Have faith in the unfaithful.
Not all surprises are good surprises.
I stepped off the bus with my luggage and looked up at it. My home. I've been gone a year you see, no one knew where I went, or how long I'd be gone. The bus pulled away from behind me and drove off. It hasn't been a good year, in fact, it's been just the opposite. It was like re living my child hood all over again. But I was glad to be back home in New York. I took a deep breath and looked around me. Nothing's changed. It's all exactly the same as it was when I left.
“Lauren?” I heard a familiar voice gasp. I looked to my left and there he was, the orange glow from the street lights was enough to highlight the look of disbelief on his face. I wanted to go running over to him, hug him, kiss him, tell him how sorry I was, but something stopped me. I knew deep down that right now, that was the wrong thing to do. So I gave him a slight smile and walked into my house.
I looked around at how oddly familiar it all looked. The last time I was in this house I had spent 4 hours cleaning it, and now, it was covered in dust. You could just tell that no one had been in here for months. My phone buzzed and it was a text, from Jay. I had to add his number back in as he wouldn't stop texting me.
'You're back.' It read. I smiled a slight smile. I could just tell how surprised he was. I walked through to the kitchen and looked in all the cupboards. Empty. Jay obviously came and emptied them at some point. My phone started ringing and I looked to see who it was. Jay. I picked up.
“Hello Jason” I smirked, using his full name.
“Lauren” He gasped.
“That's me” I replied. I was surprised at how calm I was being.
“Where, where have you been?” He asked.
“Now that would be telling” I said.
“Oh whatever, just come round, we all need to see you” He said.
“Oh Jay. Do you really think that's what everyone needs? To see me? The girl who ran away?” I asked.
“Yes Lauren. That's exactly what we need.” He replied.
“Well then, if that's what you really want, I'll be there in a minute” I said and hung up. I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked out the door and down the street right up to Jay's house. I hesitated at the door. Should I knock or let myself in? I settled for knocking. Moments later the door flew open and there he stood, in all his glory, Alex.
“Alex” I whispered. He just stepped to the side so I could walk in. Alex stormed into the living room and I followed after. Then, all my courage and calm from before disappeared and I was faced with my consequences for leaving. 5 pairs of information hungry eyes stared up at me.
“Hello” I said.
“What were you THINKING?” Jay stood up and shouted. “We were worried sick for a whole year Lauren! A WHOLE YEAR! Where did you go? Who did you stay with?” He asked.
“Oh I can't tell you that” I said and they all looked at me blankly.
“You can and you will” Max said.
“I mean it, I can't” I said.
“Why did you leave?” Alex asked.
“Did you not read my letter?” I asked back.
“What letter?” Everyone except Jay looked confused. I turned my attention to Jay and smirked.
“You didn't show them, did you?” I asked.
“They didn't need to know” Jay replied, looking only at me, with pure anger in his eyes.
“Yes we did, Jay” Emma spoke up.
“I left because I messed everything up, your lives would've been better off without me in them, so I thought I'd give you a chance to realise that. But when I had enough of living where I was, I ran away from it, and this was the only other place I had. If Alex and Jack didn't see me, then I would not have stayed. I would've packed my things and moved to the other side of the city” I said.
“We've missed you Lauren” Jack said. Alex hit his arm and glared at him.
“I think you should leave now, Lauren” Jay said.
“Very well then” I smiled at them then turned and left. You might think I'm a fool for walking out of there, but I know what I'm doing.
I walked back into my own house and went upstairs to unpack. When I was done with that, I crawled into bed and fell straight asleep, happy to be sleeping somewhere where I didn't have to worry about being woken up by a plate being thrown at me.
I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through the window. I hopped out of bed and checked my phone. 4 missed calls, 10 texts. I opened the texts first.
'Its Alex. Meet me tomorrow at the park at 12'
'It's Jack. We've missed you. Max is crying, he's glad you're back.'
'It's Max. We're all mad at Jay for not showing us the letter'
'It's Emma. I've missed you.'
'It's Jay. How could you? Do you even know how scared we were?'
'It's Alex. We miss you.'
