GREENE | CS55

42 - Drag You Back Down

"You're sure you want to do this?" Tatianna twisted the front of her yellow sundress, leaning against the black Mercedes sedan in the driveway before quickly springing off, wincing at the heat in the paint.

Pierce let a chuckle out—  at her friends' doubt, initially, but she also couldn't keep from reacting to her sudden jolt. Tatianna, now scowling at Pierce, paired aptly with a slacked whack to the arm, had asked nearly the same question when she'd announced the call she'd made earlier this week. And Pierce had been as sure then as she was now. Beyond sure.

For one, it had been far too long since Pierce had even thought to do this. Whether it be because of the storm riled up between her and Carlos, or the sudden realization that without him, and besides the Scotts, no one really knew her well enough to quell the deepening pit she felt eating away at her conscious. The lingering fear that one day, she'd end up alone. Having pushed everyone away for the sake of a career. Or, perhaps, the fact that her career could potentially take an unexpected one-eighty, pending her decision. One that she was still unsure about making.

On top of it all, Lando was arriving this afternoon, by pure coincidence. Pierce booked this visit before she even knew when Lando was getting to California. However, it bought Pierce time, as it did Tatianna, who Pierce was sure was craving a moment alone with him, even though Tatianna assured Pierce she wouldn't be third wheeling. She'd snorted at that, out loud.

The sheer animation of Tatianna's initial shock that first morning was painted in Pierce's mind. Her best friend immediately went slack jawed, twisting onto her side in the poolside lounge chair, a graceful hand sliding her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose for the full frontal effect.

"It's been years," Pierce reasoned then, placing her book on her lap and her own sunglasses on top of her head. "All I really know about her is based on Jim's word and my skewed, detached pre-teen perception." Neither of which were reliable sources, in Pierce's mind.

"I get that. You know I just don't want you to end up regretting this. Bringing her back into your life is big, Pierce. Even just one conversation. This is a really, really big choice you're making." Tatianna shifted.

This conversation repeated itself in multiple variations, whenever the two had a moment alone. On walks through the hills, shopping and mani-pedi dates down to the Drive, Tatianna even joined Pierce in the gym one morning (to her clear dismay once she picked up on Pierce's grueling routine and what it consisted of).

"What was it that brought all of this up, again?" Tatianna crossed her arms across her chest, tucking them into herself.

Pierce shrugged, her bottom lip tugging downward, her finger testing its senses against the slick black paint. "Curiosity," was her only explanation.

Initially, she'd wanted answers. But Pierce realized quickly that preparing herself to claw through an interrogation with a woman who may very well turn her on her own ass at the door wouldn't serve to be productive to Pierce. It'd have the opposite effect, in fact. So she'd go with the flow of it. Walk in not knowing what she'd glean from it all. Keep expectations low.

"You heard what it did to the cat?"

"My god, Tatianna," Pierce grumbled, wrenching the car door open and sliding into the drivers seat. She'd landed with a frump, powering the sedan on and immediately blasting the air conditioning. A sheath of hot air blew Pierce's hair from her face, gazing up with furrowed brows and wide eyes at her best friend through a rolled down window. "Be more dramatic. I dare you!"

It had taken some careful convincing with the thorough receptionist on the other end of the line, who clearly hadn't had enough of her morning coffee to deal with Pierce Greene insisting on visiting her mother for the first time in... well, ever. If it weren't for Pierce's name miraculously listed as the only emergency contact, and her New York address the one listed to bill the cost to each month, the woman was primed and prepared to tell Pierce to kick rocks.