A Lost Soul

chapter 1

Rose POV

I'm such a stupid person, what was I even thinking when I decided to wander around in such a cold weather. I just wish it doesn't snow to add more to my misery.

I really need to work on my social attitude. I'm Rosalyn, yeah call me Rose. Are you waiting for my full name? Sorry to disappoint you, it's a secret no one has to know, so bear with me.

'HERE IT GOES JESUS EHHHH!' Can't I take a break from my ever so charming bad luck? Does it really have to snow? Oh, leave it; I need to hurry before I die from the chilling cold. I never knew Russia has such a cold weather in winters, only if I knew. Yes folks, my current home is in Moscow, Russia but please don't come over, I would really mind.

Finally, after jiggling with my apartment keys, I enter inside my apartment shivering. It's a simple yet beautiful one-bedroom apartment with an open kitchen. I take off my boots and coat while heading towards my cocoa brown couch that is placed in the middle of the small living room. I slum on the comfy couch and look around my apartment to give a once over like every day to see everything is same as I left. Same white walls with a painting hanging in the middle of the living room wall above the fireplace, a glass table in front of me and an open kitchen on my view with untouched appliances.

Soon I feel myself basking in the warmth of my apartment and in no time, I drift to my dreamland leaving all the things at the back of my mind.

.....*.....*......

I'm flying, wait what? Nooo, I'm falling and before I know I'm on the floor groaning from pain. So much for flying and how could I fall asleep on the couch? 'Because you are a lazy ass who can't give up her sleep'.

'I really need to stop talking to myself if I don't want people to freak out.'

'As if you care.'

'Fine I give up; my inner sarcastic voice, please let me have a break.'

'Sure, just don't forget that you have packing to do and a flight to catch'

"OH MY GODD! HOW CAN I FORGET I HAVE PACKING TO DO? I am a goner; I haven't even started yet."

'Oh, hello my inner voice, help please. Ok I got it; you don't want to help me in the time of need. I'm all by myself.'

....*.....*......

6 hours, yes it took me 6 hours to get done with my packing and getting ready. I should be proud of myself for getting ready on time at least, and now I'm standing in this damn line for luggage check-in.

Finally, after all the hassle it's time to board and I am more than grateful.

After settling on my seat, I start to think about my destination New York, my new home. I don't even know why I thought to move to that city since it was once my home. 'Let's not think about that, 10 hours of flight are going to be hell boring so let's utilize them by taking a nap. It's been ages since I last slept.'

'Yeah, sure keep convincing yourself.'

'Oh! Shut up let me sleep.'

..*.....*....

'New York, here I come.' I stood outside the airport looking at my now familiar surroundings. I hate to move but to keep my secrets safe I need to. How boring right? I can't enjoy nor can I settle. I'm tired of moving but then it's necessary; you know what they call it 'Survival instinct, that's what this moving is to me. Phew, my dramatic life. I better start walking or else I would have to take another flight and run away from this place.

I hail a cab a few seconds later to go in the heart of the city, to go for job hunting and of course searching for a place to live.

......*....*....

After wandering in the streets for hours like a beggar has gotten me nowhere. I didn't find any job and have no place to live since they are way out of my budget. I don't even have money to make things worse. I can only get groceries for a week and grab lunch now. Really, how did I happen to be the most idiotic person on the face of earth with the worst luck to accompany with? In the train of my thoughts my stomach grumbles and reminds me of its presence.

I sigh and look for a café or something to have a meal or I might as well faint from hunger. After looking for 10 minutes I finally spot a McDonald's and make a run to it. I enter the place and suddenly the aroma of food hits me like a truck and my mouth salivates just at the thought of having those delicious burgers. I walk to the counter and order two cheeseburgers with a diet coke and sit on the secluded seat in the far corner to devour my meal.

