Always

Chapter 1

This is it, I thought to myself as I stepped off the plane. Today was my first day in New York. I had always dreamed of living here, and now my dream was coming true. And the best part was, I got to do it all with my best friend, Cece Griffin, right by my side. Last year, we had graduated from high school in California, and while we both loved it there, we always knew that we would end up in New York together. 

We got our bags from the baggage claim and stepped outside. I was immediately hit by a gust of cold air. I was taken aback, and I turned to look at Cece and could see that she was too. We laughed and I knew we were both thinking the same thing: California winters don't even come close to winters in New York. 

We both had small suitcases because the rest of our stuff was arriving with the moving van. We had the address of our apartment, but we had only seen pictures so far, so we didn't know exactly where it was. I stepped onto the curb and held my hand up. "Taxi!" I called out, but none of the yellow cars speeding by even looked in my direction. 

Cece held her hand up as well and yelled even louder than I did. "Taxi!" and immediately one screeched to a halt in front of us. 

"How did you do that?" I asked, amazed. She shrugged and we put our bags in the trunk and got in the backseat. 

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked.

"Umm, one second," I said as I pulled up the address on my phone. "Madison and 52nd."

"Alright," he said and hit the gas. It only took about 15 minutes to get there, which was pretty good considering traffic. We thanked him and paid him, and grabbed our bags from the trunk. I looked up at the tall building looming over us. 

"Wow," Cece gasped. "I can't believe this is our new home. I'm so excited!"

"Me too!" I agreed, but there was something deep inside of me that told me that something bad was going to happen, I just didn't know what yet. 

Luckily, there was an elevator so we didn't have to walk up 20 flights of stairs with our suitcases. Also, the movers had already dropped off all our stuff, so the apartment wasn't entirely empty. It had 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, and windows all around, giving us a full view of the city. I walked over to a window and my breath was taken away. It was so beautiful, the way everything kept moving and never stopped. Back in California, life was so slow and boring, but here in New York, everyone had a place to be. It was starting to get dark, and all the lights were shining brightly below, illuminating all the storefronts and casting a warm glow over the entire city. It was the middle of winter, and there was a blanket of snow covering everything, from park benches to billboards. It was more magical than I had ever imagined, and the feeling from earlier melted away. 

Behind me, I could hear Cece squeal. "What happened?" I asked, spinning around to face her. 

"Look at everything! It's more amazing than I could have ever imagined!" she said, gesturing at our new apartment. 

I had been so mesmerized by the view that I had completely forgotten about the new apartment. Everything was so open, and the kitchen had gorgeous new stainless steel appliances and marble countertops. I walked over to the bedrooms which were down a small hallway. The doors were across from each other. I went in the door on the left first and saw that Cece had already placed her bag in the room, claiming it as hers. I didn't care though, because I was still in shock at the fact that this was our new home. I went into my room next, and I gasped. There was a beautiful red brick accent wall and gigantic windows on 2 sides. The ceilings were so high that I had to crane my neck just to look at them. My bed had already been placed by the movers in the farthest corner, but I didn't like it there so I knew I would have to move it. 

I placed my suitcase down in the middle of the room and started to unpack. I realized that I didn't know what the closet looked like since there were no pictures online, so I opened the door. It was a huge walk-in closet, with shelves lining every wall and bins and drawers to neatly organize everything. It was my dream closet, and I was so glad it would be able to fit all my clothes. 

I unpacked all of the clothes in my suitcase which didn't take long since I didn't bring much on the plane with me, then I went back into the living room where Cece was sorting through boxes of stuff, trying to find the rest of her clothes. 

"Do you like your room?" she asked when she looked up and saw me. 

"Yes, I have a gigantic walk-in closet and a cool brick wall!" I said excitedly. "What about you?"

"I love it, the view is so cool. By the way, your clothes are over there." She pointed at three boxes that she had already opened and put to the side.

"Okay thanks, I think I'll just unpack quickly, and then maybe we can go out and get some dinner?"

"Sounds good!" she said. 

I grabbed the boxes and took them to my room where I began to organize everything. After about half an hour, I had successfully put everything away neatly and I decided to go see if Cece was ready for dinner. 

I knocked on her door. "Come in," she said, her voice muffled.

I opened the door and my jaw dropped. She had already decorated half her room!

"Oh my god, how did you do that so fast?" I asked her. 

"Oh, you know, I just knew exactly what I wanted to do with my room, so I just, like, did it."

"Wow, well I'm impressed. Now my room seems so lame compared to yours. Anyway, are you ready for dinner?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm starving. Let's go!"

I grabbed a jacket and my keys and we left. We didn't know exactly where to go, but we decided to walk so we could explore a bit. It was around 6:00, but it was already pitch black. However, there were so many streetlights and fluorescent building signs that it was bright as day. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sign advertising for a Mexican restaurant a block away. 

"How about that place?" I asked Cece, pointing at the sign. 

"Yum, I love Mexican!"

We got to the restaurant and sat at a table. I ordered chicken tacos and Cece ordered a burrito. We ate our food and it tasted so much better than the airplane food we had eaten a few hours before. We talked a bit about what we wanted to see, and then we paid and went home. 
I unlocked the front door and I still couldn't believe that this was my new home. I wondered if it would feel like that every time I stepped inside. I sure hoped so. 

I brushed my teeth and changed into my comfy, pink pajamas. I went to Cece's room to say goodnight, but she had already fallen asleep. I laughed and pulled the blanket over her so she wouldn't get cold in the middle of the night. Then, I went to my room and crawled into bed. I stared out the window as my eyes started to close slowly, and as I was thinking about our new lives in New York, I fell asleep with a smile still on my lips.