Picking Up the Pieces (Pieces, #2)(48)

Pulling the tank top over my head, I gave myself a nod before turning and walking toward the bathroom to get ready for bed. If Adam and I were meant to be, then we’d be. I wouldn't compromise who I'd become—and who I still might grow to be—because that wouldn't be fair to me. And I’d never be able to live with Adam if I couldn’t even live with myself.





Chapter 19: Lily


Things in my life were tense, and I had never been more thankful for Christmas break. I had spoken to Adam a few times since our date on Friday, but our conversations had been stilted and pregnant with the things we weren’t saying. Eventually I knew we’d have the talk we’d both been clearly avoiding, and that it would either be a beginning or an end for us. I wasn’t in a hurry to find out which.

I was sitting at my kitchen table eating a bowl of oatmeal and enjoying a cup of coffee when my phone rang. I looked down at it: my parents.

“Hello?”

“Lily, honey, Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks, mom. You too. What are you guys up to?”

“Oh, nothing really. We wanted to give you a call before we exchanged our gifts and started getting ready for dinner.” It was my parents’ turn to host Christmas for family and a few friends in Chicago. My mom was disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend the holiday with me, but I really wasn’t interested in having a repeat of last year. Even though my relationship with my parents was much stronger, I didn’t want to tempt fate. “What are your plans today?”

“I’m going with Amanda to Shane’s for dinner. He’s cooking for his family and Amanda’s mom.” I had already told her all of this of course, but something told me she didn’t quite believe me. Ever since my breakup with Adam, she worried about me a lot more. I kept trying to reassure her that this wasn’t an episode of Intervention and I wasn’t sitting alone in my apartment huffing computer duster.

“That’s good. I’m glad you’re going somewhere.”

I rolled my eyes. “Where’s Dad?”

“Right here. I’ll put him on.”

I heard muffled voices before my dad came on the line. “Lily! Merry Christmas, princess.”

“Merry Christmas, Dad. So, you guys ready for the Hamilton and Tasker invasion tonight?”

My dad let out a grunt. “There’s no getting ready for that. Hey, you wanna place a bet on which of your mother’s relatives gets drunk first?”

I laughed as I heard a slap through the phone and my mother’s irritated voice. He was right though. The Taskers were a rowdy bunch and usually couldn’t make it more than a couple of hours without verbally or physically assaulting one another.

“Don’t encourage him, Lily,” my mother scolded as she came back on the phone. She must have ripped it out of my dad’s hand, since I could still hear him laughing in the background.

“Have a great day, Lily. I love you,” my dad yelled.

“Tell him I love him too.”

“She says she loves you too. Now go make yourself useful and start peeling potatoes,” my mom ordered. I heard her sigh before she spoke again. “I miss you, Lily. Christmas isn’t the same without you here.”

I dropped my head to the table and started banging it against the wood softly so my mom wouldn’t hear it through the phone. No one knew how to lay a guilt trip on me like my mother. “I know. I miss you guys too. But I hate traveling over the holidays. And work has been stressful, so I really want to just relax.” Most of what I had said was true. I did hate traveling over the holidays and I was feeling a lot of stress, though it wasn’t because of work.

“I understand. But I still wish you were here. With all of this snow we’ve been having, I didn’t get a chance to mail your gifts. I’ll send them out tomorrow.”

“Mom, we talked about this. You sent me to Europe over the summer. That definitely takes care of all gifts for at least the next five years.”

“Oh, stop. They’re just a few small things.”

I shook my head, but didn’t pursue the matter further. “I mailed your gifts out two days ago, so you should be getting them soon.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten us anything. Save your money.”

“They’re just a few small things,” I mocked.

“Alright, alright. We’ll call you when they arrive. Have a great day and be safe, okay?”

“Always. Love you.”

“Love you.”

I disconnected the call and set my phone down on the table. It was only eight in the morning. I didn’t need to be at Shane’s until three. Amanda had spent the night at his place so she could help him get ready for dinner, though she spent most nights there anyway. Rinsing my bowl and mug, I put them in the dishwasher and made my way to my bedroom. May as well go back to bed.

I put my phone on my bedside table and climbed back under the covers. I thought about shooting a quick text to Adam to wish him a Merry Christmas, but I had already done that when we spoke last night and I also knew he’d most likely be opening gifts with Eva right now. However, this knowledge didn’t stop me from hoping it was him when my phone beeped with an incoming message.

Merry Christmas, Lily. Hope Santa was good to you. Give me a call later if you get time.