Once I'm done devouring my burgers, I start to look for some online jobs and apply for three of them. 'Ok, time for some real job hunting' with the motto to look for job again I start to head over to the exit while checking my phone when all of a sudden, I collide into a wall. 'Wait, a wall in the middle of the way' and then it hit me; I bumped into someone just like every time.

'You can get an award for this' my inner voice suggested.

'Oh, just shut up and let me apologize and get this over with.' I retorted back.

I look up with all the lines prepared in my head but my brain stops working when my gaze lands on a beautiful pair of forest green eyes. I just can't seem to look away from those mesmerizing eyes. They hold me captive as their prisoner for what feels like an eternity. They are the best shade of green I have ever come across and the depth in them spoke volumes. The man with those mesmerizing eyes is also staring at me with the same interest, however, someone clears their throat snapping me out of my daze and I finally notice the manager standing beside us giving me a pointed look. I shrug it off and look at the owner of those mesmerizing eyes.

He has not so short shiny raven hair which are perfectly smothered for an office look. His high cheek bones can put anyone to shame with his perfect sharp jaw line. Those manly broad shoulders feel so comfortable to lean my head on. If I were to fall, his muscular arms would have effortlessly pulled me up. Don't even get me started about his pale skin; he looks like a model from some magazine cover in his well fitted navy-blue three-piece suit. He looks so perfect like god himself carved him. I was so busy checking him out that I didn't notice his gaze following mine.

When he was sure that I'm back to his eyes after my little tour he smirked and that's when my eyes noticed his soft plump lips. 'He is hot with a capital H.'

'Yes, so damn hot. I won't mind staring at this masterpiece for hours.'

I agreed with my snarky inner voice for the first time and sighed. I snap out of my reverie at the revelation and say in the most emotionless tone "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking". With that said, I head out of the place and walk aimlessly while looking for a job. But I wasn't even paying any attention because my every thought was consumed by the fine specimen but then my inner voice came to life and knocked some sense in me.

'You do remember what happened, right? Stop thinking about him, we are never going to meet him again anyway.'

'You are right for the second time today, my inner voice. It's an achievement.'

.....*.....*....

I lay on the uncomfortable bed while my mind kept rewinding all the incidents of today. How I managed to convince the old lady to give me this house on rent for a month without security deposit, it's not even the size of my last apartment but it's alright for now since I don't have a penny in my pocket. I even got a job of a waitress in a hotel and a late-night shift in a bar while searching for a job at the expensive side of the street. I just hope I have enough money to pay my bills, with these thoughts clouding my mind I fell asleep on the uncomfortable bed.

CHAPTER 2

Blake POV

I have been busy the whole day completing a presentation for my new clients to view. After working straight for 5 hours since morning, I needed some rest and food. Burgers just popped in my head at the thought of food and I shut down my laptop after saving my presentation all the while thinking about my favorite, hamburger. I pick my car keys from the modern glass office desk and walk straight to the elevator.

In 15 minutes, I am standing in front of McDonald's with my baby parked in the parking lot. Fixing my suit, I head straight inside and towards the counter but end up bumping into someone who is very much busy on their phone in the middle of the way.

I look down to say something since the girl is short but freeze when I see honey brown eyes staring back at me. Those eyes are hypnotizing and I'm instantly captured by the raw innocence in them. They look so troubled as if trying to solve the most difficult puzzle in the world. I was busy exploring the depths of those hypnotizing eyes when someone's not so quiet throat interrupted me and from the corner of my eye, I saw the manager standing beside us and glaring at the girl in front of me. I was amused when she just shrugged him off and started checking me out, not wanting to miss the opportunity I began to do the same.

Her long cocoa brown hair was escaping from her sleek ponytail giving her a messy look and framing her face perfectly. The cute pointed nose of hers has completely turned red from cold and her chubby cheeks were no better. She seemed to have flushed due to my presence and I liked my effect on her. She was wearing a completely black outfit which complimented her slightly tanned skin. She was no more than 5'5 and though I'm not into short girls, she just looked perfect to me. And how can I forget those curves, they just look so tempting being on display in her tight skinny jeans.

