When I returned to work the next morning, there was a small bunch of my favourite flowers and some homemade scones waiting for me, courtesy of the two ladies.
They kept some time free in the morning too so that we could go for a coffee together and discuss my little fall. I've never felt like such a liar in my whole life.
I had myself well covered up so it didn't look so bad, and we were all more interested in the fact that Carol had managed to bake scones that didn't brake any teeth anyway.
Dayna covered for me while I was off, and she's doing a few hours today too, so it gives me time to catch up on scheduling. She wastes absolutely no time letting me know that I now owe her one. I'm not so sure that's how sick days work, but she's a sweet girl so I'm not going to argue.
I'm anxious to get life back to normal and being here today is really helping. Throughout the morning I get a message from Annie checking in again. She thinks that Will might come around in time, but I don't imagine it's likely. I probably don't need the complication anyway. I wonder if he plans to completely blank me on Friday? That would be horrible, but I probably should expect it.
I give Jamie a call while I'm at lunch, he's booked himself into his first session with the therapist on Monday evening, they should refer him to the anger management classes from there.
I have to say, I'm quite impressed with him. He seems to be fully engaged with taking the right steps for us.
I do find that I'm starting to worry about the guys at his job though. What if they like to party like they did last week often? Will they expect it from Jamie? Will he be able to say no?
I try to keep my focus on the good for now. We're taking baby steps, that's the main thing.
My day is fairly smooth, it was quiet at the store so all four of us slacked off a little, it's rare to have us all here at the same time so we had a lot of girl talk to catch up on and plenty of coffee to fuel us.
By the time I get home I feel like I'm walking on air. The minute I open up the door Jamie greats me with a bouquet of roses so big they completely dwarf the bunch of dahlias the women gave me, although they still remain my favourite.
He takes my bag from me, ushering me down the hall.
"I've ran a bath for you," he says, "and I put some music on. It's hard to believe that you'll be relaxed with the type of music you like, but I figured it was a safer bet than Mozart or something."
"Oh, wow," I say, "this is so sweet, thank you."
I could afford to chill out a bit, and I dont want to push back on his efforts either so I gleefully accept.
"Dinner will be ready in about forty minutes," he tells me, "but I'll knock on the door in thirty so you know to finish up."
"Jamie you really don't have to do all this,"
I say, "an evening in front of the TV is just as nice."
"You deserve a whole lot more than this Izzy, let me look after you, please."
I'm not going to knock the guy for trying, so I head straight for the bathroom, ready to indulge myself in some relaxation.
♾️
Jamie is full of those little moments as the rest of the week sails by. There's sweet phone calls, little gifts that I like lying around, we even go for a nice moonlight walk in the park. It's like when we first started dating, bar the physical side of things of course. I haven't so much as held his hand since I came home. He's made the effort to introduce things like kissing my forehead goodnight or putting his hand on my lap as we watch TV, but I don't give much of a response when he does. Just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy.
When Friday comes around, I'm nervous about seeing Will and what he might say to me, but I'm so excited to see Sarah that I could burst. This is the longest I've gone without seeing her and it's completely my fault, I allowed myself to get distracted, but I intend to fully make it up to her tonight.
I shoot home after work to have a quick shower and do my make up. I'm meant to be getting ready with her, but I can't very much arrive with no make up on can I? I'll do it here and say that I was saving time.
The bruising on my cheek is healing quicker than I thought it would, so at least that's something.
Jamie is still all for me having some fun tonight. He watches me pack my clothes, complimenting how I look. It's like he's excited for me to get out. It's different, but it's a good different.
"Where is it you guys are going?," he asks, frowning at my sneakers as I drop them into my bag.
"It's that place Morgan's. We've been there before together remember? Sarah brought us to see what she called, 'an all female line up'?'"
Jamie doubles over with laughter as he recalls it.
"Ah yes, the burlesque show. There were corsets and garters everywhere, I didn't know where to look!"
"I don't know why you're laughing," I say, "You were trying to get me to dress up like that for
a month afterward. I could have killed Sarah."
"Trying to? I'm pretty sure there's some thigh high stockings in your drawer that would say my efforts were successful."
I tsk at him, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun at the time.
"So who's playing tonight?," he asks.
Jamie wouldn't have a single clue of any local bands, it's never been his thing, but it's cute that he's trying to take an interest.
