A Twist of Fate [niall horan]

Chapter 1

      Waking up to an annoying buzzing sound otherwise known as my alarm clock is never my ideal way of realizing it's time to start my day. I'd prefer something mellow to wake up to like the sound of birds chirping. Unfortunately living on the thirty-second floor of an apartment building in the middle of New York City doesn't allow you that luxury.

Reaching over to my bedside table, I grabbed my phone and it was no surprise to me to see that I was bombarded with text messages from my best friend Lauren. Of course it was regarding the same thing she always ranted about: her boyfriend Ryan. Lauren was a sweet and real easy going girl while Ryan was just well Ryan. He never put as much effort as Lauren did in their relationship nor has he been the most faithful to her. Yet being the naive girl she is, Lauren always forgives him. If that was me dating him, I don't think we'd last very long.

I wasn't the type of girl that was looking to settle down. Sure it'd be nice to find someone and see it where it goes, but I guess I just never felt the need for it. A boyfriend wasn't on my worry list at the moment, I doubt it will anytime soon either.

Forcing myself out of bed, I trudged around my room until I found a pair of shorts and an old high school tee shirt. After brushing my teeth and making myself look somewhat decent,  I walked out into my kitchen where my aunt was busy preparing yet another crazy breakfast concoction.

"Morning Ro." I said as I took a seat at the kitchen table.  Nine years ago, my mother passed away shortly after giving birth to my little brother, Adam; five years ago, my dad passed away due to a hit and run car crash involving a drunk driver. Ever since then my father's sister, Rose(or Ro for short), took us under her care. Of course we had to move into her apartment in the city, where as Adam and I were used to small town home in the suburbs of New York.

Realizing you lost both your parents at the age of seventeen is a giant slap in the face by reality. I realized I had to fend myself because there was no one left for me to lean on besides my four year old brother at the time. If it wasn't for my aunt taking us in, I can't even imagine where Adam and I would be. Thankfully, I'm finished with my second year of college and Adam is in school and fully involved. Nothing to worry about there.

"Good morning honey. How are you today?" my aunt asked as she handed me a plate stacked with three pancakes and fruit on the side. My aunt had a passion for cooking. If she wasn't cooking, then she was either talking about cooking or looking up new recipes to try. Too bad she was a lawyer's assistant at one of New York's largest law firms. Cooking is always a nice hobby, right?

"Good. Where's Adam?" I asked between bites.

"You know the usual, playing soccer with Logan and the others at the park." my aunt said as she sat down across from me with her cup of coffee.

"This early? It's only like nine?" I said unsure. I failed to look at the time when I woke up this morning, typical me.

"Aubrey, it's a quarter to noon. You slept in." She said as she sipped her coffee and scrolled through her phone.

As soon as she said that I bolted from my seat and ran to my room to grab my things.

"Shit, shit, shit." I muttered as slipped my shoes on and grabbed my purse. If I was late to work one more time, I was not only going to be fired, but I'd also lose my shot at becoming anything more than a writing intern.

"Tell Adam I love him, I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you bye." I yelled as I ran out the door and to the staircase. In no way did I have time to wait for the elevator that took years to come up. As I rushed down the stairs, I took out my phone to check the time. It was almost noon, which meant I only had about a half hour to get to the other side of New York city. Wonderful. With my luck traffic will be backed up all the way past the Statue of Liberty.

Once I got outside, I hailed the first taxi I saw and climbed in. "Times Printing office please." I directed the driver as I rushed in. Traffic wasn't as horrible as I thought it'd be, but it was still packed as usual. Nearly there, I felt myself jolt forward along with the taxi.

"Ya alright back there?" the driver asked as he jumbled through his belongings in the front.

"Just dandy." I muttered through my gritted teeth. I turned around and noticed that a black SUV was literally stuck to the trunk of the cab. Checking the time, I noticed I had less than fifteen minutes to get to work. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my purse and got out of the taxi to see the idiot who slammed into us.

Maneuvering myself around the already accumulating traffic, I made my way towards the unknown driver of the black car. "Are you fucking insane ramming into a taxi in the middle of fucking New York City?!" I shouted as I reached the driver's window. The driver was no younger than me. He looked like he was in about his mid twenties. His brownish-blonde hair was styled into a messy quiff which complimented his pale skin complexion along with a few freckles here and there. I couldn't see his eyes because they were covered up with black ray bans. Suddenly a strange sound, rather a voice, snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Look I'm sorry. Here's my manager's card 'nd he'll take care of all th' expenses." he said in a strange accent. It sounded familiar though, definitely not British but pretty darn close to it.

"Sorry doesn't cut it buddy. I'm gonna be late to work and lose my job all because you can't fucking drive or see where you're going." I screamed. I probably looked like a lunatic right now, screaming at some random in the middle of the street. Honestly I could care less, this imbiscle is about to cost me my job.

"If yer jus' gonna stand th're 'nd yell at me then get lost. I don't have time fer yer bullshit." he stated looking at me through his dark sunglasses.

"Excuse me?! I don't have time for YOUR bullshit. Why don't you take your bullshit and go back to where you came from because obviously you're not from here if you can't even drive properly." I yelled back at him. I couldn't believe this fucker was turning everything around on me. Before he could utter another word, my phone started ringing with my obnoxious ringtone. Low and behold, it was my lovely boss calling.

"Hello?" I warily answered.

"Aubrey? Where the hell are you?"

"Just a small incident on Main St. I'll be there soon. Don't worry."

"Hurry up then. I have no time for your dilly dallying." she said before she hung up.

"Great." I sarcastically said as I took in my surroundings. If I wanted to get there on time I would have to walk, it wasn't that far of a walk but I would have to run if I wanted to keep my job. I quickly made my way back to the taxi driver and handed him some money for the drive he had almost completed. As for the foreign man who I assume was still pissed, was still staring at me.

"Fuck you." I yelled as I held up my middle finger to him and then turned around and made my way towards work.

After succesffuly making my way through crowds of people, I made it to the lobby of the well known New York Times printing office. This is where all the reporters, writers, interviewers and more met up and for everything together before it was printed and spread to the world. I was beyond lucky to land this internship. If I ever wanted to become as successful as any of the workers here, I would have to start here.

"Good afternoon, Miss Simmons. Mrs.Hathaway would like to see you in her office right away." Rita, the receptionist, greeted me as I reached the floor I work on.

"Of course." I said as I plastered a smile on my face and made my way towards that intimidating office. After knocking and hearing the "come in”, I twisted the knob and entered.

"Aubrey." Mrs.Hathaway said with a stern voice. I gulped and took a seat right in front of her desk. To say I was scared shitless right now would be a complete understatement.

"Good afternoon Mrs.Hathaway." I politely answered.

"Skip the formalities now. I have to discuss something very important with you right now." she said as she shuffled through some files on her desk.

"Umm okay. Go ahead." I motioned for her to go on.

"I'm afraid you won't be working here anymore." That's all it took for me to zone out everything she said afterwards. I was in deep shit.