*Author's note*
I've gotten feedback that the story is too wordy. I can eliminate details that are not important to the storyline. Can you please comment if there is a side character story or plot that is boring or you do not care about? I imagined doing stories about other characters, but I can keep their stories to a minimum on Lily's story if it is dragging. Thank you for reading and your feedback!
🎼Restart
The ringing of my phone woke me up Sunday morning. I was not as hungover as I was the night before, but I was still exhausted. All the walking at the fair, fatty foods, and drinking at the bar wore me out. I groaned as I reached to grab my phone. I answered when I saw it was Jenna.
"Hey Lily, I'm sorry to bother you so early. Can you do me a huge favor?" She asked once I answered, groggily.
"Sure." I croaked, before clearing my throat. "What do you need?"
"The recipe for the hashbrown dish your aunt made. I'm making brunch today." Jenna explained.
"Do you want some help?" I offered, brunch being not only a great hangover food, but the perfect motivator to get me out of bed.
"I would love some help!" She said, cheerfully.
"Ok. Give me 30 minutes." I said, getting up. I was barely out of bed when there was a knock on my door.
"Come in." I called.
I was surprised to see Corey standing in the doorway. I threw the covers back over my bare legs. I came home with the energy to just peel off my cardigan and jeans. I slept in my bodysuit.
"Sorry..." Corey looked away. "I thought I heard you up. I have to work today, and Sammy sleeps hard."
"No problem. I'll be there in a second." I said, calmly. It really wasn't a big deal. He wasn't trying to catch me off-guard. I knew he spent the night, I should have asked who was at the door instead of assuming.
When he left, I got up and slid on a pair of basketball shorts. I went down the stairs to let him out. I found him in the den, looking over the drum set.
"Who plays the drums?" He asked.
"No one yet. My friend's son likes playing on them." I explained.
"How old?"
"7."
"That's a good age." He nodded.
"Justin Bieber started at 2." I commented.
He snorted. "Sure. I started at 9."
"You play?" I said, excitedly.
He gave me a little demonstration. He played. He played amazingly.
"Do you give lessons?" I asked.
"No, but I could." He said.
"Ok. I'll get back to you on that." I said before letting him out. After showering and changing, I went to my brother and Jenna's apartment.
"Lily! Come in." Jenna smiled, moving over to let me in.
"Good morning. Thanks for having me."
"Thank you for coming!" She said.
I pulled up the recipe and we went into the kitchen. She told me Cam went for a run. I asked her about the menu for the day.
"I have sliced ham, french toast, ambrosia salad, then the quiche." Jenna informed me. "And...." She stared, pulling out a bottle of Prosecco. "Bellinis. Is it too early to start drinking?"
"Nope, it's brunch," I said, while she opened the bottle.
Drinks in hand, we started cooking.
"So how are things?" She asked me.
"Uhhh..." I said, dumbly. I couldn't decide if I wanted to lie or tell the truth. "It varies." I said, honestly.
"Sounds about right." She nodded.
"Yeah? Because I feel like a crazy person." I admitted.
"I think conflicting emotions are realistic. You still care about the person, but if the relationship was broken beyond repair you shouldn't stay with them." She said.
"I guess it was. At least, for me it was." I agreed.
"Not for him?" She asked, confused.
"He said he could fix it, but I didn't trust myself not to fall back into the same mistakes." I clarified, without going into too many details.
"Why don't you trust yourself?" She asked me.
"Because I keep falling for guys who are not... good to me." I said. "I put up with whatever they're willing to offer. I see that now, I just don't know why or how to change it."
"I very much believe we attract what we think we deserve. How we see ourselves plays a big part in that." Jenna told me.
"Are you shrinking me?" I scoffed. I should have known I couldn't have a normal conversation with a therapist. "I only wanna talk, not get my head shrunk."
"I'm not. If I was 'shrinking' you, I would ask you about your mom. The same-sex parent is a major role model and influences what you think about yourself. Or we could get into your dad, he's the one who taught you how a man should treat a woman." Jenna recited like she was reading the instructions on a recipe instead of ripping my heart apart. Each statement brought tears to my eyes but I was too stubborn to let them fall. "But I'm not your therapist. I consider you family-"
"You're not my family." I corrected her, sharply. Yes, defensive and petty, but I no longer wanted to have this conversation.
"I know. That doesn't change how I feel about you. I'm talking to you like I would talk to one of my sisters. You have too much going for yourself to think you deserve anything less-"
"Jenna, Did yo- Oh, hey sis." Cam cut in as he entered the kitchen. He saw me and paused for a moment, reading my face and I'm sure feeling the tension in the room.
"Hey bro." I said, forcing a smile before finishing my drink.
"Hey, what's going on?" He asked looking at me and Jenna. Jenna said nothing, only glanced over at me.
"Nothing. Just cooking brunch." I said.
Cam gave Jenna a look. "I'll help."
We finished cooking and ate together. I chatted about the fair, Fort Worth, work, Trevor, anything to keep my thoughts happy and pleasant. I wanted to drink, but I planned to drive home as soon as we finished eating. I did just that, telling my brother I had plans. I gave him a hug and left.
When I got home, I grabbed my phone and went to bed. I checked my message; I had a few from my friends but I skipped to the one Blake sent me.
Blake:
Gonna come over and watch the game?
I texted him back.
Me:
No. Think I'm still hungover. I'm gonna hang in bed.
Blake:
Listen to this while you do.
He sent me a link to a country playlist. I put it on, but it wasn't enough to drive out Jenna's words replaying in my head. I sent a text to Rocky.
Me:
Can you come over?
Rocky:
Sure, is everything ok?
