna’s new roommate. She told me you two went to school together in Oakwood. The two of us couldn‘t wait to move away either.” He glanced over at Anna and then back at me. “What finally brought you here?”