UNTIL THEN
VICTORIA ASHLEE
Copyright © 2020 by Victoria Sams
WWW.VICTORIAASHLEE.COM
Dedication
This book is dedicated to anyone
who has ever been told that they
couldn’t do something.
Look at you now.
UNTIL THEN SERIES
UNTIL THEN
UNTIL HER
UNTIL HIM
Table of Contents
UNTIL THEN
Copyright
Dedication
UNTIL THEN SERIES
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter One
Sophia
I ran out the front door, down the steps, onto the sidewalk. Each rushed step felt as if I had anchors for feet. I felt as if I was sinking into a dark hole. I tried to catch my breath, but it was as if I was suffocating. I had to get out of there. My feet carried me down the street, but I didn’t make it far. The snow was coming down heavily. My eyes were flushed with tears. The cold was hitting me hard. It was like a white noise had come over me. I turned my head up toward the sky allowing the snow to fall over me. More tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t want to feel anything.
I heard Stefan yell my name from the front steps. I quickly rushed around the corner out of sight. He called my name over and over again. I leaned against the brick wall, wrapping my arms around myself. Each whimper that came from my mouth was louder than the last. I placed my hand over my mouth, trying to quiet myself. The tears fell over the top of my hand; I broke down in that alley. My bottom lip was trembling. I kept gasping for air, but I couldn’t breathe. I looked around at my surroundings. I was sitting next to a pile of garbage. How did I get here?
Three Months Earlier
“Sophia, are you ready for this trip?” My mom asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I set my coffee cup on the table, wrapping both hands around it. “It’s not a trip. I’ve told you this.”
Her response was complete silence; it was as sharp as a knife. It’s been two months since I told her I was moving to New York City. We are at our favorite cafe. I thought of all the nights I would lie awake dreaming of a way out of here. I took a deep breath, trying to hold in my emotions.
“Is Mark coming?” I asked.
“No, he’s... at work. He got called in.” Her eyes darted away from me.
Yeah, I'm sure he got called in; on a Sunday. That makes total sense. He’s probably passed out in his car from his late night activities. She’s always making excuses for him.
“Are you ok?” She asked, as she picked at her muffin.
“Yeah, I'm fine.” I said it with a little sadness in my voice. I knew he’s crappy to my mom, but I always had hope in the back of my mind, that he would show up for her. Just once.
“Are you ready to go, Mom?” I tried to sound upbeat, changing the subject quickly.
“Yes, let me go pay.” She made her way up to the cashier.
I grabbed my purse and walked over to the door. I noticed the beautiful mirror that I had looked in a thousand times during my late nights of studying or my early coffee runs. I admired my brown booties, favorite skinny jeans and blue button down. Ready to take on the world, I told myself.
When we got settled in the car, she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Sophia, you can’t move all the way to New York. How am I going to do this without you?”
“You could start a hobby?” I tried to sound sympathetic.
I’m 21 now; it’s been me and her ever since my dad passed away. She had Mark, her creepy boyfriend. He’s been around for a few years. He’s drunk half the time. So, he’s not much of any help.
“Mom, you have to let me do this.” I placed my hand on top of hers.
“I know. I am proud of you. I want you to know that.” She squeezed my hand three times. It’s our way of saying I love you. She’s done that since I was a little girl.
I had to push the thoughts of hurting her to the back of my mind. For once I was doing something for myself. I was relieved when she finally pulled out of the parking lot. The drive to the airport was dreadful. It was silent for the first 30 minutes. I almost felt guilty of my excitement. I couldn’t wait to get on the plane.
My mom finally spoke, “I’m happy you got a job so fast.”
“Me too,” I left out the part where it was only part time. I had enough money saved up to survive for two months. That won’t get me very far, I will need to look for a second job.
“Where are you living again?” She asked.
“In an apartment with a few other people. I’ve spoken to one of the girls a few times. Her name is Keira, she seems nice.”
I told her this to ease her thoughts. Mine and Keira’s conversations had only lasted a few minutes at that. I’ve only seen pictures of the room I was renting. It was the cheapest place I could find that was close to my job. Which in reality sounded super sketch, but you only live once, right?
We finally arrived at the airport. My heart began beating a little faster, as we pulled up to the drop off area. I felt like I was going to throw up. My mom helped me get my bags out of the car. We had this awkwardly long hug. I pulled away, trying to make it easier.
“I love you.” She said, “Please make sure you call every day, and be careful.”
“I love you too mom, I will do my best to call you.”