'It's Jack. We miss you.'
'It's Max. We miss you.'
'Its Emma. We miss you.'
'It's Jay. Don't come back.'
Jay's texts didn't surprise me at all. He was always the sulky type. He'll come around. I checked the time. 10:30. I don't have to leave to meet Alex just yet.
I took my time getting ready, I had a nice warm shower, straightened my hair, put some clothes on and had some breakfast. It was 11:30. The park was only 20 minutes away from here, but I could do with a nice slow walk.
I got to the park at exactly 12 and Alex was sat on a swing waiting for me. I went over and sat on the swing next to him.
“Me and Jack sorted everything out after you left” He said.
“That's good to hear” I replied.
“Where did you go?” He asked.
“That doesn't matter right now Alex, so why did you want to see me?” I asked.
“We're not ready for you to come back into our lives just yet. Jay especially.” He said.
“I understand” I said.
“Good, well I better get back. It was nice seeing you again Lauren. I brought a copy of the CD as well. It's really good” He said, referring to the CD I recorded while out in Baltimore.
“Thanks Lex” I said. We said our good byes and I went home and set off cleaning the dust off of everything.
When I was done with that I went down to the music store and they gave me my old job back almost immediately. I needed a little extra money coming in. Then I went shopping to restock the kitchen. My phone started ringing and it was Emma.
“Hello” I said.
“Just checking to make sure Alex said not to come round for a bit while we all cool off about it.” She said.
“Yeah that's perfectly fine” I said.
“I liked the CD by the way” She said then hung up. I smiled and continued my grocery shopping.
When I got home, I put the groceries way then sat down and had a Disney movie marathon. It sure was good to be home.
I woke up with a start the next morning and checked the time. 9am. 2 hours until I had to be in work. My head dropped back down on to the pillow. I was back home in New York, but all the people I cared about didn't want anything to do with me. Instead of dwelling on that for too long, I got up and slowly got ready for work. I ended up leaving the house at 10:45 as it was only a 10 minute walk.
“Hey Lauren” My boss, Pete said.
“Hey Pete” I called back.
“Its good to have you back” He said and pulled me into a hug. I'd worked here for years before I left for tour and it felt good to be welcomed back by someone.
“Its been so long” I replied.
“So what have you been up to this past year?” He asked as we entered the back of the store. I ran my hand through my hair and let out a big breath.
“Has it been that bad?” He asked. I filled him in on everything, he already knew about Alex coming back and how my parents treated me.
“Man that's rough. So they don't want anything to do with you?” He asked.
“Well everyone except Jay kind of wants to when everything's calmed down. But you know how Jay sulks a lot, so hopefully, he'll come around eventually.” I said.
“Well, I hope it all goes okay for ya” He said. The door beeped then, indicating that someone had entered the shop. I walked out of the back room and looked up at the guy who was stood in front of the counter then froze.
“Oh so you're back working here again?” He asked with a smile.
“But you're, the trial” I said, then realised that I never got the information back from that.
“I was found not guilty” He smiled. Out of all the people I could bump into on my third day back, it was Dan.
“Anyway Lauren, I'm looking for a uh, capo, that's it.” He said. I looked at him then walked over to the cases where we keep the capos.
“They're all pretty much the same” I said, the turned to me and looked at me for a few seconds.
“That's not really why I'm in here” He confessed.
“Go figure” I rolled my eyes.
“I'm sorry for how I acted, I just, I know I can't make it up to you but I genuinely am sorry Lauren” He said.
“You really mean it?” I asked.
“Yes. And I wanted to know if you'd maybe go on a date with me?” he asked.
“Where?”
“Your favourite restaurant. The Rose Ship” He smiled.
“Its a date then, pick me up tomorrow at 7” I smiled.
“Can I get your number?” He asked. I wrote my number on his arm with a sharpie and he left.
“Oooh Lauren's got a date” Pete sang.
“Hush Pete” I said. He just laughed and walked around the store to make sure nothing was broken or stolen. I was a bit confused at myself really. Why had I agreed to this? I mean, Dan seemed like a nice guy at first, he just got a little drunk, right?
