Worth The Risk... The biggest risk wasn't falling in love, it was the consequences of getting caught....

JULIETTE PARKER. I didn't expect life after college to feel this... quiet. No lectures. No deadlines. No group projects I hated but still survived. And it all came to an abrupt end. Not that I wasn't happy, I just felt like I'd miss all the college shinanigans, you know, parties, movie nights, extra credit activities and the long ass library that had everything you needed. But that was all gone, me in my brother's house was all that was lurking in my mind. Just me, my laptop, and a blinking cursor staring back at me like it had all the answers I didn't. Another rejection email popped up on my screen. "thank you for your interest..." I didn't even finish reading it. Ethan had told me it would be like this. "You'll apply, you'll wait, and then you'll complain to me every time someone doesn't reply," he had said before leaving for his flight. He wasn't wrong. He usually wasn't. The front door clicked open. "Jules?" Ethan's voice echoed through the house. I closed my laptop slightly too fast. "Yeah?" He walked in like he owned the place-which, honestly, he acted like he did even when he didn't. Pilot jacket in one hand. Sunglasses pushed up on his head. That annoying calm confidence he always had. "You've been inside all day again?" "I've been productive." He raised a brow. "Define productive." "I applied to jobs." "That's new," he said, dropping a small paper bag on the table. "I'm proud. I think." Very funny, Ethan. Somehow, he was able to start working as a commercial pilot at the BlueJet Airways. He's been doing that for 5 years despite my mom's glaring disapproval. They kept malice for six months over it until dad spoke to his wife. Pretty sure my mom still holds grudges against him but she just bottled it all up. She preferred Zaid's career. The ambitious best friend my brother always needed to push his limits as my mother would say. Zaid is my brother's best friend of 15 years. They met when he joined the high school that wore uniforms which I don't even remember right now. We had just moved to the neighborhood and in my brother's words, they clicked instantly despite the fact that Zaid was calm and intimidating and my brother was the opposite of it. I had only met Zaid on family occasions but I couldn't count the number of times he was at our house with his strangely sweet mother. He always left after spending half an hour. We never spoke either, like he had something bottled up and he didn't want it to come out. You should see him sometime, he was good looking the last time I saw him but you didn't. Oh well. Speaking of Zaid, I hadn't seen him in four years, since I moved to California for college. Ethan said he was busy with work but whatever. I wonder how he does his job especially with the constant emergencies and then, he runs off like it's a code blue for nurses. He is mostly around every two days except for other pilots who probably have family emergencies or when the airway provides another set of new jets and expands to travelling to other countries. Ethan is kind of a GOAT at his workplace. "I dont know. I've been applying to different places in the past week and nothing! I didn't get a distinction in Communication and that stupid minor for nothing." I complained loudly while Ethan watched me with his dumb look. A chuckle escaping him. I had always expected this but not this way. This is outright rejection and this is the third one in two days. "Well, it happens. I'll be leaving in the next five hours anyways. If Sav comes by, tell her to meet me upstairs." He said, dragging his feet on the wooden floor. Savannah Donovan, the girl who has managed to capture my 29 year old annoying brother's rock hard heart. She is a pediatric nurse and she's great at what she does at least that's what Ethan told me. They've been dating for six months now and somehow, despite their busy schedules they manage to make it work. I couldn't but they love each other. My eyes darted back to my laptop once again, managing to finish the email that disappointed me again, for the third time. My phone buzzed interrupting my thoughts, seeing a message from my personal b***h, I pick it up. "hey, b***h. I saw Ethan at the estate and he told me you were home. I thought you said your mom was inviting you to her house." She is probably annoyed that I hadn't seen her since we arrived from college together. She studied Psychology at Stanford University with me except I have a bachelor's degree in Communication and minor in Marketing. "mads, I told you that I was home, looking for a job. If I dont get a job in less than a month, I'm going to have to stay with the mother that doesn't give a s**t about her children.." "Anywho, I'm coming over.." There's nothing you can do to change Madison's mind. Her parents have their own hospital which makes it easier for her. We don't do much, we just catch up and binge watch our favorite series that is very underrated. "Survivor's Remorse." A knock interrupts our movie and I go to open it. "Savannah? Ethan has turned the house upside down because of you." I exaggerate which makes her laugh. She is still in her uniform and her work shoes. "Hi, Madison." She greets, handing me a paper bag of McDonald's and I give her a hug mumbling a thank you before she heads upstairs. I sit back down and join Madison as she plays the movie once again. Cam Calloway and his girlfriend's love story is sooo... I don't even have the word. That night, when the house is quiet again, my eyes catches it, the last hope in me. Apex Dynamics. A company profile I shouldn't be so interested in... but is. I click,"Apply." And for the first time since graduation, I felt like something is actually starting.....change.