Chapter 1 Let's begin

Let's begin.

-Evelyn's POV

Beep, Beep, Beep

I turned over and slammed my noisy alarm clock to turn it off. My eyes flutter open and I start stretching. As the sunrise approaches, the beautiful morning light is beginning to filter in. Before I yank the curtains open, I throw the duvet off my legs and walk to them. I step out onto my private balcony and look down at the scene. There was nothing to be seen, and the first waves were slamming in. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and relish the sensation of the wind blowing through my hair.

I return inside, start putting my hair up in a ponytail, and then head to my closet. I put on tight leggings, a sports bra, and tennis shoes and checked in with my best buddy to make sure she made it home safely last night. I see her stretched out on her bed when I open the door. I smile at her before shutting the door and leaving our house. I stroll down to the shore after locking the door. As I start my morning run, the wind is whipping my hair.

Hello, I'm Evelyn Carter. I was hired as a teacher at Dalton Academy, and I am twenty-two years old. After abandoning my family and business in New York, I was just recruited there. I have blue eyes and beautiful blond hair that reaches my waist. Despite receiving compliments on my beauty, I don't give it much thought. Everybody is lovely in their unique way. Cami Taylor, my lifelong best friend, and I currently share a home. I currently work as a bartender at one of the local nightclubs. We collaborated this past summer, but I recently resigned because I will be teaching. After two months of living here, I've become a beach bum. I adore this place! The unending nightlife and the consistently pleasant weather. You'll never grow bored.

"Seriously, this early in the morning H?" As she enters the kitchen, my best friend lets out a moan. She rubbed her face with her hands. I give her a chuckle and then give her a coffee.

"How was your night Cam?" As she settles into a bar seat, I add some milk to her coffee for her in a humorous tone.

"Looonnnngggg." She stretches, then lets out a sigh and takes a drink of her coffee. "At least the money is good." She smiles sheepishly at me, which makes me smile back. "How do you find the energy to get up before the sun every morning just to run?" When she considers exercising, she wrinkles her nose in disgust.

"Cami," I remark, rolling my eyes, "not all of us could be blessed with your beauty." She bursts into hysterical laughter.

"Please, girl... You would still look AMAZING even if you didn't run. She gets anxious, which makes me laugh.

"Whatever you say Cami."

Cami is an amazing, feisty person. She has forced me to come out of my shell because she is gregarious. I would be lost without her since she is so beautiful. Her father served in the military, and we first met in elementary school. Despite her relocation, we remained in contact. Given my current circumstances, I accepted her invitation to move in with her after she lost her father approximately three years ago and her mother was unable to continue living in this property.

"So I gotta work tonight, do you want to come?" She looked at me as she asked. "You know the team would love to see you again."

"Yeah, I think it would be fun." Thinking of all the amazing people I've met while working there makes me happy. The name of the club was Midnight Til Sunrise. It was a local favorite and had been there for many years.

"Great!" "Gleaming," says Cami. She approaches me and plants a kiss on my cheek. "Alright sunrise, this goddess needs to take a shower." I laugh at her as she dramatically says this while tossing her hair over her shoulder. She is undoubtedly unique.

"Welcome back Sunrise!" "With open arms," the club manager said. I rush over to give him a firm embrace. He squeezes me in return. "You miss us yet?"

"You know I love this place!" I say with a wide smile.

"Good because you should be an angel and help behind the bar tonight!" "Giving me puppy dog eyes," he says. My jaw snaps open and my eyes bulge open at him. "Oh, Evelyn, hurry up! I'm in a difficult situation. I can't put Cami back there since she's running the floor, and Liz called in." He begs me. I place my hands on my hips and sneer at him, giving him a funny look. He pretends to be praying by putting his hands together. I groan in defeat and roll my eyes. Knowing that he had just won, he raised his hands.

"You owe me, Sam!" As I watch him back away, I yell. I turn to face the smiling Cami, give her a look, and she simply starts to bounce away. "Thanks for the help Cami!" I shout at her.

"You're welcome!" Over her shoulder, she smiles while singing. I head to the lockers and pull on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of short black shorts. I let my blond hair fall down my back without bothering to put it back. I let out a sigh and made my way to the bar. Let's get started!

The evening is passing easily. Tonight's crowd is sizable, and Kurt is behind the bar with me. Sam is keeping an eye on things while Cami and Lexi run the floor. Only a few males got a bit too flirtatious when I was pouring the drinks, but Kurt helped control them. Sam chose to surprise me just as the evening was coming to an end.

"All right, everyone is going to have a great time tonight! Tonight, our very own Sunrise will be back to sing for us. I start shaking my head and glare up at him. The audience starts clapping and turning to face me. Cami approaches me and starts yanking my arm in the direction of the stage.

"Cam halt! I don't want-" Before I can even continue, she pushes me onto the platform and sticks her tongue out at me. I glance at Sam, who is grinning sheepishly.

"Here she is everyone- Please welcome... Sunrise!" He makes the announcement as if I were famous. Before he leaves the stage, I give him a final stare. I turn to face the audience, who are all watching me eagerly to see what I'll do.

"Hi everyone, I apologize I didn't know I would be singing tonight but I will sing one of my favorites." I sigh and close my eyes after saying that.

Ariane Grande's "Breathin" began to play. I started singing the tune while closing my eyes. I just listen to the song and let the lyrics flow from my mouth.

Simply continue to breathe, breathe, breathe, and breathe. Oh, and I must continue to breathe.

Simply continue to breathe, breathe, breathe, and breathe.

Oh, and I must continue to breathe.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Cami grinning broadly at me. As the song played, my hips started to sway and let out all of my emotions. When my gaze fell upon a set of electrifying blue eyes that I was unable to take my eyes off, I resumed singing. I finished the song while looking at the stranger.

Time passes and I lose control of my thoughts as I feel my blood running and swear the sky is falling.

I'm still breathing, mmm.

I turn my attention from the stranger to Sam, who is clapping as he returns to the stage. While he simply gives me a proud smile, I bow and return the microphone.

"Let's give another round of applause for our little Sunrise!" As everyone else cheers louder, he says and keeps clapping. As I leave the stage, I simply wave and bend my head once again. I feel like a lot of eyes are still on me as Cami approaches and gives me a tight hug. I keep looking for the stranger, but I can no longer see him there. Kurt offers me a side hug as I shrug and move back behind the bar.

Sam was appreciative of my assistance, so Cami and I decided to leave early and go home as the night wore on. As soon as we reach home, I collapse onto my bed and curl up with it. I'm drifting off to a deep sleep and contemplating what my new job would be like the following week.