L'AMOUR DE MA VIE - Billie Eilish

Chapter 1

Em's POV

After what felt like weeks, which was actually the better part of 4 days, I finally finished unpacking and organizing my new apartment. Everything was now in its rightful place. The only things missing were some decorations. I had a little bit of my own personal stuff scattered around the apartment that made it more me, but I definitely needed some more things to truly make this my home.

The next step in the moving process was getting a job. I'd saved up a lot in the last year from working full time in a music store and I'd gotten a pretty nice inheritance since my father's passing. I also managed to sell one of the many songs I'd written over the last couple of months, which doubled the savings I initially had. I definitely had enough to keep me steady for a while, but I didn't want to just lay around and do nothing for the next few months. I'd done enough mopping in the last year and a half, so I made a promise to myself that I'd find a job as well as hang out with the few friends I made over the last few years.

As I was making breakfast, I felt my phone buzz. I picked up the phone to see Kyra's face on my home screen. I answered the call before putting the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Hey Ky." I greeted her.

"Hey Em! How's the moving going? Are you done unpacking? I can't wait to see your new place!" Ky's cheerful voice came through the phone.

"Yeah, everything is unpacked. I just need to make it a little more homey and then, I'll be settled. What's up with you?" I replied.

Kyra proceeded to talk about this new boy she met at this club not too far from my apartment. She gushed about him being the one before finally inviting me to go get some coffee.

"So yeah, we could meet at the coffee shop in like an hour and we could go shopping after for the stuff you're missing at your apartment. How's that sound? Please say yes, cause bitch, I haven't seen you in almost 2 years and I need some Em and Ky time," she pleaded into the phone.

Despite being exhausted, I agreed to meet her at the coffee shop near the mall. I was also desperate to see a familiar face. I'd truly missed Ky. We met when I spent my first summer in LA. I had been shopping for some summer clothes and I heard crying coming from one of the changing booths. There I found Kyra crying about her recent breakup. I'd found it very strange that she went into a changing booth to cry, despite not bringing any clothes to try on, but I had promised myself before coming to LA that I would make some friends. I didn't want to keep being the person I was back home. I knew I would always be socially anxious and awkward, but that didn't mean that I couldn't at least try to make some friends. I comforted her the best that I could and the rest is history. We spent our whole summer together. She'd introduced me to some of her friends as well as her sister Claudia. Through Claudia, I met Finn and Billie.

Although I love Ky like she's my sister, there's always this little part of me that wonders what it would've been like if I had never comforted her that day. I definitely would've never met Billie. Would've saved me a whole lot of heartache, that's for sure.

I quickly scarfed down my eggs and orange juice before getting dressed. It was pretty warm outside, so I settled on a baby blue summer dress that came down to around my mid-thigh. I paired that with a pair of white strappy sandals and went on with my business. I applied a bit of concealer under my eyes and put my hair in a half up half down updo. After brushing my teeth, I looked at myself in the mirror.

It's crazy how much I'd changed in the last 18 months. The breakup definitely fucked me up. My dad's passing definitely fucked me up even more. I'd spent almost 6 months being completely depressed after the breakup. I could hardly eat, all I did was cry and sleep. When my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was devastated but I knew I had to snap out of it and take care of him. My sister was in college and my mom now had to work extra shifts since my dad stopped working due to his illness. It was all up to me. I worked my full time job to save up some money for my future and for the bills, but the rest of my time was dedicated to my father. Appointments, chemo, cooking, cleaning. I honestly don't know how I managed to not break down during that time. I felt numb. Nothing mattered except my dad.