Tender Hearts

Chapter 2-1

My first two classes were absolutely boring. I sat through a chemistry class that had a lab to follow and it seemed to go on forever. Luckily, I had a partner looking to get into medical school and always did well in the labs. Me, not so much. I felt like I never contributed anything to the work, but my partner was so focused on earning good grades for his applications, he didn’t seem to mind me standing there looking like an i***t. The next class was calculus and I ended up taking a surprise quiz, and was grateful that I’d decided to study over the weekend. Otherwise, I might have bombed it. After my classes, I went back to my apartment to study for a test that was coming up in one of my business classes.

I walked into the apartment, and immediately found my sister on the couch with a bunch of tissues and a party-size bag of M&M’s sitting on her lap, while watching Sleepless in Seattle on the TV.

Sleepless in Seattle“Uh, sis? Are you okay?” I walked over and dropped my bags on the ground and looked at her.

Her face was all red and blotchy. Her blonde curly hair was in a messy bun that had hair sticking out every which way, and she was wearing baggy sweatpants. She looked at me and tears started welling in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, trying my best to comfort her.

She leaned into me and started crying on my shoulder. I grabbed the box of tissues and put them on my lap so they were easily accessible to her, rather than use my shirt.

Lily grabbed a tissue, and continued to blubber and blow her nose for the next five minutes. Finally, she sobbed, “Jake and I broke up.”

“What?” I shrieked and I felt Lily nod her head.

“Yep. During our special date on Saturday. We got into a stupid fight about his parents and one thing led to another. I said, ‘Well, maybe you shouldn’t be with me, if I make you so unhappy,’ and he said, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t.’ Then he brought me home and I haven’t heard from him since,” she wailed and started crying even harder than before.

“It sounds like you two got just got worked up and you both said things you didn’t mean. I’m sure you’ll work it out,” I said encouragingly.

Lily shook her head. “Usually when we fight, he comes over by now and we make up. But I’ve tried calling him and texting him and I’ve gotten no response! It’s really over this time! I blew it!”

really“I’m sure that’s not the case…maybe he’s busy or just needs time to let off steam. Give it a little bit and it will be okay. I’m sure he will call eventually,” I insisted. “You two have been together way too long to give up now.”

“You think so?” She looked up at me with red puffy eyes, still full of tears. “You really think he will call?”

“Yes. I think it’s all going to be just fine,” I maintained and hugged her tighter. “Why don’t you go shower, and I’ll clean up this mess?”

“Okay, that’s probably a good idea. I haven’t showered since Saturday morning,” Lily admitted and trudged off to the bathroom.

“Yeah, I can tell,” I teased and smiled.

She turned and shot me a look. Too bad she wasn’t very intimidating too me.

I could tell she was starting to feel a little better already. While she was busy wasting all our hot water, I cleaned up all her nasty tissues, put the candy away and wiped down the coffee table with disinfectant wipes. Once I was done cleaning, I made my sister a smoothie, because I figured she hadn’t eaten a healthy thing all weekend, and poured myself some of the extra. I cleaned up the mess, along with the rest of the kitchen and all of Lily’s tissues. Feeling a little more relaxed now that the apartment was picked up, I sat on the couch and was able to start studying for my upcoming test.

My sister didn’t surface from the shower for about an hour. When she found her way into the kitchen, I stood and followed her. I handed her the smoothie and she smiled, “Thanks, sis.”

“That’s what sisters are for.” I returned a smile and found my way back to the couch and continued studying.

Lily came and sat next to me, and turned her movie back on. “You know, I never thought we would ever actually break up. We’ve had so many fights over the last few years, so many arguments, I never thought we would ever reach that point and end the relationship. It just blows my mind. I really thought he was the one, Rose.”

“You know what? I still think he is. Just give it time,” I smiled and held her hand and she continued to watch her movie while I attempted to study.

Boy was I wrong.

A week passed, and she heard nothing. She stayed by her phone, constantly checking it, resisting the urge to call or text him first, but had no luck. She ended up missing a couple days of class, because she was too upset to go. By the weekend, she had made the couch into her bed, and refused to get up. Our mom ended up coming over and staying with us instead, because she knew Lily wouldn’t have the heart to leave the apartment.

