City Lights, Country Nights

20.A list of chores

Liora adjusted her sports bra as she pulled it over her chest, ensuring it fit comfortably. Walking over to the nightstand, she discreetly stashed the orange pill bottle in her bra to keep it out of sight.

Next, she opened the drawer and retrieved a pack of cigarettes, a lingering reminder of her time in New York. Determined to get rid of them, she left them behind today.

Hiding the pack from view, Liora turned toward the door and made her way to the bathroom. Standing there, she rubbed her sore knuckles with a rag, attempting to buy herself more time before heading downstairs.

"Hey," she looked up at Cole as he stopped at the door and glanced down at her hand. "Do you need help?" he asked, but she didn't respond, withdrawing her hand.

"The silent treatment again?" Cole said, walking over to lean against the sink and looking at her. "Come on, Rory, every time I turn around, you're mad at me for something," he said, prompting Liora to snap her head in his direction.

"Yeah, Cole, because you do stupid things," Liora said, her gaze piercing his. "Why did you bring her in the first place? Jackie has never drunk a day in her life," she hissed. Cole wasn't the only one Liora was upset with; she was also angry at Jackie and wasn't going to pretend that everything was fine.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Cole said, but Liora just walked past him. It was too easy to say sorry, and Liora was beginning to think he didn't truly mean it.

"I'm going for my run," Liora said as she walked down the stairs.

"Hey, Rory!" Katherine called out, but Liora kept walking. "Come in here now!" she said. Liora stopped at the door, then turned around and walked back to the kitchen to face her.

"What?" Liora said softly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Breakfast," Katherine said as George walked in, and Liora looked up at her.

"I'm not hungry," Liora said as politely as she could, avoiding glaring at Jackie.

"You have a long day ahead; you need to eat," George insisted, causing Liora's eyes to snap to him. A long day?

"What?" Liora asked, but he didn't answer as he looked at Jackie.

"I'm going to yell," he said, and Liora finally looked at Jackie, who was hung over. "Cole! Come down here, please!" George yelled. Liora looked up the stairs, but he didn’t come down at first.

"Now!" George yelled, and Liora looked down at the counter as Cole walked in.

"Where's the fire?" Cole asked, stopping next to Liora, causing her to glare up at him.

"Here you go," George said, handing Liora and Cole a piece of paper. Liora took it and looked it over. Was this a list of chores? "A list of chores you have to do before the day ends," he said.

Liora looked to Jackie, who looked down before meeting Cole's gaze, then back at the list, and closed her eyes.

"Can I go for my run?" Liora mumbled, setting the list down on the counter.

"Yeah," Katherine said as Liora turned and practically ran out the door, putting some distance between herself and the house. Once she was far enough away, she stopped, pulled out the orange bottle, and looked at it before taking out a cigarette and lighting it.

"Oh, it's going to be a long day," Liora said, inhaling the cigarette. She could feel the burn of it running down her throat and into her lungs. It had been months since she had had one.

Liora opened the bottle, took a deep breath, and threw the pills and the bottle away, followed by disposing of the cigarette, before running off.

Later, as Liora approached the house, Cole was walking out the door. "Your list," he said, handing it to her before walking away.

Liora grabbed it and turned, walking after him. "You know I blame you for this," she said, getting in front of him and making him stop.

"I didn't tell you to say it was you," Cole said. Liora looked up into his eyes.

"If I didn't, Jackie would have gotten in trouble," Liora said, starting to take steps back as Cole continued walking. "I think you should have to do all the chores," she said. He looked down at her as he kept walking, and she stood her ground in front of him.

"I said I was sorry," Cole said. Liora shook her head.

"You saying sorry was too easy, Cole. You don't really mean it," Liora said. He stopped and raised his eyebrows in question. "Well, saying the words 'I'm sorry' is easy, but meaning the words you say is hard," she explained.

"So you don't believe I'm sorry?" Cole asked. Liora shook her head.

"No," she said.

“Why? I mean it," he said. Liora huffed and looked down. "Tell me why you don't believe me."

"In New York, when I would go home after a party so messed up that I would still be messed up on whatever I did the next morning," Liora said, looking up at him. "And Jackie would find me like this. I could never once look at her and say I was sorry," she said, glancing over at where Jackie was.

"Because I wasn't sorry, Cole. I felt that the world owed me everything because it took my everything, but Jackie?" Liora said. "She was hard on me, and it wasn't with yelling or screaming; she was just silent. She didn't say anything, and that is what hurt the most," she said. Cole looked down at her as she looked up at him.

"I couldn't bring myself to lie to her because I knew I could just say the words 'I'm sorry' and move on, but I couldn't. I never said I was sorry to her even one time for what I did," Liora said.

"There are three ways to say 'I'm sorry,' Cole. You just throw out the words 'I'm sorry,' maybe with a shrug, not really meaning it, like when a boyfriend wants his angry girlfriend to back off. It's not the most heartfelt, but it might get you out of immediate trouble. That's what you do," she said, as Cole kept his eyes on her.

"What are the other ways?" Cole asked.

"The second way is a bit more sincere, but there's a catch. You say sorry, you mean it to some extent, perhaps to ease the tension, but it comes with a condition or an excuse," she said.

"And the third way is the real deal - where you mean it with everything and you're committed to change. No excuses. It's heartfelt, sincere, and comes with a genuine commitment to change."

"You know what?" Cole said. "You're the only one I know who can come up with three different ways to say sorry and explain it." Liora's lip pulled back as her hand moved to hit him on the arm.

"Cole! I was being serious!" Liora said as she let out a laugh.

"Sweep the barn; it's one of your chores," Cole said, handing her a broom. Liora took the broom and walked away.