DEVASTATION
“I have the contract with me if you would like to take a look.” She retrieved the manila folder from her bag and placed it on the desk before him.
Elijah didn’t waste a moment in tearing open the seal and began reading the contract, asking questions where the terms seemed unclear and making notes where he felt a clause could be added, and just as he opened his mouth to ask another question, both their phones rang, seeing Ken’s name on her screen, Sierra excused herself to take the call in the hallway.
“Hi, Ken!” Sierra greeted, wondering why he was calling at such an odd time.
“Sierra.” He sounded out of breath and there were loud noises in the background, s
RELIEFHours passed with Elijah and Karisa’s house filling up with friends and family. Alexa and Jeff, who returned from their honeymoon only the day before, were already on their way over for dinner when her father called to tell them what transpired.The living room was filled to the brim with people sitting on couches and the floor, watching the television for any sign of Roman. An hour ago emergency services were able to control the fire and get enough rubble removed to start helping people out of the building where they’d been trapped for almost three hours.Constant checks of social media and any connection to the bombing, hoping they would find a clue which led them to Roman’s whereabouts, the curren
THE END OR THE BEGINNINGA week later Sierra arrived at the Leek residence with the final contract in hand, she had called ahead to warn Elijah of her arrival and he made no indication that there would be so many people present, but judging from the number of cars in the driveway, she was sure they had company.She knocked on the door the same way she had the other day, but instead of Karisa, she was welcomed by Alexa’s annoyed face.“Hi, is this a bad time? I had a meeting with your father.” Alexa’s eyes widened and she shook her head, running a hand through her hair.“No it's fine, I’ll just
SURPRISES“How do you know so much about how to treat wounds and to look for signs of infection?” Roman asked, breathing through the pain he was experiencing, she hoped the pain killers would kick in soon.“I did a military-grade first aid course when I was in college.” It was something she’d done both for fun and to understand a little more about the danger responses of the body while she was writing her paper on the Phenomenon of life, but she kept that information to herself.“That’s pretty dope.” He nodded, impressed.“It was a very enlightening time of my life.” She agre
NEW HORIZONSFor the next three days, they all visited Roman in hospital, taking food and a change of clothes each day since he claims hospital food isn’t real food.“That’s rich coming for a doctor.” Sierra teased.“You know I never eat from the hospital cafeteria.” He pursed his lips and her eyes widened.“How would she know that?” Alexa narrowed her eyes and Roman recovered faster than Sierra did.“She wouldn’t, I’m telling her.” They shared a look.
HOPE(LESS)Sierra arrived home with a sense of lightness in her heavy heart. The plane ride was short and uneventful and by the time she arrived home, she felt almost jet-lagged.“You look worse for wear, what did they do to you on that trip?” Macy asked, helping her with her bags. Macy was the one to pick her up from the airport since her folks were helping friends of theirs move to a new apartment.“It was great actually, I got to spread awareness about the new treatment and see some of the facilities we’ll be sponsoring. It’s nothing like staring down a microscope, But I appreciated the experience.” Macy stared at her while she described her trip, there was an air of wistfulness that su
DRAWING LINESRoman looked at the pictures perched on the mantle in his parent’s living room, everyone in the room was featured in the pictures and he couldn’t help but notice how happy they were. Simpler times.“Roman?” Karisa caught his attention cautiously.“Do you know why I left four years ago and never looked back?” The room was silent, waiting for him to answer his own question, “I left because when I looked around me, I didn’t see anything worth sticking around for.” He turned around to face the crowd.“Roman, we never meant for any of it to happen.” The man he
A PERFECT MATCHSierra went to place her laptop down on the nightstand when a familiar box caught her attention.The little square box that Karisa gave her when she left it lying unopened, she slipped the box into her handbag when she got in the car and completely forgot to open it when she arrived home.Pulling on the blue ribbon, she felt nerves bubble inside her before she lifted the lip. On top was a folded note with her name scrawled on it, unfolding the note, Sierra’s eyes fell on Karisa’s handwriting.Dear Sierra
A SURPRISE VISITDressed in a pale blue skirt suit, Sierra waited for Elijah and his associates to exit the airport terminal, checking the time on her phone she figured they would have landed already.She was surprised when she received word from Cilla that he was arriving on Monday, their exchange wasn't till Thursday, but being a notorious businessman probably meant he had other business to attend toA light breeze caused her black hair to bounce under the sky lighting of the airport, giving it a regal shine. Roman felt his eyes rake down her body and back up before landing on the sapphire pendant resting proudly between her collar bones and his heart swelled with pride.