The airport was confusing at first. I also received the pat down from airport security. This was not helping my nerves in the least bit. Apparently, I kept moving during the scan. Once I was settled in my seat on the plane, I pulled out my headphones and turned my music up. I was trying to drown out the butterflies in my stomach. The baby screaming three rows behind me wasn’t helping my anxiety either. Do I get wine on this flight? That would be awesome right about now.
“Excuse me!” I heard someone’s voice. “Excuse me.” the person said again.
I looked up; a guy was standing there, scowling at me. He was quite handsome; tall, brown wavy hair, dark eyes and that British accent. I’d listen to him saying excuse me all day long.
“Excuse me; your bag is in my seat.” He repeated seemingly annoyed.
Oh
shit, he DID say it again, which brought me back to reality. “Oh...I um. Sorry.” I said nervously grabbing my bag out of the seat next to me.
He released a small laugh, watching me fumble around.
When the plane began to move, I could feel my fingers twirling with my headphone wires. This was my first time on a plane; things like this always make me nervous, ever since my dad's accident. My hands gripped onto the arm rest from the jolt of take off. I leaned my head back against the seat, and closed my eyes.
“Are you ok?” He asked.
I opened my eyes. He was staring at me. This is awkward. How did I get seated next to this beautiful man with an accent? “I’m fine.” I replied dryly.
“First time flying?” He pulled his laptop out of his bag.
“Yes, I'm fine though.” I let go of his arm rest, and started scanning through my music on my phone.
“I hear chewing gum helps with the ear popping.” He tapped his ear.
I forced a fake smile, “I’ll have to try that next time.”
The plane ride was fine for the most part. I tried to ignore him, although I kept looking over at his laptop. He kept emailing back and forth with someone named Evelyn. It was very dramatic; a lot of arguing. Apparently he was not where he was supposed to be, but then she ended it with I love you. So, that’s when it got weird.
He kept glancing over at my every movement. I didn’t realize I was that bothersome.
“Are you flying to New York or connecting?” He finally spoke.
I pulled my ear bud out, “What?”
“New York. Why are you flying there?”
“Oh um, I’m moving there.”
His eyes stayed connected with mine, “Like right now? This is your flight there?”
“It would appear so.” I forced a flat smile. He was making me nervous. Why does he keep talking to me?
A few seconds of silence passed. I think this is when I’m supposed to ask a cordial question back, shit. “Do you live there?”
“I do.”
Ok cool. Short answers.
“Who is Evelyn?” I’ll never see him again; might as well be nosey.
“Inquisitive much?”
I laughed sarcastically, “You started the twenty questions.”
“I’ll pass on that one.” He said firmly. “What do you think you’ll get out of New York?”
“You didn’t answer my question, so why would I answer yours?”
“Because you want to talk to me.”
I laughed, “What makes you so sure of that?”
“Your body language; you took your headphones out of your ears. If you were searching for a quick escape you would have left them in.”
I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was right. He was more frustrating than enjoyable.
I cocked my head, “What if I’m just being polite?”
“You’re not”
“Why do you say that?”
He smirked, “Because you have snapped at me every chance you can get.”
I rolled my eyes, “Maybe because you’re rude.”
“I’m not.” He moved his body to face me, “So what do you think you will get out of New York?” He asked again.
“What makes you think I’m going to get something?”
“Everyone goes to New York to gain something.”
I sighed, “I’m not trying to gain anything, not in the sense that you’re implying.”
“Are you afraid if you tell me that I’ll judge you?”
“No...well maybe.”
“Do you think we will meet again after this?”
“No.”
“Then you have nothing to lose.”
I exhaled, this guy is pushy. “I think New York will give me some sort of purpose, at least I want it to.”
He gave me a blank look, “That’s very vague.”
I rolled my eyes, “You’re judging me.”
He laughed, “The exact opposite actually.”
“I think I'm done getting interrogated.” I forced another flat smile, showing him I was putting my ear buds back into my ears.
He smirked, opening his laptop again.
At least I had a window seat to distract me. The clouds rolling by calmed me. Maybe because I couldn’t see the ground, so it didn’t feel like we might fall out of the sky.
We started to arrive in New York. As we began to descend below the clouds, excitement filled me when I saw the city for the first time. The sky might be a yucky grey from the weather, but it was everything I dreamed it would look like. I pulled my headphones out of my ears leaning forward, looking out the window in wanderlust.
I heard a small laugh. I sighed looking over my shoulder, “Do you find something funny?”
“Not exactly.” He said and went back to his computer.
