Author's Note: This story is a spin off from a previous story 'In My Life'. While it is not necessary to read that story before reading this, the characters have been introduced in that story too.
Fate or Circumstances
Late January 2020
Christopher Jones sat in the taxi contemplating his day. He had been travelling for just on 6 hours, from the suburbs of Melbourne to his final destination. He was on his way to visit his favourite cousin and her family who lived about an hour north of Sydney. The journey had been long, with planes, trains and taxis being used but finally his trip for the day was almost at an end.
The 21 year old had been back in Australia for nearly two weeks, visiting friends and relatives. Christopher had grown up in Melbourne till the age of 14 when his family moved over to England. His father Max had taken a job over there and he, his younger sister Holly and mother Michelle all moved overseas.
Moving to England had been tough for Christopher. He had to start in a new school, where the other children already knew each other. He stood out like a sore thumb. He wasn't athletic, didn't know what the latest trends and fads were in England, the weather was cold and he was miserable. It took a long while for Christopher to make good friends and to finally feel accepted in his new environment.
While making friends was challenging, academically Christopher did well. Upon finishing school he was successful in gaining a scholarship to Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University to study Mechanical Engineering. Arriving at college Christopher was a tall, geeky looking, glasses wearing, slim student. For the first time in a long time he was in the same situation as everyone else, starting afresh. Being in this situation suited Christopher and he fitted into college life easily, enjoying the experience of freedom for the first time in his life.
He worked hard at his studies he got quite good marks in his first year. He also took up rowing for his college, as well as playing cricket. This opened up his social circle and he found friendship much easier to come by. Female companionship however had been a little harder to find although Christopher wasn't too concerned. He now had plenty of girls as friends however there just wasn't a lot of romantic interest. He had enjoyed a few casual hook ups at parties, but he just hadn't found the right girl.
With all of the training he was doing for his rowing and cricket Christopher had finally managed to get some shape to his physique. Rather than being rake thin as he was when he arrived at college, he was now an athletically fit young man while still being rather geeky.
Arriving at his cousin's address Christopher main concern was his choice of attire. His long sleeve shirt and jeans had been practical in Melbourne where it had been rather cold. Here however, in the beachside suburbs north of Sydney, he was cooking. Grasping his suitcase he headed up the driveway towards the front door.
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Daisy Nelson had just endured the three worst years of her life. The now 20 year old had experienced far too much pain in her recent past and was now starting to live again. Three years ago her mother Elouise found out she had cancer. A little over 4 months later she passed away. This devastated Daisy and her whole family. Daisy, her father Mark and older sister Lara were all at her mother's bedside when she passed.
Daisy was in her final year of school, only a couple of months away from taking her final exams when her mother died. The tragedy of losing her mother was extremely difficult to bear. Daisy could not focus on her studies as the grief was too much. She took the extremely difficult decision to postpone finishing school to the following year. She now wouldn't be graduating with all her friends, some of whom she had known since kindergarten.
Lara, her elder sister by 2 years, was away at University studying medicine. She came back to support her father and sister as often as she could, but most of the time it was just Daisy and Mark. Father and daughter supported each other as best they could, living their lives one day at a time. Slowly over time they began to function again.
At times during her first attempt at the final year of school Daisy tended to get a little distracted. These distractions were mostly due to her out of school activities with her friends. Daisy was a relatively popular girl at school, while not being part of the 'in' crowd. Her close friends supported her during her time of grief however, as the new school year started, contact with these friends began to dwindle away. Some had moved away for University, while others simply just lost touch.
Returning to school that following year Daisy found having a goal was great at focussing her thoughts. This time, without as many distractions, she worked really hard and with excellent guidance from her teachers she performed admirably in her exams. She was successful at gaining entry to study Economics at University of NSW, following in the footsteps of her mother and father.
At University, Daisy lived on campus with her two flatmates and now best friends, Bec and Kristy. She was there during each semester, returning home again during the holidays. Daisy loved the freedom living away from home provided. It opened her eyes to life and she revelled in being independent.
Daisy's personality was just like her mother Elouise. She was feisty, strong willed, passionate and intense. She didn't however have the same confidence in her own appearance as her mother did. Elouise was 5'6", with flame red straight hair, porcelain skin and a slim figure. Daisy's sister Lara was almost the spitting image of their mother.
While she considered her mother and sister to be beautiful, Daisy did not think the same of herself. She was taller than both of them at 5'8" tall. Her hair was caramel coloured and wavy to the point of almost being curly. She was much curvier than them while still being fit. She did share their fair skin though. Her friends tried to convince her she was physically attractive, but Daisy just couldn't see it.
During that first year at University Daisy's confidence in her appearance skyrocketed. She started her first real relationship with a fellow classmate Travis. She had been friends with a lot of boys, but never had a boyfriend before. While her father and sister cautioned her on entering a relationship with him, Daisy ploughed head first into this relationship. She fell hard for Travis and loved being with him.
By September however this relationship ended when Travis wanted to date other girls. Daisy was devastated by the break up, just when she thought she had her life all sorted out. Kristy and Bec looked after her as best they could, and her sister Lara offered her a knowing ear whenever they spoke. Her friends even took Daisy away for a weekend to try and help mend her broken heart.
By this time her father had begun to move on with his life and had started dating again. He wanted his daughters to meet his new girlfriend and Daisy went into this meeting with mixed feelings. She could not see anyone with her father but her mother. His new girlfriend Angela was lovely and this made Daisy feel even worse. She had wanted to find any flaw with Angela and she couldn't. Her father was happy and Daisy happy for him, but it didn't make her happy.
Her father Mark was now in a relationship with a lovely woman and her sister Lara was in a long term relationship with her boyfriend Simon. All that Daisy could see was that she was alone. She couldn't help feeling that everything was conspiring against her to prevent her from finding happiness.
His father's girlfriend, Angela, had two children of her own, Taylor 11 and Ryan 9. Once they all got to know each other a real family bond began to grow between them all. Taylor in particular idolised Daisy, wanting to be just like her. Daisy soon came to enjoy being a 'big sister' to the two of them. While back at home during the Christmas/Summer break she helped her father and Angela out by occasionally looking after the children when they were at work.
One particular day Daisy found herself at Angela's house looking after Taylor and Ryan. They were having a fun time and Daisy was casually dressed in a singlet top and shorts as it was a warm summer's day. After their lunch, while playing video games, there was a knock at the front door.
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Daisy opened the door and standing there was a young man, about 6' tall, dark hair, round glasses. For a warm day he looked rather odd wearing jeans and a stylish long sleeved shirt. He was also wheeling a suitcase. The man had a rather surprised look on his face seeing Daisy standing there.
"Hello. Can I help you?" Daisy asked.
"Ummm I think so. This is 28 Kirkwood Drive isn't it?" the man said with a slight British accent.
"Yes it is."
