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Chapter 17 - Lily: Thanksgiving
This was the last place I wanted to be, but I had made my brother a promise. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have even been standing in front of my mother’s door with an apple pie in my hand.
“Thanks for making this by the way,” I looked beside me at Maddison, who was currently touching up her makeup. “And also, thanks for being my backup today.”
“No worries.” She waved me off. “Besides, I wasn’t about to leave you to handle the one who shall not be named by yourself. We are in this together.”
I nodded and let out a heavy breath. Now or never.
I knocked on my mother’s door.
A few seconds later, she opened the door. I hadn’t seen her in almost six months—a strained relationship would do that to you. She looked different but she also looked the same. There were definitely a few more grey hairs peppering her scalp, but other than that, she looked the same.
Her caramel eyes gleamed as she took me and Maddison in.
“Lillian!” She threw her arms around me. Reluctantly I returned her embrace with one arm, as I tried to balance the apple pie in the other. She pulled away and then turned to Maddison. “And you must be Maddison, Lily’s roommate?”
“More like landlord, but I guess you could say so.”
My mother hugged her, too, and then stepped away. Her eyes looked to the pie in my hand, and I handed it to her.
“You cook now?”
I shook my head. “That is all Maddie. She loves to cook, and she didn’t want us to come empty-handed. So…”
My mother put on her best hostess smile and offered it to Maddie. “Well thank you, Maddie, the pie looks wonderful. Please come in.”
My mother went into the house, as Maddie and I followed closely behind her.
Even though this was my childhood home, it still felt like such a foreign place. These walls had stopped being my home a long time ago.
We walked into the living room to find Grayson and Jade sitting on the love seat laughing at something. There was a woman I had never seen before leaning against a man whom I had also never seen before. They were looking into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to the world around them.
When Grayson heard our heels click against the wooden floor, he tore his eyes away from his girlfriend and looked our way. His face split into a brilliant smile.
“Lils, you came.” He stood from the loveseat and made his way over to me. He pulled me into a bear hug and swung me around a little. When he set me back on my feet, there was a smile on my face and my heart felt a little happier.
“Of course, I came. You asked me to show, so I knew I had to be here.”
His smile grew even larger. He then turned his attention to Maddie. “You must be her roommate Maddison. I’m Grayson, her older brother.”
He held his hand out to her, and she took it without hesitation.
“Nice to meet you.”
“That is my girlfriend Jade and that is her best friend Natasha and her fiancé Nathaniel.” He introduced everyone in the room to her. “He’s a bit of a hard ass but he is cool. His personality is something that has to grow on you.”
“I can hear you,” Nathaniel said.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it,” Grayson teased in a sing-song voice. “Would you like anything to drink? Wine, rose, juice, water?”
“I will have a glass of red please.” Maddie took off her coat.
“And I will have the same. Thanks, Gray.” I took my coat off and took Maddie’s, so I could hang them in the closest. I made my way down the hallway toward the coat closet.
It was just my luck that as I exited out of the coat closet, Ethan and Marcus happened to be coming through the front door. I stopped dead in my tracks as did he.
Every time I saw his face, I was constantly reminded of what I could not have. He was everything I wanted and needed, but he was off limits. He was cautious of the red tape, and I wanted to rip it apart.