"It's a band one of Sarah's friends plays in. I've never seen them before. She said they're really good though."
Little beads of sweat begin to form on my back as I consider how much I want to lie right now. With Annie in my life, it's highly possible at some point that Jamie and Will may cross paths, so I need to be prepared for that. It's better to tell the truth now, rather than be caught in a lie later.
"Actually um, this is a really weird coincidence," I say, "but it turns out that Annie's brother sings for them, she said he plays guitar too, isn't that funny? I didn't know until I told her I was going tonight."
I hold my breath and wait, that is the most unbelievable crap I've ever said aloud. There's no way he's falling for it.
"No way?," Jamie says as he zips my bag closed. "That is funny, it's a small enough business to be in though I guess. Can I look them up?"
He pulls out his phone, opening up his instagram. Why am I so nervous?
"Oh yeah, it's uh, Small Edit, I think..."
"Weird name. Ah, here they are."
Jamie watches a few of their videos, bopping his head along to some of the music. "They're pretty good," he says. "Is that Annie's brother there?"
He points out Will on the screen. I squint at it pretending that I'm not sure.
"Uhh...yep, that's him," I say, trying to sound breezy.
"Well, if you enjoy yourself and want to go some other time I'd be happy to go with you," he says.
I know he's just trying to be sweet and has no real intension of following through, but that idea is quite literally my worst nightmare. It's never happening.
"Sure," I say, smiling through gritted teeth, "that would be fun."
Jamie and I say goodnight at the door of the apartment. It's clumsy, he wanted a kiss goodbye and I offered a hug. A hug? What am I twelve? We met somewhere in the middle and it just felt embarrassing. I shake off the feeling as I rush to my car and let the excitement sink in.
♾️
I just about have time to get my keys out of the ignition when I pull up to Sarah's house before Emily and Anna come barrelling out the front door in their pyjamas.
"Izzy!," they screech.
God I missed them. I bend down and scoop them both into a giant hug, squeezing so tight that they pretend they can't breathe.
"Gosh, look at you Emmy," I say, "you're at least a foot taller!"
"No way!," she laughs bashfully, trying to stand on her tip toes, feeling as tall as I've made her.
"Anna! What are those?" I ask as she pulls her hair back behind her ears, exaggerating the movement in the hope that I'll notice she's gotten her ears pierced.
"Oh my gosh is the sun back out?" I ask, covering my eyes and pretending that her little rhinestones are causing a glare.
They giggle together as they pull me by my hands towards the house.
Mark stands on the porch with his arms folded across his chest. Looks like I'm in for it.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally came to visit!," he says.
He's a big guy so it should be intimidating, but I know him too well.
"Awh, did my big bro miss me?," I say as I tip my finger on the end of his nose.
"C'mere sis," he says, manhandling me as he forces me into a hug. While he has me there, he lowers his voice and mumbles a warning into my ear.
"Your sister is going to chew you up you know, those girls have been hounding her for weeks to see you."
"I'm sorry," I say, "it's been a little crazy. I promise, I'll be around a lot more from now on."
Mark let's me go, giving me a look that says he'll believe me when he see's it happen.
"How about this," I offer, "why don't you look at taking Sarah out somewhere nice and I'll take the girls for a night? That might put me back in favour right? And it might work out well for you too," I say with a wink as I back up into the house.
Time to face the music.
Sarah is in the kitchen, bouncing between a pot on the stove and applying her mascara. I quietly take over the stove as she acts like I'm not even here. I give her some puppy dog eyes in the hope that it thaws her out a bit.
"Don't even try it Izzy," she says.
"Aw c'mon, how could you possibly be mad at this face?," I ask childishly.
"I'm not mad at you," she says, "I just think you should prioritise things in your life a little better."
"So, just to be clear, you're mad at me right now, but you weren't mad when we spoke on the phone on Saturday? Humm, I wonder why?"
"I was mad at you on Saturday," she says, "but I needed to make sure I got you to Dads house. See, priority's Izzy."
I pull my hand to my chest dramatically like I've been wounded in battle.
"Well, I feel simply duped! Hoodwinked! Mislead! Double-cross-"
"Alright, alright, enough," Sarah huffs.
I see a little smile creep across her face and know that I've got her over a barrel now.
"I'm calling us even," she says, "but Izzy, those girls have missed you like crazy. What could possibly be more important than them?"
I hold my hands up.
