The rest of the car ride was silent. Tears flooded her eyes as she slammed the truck door and ran to the door as Morgan yelled something about her slamming the truck door.
She was sure she would sleep on the couch tonight, but as she sobered up on the car ride home, she became more awake. The kitchen clock read 3:41 AM and Laney grabbed a blanket and laid on the couch.
Hearing the front door open she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Morgans's footsteps trailed into the living room near the couch and she felt him kiss her forehead before tucking her in more and walking away. She opened her eyes and began to silently cry. They had never fought like this and they never fought this much but it was emotionally taxing. The circles under her eyes were evident.
She woke up next to Morgan. The both of them had seemed to wake up at the same time as he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed before wrapping his legs around her as well. But she was too tired to resist and drained from the events of last night. Oh my god. Jack.
Laney immediately grabbed her phone From the bedside table and saw a lengthy message from Jack and Ana on two separate private messages. Going to the bathroom to pee, she read Jack's message.
Jack: hey, i completely understand why he punched me in the face. it kind of serves to be a cool story... minus the broken nose. im not sure if we should be friends anymore. i don't have feelings for you anymore but if our past is going to be an issue then it may be for the best. wish you nothing but the best.
Laney nearly choked reading that and her eyes glossed as she reread the message. She loved Jack as a friend and as an ex-coworker, no way he would ruin it for her. Shaking off Morgans's touch from earlier, washing her hands, and walking to the patio she called Jack, who had fortunately picked up.
"Jack I'm so sorry. He has been a prick and he didn't need to do all that. I want to be friends our past won't be an issue," she sighed.
"Laney, he was clearly upset. I don't want to be an issue when we decide to hang out and go out," Jack replied.
"It won't be. I'm going to make him apologize," Laney said.
"He should apologize if he wants to.... with concert tickets," he laughed making Laney smile.
"And he does want to. Love you, Jack, I got to go".
"Love you too".
She was so grateful for how positive he was, no matter the circumstance. Anyone else would have been pressing charges and blocking Laney. Next up was Ana. But Ana had just given a run down on drunk Jack explaining how cool the story would be to tell, going to the ER, and telling Laney to call her.
As she went to press "call", she heard the patio door slide open, making her pause in her steps.
"Are you okay? You ran out quick," Morgan asked with concern laced in his voice.
She turned around to face him, "I was talking to Jack".
His face hardened as he stayed quiet and she continued, "You broke his nose for being my friend. You need to apologize to him. He just wants concert tickets for the show and isn't suing luckily".
Relief was evident as his posture relaxed a little and he took a deep breath, "I'll apologize" and with that, she dialed Jack again and handed Morgan the phone.
"Hey man it's Morgan. Just wanted to apologize about last night and check on ya," Morgan said genuinely.
She couldn't hear what Jack was saying but Morgan laughed, "No she didn't.... Yeah man I would love to let me know how many... Alright bye".
She blinked as he handed her the phone back and said, "He was happy".
Laney gave him a half-smile and sat down on the patio floor while Morgan turned around to walk back inside. She heard the door slide halfway until he turned around, "Are you coming?".
"No," she said.
He had turned around based on the sound of his footsteps approaching and sat down next to her. Grabbing her hand he looked at her, "What's on your mind?".
The tears started to pour down her face as her lip trembled and she looked down at the floor to avoid eye contact, "I hate that we have been fighting". Maybe it was her period heightening her emotions but she was about to let all of the emotions she had cooped up out.
The chilly air frosted her skin making a trail of goosebumps appear.
He nodded, "Me too... They set my court date".
She looked over at him, "For when?".
"A few weeks from now but my lawyer is working for me not to appear because of the shows".
Laney remained quiet as she just nodded to acknowledge her listening.
"You know I love you," he said.
"I know. You've just been saying a lot of hurtful things lately," she emotionlessly stated.
"I'm sorry," he replied.
"Thanks," she sighed as the tears on her face dried from the wind, "You are lucky Jack is a fan".
He just nodded in response, knowing how fortunate he was.
He pulled her into his arms as they just sat together in the fall crisp weather. Their whole dynamic changed and they could both feel it. Change was constant but recently it was more like a constant slap in the face.
The words from this week bruised her, from the mention of his prior life to him taking her side, she was in a whole new realm compared to three weeks ago.
The two didn't have to speak but they both made their way inside.
"I'm going to clean the house up for tomorrow," she told him.
Walking to the pantry, she grabbed cleaning supplies and scrubbed away the anguish and pent-up feelings she had for the last week. Cleaning was her therapy other than painting so it was perfect that Katie would be visiting. Spotless floors, clean couches, and shiny tabletops echoed the resemblance of a model home by the time Laney was done.
"What should we do for dinner?" Morgan asked as he swung around the corner where Laney was putting back cleaning supplies.
She shrugged, "Chinese?".
He nodded in agreement calling to put in an order.
Laney walked into the bedroom and stripped off her bleach-smelling clothes, turning on the shower, she waited for it to heat up before hopping in.
By the time she was out, she smelt the Chinese food from the kitchen. A grumble erupted out of her stomach as she walked into the living room to find Morgan munching his food down while watching some TV. Sitting next to him, she munched too and realized why he was silenced: the food was incredible. Something about the local Chinese restaurant always hit different.
The two finished up and cleaned up the kitchen before just staring at each other momentarily. Laney grabbed her iPad and began researching how much it would cost to open her dream art gallery as Morgan peered over her shoulder, "I can just pay for it".
She glared at him, "I want to earn it" making him nod,
She didn't want everything handed to her because of him, his acts of kindness sometimes were more detrimental than helpful, something he learned when she worked in Events.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked her.
