A Cup of Coffee

c h a p t e r 0 1

Elizabeth

"Can you please stop? Just for a moment Liz!"

Staring back at me was my 19 year old best friend, holding all of her shopping bags in one arm and her purse in the other. I smiled at her slightly as I slowly wiped the table down once more with a cloth, allowing her to set her bags down. I was still in the middle of my cleaning routine when she barged into our small kitchen, wanting to show me all of her latest outfits.

"I thought you were going to save up this month?" I asked, peeking at one of the Forever 21 bags she was once carrying.

"Well, yeah, but like there was a 30% discount and I couldn't just walk past the shop. Plus even Nathan asked if I wanted to go. I couldn't turn him down." Katie beamed as she tried to reason with me again, pulling out a denim skirt to show me. She had a spending problem for as long as I can remember and she always complained about not having any money at the end of the month yet here she is, buying clothes she probably will forget about, in a few days. I mean the positive thing about her shopaholic tendencies, I can always just go through her closet and use her clothes. And thus, I don't need to buy new outfits for special events.

She had been in my life ever since we were in high school, I always called her my "bee" and it's been a thing ever since. It means "before everyone else". During my first break up, she came rushing to my house. Right after her examinations, ice cream and sweet treats in a plastic bag. Katherine always gave me the biggest hugs and I always love them so much. She is the definition of a true friend because she would never leave you through the tough times and through the good ones, she will be by your side, holding your hands.

"Hun, you know I love you and your good taste in clothes but you need to stop and save if you want to go for the vacation you had been planning," gently reminding her how she cried about Nathan constantly paying for everything for the last five years and she wanted to take him to Singapore for two weeks for their sixth anniversary. "Plus, we gotta pay rent soon, I lost my part-time job the other day and our budget is real tight."

"You're not tutoring anymore?" Katie stared at me with her dark brown eyes as she took three long strides to get to me. Her long arms wrapping around me as she pulled me into a tight embrace, instantly making me feel better.

"Yeah, Lily's mom texted me last night and it felt as if she was breaking up with me." I laughed, digging my pockets for my phone. I scrolled through my text messages and showed it to her.

"I'm sorry babe, I know you loved teaching her" glancing at the messages, frowning slightly.

"Nah, I've been so busy with everything and I barely had time to plan out lessons for her. So it was unfair for her" I said, trying to reassure her that I was completely alright.

"You know bee, I was wondering how you were managing your time. I barely see you at home and when I do, you are constantly wiping surfaces and cleaning. Babe, you gotta sit down sometimes and breathe," Katie looked at me as she gestured for me to sit down at our small foldable dining table.

"I know but I promise I'm fine, that's why I've been cleaning" After a couple hours of listening about her day and trying on the clothes she bought, we both headed to our "rooms" and settled for bed. It was almost three in the morning and we had classes in a few hours. I know I was going to regret staying up this late because knowing me, it's a struggle to get up in the morning.

This year had been a stressful time for me. I was almost done with college and I was taking most of my majors this semester. In addition to that, I learned that my parents were splitting up a few months ago. It completely broke my heart even though I saw it coming. But death can either make or break a marriage.

They were each other's soulmates, the numbers on their wrists were long faded and they only showed zero. We all have those little countdown on our wrists, Katie's countdown haven't appeared yet and Nathan's countdown when calculated, showed two months and a few days. Despite finding out that they were not each others' soulmates, they managed to stay together for almost six years now.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this whole countdown thing because some people work out together despite having different numbers on their wrists. And I was distraught about my parents' separation and divorce because they were meant to be yet they didn't have a happy ending.

I was turning twenty soon. Almost six months ago, the small numbers started appearing on my wrists like tattoo and now showed 10540200 (four months) and honestly that scares the living daylight out of me. I was approaching the day to meet the one. And hunny after my previous relationship, I was not ready to deal with all this.