Lydia’s P.O.V:
“Hey girlfriend!”
Ivy’s voice was cheerful as she picked up the call right after the first ring. It felt like sandpaper against my senses, especially since I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night and was running on four cups of unsweetened coffee since this morning.
“Hey…are you busy?” I asked to make sure. Generally 1.30 PM would be her lunch time but you never know when there would be an emergency at the hospital.
“Oh, no. Just about to get lunch.” She told me and in the background, I heard the low hum of people moving around. “I had this really difficult kid at the MRI and he kept moving around, so it took a while.”
“A kid? How old? What happened?” Whenever I heard of any kid getting an MRI or a CT scan, I tend to freak out. Maybe it was PTSD, but I couldn’t imagine any child going through what I had experienced.
“Nah, just a fracture.” I could almost imagine Ivy shaking her head with her hand inside her pocket. “Kid’s thirteen, middle schooler. You know how teenage boys tend to be, especially the one’s about to hit puberty? Some other boy dared him to jump from the top of the jungle gym to prove his ‘machoness’, his words, not mine. Kid’s lucky nothing got broken. But other than the fractured legs, everything else seems fine. Now tell me, how are things with your bae?”
I sighed. “Not good. We had our first big fight last night and he hasn’t come back since.”
“Seriously?” Ivy didn’t sound the least bit surprised. “What did you do?”
I glared at the phone. “What makes you think ‘I’ did something?”
“Lydia, honey…I love you but sometimes you can be a thick-headed idiot.”
My jaw dropped open. Did Ivy Jane just call me a thick-headed idiot? “Ivy?”
“Yes, Lydia, it’s still me.” I could hear her smile over the phone. “Aren’t you the one who keeps telling us not to treat you like some breakable porcelain doll? Well, this is how I treat normal people. Maybe Stephen hasn’t told you yet, but I’m a very blunt bitch.”
“I can see that.”
I was utterly at a loss for words. The Ivy that I had known since forever...seemed like a different person…or was she?
Hadn’t Ivy always been a bit outspoken? Hadn’t she always fought with Stephen over every possible thing? The only time she hadn’t been herself was after the incident. No one had been the same since then.
“Now tell me,” Ivy said now. “What happened between the two of you? And don’t miss out on anything.”
And so, I told her exactly what had gone down last night, from start to finish. Ivy let out a big sigh after listening to the entire story. “See? What did I tell you? Thick-headed.”
“Now what did I do?” I asked her, exasperated.
“Nothing! That’s what you did.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The boy literally poured his heart out to you and you did absolutely nothing! Do you really think it’s that easy to find a man who will love you and cherish you for who you are, without any conditions and compromises?”
“But you don’t get it-”
“It’s you who’s not getting it, Lydia!” Ivy sounded exasperated. “You keep telling people not to pity you for your condition and that especially goes for Lyric, but when he treats you as a real, normal person, you use your medical condition as a weapon to push him away. What do you want from him exactly? Because Lyric doesn’t seem to be at fault here.”
“I…” I stared at the walls blankly, feeling at a loss for words.
“Look, make up your mind and stop stringing him alone.” Ivy’s tone was firm. “Either you want him to be romantically involved with you or you don’t. You have two options based on your choices. If you want to be with him, then forget everything else and be with him! Don’t think about anything lame like society or what would people say or what would happen to the two of you in the distant future. Both of you are adults and able to make conscious decisions, so if Lyric has chosen to be with you, that’s his choice and you should respect it.”
“But if you really think you’re crippling him and don’t want to be with him then tell that to him directly, throw him out of your house and slam the door on his face. If he tries to pursue you, don’t let him in, no matter what. He’ll get your message sooner or later and stop bothering you and then he’ll find someone else and live happily ever after. If you can stand that then you have your option. But for God’s sake, Lydia, stop confusing him and yourself. It’s just as simple as a yes or a no. Think carefully before you decide and just do it. And don’t call me until you’ve made up your mind.”
With that the phone went dead, Ivy having hung up on me, leaving my mind full of questions and confusion.
I stared at the phone blankly, not knowing what to do or feel?
Was I really doing this? Was I really stringing Lyric along?
But I didn’t have to think too much to realize the truth. Because I was doing exactly that. I didn’t want him to pit me but whenever things go serious…I used my condition as an excuse to shove him away. But living without him? Removing him from my life completely and watching him find happiness with someone else sounded impossible.
Without realizing it myself, I’d fallen so deeply in love with him that I couldn’t imagine living without him. I had become so accustomed to having him next to me that I hadn’t slept at all last night and I had ended up making breakfast for two people this morning. But I didn’t want him to regret being with me either…
Getting up from bed, I hurriedly changed out of my PJ’s and into a pair of jeans and a red short sleeved blouse. Pulling my hair up into a low ponytail, I headed out of my apartment and to the only person who I knew would be able to give me some sound advice.
Exactly twelve minutes later, I was standing on the front porch of the Donovan house, ringing the doorbell like my life depended on it.
“Who the fu-Lydia?” Derek swallowed back the stream of curses that he was probably about to utter and looked at me with wide, startled eyes as he opened the door fully. “What brings you here? Lyric isn’t home by the way. Do-”
“No, I came to see you.”I told him quickly. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“What is it?” Derek frowned as he turned his wheelchair in my direction.
“Is it possible for us to find love and live like normal people?” I blurted out like an idiot before realizing my mistake. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to offend you. I should’ve phrased thing better…”
Realization dawned on his face and I instantly knew that he had spoken to Lyric. “The world is full of possibilities, Lydia, some good and some bad.” Derek smiled as he spoke. “Before our accidents, we never thought anything like this was possible. Similarly, we have no idea what kind of possibilities the future will hold for us. If we stand around and count possibilities, we’ll never get anywhere. So…why don’t you go to the warehouse and tell Lyric exactly what you feel, without caring about the unforeseeable future?”
And that was how I ended up in front of the infamous ‘warehouse’ twenty minutes later, the town’s infamous fight club; fidgeting nervously just outside of the rundown building.
Mastering up enough courage, I was about to enter through the door when it suddenly creaked open to reveal none other than the man I had fallen head over heels for…my Lyric.