"You're right," I tell her, "I've let life get on top of me recently that's all. I'm sorry. I promise, I'll be here a lot more. I even told Mark I'd babysit some night so he can take you out."
"I'd prefer if he took em' and you took me out," she whispers, elbowing my ribs, but we both know she doesn't mean it.
Sarah is crazy about Mark. Their relationship is something to strive for.
Sarah can never stay mad at me for long. I'd like to say it's because of my charm, but it's not. It's just the type of person that she is, she doesn't want to waste any time being mad at people, she wants to enjoy all that life has to offer. It's one of her best qualities.
I finish heating up the soup she was wrestling with when I got here and pour it into two bowls before calling the girls and buttering up some bread rolls for them.
Marks mom arrives just as they sit down to eat. She's going to be watching them tonight, but I don't know who's more pumped for it, the kids or her.
As it turned out, it was lucky I had already done my make up, because Mark is rushing us around as we do some finishing touches, he still has to get the equipment to the venue.
I grab my bag and rush upstairs to change just to shut him up.
I brought the jeans and white shirt that I picked out the other day as planned. The top is a certainly a little shorter and tighter than I remember, there's a good inch of my waist on show, which isn't me at all, but maybe it will teach Will not to piss me off.
I spray on a drop of perfume, slip on my vans and then hurry back downstairs before Mark gets any more antsy.
"Damn Izzy, look at you," Sarah says as I get to the end of the stairs.
I roll my eyes, but if I'm honest, its exactly what I needed to hear. I hope Will chokes.
She looks great herself of course, she always does. She's a lot more confident than I am, but I suppose she has the goods to back it up. She's a little taller than me, with legs that I'd kill for. They're easily her best asset, and she knows it, that's why she's paired a sheer pair of black tights with a short flowing black dress. I watch as Marks eyes eat her up. Tonight should be fun.
They kiss the girls good night and I promise them I'll see them Sunday before we all squeeze ourselves into Marks truck. It looks like he's bringing all of the equipment judging by how much is in here.
I send Jamie a message on the way there, letting him know everything is going well. He's trying, so I am too.
When we arrive, Sarah already needs to pee so she dashes straight inside. I give Mark a hand by bringing in some of the boxes and stands, it feels like a whole bunch of random poles to me but I'm sure it makes sense somehow.
I follow him around to the back door and watch as he nearly falls over while kicking at it. Our hands are full, so he calls out to whoever is on the other side. As the door creeks open, a guy with dirty blonde hair holds it for us. He's tall. Very tall. I wouldn't say he's muscular, but he's not skinny either,
saying that, his jeans are so tight that I do wonder if they're cutting off his circulation anywhere.
"Hey Adam, can you take this?," Mark asks as he hands over a large black case.
The guy holds the door open with his foot as Mark moves past him with some more stuff. I follow him in, nodding hello as I pass.
It's so dark in here that I can't see a thing. I can only assume we're back stage, but without any proper lighting it's hard to tell.
"Should I put this anywhere?" I ask, looking to Mark. He points towards an empty table off to my left. As I put the stuff down, that guy Adam takes a good look at me before smirking over towards Mark.
"No Tully tonight?," he asks. It's near impossible to miss his undertone.
"Hey, watch your mouth," Mark says, scrunching up his nose in disgust, "that's my little sister."
I furrow my brow, humoured by Marks sense of protective duty.
"I'm not your sister Mark," I point out, "I'm Sarah's sister, and I hope you realise how gross you've just made it all seem."
"You're kidding?" Adam says, stretching out his hand to shake mine.
"You're little Tully? Heck, it's about time, I'm Adam, it's nice to meet you."
I barely get a second to introduce myself before Adam turns and shouts out into the darkness around us.
"Hey Will, your friend is here!"
Mark flashes him a glare, unimpressed with the emphasis.
I feel my stomach hit the floor. Obviously Will hasn't yet filled Adam in on the fact that he's decided we're not friends.
He appears like a creepy sex god from the shadows, wearing some black jeans that he's matched with a black button down shirt, the short sleeves pinch his tattooed arms around the muscle. Damn it, I thought I had one upped him in the outfit department.
He approaches Adam, but then spots me standing off to the side of Mark. I try to appear unbothered by his presence by playing with the ends of my hair, but it's hard not to be intimidated here. Where the hell is Sarah?