I come back to her face after giving her a once over, only to discover she is yet not done. Soon her eyes lift to meet mine and I gave her my cocky smirk just to find her staring at my lips and I didn't stop myself to take a peek at her luscious lips. As if coming to senses she looked away for a second and apologized in an emotionless tone and blank face while I stood there staring at her back.

Something in me said it's not the last time I'm going to see her or maybe it's just my way of pacifying myself; shaking my head, I ordered my burgers and devoured them. As I was taking the last sip of my diet coke my phone rang to remind me, I have work to do. A look at the screen and I already guessed what it might be.

Not bothering to pick up the call I directly head back to my office all the while thinking about the girl that left me awed by her appearance. She was just so different from my usual flings, even her emotionless voice sounded like a melody to me.

Shortly after, I walk back into my office thinking about the work waiting to greet me and leaving behind the thought of the girl.

...*.....*...

After a very tiring day, I thought to let out my frustration by drowning myself in alcohol, and soon enough I was sitting in the VIP lounge of a club. It didn't take much time for girls to spot me and give me those dreamy looks but I ignored them and started drinking. I was finishing my fourth drink when a blonde girl entered the lounge; from the looks, I was sure she is a model.

She sat on the couch beside me and began some rubbish conversation while I kept drinking the scotch without paying any attention to her words. Halfway through the conversation, her hands were trailing my arms while her lips spotted a sexy seductive smile.

I smirked and let her continue her exploring while I focused on finishing my drink. After a while, I was done drinking and now it was show time. I took the hand trailing my chest now and pulled the girl on my lap and kissed her hard.

She moaned into the kiss when my hand moved from her ass and reached down to her thighs while she started grinding on me. "Oh, you are going to have a hoarse throat and a sore ass, tomorrow". I whispered in her ear and licked the shell just to hear another moan while my hand made its way to her core and in no time, we were fucking like animals.

After being satisfied and drunk enough to not remember my own name I decided to leave the club and head back to my penthouse. I turned back while leaving the lounge to see a satisfied look on the blonde's face and smirked.

Shortly after that, I was stumbling in my penthouse and in a drunken haze collapsed on the couch.

CHAPTER 3

Rose POV

I woke up with a backache due to the luxurious bed I slept on and rubbed my eyes while trying to look at the alarm clock kept on my bedside table. I gasped when I saw the time, it's already 9:00 am and my shift at the restaurant starts at 10. As my mind reminded me of this, I hurried towards my small bathroom to take a hot shower while my mind kept wandering around the darkest and deepest secrets of my life.

I am just 25 years old yet I have so much to hide and barely any to run. I don't know why I felt that running was a better idea than facing the situation. I don't regret anything but with passing time I'm not sure anymore.

My resolve to stay hidden is crumbling but I can't change anything nor can I go back in time from where it all started. It's just so hard to keep secrets hidden when a little exploring is all it takes to know all of it.

I hold the key of the doors that lead to my secrets but I'm afraid someone might just sneak in and find all of them lying out like a map of a hidden territory. They are buried deep down inside me and I am so scared about their revelation that I don't talk about them to even myself. After all, that's happened, it's better to keep them buried than to dig them out.

With my thoughts still clawing my mind, my shower comes to an end and comes a tiring day considering my job and the amount of work that comes with it.

...*....*......

I enter the lavish restaurant or should I say my new workplace. Well, both, and what matters the most is the payment they are offering, it's good enough to pay all my expenses and maybe I could also save some money. If I got enough from this job then I won't have to work in that bar.

I walk towards the changing room while looking at the elegant glory of the hotel. The hotel has a huge glass chandelier hanging down the ceiling in the middle of the dining hall. The hotel is based on a fusion of modern and vintage theme with darker colors as the theme. The hotel itself screams luxury with personalized services, the best chefs, and staff with a great background.

