Reaching

3

I woke up and groaned. I had a headache, so I planned to find myself some painkillers. Unfortunately, my plans were cut short by almost passing out when i stood up.

Guess I could need some Iron supplements too, huh?

My dizziness stopped after a couple of seconds, and then my phone buzzed.

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???

Hey Lucy, It's Travis. Got ur number through James that got it from Claudia

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I had almost forgotten about the party last night. Almost immediately after I arrived home, I fell asleep. I'm glad he got my number, cause I didn't get the chance to give it to him.

I saved his number and replied.

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Lucy

Hi, what's up?

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While I waited for him to text me back, I continued my plans. I swallowed some painkillers and took a hot shower. When I was done, I put on a fresh pair of clothes and proceeded to knock on Claudia's door. "Who is it?" she yelled from the other side. "It's Lucy, can I come in?" I replied, waiting for an answer. She agreed, so I opened the door and sat on her bed. She was sitting at her desk, writing some notes in a journal. When she finished writing her sentence, she turned my way. "I'm so pissed, Lucy, " she said, crossing her arms. I nod in response. I know.

"First of all, how dares he just barge into me hooking up with someone, cuss at them and then call me a fucking slut in front of all those people?!" she whined while using her hands to express her anger. She paused and sighed. "Has he apologized?" I asked while trying not to get upset myself.

"He asked me if I wanted noodles. FUCKING NOODLES!". She rapidly stood up from where she sat and surprised me, which made me laugh. Before we knew it, we were both dying of laughter. Gosh, no wonder we get noise complaints. When we had calmed down and could finally breathe again, she rested her head on her desk. "Honestly, I don't wanna talk to him for a while. He humiliated me in front of James and the whole party, " she muttered.

I assured her that everything would be all right, and then we talked about the good memories we had from last night. We made plans to hang out on Wednesday, and then I returned to my room.

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Travis

Not much, just texting this really cute girl

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I spent the rest of my weekend finishing my book. It was really interesting, it was about this lost cat trying to find its way back to its owner. The story was touching, I even cried a little. 

I also texted Travis during the weekend, but I felt like I had to hold back. Honestly, I was scared. My previous relationship wasn't good, and I didn't go to that party to find another person to hurt me. I do like the idea of love, but I think I need to focus on myself.

I had just ended my shift on Monday. I took the subway home as usual, but when I opened the door I was greeted with a smell that wasn't usual. Pancakes. Because neither Claudia nor Oliver know how to cook, I grew suspicious. "Hello?" I said while I took off my shoes. "You hungry?" A familiar voice responded. I could feel a smile form on my face. "Noah!" I shouted and ran into his embrace.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?" I asked when I pulled out of the hug. "I climbed through the window". I immediately turned around to see a wide-open window. "You climbed in through there?" I asked, making him laugh and flick my head. "No, Oliver let me in". I rubbed my forehead. "You've got to stop doing that, I'm not a kid anymore, " I muttered. "Yeah you are, the rule is that the older sibling always gets to treat the younger sibling like a kid". I scuffed. "Yet here you are, helping yourself from my fridge as if you're the kid. He swung the pan and flipped a pancake. "I'll take it as payback for being such a good brother, " he answered with a smirk.

He started whistling while raiding the kitchen and I went ahead and changed in my room. I love my brother, but he doesn't make my life any less stressful. He usually comes to visit when he has news, so when he appears I can't help but worry. He's not great at talking about emotions, so I probably won't find out what's wrong until a couple of days have passed. I shrugged it off and tried not to think about it. Still, I felt my stomach sinking. I laid down on the couch and started browsing on tiktok. I got a text.

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Santa Claud

James asked me on a date 0-0

Lucy

Nice, what did you say?

Santa Claud

Said yes, need an outfit

Lucy

Mall on Wednesday?

Santa Claud

Broke

Lucy

Thrifting?

Santa Claud

Yes

Btw why aren't you texting Trav back anymore

He thinks you hate him

Lucy

I don't hate him

My brother is here now

Santa Claud

Oh I see

I'll be home at 6

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Claudia knows what to expect when my brother comes for a visit. He's always welcome, but you never know with him. She knows that when he comes around, he has news. Either it involves me, or it involves him. He's also unpredictable and can be very manipulative, but I know him well enough to not be affected by it. 

I ran some errands in the afternoon, and at around 9 we all gathered around the TV, trying to pick out a movie. Things had calmed down between Oliver and Claudia, but she sat with me instead of him. "I wanna watch spirited away, " Noah said. "No, put on the wolf of wall street!" Oliver argued. Claudia giggled. "What about a horror movie? Since Lucy has become a ghost," Claudia teased. I crossed my arms. "Ha-ha, very funny".

We ended up watching that horror movie, which honestly didn't help my situation. It's not that I don't like them, but when I'm feeling tense they do make me feel paranoid. I gave Noah a sleeping bag so he could crash on the couch, and I went to my room. I put on some music to try and calm me down, but it didn't help. 

My heart was beating fast, and I felt panicked. I walked to my dresser and took some sleeping pills in an attempt to calm myself down.