Uaware of how awkward I'm feeling, Mark realises that there's still some microphone stands missing and pulls Adam out to his truck to find them, leaving me entirely alone with Will. He leans himself against a speaker of some sort to face me.
"You came then?" he says.
"Yep, with Sarah, like I said."
"I asked you not to."
"I'm sorry, are you in charge of me or something?," I ask.
He probably doesn't deserve me being too much of a smart ass, but he also can't tell me what to do.
"I think we both know who's in charge of you Izzy," he says with a harsh tone, "but it sure is nice of him to let you out tonight."
I narrow my eyes at him.
"That's a low blow Will."
Forcing myself to stand a little taller, I become determined not to let him make me feel like I shouldn't be here.
As we have our little face off, I notice Will run his eyes over me, stopping at my waist. His hand twitch's, it's as if he wants to reach out and touch something. Maybe I did one up him after all.
He lets out a grunt of frustration as he pushes himself off of the speaker.
"You really piss me off Izzy you know that?," he says. "You go back to him like nothing ever happened, but then you still come here to see me. Am I supposed to just accept that?"
"Who said I was here to see you Will?" I ask. I'm here with my sister."
"Oh please," he scoffs. "You keep telling yourself that."
"I told you already that Sarah invited me. Maybe if your head wasn't so far up your own ass you'd remember."
A pequliar smirk appears on Wills face as he takes a step towards me. I take a quick glance around to find that it really is only me and him here. I back up, but he gets as close to me as he can before he reaches out and grazes his finger along my bare waist, sending a tingle down my spine as he leans in and whispers in my ear.
"Y'know, it's one thing that you went back to him Isobel, but it's entirely another for you come here and tease me like that and expect no retaliation."
I meet his eyes, my whole body is on fire.
"What do you mean?" I ask, playing dumb to his teasing remark.
"Go have fun with your sister Isobel," he says, "I'm going to find some of my own."
With that, Will disappears back into the darkness, leaving me covered in goosebumps and half worried about what kind of fun it is that he's gone looking for.
♾️
Following the sound of people, I navigated myself out to the front where I should be. It's easily been about two years since I was last here, but nothing has changed. It's still as popular and as rammed with bodies as it always was.
Sarah spots me across the bar and pulls her self up onto a stool so she can wave me over to her. She's got us a table and some drinks. She shrugs at me almost apologetically as I weave my way through the crowd to reach her.
"It's loud here right?," she says, "Or am I just old?"
"Both," I jab. "But it's fine. We're going to enjoy ourselves and have some time together, that's the important thing."
"Exactly! Did you find Will back there?," she asks.
"Sure did, they're busy setting up. Mark's still with them."
"Ugh, honestly he's like a roadie or something for these guys, it's crazy. He's way too generous with his time. Although to be fair they're always really grateful for his help."
"Well don't you worry," I tell her, "I'll be your company tonight while your roadie is busy."
"Good," she says. "I was worried Will would be keeping you back there trying it on or something. I do not get how you two are friends? Will certainly isn't known for keeping female company that's not benefiting him, if you get what I mean."
Loud and clear.
"That's funny," I say, "that's the second time I've heard that. His sister said the same, I get along with her quite well, maybe she has him warned to behave with me or something."
I shrug my shoulders and take a big gulp of my drink. My mind is still on Wills retaliation remark, but it seems like I won't have to wait too long to find out what he meant by it.
Sure enough, I spot him sitting over by the bar with a half dressed brunette standing between his legs. You'd be forgiven for thinking that she's standing that close to him in order to make sure he can hear her over the noise in here, but his fingers gliding over the back of her thighs tell a different story.
He glances my way, and a small curl forms at the side of his mouth. He wanted me to see him with her. What a dick.
Sarah notices the little PDA too, and is just as grossed out by it.
"See what I mean?," she says. "I swear, I've never seen him with the same girl twice."
"Well, he's a single guy Sarah, he can do what he wants."
I do my absolute best not to sound bitter, the last thing I need is to arouse her suspicion.
When I stupidly decide to steal a look back over in Wills direction, it's just in time to see the brunette pull him closer and plant her open mouth on his. It's hard not to stare, hell the whole bar is watching, they're practically eating each other.
I turn my back to them, taking them both out of my view completely. As far as I'm concerned, Will doesn't exist. Although this raging ball of jealously in my chest says otherwise.
Christ, tonight is going to be torture.