Match Point

Chapter 14: Heal

The dawn that breaks the dark
We all need time to heal
Survive the walk to fly
We all need time to heal

"Heal," by Miles Kane

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Lettie

"I cannot wait to see you both. I will be at the airport waiting with open arms!" I told Kiara and Niamh on Facetime.

"You better! We have so much planned, and I need this vacation," Niamh sighed.

"The place for dinner on your birthday looks amazing!" Kiara chimed in excitedly.

"I kept hearing amazing things about it. I'm very excited," I gushed. I was on a quick break from a shoot I was styling in Italy.

It had been a crazy nine months. Never in my dreams had I imagined nine months ago that I would be where I am now. This wasn't my first big photoshoot in that many months, either. My time had finally come.

Literally, a week after Ian's birthday, the last time I saw Alex, I got a call from Julia, the assistant to the director of photography from the solo photoshoot I had styled with Alex. She and her boss were really impressed with my work, and they had a job that was looking for a stylist if I was interested. I told her yes immediately. I had loved styling on the photoshoots and had been dying to do it again.

The first shoot was for a luxury retail brand in Spain, and it was really fun. Julia asked me again to style a few months later for One Direction, a really cute boyband. And now I had another shoot, which is what initially brought me to Italy; I was going to be a co-stylist on a shoot for Vogue UK, which I was still stunned was happening.

This photoshoot came at the perfect time. It was scheduled to be around my birthday, so I extended my trip and invited Kiara, Niamh, and my other friend Landon to come to celebrate it with me in Italy. Unfortunately, Landon couldn't come, but I would have Niamh and Kiara with me for the next week to explore Italy.

Working on the Vogue UK shoot was a whirlwind, and I was so lucky to have this opportunity to breathe the same air as some of the people I was working with. From selecting the perfect outfits to coordinating with the models and photographers, every moment was a testament to why I loved what I did.

Everything could have been smoother, but I felt like nothing great comes without challenges. There were last-minute wardrobe malfunctions, unexpected changes in lighting, and constant pressure to ensure every detail was just right. But the chaos was exhilarating.

Julia and Kyle, her boss, invited me to dinner and drinks after the shoot. It was nice to spend some time with them outside of the set and to relax in Italy in July. I was so fortunate.

"Third time's the charm," Kyle, the director of photography, said as we all sat with a cocktail outside a cafe. I looked at him, my curiosity piqued, waiting for him to explain more. "I brought you a thumb drive with the behind-the-scenes, the shots, and the outtakes for you." Kyle folded the tiny drive in my hand. He had told me he'd bring me a copy of all the files from the photoshoot so I could use them in the portfolio I was building, thanks to them. Kyle also mentioned that he and his other photographers got amazing shots of me in action; if I ever wanted to use them for a website, they were mine.

"I told you you didn't have to. I got the press clippings uploaded and such," I was anxious to look at them. I had avoided anything related to Alex, including Alex himself, for almost nine months. I was definitely in a better headspace about it all, but now I was too curious to focus on the dinner.