'There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not, the opposite is true. You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them fr...
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CHLOE HAD THREE OPTIONS WHEN it came to Valentine's Day. Option one was to go on the date with Daniel, maybe it would turn out even better than she would've expected it to. Maybe something real would come out of it. Option two was to sit down like adults and talk to him about her fears. About why she was so standoffish when it came to serious relationships. And option three was to do everything she could do to avoid him, hoping that eventually the whole situation would just go away. Because she thought of herself as a responsible adult, she decided to go with option three.
Ignoring.
She knew that the situation would probably come back and bite her in the ass one day. Maybe Daniel would simply hate her forever, never want anything to do with her ever again. Or maybe he would corner her when she was round to see June and she would have to confess her deepest, darkest fear of commitment to a potential romantic partner. But she just couldn't help herself and she busied herself with work and looking for a home to move into, using those as excuses as to why she hadn't come round to see June and especially an excuse to use if Daniel ever did run into her. They lived near each other, she knew it was only time before it would happen.
"What am I most afraid of?" She asked, repeating the question she was given, "Well, I mean, I think you can all guess. Commitment," Chloe said, nodding her head before she bit her lip and shook her head, "Actually, technically no. Not commitment. I guess what comes with commitment. And that's rejection. Abandonment. I was once told by a fortune teller that I was going to find the one true love of my life, he would then leave and I would die completely and utterly alone. So yeah, safe to say I'd rather not have that come true. Plus, all the marriages I saw growing up eventually failed. What's to say mine wouldn't be the same?" She shrugged, looking sadly into the camera.
It had probably been the most emotion she had shown in a fair while.
Feeling vulnerable as she sat there on the couch, twiddling her fingers as she couldn't help but think of Daniel.
"Aunt Lola, this came for you," Haley announced, walking into the kitchen holding a bouquet of flowers.
Chloe's eyes widened as she accepted the bouquet, "Thanks, Haley. Good luck on your driving test, kiddo," She smiled at her niece who walked back out of the kitchen, getting her stuff ready to leave for her test.
Claire raised her brow as she watched her sister read the small note that was attached to the bouquet. It was a mixture of different flowers. Peonies, Azaleas, Gerberas and a few white roses. It was truly a gorgeous bouquet.
"Are they from Daniel?" Claire asked, tilting her head.
Chloe sighed as she nodded, passing the little note to her sister.
Claire glanced at it, "'Chloe, I'm truly sorry if I ever made you feel uncomfortable. That was not my intention. I hope that we can move past this, I truly miss seeing you around. I'm sorry - Daniel.'" She read out loud, "He's sweet, Chloe, why are you so scared to give him a chance?"
Chloe looked up at her sister, snatching the note from her, "You know why."
"Not all relationships fail," Claire pointed out, watching as Chloe grabbed a glass vase out of the cupboard, filling it with water before placing the flowers in it. Touching the petals softly.
She was never really a plant person, but she did love flowers and somehow, Daniel had found her favorites. She wasn't sure if he asked June or whether he could just read her so well that he knew what she would've liked.
"All mine have," Chloe pointed out, looking at her sister with a look of 'I told you so'.
Claire stared at her tiredly, "That's because you leave before it can get too serious because you're scared."
"What's with the therapy session, shouldn't you be driving Haley to her driving test?" Chloe asked.
"Typical."
Chloe stared at her sister, looking offended, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Claire picked up her flask of coffee, "You change the subject when you're uncomfortable or in the wrong," She said, and before Chloe could respond, Claire left the kitchen, calling out for Haley and Alex to come downstairs to the car.
Chloe shook her head as she looked at the flowers. Grazing the petals with her fingers, "Pfft. What does she know?" She muttered to herself.
She fished her phone out. Her fingers hovering over the screen as she got up the courage to click on Daniel's name. She debated whether to call him or not, but in the end ended up sending him a message. Hoping that now things were going to go back to normality. That they could go back to just ignoring their feelings. But she wasn't sure how much longer she could ignore hers for. Having never felt such strongly for anyone before. It's not like she was in love or anything. She just simply cared for the man. The first man she had ever encountered who she wanted to hang out with and not just have sex with.
She grimaced at her thoughts, "Ew. Emotions," She muttered and instead grabbed a bottle of wine and left to her bedroom, calling up a random guy to make her usual mistakes.