EPILOGUE Sierra closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair while her sun hat both protected her from the colossal heat of the Californian sun and threatened to fly off. Roman and Sierra were enjoying the view of the coast as they drove along the shoreline on their way to his family’s beach house in Malibu. Elijah’s convertible proved to be the best choice of vehicle for the summertime weather, with the music blasting through the speakers and Sierra and Roman singing along at the top of their voices. “Ahh… This is the life.” Roman sighed when the song trickled to an end. “I think we could use one of these.” She ran her hand over the dashboard lovingly, “But like a Bentley convertible.” Roman eyed her with amus
THE TRUTH A soft thud woke Sierra up from her sleep, she felt a lot stronger than earlier so she decided to check if Roman was okay, pushing open her door, she stopped short when she saw his muscled back facing the door from his position at the window, he had his phone against his ear and a hand in his hair, she wondered if it was a work emergency since he seemed frustrated, but before she could take another step, his harsh voice stopped her. “No. Stop this shit, I’m warning you, Caralynn, if you ever call me again I will make sure you live to regret it. I made myself clear last night, I love Sierra and you have made things difficult enough for me, I won’t tolerate anymore. I’m not the same naive person I used to be. This conversation is over!” He whisper yelled, his voice hard with finality.
FIXING THINGS “Mom she won’t talk to me, I don’t know what to do.” Roman sighed, pacing the length of Sierra’s kitchen. “What did you do?” His mother asked, he could picture her with her hands on her hips, staring at him knowingly. “We bumped into Cara yesterday. Let’s just say I didn’t handle the situation well.” He cringed at his own words and his mother sighed. “I knew that girl was bad news the day I met her,” Karisa grumbled. “Mom!” Roman groaned.
IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH The phone buzzed beneath her, making her groan out loud. She called in sick to work early that morning, so it wouldn’t be them looking for her. She didn’t bother peeling her eyes open when she answered the call. “Hello?” She grumbled, suddenly feeling bile rise in her throat. “Sierra, are you okay?” Roman’s concerned voice was clear through the phone, but before she could answer or cut the call, her mouth felt wet. Abandoning the call, she raced to the guest bathroom and threw herself in front of the toilet before the contents of her stomach spewed back out. She felt her head pound and her stomach burned
HURT AND JEALOUSY Sierra and Roman were seated at their favorite spot at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company drinking milkshakes when Roman suddenly froze. “Cara?” Roman breathed, wide-eyed. Sierra turned to see a drop-dead gorgeous woman standing behind her staring at Roman with a loving look in her eyes and Sierra’s body turned cold. “Roman!” The woman smiled broadly and approached Roman just as Sierra realized he stood up. Long slender arms wrapped themselves around Roman’s neck at the same time his arms tightened around her waist and hi
THE SURPRISE PARTYSierra and Alexa removed the cake from the box, careful not to touch it and damage the cream.“This looks so delicious,” Alexa commented, Sierra ordered it from a well-known bakery in downtown San Francisco and she too was quite pleased with the outcome.“She’s going to love it.” The blush pink and peach roses were soft in contrast to the shards of white chocolate that stuck out between them, the vanilla sponge was filled with raspberries and white chocolate ganache and covered in a pink ombre ganache.It was exactly as Alexa described, feminine with an edge.
A MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE“Okay, I’m here. Are you ready?” Roman grabbed his bag in his hand and opened it, ready to reveal what he picked in the gift shop.“Yup, we’ll each reveal one item at a time.” Sierra reached into the bag to pull out the first item.Their eyes landed on the items in their hands and both of them smirked, Roman held up a 7-inch vinyl record with Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers written on the cover and Sierra held up a polaroid camera.“You know what this means, don’t you?&rdq
THE ICE CREAM EXPERIENCESierra keeled over with laughter. A little Indian woman was teaching Roman how to make candy floss, but she scolded him endlessly because he kept eating it. They saw the little cart when they got off the cable car and Roman dragged her over with fascination.“Okay, no more, no more, we finished now.” She lifted the stick and handed it to him, switching off the machine in the process. She looked worse for wear after the experience, but Roman was beaming from ear to ear.“You’re the best Aunty Rashida.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek and handed a dollar bill to her husband with a salute in his direction before he took off towards Sierra. Grabbing her hand he yanked her to
I LOVE YOUThe weeks passed by in a blur and before they knew it, Roman started his job as head of the ED at Union Medical Centre. The brand new building hosts a variety of specialised clinics such as an Oncology clinic, a Diabetes wing, a pre, and post-hospital care facility, and state-of-the-art maternity care. It has become the best round-the-clock medical facility in San Francisco.“How was your first week at work?” Roman was still dressed in navy blue scrubs and trainers.“It’s been great, getting to know the team and learning to work with everyone. No major cases yet, but the challenge is great.” Roman grinned, popping a fry into his mouth. They were seated on a bench of a popular fi