Ruined (completed) ✔️

12.5

Stepping into the room I look around at everyone trying to find the one person I want to see.

Ronnie and a few guys walk over to me and they pat me on the back. "It's good to see you, man." He pulls his wife into his side and she starts talking to him.

My eyes continue to scan the room, waiting for Eliza to walk through the door.

Rachelle is walking by a dark corner of the room and she crashes into someone spilling her drink. She raises her voice and yells. "Watch where you're going?"

The person in the dark corner says. "You're the one that crashed into me, Rachelle. I can see ten years hasn't been good to you." She steps out of the corner and I see that it's Eliza.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She steps forward taking a look at Eliza's name tag.

How the hell doesn't she remember the name of the girl she's been tormenting for years?

A smirk appears on Rachelle's lips and she continues with ripping into Eliza. "Oh, I was wondering when the townie would show up. I can see clearly that you have no friends still. It was always about you and Austin." She looks around the room and adds. "Where is that hunk anyway?"

Standing close by, watching what you're doing.

"I don't know where he is," she's lying. Eliza knows where I am. "but there's still no way he would sleep with you, Rachelle. You should have moved on a long time ago."

I don't like these two fight over me. Besides, there's no way I would have slept with Rachelle. She's not my type.

Rachelle looks behind Eliza and says. "You still don't have a boyfriend? If you did he'd be here with you. You're always going to be alone, Eliza. No one cares about you."

She's wrong about no one caring about her. I'll always care about Eliza Donoghue.

Eliza walks away from Rachelle and she ends up talking to Cecile and Adrian. The other couple we've been friends with since we were kids.

Turning my attention back to my friends and I talk to them about what I've been doing since we last saw each other.

Kat and her husband are in the room and she nods her head at me.

She's not going to tell anyone about her meeting up with me a couple of weeks ago, due to her company.

After watching Eliza for a couple of minutes I decide that it's time for her to see me.

I'm sick of standing in a corner hiding from her.

Moving towards them I say. "Adrian Fischer, is that you?" My heart begins to race as I approach the woman I have wanted to see for years.

Eliza's hands move to her dress and she wipes her hands on it.

A smile spreads across my face as Eliza looks at me. She sees the five o'clock shadow that I didn't have a chance to shave off this afternoon.

Leaning forward I whisper to her. "It's good to see you, Lizzie."

A shiver goes down her back.

I'm glad I still affect her.

Eliza looks behind me as Nina and Ronnie walk by. She mouths. "Help me," she made it obvious that's what she was saying.

Nina steps forward and says. "Austin, I need to talk to my sister for a moment. I'll bring her back to you shortly." She grabs Eliza's hand and pulls her away from the group.

This can't be a good conversation that she's going to have with her sister.

After I left I heard rumours about the relationship between the Donoghue sisters and they weren't great. It makes me wonder if any of it is true.

When she interacts with her siblings I can see something is tearing them apart and I'm not sure what it is, but it's there.

I never had that problem with my brother. We grew up close, but as soon as an opportunity across the world came up he took it with both his hands. He hasn't come himself since, but I've also been told there's a girl in Australia that he married and that's the reason why he's not rushing back.

At times I wish I could see my brother, but I'm not willing to travel away from work to just go and see him.

Mom and Dad are proud of his achievements and they've visited him quite a bit and they tell me that his wife is pregnant.

There might be a chance that they come home and I get to be an uncle to my niece or nephew.

Lately, I've been wanting to have a child and the person I want to start a family with isn't my fiancé, but the woman that broke me ten years ago.

Which is why I'm going to win the bet I created with my friends while we were out drinking until Casey arrived at the place and distracted me.

Adrian nudges my shoulder and points over to the Donoghue siblings. "What do you think that's all about?"

Turning my attention to them I say. "It's probably about me. Nina doesn't like the way that I look at her sister. She thinks I'm going to try and hurt her like she did me."

Cecile crosses her arms and looks at her former best friend. "You know she deserves a lot better than what she got. She gave everything up to take care of her sick mother. I know I couldn't give my life up to do something like that. Things didn't get easier for her. I think it got harder the more she stayed. No one knows exactly what she got up to while staying here, but whatever it is it looks like she came out on top."

"What do you mean you think she's come out on top?"

She points at the dress. "Look at her dress. It moulds onto her perfectly. She takes care of herself and to top it off..." she lowers her voice. "She's made a lot of money with investments. I want to ask her how I can make some extra money by making great investments."

How does she know all this about, Eliza,

I don't think it public knowledge that we should know about the finances of each other.

Nina and Eliza end up over at the bar and they order a drink. They talk for a bit and it doesn't take long before Rachelle is back over at Eliza.

Watching the interactions from where I stand I can tell something isn't right between those two.

Rachelle says something before taking Eliza's drink and gulping it down. She tries to give the glass back to Eliza.

Eliza ignores the glass and walks away from her. When she gets closer to Kat she stops and talks to her for a bit.

As if she feels my eyes on her she locks her gaze with mine.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart races as I take in the beauty that's Eliza. Her black hair hangs loosely around her face.

I hope we're not going to play cat and mouse for the rest of the night.

One moment she's with me and then the next she not.