Fading Lines | (Line Series, Book 1) ✔️

chapter five: first day

— First Day

➳ Brooklyn Brody

I was unable to comprehend what was happening. After ten long seconds, reality hit me. I, Brooklyn Elena Brody, was going to be Mr. Hall's assistant which meant for the first time in my life, I didn't fail. I've wanted this so fiercely, it throbbed with every beat of my entire heart– and I got it.

I couldn't believe my luck. It was quite a shock to me after Mr. Hall announced the winners and I was one of them, but what utterly shocked me the most was the fact that I was going to be his assistant. It was actually thrilling to even picture it– I was about to work with one of the most successful and prestigious CEO's in New York City, and I was definitely looking forward to it.

New beginnings are ahead.

After several pats on the back, and shaking Mr. Hall's hand, they let us leave. To celebrate mine and Chase's internship, we went to a bar nearby, as usual. Going out for a drink together to celebrate something has become a new tradition of ours.

It was crowded with people when we arrived, and as we made our way straight to the bar to order a couple of drinks, dancing sweaty bodies rubbed against mine. It reeked of stale beer and nicotine. There were several tall bar stools arranged to accommodate any drinker who didn't want to be seated at one of the dark brown tables.

"You guys go get a table, I'll order the drinks!" Amelia raised her voice to let herself be heard and beamed at us. We nodded and made our way through the crowd.

"I can't believe we actually won." Chase shook his head, still in disbelief, as we sat down on one of the wooden chairs. That was the first decent sentence he spoke out loud ever since the winners have been announced. I nodded at him, giving him a reassuring smile.

Just in time, Amelia arrived with our drinks. Each one of us took a glass, and I lifted my glass to make a toast. "To all of us," I smiled. "We're here because of our hard work, and I'm proud of every single one of you. Our dedicated work and diligence will do good to this world."

"To us!" We said in unison and clinked our glasses.

*   *   *

It was September.

Today was Tuesday. Today, I was seeing a therapist for the first time, ever.

The thought of talking to a therapist filled me with horror. To know that I'll have to share my fears and thoughts with someone who has absolutely no ties with my life irritated me. But desperation and utter grief crushed my heart, and ever since the talk with my father, I knew I had to do something. So, to sum it up, today not only marked the and first day of work with Chase and the other winners at Hall Enterprises, today was also the day I was going to my first therapy session.

I was walking through the park to get some ice cream before I had to face the person who is going to know everything about my life. Amelia asked if I wanted her to keep me company, but I told her to stay home as I already knew she had to study for exams and write thousand of essays. After my first session, I had an appointment with Dylan Hall himself– he told me to show up at noon so we could discuss some things about business. He was probably too busy or he knew I had classes in the morning. It didn't matter, all I knew was it went well with my schedule today, so I was fine with it.

After I finished my ice cream and left the park, I arrived the building in no time. It wasn't far away from my dorm room which was really good since I had to drive around much more than usual now. I waited in the waiting room, thinking about how I couldn't believe I was actually here. Once I have to walk into the office, I thought about how I had to spill out all of my deepest and darkest secrets to some stranger. The idea that someone could understand how I felt or what I went through seemed absurd to me, but it was worth a try. All I ever wanted was oblivion.