The next week she went to class, mostly because she had to take a test, but was a complete zombie. She hadn’t washed her hair in days; her blonde curls were sticking up all over her head. She had dark purple bags under her eyes from not sleeping, and her face was pale and gaunt from not eating very much. To add to her sad look, she wore baggy sweatpants with paint on them and old high school shirts that had holes in them. It was hard to watch her be so depressed, but she didn’t want us to talk to her about Jake. I felt bad too, because I was so sure that Jake would call, and had told Lily not to worry.

On the bright side, she came around the bakery more often and helped Mom and I out, and always closed with us. She insisted that she was wanting to help, but deep down, I knew it was because she didn’t want to be at home alone. I couldn’t blame her either. She’d been with Jake a long time, and I think she hoped he was going to propose soon.

It had been three weeks since the breakup and we were all sitting on our mom’s couch, watching another romance movie. This time, it was You’ve got Mail. One of my personal favorites.

You’ve got Mail. “Guys can be such jerks. It’s always their game, always out to make the woman look like a fool. I can’t stand it!” Lily proclaimed and threw popcorn at the TV.

“Alright!” Mom picked up the remote and turned off the television. “You have got to get out of this funk!” she declared. “I’m sorry you and Jake had a falling out and I’m sorry you had your heart broken, truly I am. But my darling, you either need to start moving on or go and fix it with Jake. It’s been three weeks. Am I wrong, Rosie?” She turned to look at me, expecting me to join in, but I shook my head and raised my arms.

“No way, leave me out of this,” I stated, not wanting to get involved.

“Why not? Do you agree?” Lily shot at me and I opened my mouth in shock.

“What? No, well, maybe…”

“Unbelievable!” Lily stood straight up and started crossing her arms. “How long have you two been feeling this way?”

“It doesn’t matter!” Mom said firmly and stood up next to her. “It’s just hard seeing you like this, Lil. You"re so unhappy and everyone can see it. We just want you to feel better. If you love Jake, then dang it, go after him! But if you guys both agreed to break it off, then it’s time to move on and find some happiness.”

“I don’t want to go after him. If he wants me, he knows where to find me. It’s not like I’ve moved or changed my number!” Lily boomed and started pacing the living room.

“Well, then if that’s what you want to do, sweetheart,” she said warily. Clearly, that was not the answer she was hoping Lily would provide.

“I do. You’re right, I just need to be happy and move on. I can do that. I don’t need a man in my life to make me happy! I am a strong, independent, confident woman who doesn’t need a man by her side! I can do just fine on my own!” she rattled on.

“That’s right, you are!” Mom encouraged her.

“If Jake really loved me, he would be here, right now. But since he’s not, I’m not going to waste my time hoping he’s going to call me or show up! He’s not worth my time! I have other things to do with my life and I’m not going to waste it waiting around for someone who’s able to throw me away so easily,” Lily continued.

“You go, girl!” I teased and my mom shot me a look that said, “really?”.

“I can do this!” she said again.

can“Yes, you can! Now, go take a shower and wash your hair.” Mom pointed up the stairs, in the direction of the bathroom and Lily looked caught off guard.

“Wait, what?” she asked, puzzled.

“Girl, I know you haven’t washed your hair properly in a while, so go take a nice, long hot shower,” Mom said.

“Lather, rinse and repeat,” I snickered and this time they both shot me looks.

“Really, you’re not helping,” she hissed and Lily snorted.

“It’s okay, Mom.” Lily waved me off. “She’s only trying to lighten the mood. I will go shower. Happy?”

“Extremely,” she smiled and watched Lily walk up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, my mom turned to look at me. “Couldn’t you have said anything to back me up?” she asked flatly and sat back down on the couch next to me.

“No, Mom. She didn’t need us to team up on her. That’s the last thing she needs she needs to know that we love her and are here for her. Not that I didn’t agree with you; she definitely has to stop all the moping and looking like a homeless person. But I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable,” I explained.

“You just wanted me to be the bad guy, so you could look good,” she declared.

“Well, that was just a plus,” I shrugged and chuckled.

“You’re a brat,” she pointed out. “I’m glad she’s decided to move on. Although, I’m not going to lie, I thought she was going to go after Jake. She’s stronger than I gave her credit for. But, now, it’s time for her to stop wasting her time on him. Did she ever tell you what happened?”