Aster Taylor is looking for a fresh start away from her past, so when her best friend, Andy, needs someone to work for him, she takes the risk. But what will she find in a completely new country. Meanwhile Liu ZhiJian is trying to reboot his life an...
Above is the MV of Encore by SpeXial, mentioned in this chapter (check inline comment for lyrics if you are interested). If you have seen the drama Taiwanese drama 'Moon River' then you'll know their song Subtle Love (if you haven't seen it then go find it. Its one I have watched more than once!). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpeXial http://www.wikiwand.com/en/SpeXial (latter site had a better listing of the members dramas)
Thanks for hanging in there and waiting. Life seems to slowly returning to normal after the summer. I've had moments of flowing writing and moments when I've wanted to bang my head against the wall. I knew all that i wanted to get into this chapter so it just took a bit (a month longer than i originally intended)
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Without further delay the chapter....
Chapter 6 ~ Read Me, Read You, Read Through
The sound of her chunky heels on the tiles reverberated inside Aster's head as she walked through the lobby of her apartment building. Waiting by the main doors was Lucy, who had messaged earlier to offer Aster a ride to work. Upon hearing Aster's approach, the younger woman turned and a look between surprise and horror replaced the smile that had previously graced her face.
"Not a word," Aster stated.
Although she was dressed nicely in her work outfit, Aster knew she was a sight to behold. Unlike most women, she didn't wear any make-up in an attempt to cover up, knowing from experience it would only make her look worse. Her skin was a paler shade of its normal colour and there were faint rosy splotch marks scattered about her face and neck. She had large dark circles set under her eyes, which were a little puffy, rimmed red and hugely bloodshot. Her hair hung down messily with the kinked ends sticking out in random directions. She had fallen asleep after the party without touching it and had that morning only unbraided by running her fingers through it like a comb when getting ready.
As Lucy drove amongst the crazy looking traffic, Aster had to close her eyes. Although she hadn't realised it on any other trips, her current state was making her react to the fact they were driving on the right-hand side of the road, unlike New Zealand where she was used to driving on the left side. Lucy had an album from SpeXial playing quietly in the background, so Aster focused on the melody as she resettled herself.
"I meant to ask yesterday, will you help me shop for bed sheets?" Aster asked once she was capable to speak again, "I don't like the ones they've supplied."
"Sure" came Lucy's cheerful reply while navigating through the busy street.
Near the office building, Lucy had to pause as traffic came to a brief standstill. She looked over the unaware Aster, who was sitting back like she was relaxed but her jaw was clenched so tightly it was apparent she was filled with tension.
"There's box pain relief in the glove box you can take," Lucy told her gently
With sudden movement, a surprised Aster turned to Lucy but the traffic was moving again and Lucy was back to stoically concentrating on her driving as if she had not said anything at all.
