Chapter One in Fated (A Novel)

She woke with a scream. Her body shot up into a sitting position, her muscles tight as if preparing to fight. Breathless and confused, she tried to piece together what just happened to her that would cause such a reaction. She leaned back onto her right hand as her left rose to brush back some of her hair out of her eyes. Was it because of her dream? She tried to focus on what she had seen. Just as with most people, the more she tried to think about it, the more it evaded her.

A man. She remembered a man. That was definitely a start. Now, what was it that was going on? She closed her eyes trying to grasp at anything. The man was speaking to her... To look for him. She opened her eyes just in time to roll them. That was pathetic. Some random man that she couldn't even fully see calling her in her dreams to look for him? Sounds like something that comes right out of a novel. And she had no time for such foolishness. Plus, that isn't scary. Why would that make her scream and wake up from-

Her alarm shrieked and caused her to loose her focus. She went to reach for it when a low voice called to her. "Lyra..."

She jumped and grabbed a decorative pillow. Lyra quickly looked around to see if there was an explanation as to where that voice came from. But everything looked normal. But that alarm was annoying! She ended up throwing the pillow, knocking her clock even farther away from her. She couldn't help but scoff at herself as she finally got out of her bed to pick up the clock and turn off the annoying alarm. But there was something that was bothering her. Why did that dream bother her so much?

She finally noticed the time in her hands. No time to worry about this further, she had to get ready for work. She slowly headed towards her mirror and took a look at herself. Her light brown hair was tousled but her hazel eyes were clear. Lyra looked like a mess, but it was an easy fix. And good thing too, because she didn't have much time to loiter around.

As she finally did that last touch to tame her hair her phone rang, catching her off guard. She smiled as she noticed the name that flashed on her caller ID. Lyra answered but before she could even say anything, her friend's voice loudly greeted her.

"Hey Lyra!"

She winced, due to how loud her friend spoke into the phone, but continued. "Hey Jessica. Why are you calling already?"

Jessica scoffed dramatically. "Usually by now, you're already half way to your car, and I am scrambling to try to catch up to you while running with my coffee, mastering the skill so it doesn't spill."

Lyra shook her head. "Hey, I'm almost out, I promise." She just put on her last item of clothing so she was fully dressed for work. All that was left was the light touch of make-up. "Just give me a sec, okay?"

"Chicka, I am almost to your car," Jessica responded. She sounded surprised at the fact that maybe, just maybe, she would actually beat Lyra there.

Lyra laughed. "I'm going, I promise." Jessica wasn't pushing her - in fact, Jessica usually talks about how they could leave a little later - but was in fact trying to keep Lyra on the phone to see if there may be someone else in Lyra's apartment.

She had been telling Lyra to leave her two year relationship with Henry. Why Jessica would insist on such a thing was something Lyra couldn't figure out. But somehow her friend kept thinking that Henry wasn't good enough. Lyra usually shrugged it off and took it in stride. She knew that Jessica was just going by feeling and wanted to protect her, but she also knew that Jessica's feeling was wrong.

There was something that was nagging Lyra in the back of her mind, but she tried to brush it off. Just because she been having the same dream more frequently recently didn't mean anything. And it definitely wasn't referring to her and Henry.

This was ridiculous. And if she wasted more time on this, she would be late! Lyra quickly grabbed her bag and rushed to her car. Jessica was patiently waiting in her stylish office outfit and sipped on her coffee. "Sorry I'm late," Lyra apologized.

Jessica turned to her and waved it off. "You know I always said that we should leave later. I am not like you. I do not enjoy sitting in the break room while waiting for work to start." Jessica winked at Lyra, letting her know she was just teasing. "But it is your car, so I just follow your rules."

"Yeah yeah, get in. My vacation starts tomorrow and would love to get today over with," Lyra replied. She then got an idea. She would pop by Henry's apartment today after she got off and surprise him! He had been looking forward to this too because they would be able to spend much more time together. He said he's been missing her.

"Girl, wish I could be taking a vacation with you. I need a break."

"You recently started, you do not need a break."

"Hey, I went from getting my degree straight to work-"

"You also waited to get your degree. That was your vacation."

Jessica paused and thought about it. "Yeah, you're right. Plus I met some pretty awesome guys-"

"I don't want to hear about that again," Lyra said laughing, as she made sure they were buckled up. "Little too crazy wild for me."

"Everything is too crazy wild for you."

"Touche."