The plane finally stopped, and everyone was already standing. I started wrapping my headphones around my phone, and the baby from three rows back started crying again. Two older women were yelling back and forth, a few rows apart, about how one is waiting for the other when they get off the plane. Don’t worry Doris; no one is going to leave you. The guy next to me started to stand. I felt as if I knew too much about him at this point from my email eavesdropping.
“Nice meeting you.” He smiled, pulling his bag down from overhead.
“I don’t know if I would say it was nice.” I started to put my things back into my purse. He laughed and turned to walk down the aisle.
We were finally able to get off the plane. When I entered the airport my heart stopped. This was real. I saw a sign that read Welcome to New York. I smiled, because I’ve listened to every song about New York a million times. This time the songs popped into my head, and I was actually here. It almost didn’t feel real for a moment.
Then I heard someone say this way to our bags. I followed them in hopes that they did know what they’re talking about. We walked around the corner and the luggage pickup was dead ahead.
While waiting on my bag to come out of the conveyor belt, my mind started to wonder about all the movies with airport conveyor belts. I had this urge to jump on the belt to see where magic luggage land was. Security would be on me in no time. The sight of the guy from the plane snapped me out of my thoughts.
He still looked stressed; he was speaking intensely to someone through his air pods. His eyebrows were scrunched, his right hand was on his forehead. He started giving me anxiety and I didn’t even know what was being said. He began pacing back and forth, every few seconds glancing over toward the conveyor belt.
The bags started to arrive, and I instantly saw mine. Of course his bag was next to mine. He walked up, sliding his phone in his pocket. I made my way up to grab my two bags, but I was only able to grab one. He blocked me from the second one. I almost ran into him trying to catch it. He was able to grab it before it disappeared, and set it down in front of me.
We both looked at each other, standing there in the middle of the airport in silence. I was flustered. I should have said thank you, but he walked off before I could get a word out.
I pulled up the address on my phone and ordered an Uber. I texted Keira that I was on my way. Outside there was a torrential downpour. Who even knew it rained like this in New York?
“My phone started vibrating in my purse. I reached in to grab it. “Hello?”
“Hi Miss, I can’t find you. It’s raining very hard.”
Good observation, Dude. “Here, I will walk to the curb and wave my hand.”
I stood in the pouring rain, watching cars pass by that weren’t him. He kept claiming he was in the right place, but as each car passed, the rain came down harder.
He finally saw me, jumping out of his car. We quickly put my bags in the trunk. Once I was inside the car, I picked my shirt up off of my wet skin. I was soaking head to toe; awesome.
While driving to the apartment, my Uber asked me about where I was from and told me how long he’s lived in New York. He moved here with his 3 year old daught
er, who is now 16. We turned onto a road with beautiful brownstones. I tried to catch a glimpse of the inside of the homes. My mind wondered who lived in them. What were their morning routines? Where did they work? Who would I be if I were born into one of those families?
The car stopped in front of one of the beautiful homes. I started to get nervous. The thoughts of those murder shows rushed to my mind. This is it, I’m going to be on a murder investigation show. A whole episode dedicated to me; Naive girl from Nebraska, death by cab driver.
“Um are we out of gas?” I asked nervously.
“No, Miss. We are here.”
I looked at him confused, telling him the address again.
“Yep this is it!” He jumped out of the car and started pulling my bags onto the sidewalk.
I really wish it wasn’t raining, and I 100% thought I was at the wrong address, but I was too nervous to correct him. He drove away hastily, with a short wave of his hand.
I grabbed my bags, rushing under the cover at the front door, almost tripping up the stairs as I lugged my bags behind me. I looked down at my drenched clothes, trying to shake off what water I could. “Wow.” What a great first impression. “Welcome to freaking New York.”
Chapter Two
Sophia
I knocked twice. A bubbly girl answered with excitement; “Sophia! You made it!” She had curly blonde hair, a red mini skirt with black tights and a leopard print shirt tucked in. “Oh crap, you’re soaked! Come in. Let me help you with your bags.”
“Thank you.” I smiled, as she helped drag my sopping wet bags inside. “I thought I was at the wrong address.”
She laughed, “Yeah, I didn’t advertise the entire house. It keeps out the weirdoes.” She shrugged her shoulders.
I followed behind her carrying my other bag. My eyes wandered around looking at what I could see from the entryway. Moments ago I was wondering what it would be like to be inside one of these beautiful homes, now I was actually standing in one. A brown wooden staircase immediately greeted you when you entered. The room to the left was filled with furniture that I have only dreamt of owning, modern decor, a grand fireplace, beautiful paintings, and a wall full of books. I looked up and noticed the crystal chandelier. Voices and laughter came from the other room.
Until Then : Book 1 - Until Then Series Page 1