Imperfectly Perfect

Chapter 1 - The first meeting

I pick up the almost 14 kilos trolley and somehow manage to walk three steps down the stairs. The cab driver honk from inside the cab for the zillionth time and I see my father's face drop.

"I told you it's too heavy," my father nags once I thump the trolley down on the ground and bend down, holding the sides of my waist.

I'm so badly out of breath that I can't even form words and talk, thus; I manage to show thumbs up to him.

"My poor baby, please take care of yourself. Don't go out drinking too much, and eat lots and lots of fruits," my mother coo, embracing me in her arms.

I laugh. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 23."

"You'll always be my little girl," she kisses my cheek.

My father who has always been the most emotional one between them is already in tears. I tread towards him and wrap my arms around his torso.

"I'll be fine, dad. Don't worry," I assure.

"Don't do anything wrong," he says once I pull away.

"Of course, not. Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you more than anything," he smiles.

The driver honks again, breaking our moment. My parents step back and exit the large gate of the building. My father opens the back door of the cab and allows my mother to board first before he follows suit. I look at them, and although I'm putting up a brave face I feel scared a tad.

"Bye, honey. We'll call you once we reach the station. Take care," my father screams as the driver starts the cab and surges the vehicle out of my sight.

"I will," I scream back, waving my hand up.

Once they disappear from my vision completely, I take a deep sigh and walk up the stairs to second floor where my apartment is located. Every floor has two apartments except the first floor that belongs to the landlord, along with a common corridor. It's a nice residential area and I'm glad I chose this place to stay. My new job starts from Monday, and the office is only 30 minutes away. I will travel by bus as of now, but within three months I plan to buy a scooter.

I stand at the corridor, wrapping my arms around my body. The weather is very pleasant, in fact cool – something about Bangalore that has always adored me. My apartment is fully furnished, which is why cooking sounds easy in my head.

As a series of thoughts cross my mind, I hear a very heavy voice, speaking to me from the back. I quickly turn around and my eyes land on a blonde boy with deep blue eyes. He wears his hair brushed onto his head and his skin is as pale as it can be. I notice his chest hairs peeking from behind his gray shirt that is button down as his lean legs are covered in black skinny jeans.

"Still crying about your parents?" he asks, a smirk painting his pink lips.

I furrow my brows, quite taken aback by his question. I realize that he's my next door neighbor, about whom I heard before. But I definitely wasn't expecting such an introduction.

"Not really," I say, running my eyes down him.

"You must be the girl my cousin was talking about," I notice strong accent in his sentence.

"Liam?" I nod. "Yeah, I met him. He seems nice," I somehow smile.

"But you definitely don't seem the way he described," he scans me from top to bottom in such a way that I feel uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" I ask – a little irritated.

"You seem a little boring from what he told me."