The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Twenty Two - Everything Is New

Sitting at her table, Celestia tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her. It was a lot for her to take in, especially when her mind was still on the events of the day - the college and tour of Gabriel's gallery.

"Celestia?" The voice startled her but when she looked up, hands grasping at her hair, Elias stood there with a concerned look on his face. "What's up, cousin?"

Blowing out a breath, she sat back and threw him a smile, "Nothing bad. I'm just trying to work out what to do. I've never had so many options before."

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and walked across the room to sit down opposite her, "School?"

"And work. Uncle Gabe gave me an employment contract to read over but I don't think some of what he's got in here is right." She picked up the bound pile of paper and pointed to one of the lines, "Employee agrees to utilise all advantages of her position as an assistant of the Muse Eternelle owner, Gabriel Coleman, including, but not limited to, a company purchased car and financial assistance for her study if such education will ultimately lend advantageous training for the proposed position." She squinted at him, "What does that mean?"

Pushing a clenched hand to his mouth, Elias coughed, "It sounds pretty good to me. Gabe is probably trying to sweeten the deal since he knows that he'll have you working your butt off. Lots of businesses write similar provisos into their employment contracts. "

"Why would he offer such perks to a trainee though?" Really, she was just looking for Elias to tell her honestly whether his father had written it in just because she was a relative. The job that Gabriel was offering sounded like the perfect position for someone who loved art as much as she did, something that people from all over - people with experience - would come to apply for.

"To make sure that you feel appreciated and want to stay on long term. Dad is the kind of person who expects loyalty and dedication but he knows that that has to come from it being earnt. He will give you the world as long as you're fulfilling your promises, and he'd offer the same 'perks' even if you weren't his niece," Elias soft voice matched the look in his eyes as he reached over and gently pressed a pen into her hand. "Give both yourself and him a chance and I guarantee that you won't regret it, Tia. Let yourself have hope, babe."

Feeling the need to read through it again, she almost started to have a panic attack but a bop on the head from Elias when he moved to stand at her shoulder had her sighing in defeat and scribbling her signature across the bottom of each page. Hopefully Uncle Gabriel would be kinder to her than fate had been when she'd been born as Marie's daughter.

... ... ...

Even though handing the signed contract to Gabriel had been exciting, taking advantage of such a rare opportunity had its downside and Celestia felt the full weight of her decision when Uncle insisted that she accept a ride home with him from the diner, something he'd never done before.

Pulling into the Sunnyvale driveway, Uncle turned off the car and stared stonily at the battered front door, wishing that he wasn't fighting so hard to stay under control. The day had been long and he knew that Celestia would be exhausted but there were things that needed to be said and if he wasn't the one to say them, then she would never be able to let go.

"Today was your last shift," he blurted, his voice sounding harsh after the silence. "North called to tell me that you'd accepted Gabe's job offer."

Her face pale she nodded, turning in her seat, "I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to tell you."

"Because you didn't want to upset me?"

Swallowing thickly, she ignored the fact that tears were starting to make their way down her face, "You've been the only person I've had for over four years. I lost my mum and that hurt but now I'm losing you because I'm selfish and..."