Terrified but Too Timid to Change

Chapter One

It had been difficult since the accident. Every little thing terrified her. The mere thought of getting into a vehicle would cause vertigo. Yeah, it had only been two months since the accident but "only the weak stay scared." The words from her so-called mother haunted her. Instinctually she straightened up and wiped her face. Burying the pain and emotions were better than catching another beating. Nevermind that there was over two thousand miles between them. The fear that "mother" would appear and start hitting had never left, even though she moved out at eighteen. The thought caused her to pause in her walk. That was.....twenty years ago. When will the fear leave? Does that woman have to die for peace to reign in her life? With a sigh, she continued on. This is her big shot. She finally got a meeting to pitch her business idea.  God please let me not trip over my words and get this business going, she thought to herself.

The building was imposing as she walked up. One final deep breath and she opened the door. The receptionist looked up as she came in. The desk hid her from the waist down but otherwise the receptionist was very pretty. Her blonde hair was tastefully set in an updo and her green eyes flashed as she sharply asked, "do you have an appointment?". "Yes ma'am, I do. I was told it was at eleven." The receptionist tapped a few keys on the keyboard and responded "of course, follow me." She tried to quietly take another deep breath but the look the receptionist threw over her shoulder let her know she failed in that attempt. After a short walk, the receptionist stopped outside of a conference room. "Here it is. You have ten minutes to set up and they will be arriving for the meeting." She thanked the receptionist but the blonde was already walking away.

Having only ten minutes to set up was perfect. It was just enough time to lay out the proposal folders on the table and get most of the information transferred into the white board that was thankfully already in the room. She quickly got to work laying out the folders. Her hands shook as she walked around and she wondered if this was a mistake. "Maybe it's too soon. The accident was only two months ago..stop! Keeping moving forward. That's how you move past and honor their memories. This isn't heartless. Just practical", she whispered to herself as she started writing on the white board. "Just focus on the meeting and forget the past. There will be time for that afterwards." From the doorway came a man's voice that asked, "time for what afterwards?". She felt her heart drop and slowly turned to the door and froze. "Oh God it's him," she thought. From the doorway, Pete smiled and repeated, "time for what afterwards?"

"Uh nothing important. Just some personal stuff," she stuttered out meekly. The fact that Pete was standing in the same room as her made her knees weak. It is actually happening. She is about to take her first steps into the music world and God willing they won't be her last. She indicated the table and said, "I have my proposal in the folders on the table. If you want to have a seat, I'm sure everyone else will here shortly." The lack of wobble in the quick speech made her proud. It was professional and not some weak fangirl who spoke. "I can do this," she thought. Pete smiled again and took a seat at the opposite side of the room, directly across from the white board where she would be standing most of the meeting. "Did you have trouble finding the building?", he asked. "No, not at all." She quickly answered, turning her attention desperately back to the white board. She could feel his eyes travel her body as she wrote, taking in the blouse that fit so well and the skirt that was tastefully short with a slight slit up the back. She was thankful that she had made the decision to spend the money on the outfit. Nothing else she had was professional enough.

From the doorway came a shout. "Petey!". She turned and saw Gabe walk in, ignoring her completely as he greeted his friend. "Where have you been, man? No one has seen or heard from you since the break-up. You writing again or what?" "Just spending as much time as possible with the kids," Pete responded. She took a peek from the corner of her eye and saw his discomfort at the question. "What break-up?" She wondered to herself.  Before anyone could say anything else, more showed up. Gerard came in, almost with an air of not realizing where he was or why and dropped into the first chair he came to. Amy bounced in and rolled her eyes when she saw Gabe. Gabe, who had taken a seat next to Pete, smirked. Amy took a seat as far from as possible from Gabe, which placed her next to Gerard. Lzzy came in next and Amy jumped up to grab her friend. The girls say down and quickly went to talking quietly while Amy shot dirty looks at Gabe across the table. Billie Joe strolled in and flopped into remaining seat. "What's happening?", he asked the room. "I guess it's her turn to tell us," Pete said as he indicated her standing at the white board. Everyone turned to face her. "Now or never," she thought.  "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I'm very excited for you to hear about this business proposal that is sure to be a great investment for you. I will be laying out exactly what my idea is and I know that you will jump at this opportunity." She stated quickly and firmly. "That's good and all, darling. But can we have your name first?" Gabe snickered out. She blushed, furious with herself for forgetting that simple fact.

"Of course. My name is Aurora and I am here to take over the music world and drop it to its knees."