Lovers of Yesterday

Chapter 46 • Moving

"Babe, I got the kitchen stuff packed up and labeled. Is there anything I can help you with in here?" Lynch popped his head into my room as I lifted my head at his voice.

I glanced around, slowly shaking my head. "Uh...no. Most of it's still packed up so there's not much to pack up again."

I was sitting in front of my dresser, pulling clothes out to dump into my suitcase and a cardboard box. He stepped in further, looking over at the stack of boxes that had been pulled from my closet. Then he walked over to me and crouched down on the other side of the suitcase.

"Is there anything you know for certain you want to go into storage? I can go ahead and mark those boxes for later," he offered.

"Probably all of the kitchen stuff. If we're gonna share what you have, there's really no point in having my stuff at your place. Its just clutter."

"Our place. You have your name on the lease now," he reminded me for probably the twentieth time.

"It still feels weird. I got used to calling it your place."

"And I'll keep reminding you that it's our place now until you get used to it."

I huffed out a breath but couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face. He leaned forward and pressed and chaste kiss to my forehead before standing. I watched him walk out and stared at the empty doorway for a minute before sighing and sitting back. As I leaned against the end of my bed, I let it sink in again that this was really happening.

It felt weird moving from one apartment I shared with my ex to moving to a new one with my boyfriend. I felt strangely excited to be calling Liam my ex. The same goes for calling Lynch my boyfriend. A lot of things were changing fast but I wasn't overwhelmed by it. All of it was good change. The only thing I was apprehensive about was the trial for Liam coming up in about a month and a half. I would have to testify against him.

Clearing my head of the thoughts fogging my head, I went back to packing up the clothes filling my dresser. It didn't take much longer since I'd already packed most of my clothes before Lynch stepped in. Once my suitcase and the couple boxes I used were filled, I stood and stretched my legs.

I glanced around at what was packed up and what was still out. A few trinkets dotted my nightstand and dresser along with a couple larger things like my charger and jewelry box. Some of it would just be thrown into a random box at the very last minute while my jewelry box would be carried over on its own.

It's not like there was much out in the first place but looking around my room now, it felt more empty than it did before. It was a weird feeling to have. Besides the large pieces of furniture, everything I owned was packed up in boxes. My adjoined bathroom was empty already, too.

I wandered out to the living room where I found Lynch standing in the doorway to the kitchen, glancing around at what Liam had destroyed. I knew he would eventually pay attention to it and begin to question it. His head twisted to find me when I entered. His eyes were solemn as he silently asked what happened.

As I walked toward him, I answered the unspoken question. "Liam was angry I was talking to you. He yelled at me then stormed out. I was in the kitchen so I only heard that he was breaking stuff but I didn't see it until an hour later.

He hit my TV, smashed my coffee table, and ripped up the back cushions on the couch. I haven't really gotten around to fixing or replacing anything."

I stared at what he was seeing, shrugging my shoulders. It didn't seem too bad to me but maybe it was and I was just desensitized. I felt his eyes on me and looked up.

"I hope you've already realized this but he's a jackass," his blunt statement made me laugh unexpectedly.

I calmed down quickly, replying, "I know. I should've known then and I think I did, I just ignored it. Anyway, this stuff can probably just be dumped."

"Yeah? Ok, we'll do that."

"Hey, Lynch?"

"Mhm?"

I leaned against the wall, facing him. "I'm excited."

He grinned. "That's good, sweetheart. Now, what do you say we start moving some of this stuff?"

• • •

It was almost seven by the time we decided to stop for the day. We'd moved a lot of my personal items over and started taking a couple things to a storage locker. There was still a decent amount waiting to be moved in the old apartment but I had a feeling we'd finish in the next couple days.

Now we were trying to decide what we wanted to order out. Neither of us felt like cooking but we also didn't have a taste for anything. We threw ideas back and forth before finally deciding on Burger King. Then we both went to pick up the food.

As he drove, I asked, "Any idea what you want?"

"I think I'm just gonna get a burger. You?"

I dropped my head back to the headrest. "Nuggets sound good."

"Alright. How many and what sauce to you want?"

"Uh, eight-piece if they have it and barbecue sauce."

"Any fries?"

"Small."

He shot me a quick glance that I caught out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over at him, the side of his mouth was tipped up.

"What?"

"Milkshakes?" He teased.

I stared at him, a slow smile spreading across my face. "Milkshakes?" I repeated.

He chuckled. "Why the hell not? I think we deserve them at this point. What flavor?"

"Chocolate."

"Shoulda known. Alright, two chocolate milkshakes, a whopper, an eight-piece nugget, a small fry, and a medium fry. Anything else?"

I shook my head as we pulled into the drive-thru. When we got up to the speaker, a worker asked what we would like and Lynch rattled off the order. She repeated the total back to him and told him to pull up to the next window.

He did so and paid the man that worked the register who told him to pull up to the next window for our food. When we got there, a lady passed our milkshakes out first. He set then in the cup holders before turning back to grab our food.

He passed the bag to me as he pulled off and I did a quick check to make sure we had everything. When I was sure we did, he pulled out onto the road and we headed home. As he drove, I snuck a few fries to quell my rumbling stomach. I hadn't eaten lunch so I was a little hungry.

Once Lynch pulled into an open spot close to his apartment, I climbed out of the truck, cradling the bag of food in my arms so it wouldn't spill. I met him on the other side and we walked up to the door, pausing briefly so he could unlock the door.

Then I walked over to the couch and dropped the bag of food on the coffee table before dropping onto the couch. Lynch set the milkshakes in front of us and took the spot next to me. I dug around the bag and began pulling out food, separating it between the two of us.

"Hey, sweetheart," Lynch called, draping his arm over my shoulder. "How do you feel?"

I looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"How do you feel about all of this? About all the changes?"

I leaned into him, smiling slightly. "Happy. Happy that I met you. Happy you pushed me to understand what was wrong. Happy I stood up for myself. Happy that I am where I am now."

"Good. You should always be happy that you broke the cycle. That you found happiness."

It fell silent for a minute before we dug into our food. As I ate, I thought about everything that happened. Yes, I finally was happy. Lynch helped me find that along with Dria and Ember. It didn't really matter now that it had taken me so long to break it off with Liam. It just mattered that I did it and I had the support of my friends and family.

I was happy and safe. That's all that mattered now.