“Lauren?” I heard a familiar voice gasp. I looked to my left and there he was, the orange glow from the street lights was enough to highlight the look of disbelief on his face. I wanted to go running over to him, hug him, kiss him, tell him how sorry I was, but something stopped me. I knew deep down that right now, that was the wrong thing to do. So I gave him a slight smile and walked into my house.
I looked around at how oddly familiar it all looked. The last time I was in this house I had spent 4 hours cleaning it, and now, it was covered in dust. You could just tell that no one had been in here for months. My phone buzzed and it was a text, from Jay. I had to add his number back in as he wouldn't stop texting me.
'You're back.' It read. I smiled a slight smile. I could just tell how surprised he was. I walked through to the kitchen and looked in all the cupboards. Empty. Jay obviously came and emptied them at some point. My phone started ringing and I looked to see who it was. Jay. I picked up.
“Hello Jason” I smirked, using his full name.
“Lauren” He gasped.
“That's me” I replied. I was surprised at how calm I was being.
“Where, where have you been?” He asked.
“Now that would be telling” I said.
“Oh whatever, just come round, we all need to see you” He said.
“Oh Jay. Do you really think that's what everyone needs? To see me? The girl who ran away?” I asked.
“Yes Lauren. That's exactly what we need.” He replied.
“Well then, if that's what you really want, I'll be there in a minute” I said and hung up. I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked out the door and down the street right up to Jay's house. I hesitated at the door. Should I knock or let myself in? I settled for knocking. Moments later the door flew open and there he stood, in all his glory, Alex.
“Alex” I whispered. He just stepped to the side so I could walk in. Alex stormed into the living room and I followed after. Then, all my courage and calm from before disappeared and I was faced with my consequences for leaving. 5 pairs of information hungry eyes stared up at me.
“Hello” I said.
“What were you THINKING?” Jay stood up and shouted. “We were worried sick for a whole year Lauren! A WHOLE YEAR! Where did you go? Who did you stay with?” He asked.
“Oh I can't tell you that” I said and they all looked at me blankly.
“You can and you will” Max said.
“I mean it, I can't” I said.
“Why did you leave?” Alex asked.
“Did you not read my letter?” I asked back.
“What letter?” Everyone except Jay looked confused. I turned my attention to Jay and smirked.
“You didn't show them, did you?” I asked.
“They didn't need to know” Jay replied, looking only at me, with pure anger in his eyes.
“Yes we did, Jay” Emma spoke up.
“I left because I messed everything up, your lives would've been better off without me in them, so I thought I'd give you a chance to realise that. But when I had enough of living where I was, I ran away from it, and this was the only other place I had. If Alex and Jack didn't see me, then I would not have stayed. I would've packed my things and moved to the other side of the city” I said.
“We've missed you Lauren” Jack said. Alex hit his arm and glared at him.
“I think you should leave now, Lauren” Jay said.
“Very well then” I smiled at them then turned and left. You might think I'm a fool for walking out of there, but I know what I'm doing.
I walked back into my own house and went upstairs to unpack. When I was done with that, I crawled into bed and fell straight asleep, happy to be sleeping somewhere where I didn't have to worry about being woken up by a plate being thrown at me.
I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through the window. I hopped out of bed and checked my phone. 4 missed calls, 10 texts. I opened the texts first.
'Its Alex. Meet me tomorrow at the park at 12'
'It's Jack. We've missed you. Max is crying, he's glad you're back.'
'It's Max. We're all mad at Jay for not showing us the letter'
'It's Emma. I've missed you.'
'It's Jay. How could you? Do you even know how scared we were?'
'It's Alex. We miss you.'
'It's Jack. We miss you.'
'It's Max. We miss you.'
'Its Emma. We miss you.'
'It's Jay. Don't come back.'
Jay's texts didn't surprise me at all. He was always the sulky type. He'll come around. I checked the time. 10:30. I don't have to leave to meet Alex just yet.
I took my time getting ready, I had a nice warm shower, straightened my hair, put some clothes on and had some breakfast. It was 11:30. The park was only 20 minutes away from here, but I could do with a nice slow walk.
