Song: Begin Again by Taylor swift
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The night sky glistened in the light of the moon, tiny stars spread around like children in a playground. I rolled down the car window and welcomed the august breeze that still carried summer. My eyes wandered to the people outside as the car stopped at a signal. A girl wearing a yellow dress waiting for the bus, a group of high school kids eating ice-cream as they laughed at each other.

"You want to grab some ice-cream?" Said Cole from beside me.

I turned away from the window and looked at him, his eyes on the road ahead, his curly brown hair dancing around. 

"No, I'm full" I replied to him.

He nodded, looking at me slightly with a smile then started the car as the green light came on.

It took us ten more minutes to reach my house, Cole stopped the car in the driveway. An awkward silence expanded as I thought about what to say.

"I had fun tonight" I said turning towards him.

"You sure? Didn't seem like it." Replied Cole already facing me. That gentle smile gracing his face.

"No...its not like that, I really did enjoy it. And I'd like to do this again sometime" I replied with a smile of my own.

"Well, that's a relief to hear, really, cause I was stressing out the whole night that you were bored"

A laugh escaped me at his words. Cole did seem stressed out the whole night, making sure I was okay, I was comfortable. A total gentleman.

"I think it would be better if you don't stress out the next time and just enjoy.  You stressing out makes me stress out"

"Noted" he replied with a nod, his perfect smile still plastered on his soft face. "I'm just really glad there is going to be a next time"

I smiled back at him and turned towards my house,wondering what everyone was up to.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow at work then?" I said grabbing my bag.

"Yea, see you tomorrow" Replied Cole.

I pushed the door open and stepped out.

"Thankyou for tonight Cole, I had a wonderful time."

"Pleasure is all mine"

I smiled at him one last time and was about to close the door when his voice stopped me.

"Eva?"

"Yeah?" I said, opening the car door wide so I could see him.

"It's not going to work right? You and me?"

The smile on my face flattened. I didn't know what to say cause I didn't know myself the answer to this question.

"I'm sorry, I'm pressuring you too much-" started Cole.

"No Cole, you're not" I replied quickly, not wanting him to feel bad.

"You don't have to answer that, I'll see you tomorrow" he said and started the car.

I nodded and said my goodbye, closing the car door in front of me. I turned around and started walking towards the front door, wind passing by me like a stranger. Taking out the key from my purse I opened the door and stepped in, turning around to wave a final goodbye at Cole. I watched as he smiled and backed the car out of the driveway.

Closing the door infront of me, I turned and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

10:30 PM it read.

A distant murmur of television was coming from the living room. Walking towards it I saw Millie sprawled out the couch watching a disney movie.

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now? Its school night" I said leaning against the door.

"I couldn't sleep" she replied back, her eyes still glued to the tv screen.

"You've got ten more minutes" I said turning to leave.

I heard Millie whine as I walked towards dad's room and knocked on it.

"Come on in" came my father's voice.

I opened it and saw him sitting on his bed, writing something down on his notebook, probably a new recipe.

"You are way past you're curfew" he said looking up.

"Dad!" I chucked, standing against the wall. "I'm not a child anymore"

"So how was it?" He asked closing his notebook. All of his attention on me.

"It was fine, I had fun" I replied.

"That's nice to hear, you really need to go out more"

"What? That's so wrong, I'm out most of the day"

"For work, Eva. Take some time for yourself"

"The same goes for you dad" I replied back.

He huffed and placed his notebook on the side table. A smile visible on his face.

"I can never win from you can I?" He asked turning towards me again.

"Little Millie is still watching tv" I said with a smile.

"Yea, well she couldn't sleep and I thought one night wouldn't hurt much"

"Aren't you the best dad in the world?" I laughed.

"Well I try" he replied with a smile of his own.

"Goodnight dad, I'll go put her in bed or waking her up tomorrow will be an  effort" I said walking out of his room.

"Goodnight my child"

..........................................

I collapsed at my bed at 11. The moonlight peeping in through my curtains. I could feel the tiredness of my body in waves, today had been a hectic day.

As I was about to close my eyes and drift off to sleep I heard my phone buzz on the side table. Gathering my scattered energy I grabbed the phone to see who it was.

A message from Cole flashed on the screen.

'I had fun today, we should definately do this again'

A small smile crept on my face. My date with Cole today was wonderful, he was totally wonderful. I had known him for about a year now after I started my job at Red Woods company. We instantly became friends and I was always comfortable in his presence.

When he asked me to go out on a date with him, I hadn't been so sure. I didn't want to ruin the friendship that we had developed. But after a lot of thinking and twisting at night I said yes.

I placed the phone back on the side table and closed my eyes. Even after the date I was still unsure. But being unsure about everything has become a second nature to me.

..........................................

Mornings were still a mess in Evan's house even after five years. Loud, screaming voices, clattering of utensils and lots of running around the house.

The twins were seated on the counter, thin and lanky like any 13 year olds. Alex was reading a book, his cereal left untouched while Daniel was half asleep leaning against the chair.

