Accepting You

Chapter 11 - Coming Out

Liz stirs awake at Lily's gentle touch and quiet coos to lull her out of slumber.

"What time is it?" Liz grumbles into the pillow.

"It's a little past seven," Lily says in a quiet voice. "Do you want to keep sleeping?"

She groans and turns over onto her back. She blindly swipes her arm back and forth, looking for her phone but immediately forgetting what she was looking for and instead grabs hold of the first thing that she finds, which is Lily's hand. She is not remotely aware of her actions.

Lily is taken aback by the sudden action but lets Liz hold it.

"No," is all Liz says before her breathing slows and becomes steady again.

Lily sits and waits patiently. She knows how she would be if she woke up from a nap – fighting against the counting sheeps that feels like eternity in her mind but in reality is only a few minutes.

It seems that's exactly what was happening because a few seconds later, Liz pulls herself up into a sitting position. Her eyes are still closed and she heaves a heavy sigh.

"Did you have a good nap?" Lily asks, squeezing Liz's hand in her own.

"It was good," Liz grumbles in a hoarse voice. She slumps forward, her head resting on Lily's shoulder. "It was good," she repeats.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to sleep?" Lily asks softly.

"No, no," Liz mumbles but doesn't move.

Liz pats Liz's back hoping to urge her awake but her touch is more soothing than anything else and nearly lulls Liz back to sleep. After a moment of no moving, Lily decides she should get Liz downstairs to eat dinner. If she wanted to go back to sleep after, then that's fine but she should eat first.

Slowly, Lily guides Liz's legs to hang off the bed. In her half asleep state, she allows herself to be moved in any fashion. From Liz's right side, Lily replaces her left hand holding Liz's with her right and wraps her left around Liz's waist as her head remains on her shoulder. Slowly, they stand together and Lily guides Liz out the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, careful to watch for any corners and unsuspecting items on the floor.

It isn't until Liz feels herself sitting on a cold seat and the light invading her eyes that she is forced to fully pull herself out of that state. She squints at the bright light and has to rub her eyes before looking around.

When she opens her eyes, she finds Lily sitting across from her in the kitchen. She is seated at the island as well. "Thank you," is all she says, only recalling half of how she got downstairs before locking eyes on the plastic bag on the counter. "What's for dinner?"

"I went out and bought some Indian food," Lily answers. "I didn't know what you wanted but I got a variety of things." She starts pulling out the contents of the bag, revealing a few different containers with different kinds of dishes. "I think this is the biryani, and this is the chicken masala," she says as she points at the containers, "This is the lamb curry and some kabobs."

"It smells delicious," Liz says, now fully awake. The smell of the food not only wakes her brain but also her stomach as it rumbles loudly. It seems napping didn't stop her stomach from wanting more food.

Lily smiles. A part of her was worried that Liz wouldn't like her choice in dinner but it seems she doesn't mind. "Dig in."

They eat together, family style. With the containers layed out in front of them, they scoop up a portion from each container into their own plates. As they go through their food, they scoop up more and more from the dish they liked more. Liz seemed to like the biryani more while Lily leaned more towards the curry.