Christmas in Seattle

It was another Wednesday evening around six-thirty in the middle of December before the Christmas holiday as Natalia Sanchez, an inspiring writer who worked under Seattle's top editor, Victor Perez sat in the living room of her three-bedroom apartment in Seattle that she shares with her two roommates, Simon Delarosa and Jessica Riojas working on her manuscript for a book that she’s been writing as she'd always dreamed of having a book published under her name even when she was a little girl. Speaking of books, she spent most of her childhood reading books at the library back home in New Jersey and spent most of her time in the campus library in between classes while attending university, creating a love and passion for writing. While typing away on her laptop, she became frustrated with a storyline, prompting her to get up from the couch and start pacing back and forth as she heard the front door open with Simon and Jessica returning from the store after getting cookie dough and some eggnog and went over to help them with the bags. "Hey, how was the trip to the store?" She asked. "Chaotic, and going to the store with with this one right here is not what I've signed up for." Simon answered. "Oh, please, you should love going anywhere with me." Jessica said, taking off her gloves and coat. Simon shook his head as he placed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and then took off his coat and gloves, placing them in his coat pocket. "Anyways, how's your book coming along, Natalia?" Simon wondered. "It's a working progress, but it's just this one storyline that I can't seem to write." She replied, helping Jessica put the groceries away. "What is it about?" He wondered. Natalia summarized her book as it was about a man in his early 30s named, Liam Hayes, reuniting with his longtime crush during the Christmas season and confessing his love for her. "Sounds heartwarming but then again, anything that involves you is heartwarming." Simon told her, making her blush. "Thank you, Simon." Natalia told him. "What do you think, Jessica?" "Sounds like a Hallmark movie, but I agree with Simon as it does sounds heartwarming." Jessica commented. Natalia thanked them for their feedback as she walked out of the kitchen with a cup of juice and back into the living room to finish writing her book as Jessica asked her and Simon if they wanted pizza for dinner which both of them agreed, sharing a glance and smile at each other which Jessica noticed. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower but text me to let me know when the pizza arrives." He said, grabbing his coat and taking it to his room. Once Simon was out of ear range as Jessica heard his bedroom door close, she glanced over at Natalia as she made a conclusion on her observation. "You're in love with Simon." Jessica chanted, joking with her. Natalia forced her to stop chanting the fact of her being in love with Simon which they both knew that she'd been since the first day they met where he became an attending doctor at Kettering Grace Hospital and the voice of reason with words of wisdom. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida by his parents, Marc and Estela Delarosa and has two younger siblings, Trent Delarosa, his nine year old brother and his twin sister, Veronica Delarosa, who was two years younger than him in which Simon was like an older brother to Natalia and Jessica when he first moved to Seattle after spending his entire childhood in Miami. "Shut it, I'm not in love with Simon." Natalia claimed. "We're just two roommates who happens to be very close friends." "Relax, I was joking or was I?" Jessica said, smirking at her. "I'm serious, Jess. Simon and I are two busy people with two busy schedules in which we wouldn't work out out as a couple." She stated, getting up from the couch to place her cup in the sink. "Oh, come on. I've seen the way the two of you be looking at each other like that little glance that you two shared not too long ago which I have no problem with the two of you ending up together but if you want to keep denying the fact that you're in love with him, then it's your loss for letting him be the one that got away." Jessica explained. Jessica, a second grade teacher at Greenwood Elementary School in Seattle from Scottsdale, Arizona where she was born and raised was like Simon and Natalia's younger sibling with a feisty attitude at most times but was mostly at peace with people with the amount of patience that she had on some days. She's also the daughter of single mother, Claire Riojas as she really didn't knew much about her father after he left the two of them when Jessica was five years old and from this day forward, she'd never forgotten the pain that he had put them through. Her childhood wasn't really the best with her being bullied at every school that she'd attended, falling into the wrong crowd in middle school but after speaking to her to a school counselor and her mother, she changed her life for the better as she made a promise to herself to keep looking forward to brighter days. "Fine, if you must know, I might have some feelings for Simon but our bond as friends and roommates is in a good place right now which I don't want to ruin that and besides, he probably have a girlfriend back at home and I'm not trying to come between them." Natalia responded. "That don’t mean nothing, they could've broken up before he moved in with us." Jessica stated. Natalia knew that Jessica had a point but didn't want to throw away the friendship she had with him. After clearing her head, she told her to order the pizza as she went back to the living room to write. Meanwhile, Simon was in his room after drying off from his shower getting dressed as his phone went off from with a notification from i********: as his girlfriend, Eliana Avalon in Miami posted a picture of her family's Christmas tree as part of her family’s holiday traditions which made him smile but as he scrolled through her page, he saw a video that one of her friends tagged her in the day before with her on another guy's back laughing which he recognized the face of his best friend, Jake Johnson. Fully dressed, Simon opened the door as he went into the bathroom to hang up his towel, trying not to jump to any conclusions about Eliana and Jake.