Warmth

"your leaving?!" Carlota squealed so loud, the birds surrounding the garden flew away in fright. Astrid immideately plastered her palm over her friend's mouth while using her eyes to hint at her maid or rather, her father's spy Gretta who stood trimming the flowers which was by the way, not part of her job description but she did it anyways so she would have a valid reason for listening in on the girl's conversation. " Gretta, can you please get us a fruit platter, I'd love some peaches right now " Astrid said with a smile so sweet, honey could drip off it, but they three knew it was just a nicer way of Astrid saying " get your ass along with your extra long nose out of my garden and out of my buisness " Once Gretta was out of sight, Astrid turned back to Carlota " it's not going to be a secret any longer if you scream it out at the top of your lungs, you know " "I know, I'm sorry, but you can't expect me to not scream after dropping such a bomb " Carlota retorted. "come on, don't make it such a big deal, I'm old enough okay! " Astrid defended herself, she knew she'd have a hard time convincing this friend of hers to let her go, even if it was just for a quarter year, she needed some time out of this polished prison. "what do you mean 'it's not a big deal', it IS a big deal! you've never being away from home for more than a week before, and even when you did, you were with your father on a business trip!" "exactly! that's exactly my point Carlota, I'm 21 and I haven't even had the chance to spend two weeks outside this golden cage, I need some space Lota, I really do " Astrid pleaded, she needed Carlota to be in on this if it was to be successful, Carlota was basically the second half of her brain and three quarters of her heart. Carlota really didn't want to agree but she knew more than anyone how much this cage of a home was driving Astrid crazy, Astrid had always been an adventurous girl that was allowed to spread her wings and fly, but then the accident happened and Astrid's life ended up turning upside down as collateral damage. "Carlota, you know how much I hate begging, but right now, I'm beg- " "sheesh, okay! I agree! I'll help " Carlota instantly gave in once Astrid offered to beg, she knew how much Astrid hated grovelling. "i'll help you convince your stepmother, but first, how long would you be gone? " Astrid scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, seems like heaven went offline till further notice because she had being praying since yesterday that Carlota somehow forgets to ask this question. here come the hard part " Umm, maybeeee about 3 months..." "3 months!" this time, it wasn't only the birds, the whole Pederson residence was probably scared out of their wits by that scream. "Carr! " Astrid scolded as she watched Gretta approach them with a fruit platter overflowing with sliced peaches. they both waited till Gretta set down the peaches on the table before leaving slowly and quietly, counting her steps so maybe she could get from useful information she could use to suck up to her boss. Once Gretta had returned to trimming the same Bush she had being trimming for the past three hours since Carlota arrived, Astrid turned back to Carlota. "three month's way too long girl, that's like our entire brake before the last semester! " " exactly darling, I need to be gone for as long as possible, you know I need some breathing space or I might just run mad! " There was a long silence, the only sound being Carlota stuffing her face with peaches to avoid agreeing but after staring at Astrid's puppy dog eyes for too long, she had to give in. "okay, okay! I'll help you convince your stepmother, but you have to promise me it'd be three months, no more, okay! " Carlota pulled a serious face while poking at a slice of peaches, so much for the peaches helping her not to give in. " thank-you so much Carr! " It was Astrid's turn to squeal, and probably the whole of Denmark could hear this one. " keep that scream up and the king would probably go deaf before tommorow " Carlota teased, trying not to smile but she couldn't help but feel happy for Astrid, this girl needed breathing space right now like fish need water. Astrid was not the only child, but she was the only child from her mother, her father was the owner of a Global chain of business while her mother... Well, her mother used to run a popular jewelry business for fun. Astrid's mom was anything but a stay at home mom, she liked to travel the world and experience life so much that even the troublesome birth of Astrid wouldn't stop her and funny enough, that was just what Mr.Pederaon liked about her. Funny enough, Astrid grew to be just like her; to laugh like her, to look like her, to love like her, to travel like her, even to hand design brilliant jewelries like her, the both of them were the apples of Mr. Pederson's eyes up until a sunny day about thirteen years ago. since then, nothing's been the same, since her dad had to choose between saving her or saving her mum, since their lives took a ghastly turn, nothing had ever been the same. Astrid was recovering from it, but she doubted her dad ever will. Annalise was her father's heart and soul, and when she left, she took both with her, leaving her father, an empty case, behind. Since that day, Astrid had never been let out alone, and if she ever was, it was either College, occasionally Church, her mum's Jewelry chain or outings with Carlota or she wasn't allowed at all. Everyone that saw her bit their lips at how perfect she was, Brown mid back length, lustrous hair, honey brown twinkling eyes. her mother's fair skin that shined golden after a few hours in the sun and a slender figure; but not everyone knew that all that glitters wasn't gold. maybe it was all the glittering that attracted Askel to her in the first place. " wait, is it just my gut feeling or are you doing this runaway thing to avoid Askel " Carlota said trying to hold back her laughter. "urgghhh, you see right through me, that guy is so much of a stereotypical jock that I might just puke if i sit another hour opposite him while watching him ramble on and on about how much of a great catch he is and how much we make a great couple. " Astrid groaned throwing her head back while wondering how on earth her father liked that guy. "come on bae, he ain't that bad, is he? " "Oh you don't know the half of it, the air brain's straight up stuck up and that is to put it lightly " She rolled her eyes. " he'd probably strangle you if he heard you say that about him, his fragile ass ego would never survive it" Carlota couldn't stop laughing deriving as much pleasure as possible from her friend's pain. " well, he's fragile ass ego wouldn't survive a day into engagement with me, I'd either kill him or he'll straight up bury me alive in his billion dollar lawn, so I better run away and save both of us the trouble " Astrid was a whisker away from puking when she remembered his god awful smirk. Jesus help them both if they ever did get married.