All by Chance {Brollins}

/ Chapter 1 \

"We're so sorry..." A long pause filled the gut-wrenching silence with heavy sorrow. "We did everything we could."

Rebecca jolted upwards with a sharp inhale as she tried catching her breath. A cold sweat overtook her body while she tried to clear her mind. She was unmoving for a few minutes, scared that if she shifted, she'd hear and see it all again.

She pushed her auburn curls out of her face with shaky hands, before peeling the bedsheets away from her body. She let her legs dangle over the side of the bed as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness.

Rebecca slowly stood up, grabbing her phone and noticing that she had gotten a few hours of sleep, which was more than her typical completely sleepless night. Five in the morning was late enough for her to actually start her day, whereas, on the nights she'd find her mind still racing at three, she would lay awake the whole night with no reprieve.

She slipped her phone into her pocket and shuffled around her room, opening the blinds, seeing the sun just beginning to rise. Rebecca didn't bother changing because she didn't have the energy to throw in the effort. Plus, her pyjamas were already sweatpants and a T-shirt. So she knew if she went out, nobody would know the difference.

Rebecca walked down the hall and past her two spare bedrooms, heading down the stairs. Her house only had a top and main floor, and it was smaller than the average home, but the familiarity it brought was better than the unknown.

The few spots on the floors she knew would creak when she stepped on them, the scuffs on some baseboards. Even the paint chip on one of the corners by the kitchen helped her feel more grounded than not.

Although, there was an emptiness to it at times, a void needing to be filled. A sense of isolation and dread loomed around some dark corners. Not that she was home often enough for it to matter during the day, she tended to distract herself every chance she got. Overstimulating her brain was one of her specialties, and worrying about work or helping others with anything they needed, aided her in that aspect.

The weekend often left her alone with her thoughts, and even then, she would try to stay preoccupied. She walked to the kitchen, opening up her coffee tin only to find that she barely had any left.

"A new day, a new problem." She sighed and rummaged around her drawer for her keys.

Rebecca hopped into her car and made a direct path for the nearby coffee shop. She waited in the drive-through for the truck in front to finish ordering while drumming her fingers on the wheel.

When she made it to the microphone, she scanned her options. "Hi, I'll take a medium half and half."

"Okay, anything else?" The woman on the speaker responded, and Rebecca mulled over whether she should order a muffin or not.

"Add a medium black coffee onto that." Rebecca's eyebrows furrowed immediately, as she heard a muffled voice next to her.

She looked around, knowing no one was with her, until noticing light escaping her pocket. Rebecca pulled out her phone, and her eyes widened. "Colby? I'm so sorry. It must've pocket dialled."

"Better me than one of your exes." He chuckled, "I actually think it was perfect timing. I'll be needing that coffee."

"Ma'am?" The lady on the microphone caught Rebecca off guard.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." Rebecca quickly spoke up, "I'd also like a medium black coffee, please. That's it."

"That'll be nine seventy-five." The microphone made a clicking sound, and Rebecca drove forward.

"Add it to the company card." Colby spoke up from the phone, and Rebecca moved it into a better position.

She opened up her front console and grabbed the wallet she had forgotten there the day prior. "Last time I checked, we don't do coffee runs on a Saturday."

He grinned to himself, "My personal assistant can do coffee runs for me any day of the week."

"Your assistant? Maybe if I were being paid double time." She chuckled, "I ought to get a promotion just for putting up with you."

"Ouch." He placed a hand on his chest, "I pretend to be your friend for how long now? And this is how you repay me?"

"Get out of here." She laughed, paying for the drinks and grabbing the tray they sat in from the worker. "Why are you up anyway? Last time I checked, we have to have SWAT teams storm your house just to make sure you're not dead."

"Okay, you are so dramatic." He rolled his eyes, "I don't sleep in that often."

"Sure you don't." She replied sarcastically, "Let's ask Mr. Boss man how much slack he cuts you on that front... or any front, for that matter."

"Don't you dare. You know he likes you better anyways." Colby stood up from his couch, "It's not my problem if you don't milk the system."

Rebecca shook her head with a smile. "Some of us like to work for what we get."

He laughed before she heard some whining in the background. "You gonna be here any time soon? I may need your help with more than just some liquid fuel."

"Yeah, of course." She nodded, knowing there was no chance she'd be getting any more sleep either way. "I'm almost there."

They hung up, and Rebecca continued her silent drive, gripping the steering wheel and ignoring the sickeningly pale colour of her knuckles as she did so. The quietness filling the car was serene, yet Rebecca still felt uneasy. The calm environment didn't stop the whirlwind of intrusive and unwanted thoughts from cluttering her mind.

Rebecca was at a standstill with herself. Accepting reality was never easy for anyone under difficult circumstances, but moving on was an entirely different story.