I enter the changing room made for the staff and change into my new waitress dress and walk out of the room a few minutes later. As I walk out my mind begins to wander and lands on the topic of friends. to I am not planning to make any new friends or you can say any friend since I never had one after I started my little run.

'You are saying it like before you had a bunch of friends and now you are like this'.

'Welcome back and thank you to remind me of my reality'.

'My pleasure'.

I scoffed at that and continued my train of thought. I never had friends because I thought a friend is someone with whom you can share everything and vice versa. You don't become friends with someone because of the money they have or any ulterior motive. You understand each other and stand by each other's side through thick and thin. To some people, it sounds kind of too much and imaginative, but it's my definition of friends. I never found any friends because they all had their own reasons and now, I have my secrets to hide. I think I will give friendship a try again when I am done running.

I was so engrossed in my own thoughts; I didn't notice a hand waving in front of me and then someone tapped on my shoulder. I instantly came back to my senses and saw a man standing in front of me with a poker face. I recognized him as the manager from yesterday who gave me this job. He was stern and cold that much I knew already from yesterday's encounter but seeing him now as my boss is annoying me. "Daydreaming isn't your job Miss Rose, or you forgot for what you are hired for?"

I gave him one of those looks that said I know very well and then continued in a sickly-sweet voice. "I remember very well, sir. I was just returning to work, and would you please not mind calling me Miss Jones. I don't prefer Rose when it comes to my workplace".

His next words infuriated me to no end. "Just to remind you MISS JONES, you haven't started working yet so you are not asked to return, more specifically start working is what I meant. If you have any problem with that then I can fire you at this instant gladly."

I contemplated my situation and replied in a calm tone "Sorry sir, I will start working now and you don't need to fire me for this".

I was fuming in anger due to his words but I knew better than to cross him. I need this job so I need to bear with him. I don't know how this day is going to unfold but I already have this feeling that it's not my lucky day and I should be really careful.

'I don't remember any day being your lucky day.'

'Oh, come on, I have had my fair share of luck. You just shut up and let me focus on my work.'

'Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night fair share lady.'

'Ughh, not again'.

I just stop talking to myself and continue walking towards the staff area to know how everything works here.

The room for staff was nothing like I expected, it was more like a hotel room on display. My eyes scanned the room and noticed two black bean bags in one of the corners while a black L-shaped couch and a glass table is placed on the other side of the room.

The room is based on a black and white theme just like our dresses. I walk straight to the bean bags and sat on one. I kept admiring the room with my head full of thoughts when someone suddenly tapped on my shoulder. I jolted due to the sudden touch and turned around to find a guy staring at me with a questioning gaze. He is a cute redhead with light green eyes, light freckles around his nose, and pale skin. He is also quite muscular with a model-like body. 'I take my words back; he is not cute. He is handsome.'

He is wearing a chef's uniform indicating he is a chef here. He waved his hand in front of me after some time and my cheeks heat up from embarrassment while he just smiles a bit and says "Hey!" enthusiastically.

I was dumbstruck while he scanned me again from head to toe and began again with a boyish grin on his face. "Hey, I guess you are new here. Well, I am Luke and I am a chef here especially for desserts. And you are?"

I was astonished to see him talking to me since I don't remember when I had a decent conversation with someone apart from work. Putting aside my thoughts I replied to him with a small smile of my own "I am Rosalyn but you can call me Rose. And yeah, I'm new here, a waitress to be precise about my job."

Since it was early hours, there was no rush and we barely had any work to get back to. So, I and Luke decided to talk and get to know each other. He seemed to be a decent person and though I didn't expect a friend in all this chaos I was willing to give it a try. My plan of a friend after I am done with this mess taking a back seat after meeting Luke since the guy was an absolute gem.

I got to know a lot of things about Luke and I was stunned when he told me his dad is a famous businessman and he is working here because he loves cooking and baking desserts. He is also really funny and sweet and I knew we will always get along.