Red

Prologue

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street,

Faster than the wind, Passionate as sin,

Ended so suddenly…

Nina Martin sighed throwing her purse somewhere on the floor of her bedroom. In her hands, she held the mail that she had just collected.

Coupons, coupons, gift card, bills…

The usual mail was there, but then she caught a sight of the crisp white envelope. Curiously, she turned it around in her hands, opening it, carefully, and reading over the dyed pink, perfume-smelling paper.

You are formally invited to the wedding of Amber and Mick, it said at the top.

Nina sighed, thinking back to ten years ago on the last day of senior year. She couldn't go back to England. She couldn't. She promised myself that she wouldn't.

But that dumb voice in the back of her head was telling me otherwise.

'Go, Nina. This is Amber. Your best friend! She helped you through your breakup, gave you advice, she was there for you. This day is important to her! She wouldn't have sent you an invitation if she didn't want you there,' it said.

The voice did have a point…

Below all of the words that she was too lazy to read, because she knew what they'd say, was a phone number, scribbled in very familiar hand-writing.

Nina contemplated this thought. In that second, she decided she would go all the way to England. For Amber, and only Amber. Besides, what are the odds that she kept in touch with everyone from Anubis House? They were all distant memories to Nina, now.

It's been ten years. Ten long years.

But, Nina was a bit worried about why her mind didn't put up that much of a fight about going to England. Was she going just for Amber, like she was trying to convince herself? Or was it something else?

These feelings worried Nina, making her feel a bit dizzy. Although she wouldn't admit it to herself, she was kind of anxious to go, even though the wedding was in a month and a half.

But Nina had no social life, making no contact with human beings, other than being at work all the time. She hadn't a best friend or someone to talk to for the longest time. Maybe this wedding was a good thing for her.

She was approaching becoming middle-aged, and she still hasn't had a proper boyfriend since high school. She didn't have any children. She didn't even have a five-year-plan.

Why was she thinking about romance, anyway? She didn't have a romantic life. Much less, children.

This is why Nina didn't want to go back. Even thinking of London, and not him directly was resurfacing all of these feelings that Nina had been pushing down and bottling up for ten years.

This is why she hasn't gone back. Because feelings like this make her do reckless things. And reckless things always have consequences.

She hasn't lost control like this for a decade. This shouldn't be happening.

No, Nina told herself. Do it for Amber.

But Nina swallowed her own feelings, scolding herself for being so selfish, and putting Amber first.

Nina pulled her phone from her pocket, dialing the number written on the paper, and patiently waiting while it rang.

The person on the other side picked up, and Nina took a deep breath, pursing her lips, willing herself to speak. It wasn't as hard as she had expected.

All this time, all these years, Nina had felt like she was waiting for something. But most times she just had shaken the feeling off.

But Nina felt something pull deep inside her gut. She didn't know why, or how, but Nina knew that it was only the beginning of something very new, very bright. And although she was afraid, Nina knew that it was going to be okay, and something good was approaching. She didn't know when, and she didn't know where. She just knew.

"Amber," breathed Nina, fidgeting with the zipper on her leather jacket, then running a hand through her curly locks.

She caught a look at herself in the mirror, and for the first time, she noticed how much she had changed since graduation. But she hadn't. It was weird, not changing and changing at the same time.

It probably made no sense whatsoever. She felt like she was in the Alice in Wonderland movie, where nothing made the slightest bit of sense.

It was broad as daylight, that she'd grown, and everything else that comes with growing up. But when she looked at herself in the mirror, phone to her ear, she still looked like naïve, eighteen year old, Nina.

And that was something that scared her. She hadn't seen that image since the morning she woke up on the day of graduation…

Okay, don't bag on me for not updating/posting new stories for a while. I have perfect explanations for not writing all summer. But I hope you all can forgive me. But I have good news, and you all will probably like it. But if you want to know why I have been absent all summer, tomorrow, when I get back from school, I will update Love in a Hellhole, but it won't be a chapter. It will be all of the explanations, and I've been up to. But I'm back, and back for good. But I have to go to bed now, as I have to get up really early for school tomorrow. So, I'll post the update tomorrow afterschool and after my homework is done. 'Kay?

Love you all, and I'm sorry for disappearing out of nowhere,

Destiny xx