Holding On

Chapter 1

Blackout

"The trouble is, you think you have time." – Buddha

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"NATALIE!" Caroline yelled, as soon as she saw me. When she came to a stop in front of me, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Care." I smiled, returning her hug. I missed her hugs. The two of us haven't been in the same city for longer than a couple of days at a time, since the summer after high school.

After I graduated from Stanford five years ago, I took a job with JP Morgan Chase as an Investment Banking Analyst in the mergers and acquisitions department in San Francisco. I didn't picture myself living in San Francisco, but when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn't say no.

I spent a good portion of my freshman year in college freaking out about what I was going to do with my life and taking different classes to get a feel of what I would like. Ultimately, I realized that I didn't have the passion for law school, and eventually I settled on business. I wasn't too crazy about it, but math was something I've always been good at.

When I went back the following year, I officially switched my major to economics and stayed the course until graduation. It was the safe choice, even though a lot of people told me I was letting my potential go to waste.

Lucas was amongst one of those people. With him being at UCLA, I saw him almost every other weekend and the two of us grew closer than ever. I think at one point, I was even closer to him than I was to Caroline and Brooke.

But like I told him, I like to air on the side of caution.

Speaking of Lucas – he surprised everyone when he went on to become a CPA and opened up his own tax practice two years ago. I knew he was studying business, but I always thought he chose that major because it was what all his other fraternity brothers were studying.

During our senior year of college, when he told me he was going to sit for the CPA exam, I nearly laughed in his face. Now imagine my surprise, a year later, when he actually passed the exam.

In the long run, Lucas had done very well for himself. In addition to his CPA practice, he also did some consulting work on the side and had developed a strong network of connections in the business industry. Every so often when I talk to him, he'll offer me a job with double the salary of what I make now – just so I would move back to Chicago.

While the offer was tempting, I would just be leaving one boring job for another.

When Caroline and I finally pulled apart, heads were turned and the majority of the people waiting inside the arrivals terminal at O'Hare airport were staring at us. "Come on." She linked our arms together and took the handle of my carry-on luggage. "There is so much to do before Saturday!"

I smiled, allowing her to lead us towards the parking garage where she was parked. I still couldn't believe my best friend was getting married on Saturday, I sighed.

Caroline hadn't changed much since high school. If anything, she was louder and even more outspoken than before. It worked out well for her in the end because she graduated from Loyola with a degree in business communications. Although she spent a good portion of her first year after graduation floating from job to job, she was now the Digital Marketing Manager for some big firm downtown.

"I'm surprised Lucas didn't come with you today." I said once the two of us were in the car.

"Oh he wanted to!" She snorted, playfully rolling her eyes as she pulled out of the parking spot. "I had to threaten to sleep in the guest bedroom until after the wedding if he didn't listen to me."