My Life In Pieces (Book #1)

Chapter 37

The next few weeks dragged on. I had let Jordan know about my visit. We both decided that it would be a good surprise for Patrick so neither of us mentioned it to him. Elyse and I had it out with Jordan for us to stay with her. Dad would be in a hotel but I did not want to waste a minute of family time.

While I counted down the days to Dallas, I tried to occupy my time with hanging out with Jensen and Cassie as much as I could in the mornings. Elle and I saw each other after school when I was done with practice. Tyler made it a point to take me to school and pick me up after practice so that we could talk without others around. That had to be one of the highlights of my day.

Tyler was sarcastic and witty. He knew more than a normal person about music history and loved telling me stories about past gigs and their plans to tour this summer. They were planning a small tour around Toronto for the first half of the summer when I would be in Dallas. I still missed Ari and the connection that we had but I couldn't lie, I loved being able to be friends with Tyler and not worry about what Ari thought. I hoped, once everyone had time away this summer, we could get to a place where everyone were friends again.

Finally the time came and I was landing back in Dallas for the first time in over seven months. Momma Jordan and Elyse were there to pick me up. Dad was taking an Uber to his hotel. He and Jordans exchanged pleasantries and then I rushed into Jordan's arms and she embraced me like the prodigal son returning. After we hugged and cried it out, we went to get my bags and headed back to her house. My old house. Walking back inside felt like stepping through a time capsule. Everything was still the same but felt totally different. I slowly walked upstairs and set my bag down. It had taken some convincing but Dad finally said I could stay in my old room instead of having to sleep on Elyse's couch.

I walked across the hall and knocked on Patrick's door.

"Yeah, mom?"

I opened the door and said, "Do I look like your Momma?"

Patrick swiveled around in his gaming chair to see me. His face lit up in a mixture of surprise and elation. He dropped his controller and bounded over to me, tackling me onto his bed. I laughed and pushed him off of me.

"What are you doing here, Lex?"

"It's Spring Break in Canada. Had to come see my family. Well for a few days at least."

"Is Tim here?"

"He's staying at the Omni. He has a meeting there on Monday and will pick me up on Tuesday. Elyse is staying in the guest room so we all get to hang out for the next few days. Jordan is letting you stay home on Monday."

"Oh fuck yes."

We headed back downstairs and talked about what to order for dinner. We settled on pizza and boardgames. It felt like a regular Friday night and I had missed these.

I savored the next 72 hours. We made cookies, played games, caught up on life, and tried not to think about me having to leave so soon.

Monday evening, Jordan and Elyse wanted to paint my nails so I sat back and let them have at it. They had been really good about not asking about my love life but I knew it was bound to come up eventually. Patrick took the mani/pedi session as his cue to go upstairs and play video games.

Jordan started first, "So, Lex, come on, give us the tea already. What is going on with you and Ari? Or is it Tyler now?"

I rolled my eyes. "Neither. I am single as a pringle."

Elyse snorted, "Girl you know Tyler wants you. Every time I talk to you, you two are hanging out."

"I'm not ready for something serious."

"Why does it have to be serious?" Jordan quipped.

"Because if I go for Tyler, it will be serious. He matters to much."

They both giggled at that.

"So what happened with Ari? You two just fizzle out?"

I hadn't wanted to talk to Jordan about all of this over FaceTime. Elyse was up to speed and looked at me to see if she needed to run interference.

"The short version? He spent some time in the hospital for his mental health and when he got out he wasn't the same any more. Then he decided he didn't want to be with me because I was friends with Tyler. Then, last month, he moved on with a freshman with the IQ of a gnat and hasn't spoken to me since."

Jordan's mouth hung open, "Uh, you know you could have told me that a lot sooner kiddo?"

I shrugged, "I've been avoiding it. Tyler and I did go to the Valentine's dance together. Kind of. It wasn't an official date."

"He wanted it to be, but she said no."

"Lexi, honey, you know you can talk to me about these things."

I rolled my eyes, "it's not something I really want to talk about. I have just been trying to get over it."

"So do you like Tyler now?"

I'm sure I would if I wasn't still trying to fill the gaping hole in my chest where my heart used to be. "Not sure yet."

"Well just take your time. Or wait for another nice young man to come along."

I had to head home the next day.

Home.

Cabbagetown was becoming home whether I wanted it to be or not. I found myself excited to see my cousins and friends. I would be back in Dallas in a couple of months and while I looked forward to that, I was also looking forward to the second half of the summer when I would get to hang out with Dylan before he went off to college.

Piece by piece my life was starting to fit more like a puzzle and less like shattered glass. I was excited to see what would come next for me. I was still going to be stretched out between Dallas and Cabbagetown but it was starting to feel a lot more manageable. I was starting to see my life in pieces that could fit together.

My Life in Pieces.