I got to the park at exactly 12 and Alex was sat on a swing waiting for me. I went over and sat on the swing next to him.
“Me and Jack sorted everything out after you left” He said.
“That's good to hear” I replied.
“Where did you go?” He asked.
“That doesn't matter right now Alex, so why did you want to see me?” I asked.
“We're not ready for you to come back into our lives just yet. Jay especially.” He said.
“I understand” I said.
“Good, well I better get back. It was nice seeing you again Lauren. I brought a copy of the CD as well. It's really good” He said, referring to the CD I recorded while out in Baltimore.
“Thanks Lex” I said. We said our good byes and I went home and set off cleaning the dust off of everything.
When I was done with that I went down to the music store and they gave me my old job back almost immediately. I needed a little extra money coming in. Then I went shopping to restock the kitchen. My phone started ringing and it was Emma.
“Hello” I said.
“Just checking to make sure Alex said not to come round for a bit while we all cool off about it.” She said.
“Yeah that's perfectly fine” I said.
“I liked the CD by the way” She said then hung up. I smiled and continued my grocery shopping.
When I got home, I put the groceries way then sat down and had a Disney movie marathon. It sure was good to be home.
I woke up with a start the next morning and checked the time. 9am. 2 hours until I had to be in work. My head dropped back down on to the pillow. I was back home in New York, but all the people I cared about didn't want anything to do with me. Instead of dwelling on that for too long, I got up and slowly got ready for work. I ended up leaving the house at 10:45 as it was only a 10 minute walk.
“Hey Lauren” My boss, Pete said.
“Hey Pete” I called back.
“Its good to have you back” He said and pulled me into a hug. I'd worked here for years before I left for tour and it felt good to be welcomed back by someone.
“Its been so long” I replied.
“So what have you been up to this past year?” He asked as we entered the back of the store. I ran my hand through my hair and let out a big breath.
“Has it been that bad?” He asked. I filled him in on everything, he already knew about Alex coming back and how my parents treated me.
“Man that's rough. So they don't want anything to do with you?” He asked.
“Well everyone except Jay kind of wants to when everything's calmed down. But you know how Jay sulks a lot, so hopefully, he'll come around eventually.” I said.
“Well, I hope it all goes okay for ya” He said. The door beeped then, indicating that someone had entered the shop. I walked out of the back room and looked up at the guy who was stood in front of the counter then froze.
“Oh so you're back working here again?” He asked with a smile.
“But you're, the trial” I said, then realised that I never got the information back from that.
“I was found not guilty” He smiled. Out of all the people I could bump into on my third day back, it was Dan.
“Anyway Lauren, I'm looking for a uh, capo, that's it.” He said. I looked at him then walked over to the cases where we keep the capos.
“They're all pretty much the same” I said, the turned to me and looked at me for a few seconds.
“That's not really why I'm in here” He confessed.
“Go figure” I rolled my eyes.
“I'm sorry for how I acted, I just, I know I can't make it up to you but I genuinely am sorry Lauren” He said.
“You really mean it?” I asked.
“Yes. And I wanted to know if you'd maybe go on a date with me?” he asked.
“Where?”
“Your favourite restaurant. The Rose Ship” He smiled.
“Its a date then, pick me up tomorrow at 7” I smiled.
“Can I get your number?” He asked. I wrote my number on his arm with a sharpie and he left.
“Oooh Lauren's got a date” Pete sang.
“Hush Pete” I said. He just laughed and walked around the store to make sure nothing was broken or stolen. I was a bit confused at myself really. Why had I agreed to this? I mean, Dan seemed like a nice guy at first, he just got a little drunk, right?
Notes
I seriously can't believe this story got 14 subscribers and 1 vote before it even started! You guys are fucking awesome!So, thoughts on this chapter?
Comment/rate/subscribe<3
-AllTimeSloth xx
@Nanook
Hey, this is AllTimeSloth on my new account, I've started rewriting the whole series on this account if you're interested? Here's a link: http://www.alltimelowfanfiction.com/Story/87137/No-Such-Thing-As-Perfect/
11/10/16