Millie on the other hand was active and energetic on mornings. Eating her cereal while she talked non-stop about what she did in school yesterday. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest hearing her stories. I need to give her more time, listen to what she has to say.

I tied her hair in two pony tails while nodding as she told me about a turtle their science teacher had brought to school yesterday. Eight year olds have lots of stories I thought, remembering Daniel and Alex at that age and their uncountable stories about everything and anything.

I snatched the book Alex was reading and put it in his bag.

"Breakfast, now" I said looking at him sharply. He just rolled his eyes and grabbed his spoon.

"DANIEL WAKE UP" Screamed Millie, always trying to help me.

Daniel sat up with a start, looking around to figure out where he was.

"Why are you so annoying?" He asked Millie facing her.

"Here you go" Said dad, sliding a plate towards me, his signature pancakes waiting to be eaten.

I looked around the room at my family and felt grateful to have them.

..........................................

I beeped at the car in front of me, willing it to move faster. The man was moving at the speed of a snail. I checked the time and found I was ten minutes late already, Jim was going to kill me.

I worked at a publishing company named 'Red Woods' and my job was in the magazine department. 'Red Pages' was a popular Canadian magazine, that was issued once a month. It covered different genres of topic ranging from politics, history, business to poetry, music and movies. I worked in the 'People's Voice' section that featured two articles written by ordinary people from all around Canada. We got thousands of submissions everyday and it was hard to choose only two out of so many good ones.

I had the task of reading half of the submissions and selecting best ten out of them, Robert, my collegue and a very good friend selected best ten from the other half of submissions. We had to edit the articles, shape them in a presentable piece and forward to Jim, our section head. He then decided which of the two articles from twenty will make it to the magazine.

I liked my job, it wasn't easy getting in a such a prestigious company as Red Woods. I also liked reading different people's articles from all over Canada, they're thoughts and stories were beautiful and most of them were budding writers.

But I longed for the day when I could have my own article published in the magazine. There were writers associated with 'Red Pages' who wrote  an article every month that got published in the magazines. I wanted to join them, get my writings out in the world for people to read. But up till now there was no such luck.

It took me ten more minutes to reach the company. I could imagine Jim pacing in front of the elevators waiting for me. Today was the last day of submitting my final ten articles. I  parked the car and rushed towards the main entrance, my hair moving in every direction due to the wind. Greeting the guards stationed outside, I entered the building and swiped my employee card.

It took me another five minutes to reach the sixth floor where our section was. And as expected Jim Watson was pacing in front of the elevator.

"Thirty minutes late, are you kidding me Eva?" He said looking at me, his partly grey hair combed back.

"I'm so sorry sir, I got stuck at home and then in traffic. Just give me ten minutes" I said breathing deeply from all the running, deciding against telling himI was actually twenty-five minutes late.

"Not a second more than ten" he said walking towards his office.

I sighed and walked towards the printing room, taking out the USB from my purse.

.......................................

I was sitting in my cubicle, working on something Jim had sent me. I liked Jim as my boss, he was kind and generous and no matter how much he acted frantic and stern about work, he cared about his employees.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the chair, feeling my back ache from sitting in the same position for so long. Streching my hands, I decided to get myself  a cup of coffee to chase the sleep away.

I walked towards the cafeteria and placed an order for a cup of cappuccino. I leaned against the counter waiting for my coffee to arrive.

"So how late were you today?" I heard Leigh's voice from behind me.

"Still earlier than you" I said turning towards her.

Leigh was my favorite person here and not just in the company but the whole Canada. I met her in university where we shared the same major. We applied for a job here together and got to work in the same department together. While I handled the essay section of People Voice she managed the poetry one. She was fun, energetic, loud and sometimes dumb but she was a friend, a very close one.

And she made Canada feel almost like home. Almost.

"Damn it, I was so sure I was going to make it before you" she said with a smirk

"You do realise Jim has completely given up on you?"

"Of course I do, that was my whole plan. See he doesn't bother me all the time like he bothers you"

I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed my coffee from the waiter.

"So how did your date with Cole go?" Said Liegh as I poured sugar in my cup.

'Carter Williams from the WILLIAM INDUSTRIES was also present at the event. The new ceo talked about the expansion of his company in more countries'

My head wiped towards the television hanging on the wall, coffee forgotten. And there he was, standing in all his glory, wearing a black tuxedo, as he nodded at something the reporter was saying after giving her a smile.

There he was, looking sharp and handsome, living in a different world so far away from me. A memorized human being so unrecognizable.

.....................................

Hi Everyone!! How are you all doing? See as I promised last time I updated fast.
This was the first chapter of Begin Again. It takes place five years after the last chapter of This Love. I hope you all enjoyed it and it got you excited for whats to come.
Tell me what you think about a five year older Eva and the rest of your characters.
I have also decided to make a playlist of songs for this book. Each chapter having its own song and what better way to begin with Taylor Swift's Begin Again. 

Vote and Comment.

Love
S. Maham Fatima