In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

33

 Denise saw me starting to wince when I would sit forwards, so she brought me my ibuprofen without a word. I took it and we kept going. I knew I was going to feel the pain tomorrow, but it would be worth it. Today had been the best day I had since the accident, even without Colby being here. I felt more like my old self now than I had in awhile. The weekend finally came, and I was more ready for it than anything else. I even stay in the bed all day, the day before so that I wouldn't be sore for this day. I wanted to be able to enjoy it, to be with my friends, to have a good time, without worrying about how I felt, or having my friends worry about me. I was getting better, a little every day, but I was nowhere near healed. I knew that I still had a while before I was back to normal. "Hey we're gonna get the grill going. Brennen is gonna start it up, and put the steaks on. You know he thinks he's a professional chef or some shit," Sarah said, knocking before she popped her head inside my room. I grinned at her. "Okay, I'll be out there soon." "Do you need someone to come help you?" She asked, raising her eybrows questioningly. I shook my head. "No, tell them not to bother. I'm okay, really. I need to go to the bathroom first, then I'll be out there. I'll yell if I need anyone, okay?" She nodded, and bit her lip, worrying it with her teeth. "I'll be fine Sarah. Promise. Now go. Before Brennen fucks up out food," I said replied, laughing as I made shooing motions with my hands. She laughed, blew me a kiss and closed my door. I sighed, and smiled, leaning back on my pillow. My body was still sore, but damn it, this wasn't going to stop me. I was determined to have a good time today, and to be as normal as I possibly could, instead of the helpless victim that everyone kept treating me like. I picked up my phone and noticed that I had a text from Colby. "Hey, I'll be over soon. Jake and Tara are riding with me. I'm bringing Eli too. That okay?" I furrowed my brow in confusion, staring at the text. Eli? Who was that? Wait...Elias? I texted him back asking if this Eli he spoke of was actually his musician friend Pretty Heartbreak. "Yeah, that's him. It's cool if he comes too? I think you guys will really like him." I laughed out loud, and smiled. "Yes PLEASE BRING HIM!! I'M OBSESSED WITH HIS MUSIC!!" I texted back. "Ok, ok, chill! I don't know if I should if you're already fangirling over him! Remember what happened the last time you fangirled over someone? I do because it was me. Now look where we are," he texted back. I rolled my eyes, with a grin on my face. "Shut up! Just bring him! he is pretty cute tho," I sent back. I could see him smiling at my texts inside my mind. Maybe even showing Elias what I had said. I couldn't wait to meet the man that I had been listening to for the past 6 years! I got up and changed my shirt so that I at least wouldn't look like I had been in the bed all day. My shorts were fine, just a pair of short acid washed jean shorts, with a couple of stylish rips in them. The shirt I chose was a flowy, black blouse, that was longer in the back than it was in the front. The sleeves widened at the elbow, flowing down my arm to past my wrists. I brushed my hair, and sat down in the chair that was in front of my dresser. I pulled my makeup bag out, smiling at the Gucci symbols on it. I was going to use this bag till it fell apart. God, it seemed like forever since Tara had given me this bag. I expertly applied my makeup, keeping it light and natural, mainly because I knew that I wouldn't be able to sit there too long before I started hurting. I was never one to go hard core with my makeup anyway, unless we were going to a club or somewhere special. Afterwards, I grabbed my cane, just in case, and went to the bathroom. After I did my business, I washed my hands, and opened the medicine cabinet to find my ibuprofen. I knew that Denise had put it in here. I pushed the box of tampons out of the way, trying to reach the bottle that was sitting right next to it. "Fuck," I muttered, as I watched the box fall to the floor. I slowly bent and picked it up. When I stood back up carefully, I went to put the box back where it was, but something caught my eyes. A medicine bottle that had been sitting behind the box of tampons, hidden. What was even stranger was the fact that it had my name on it. I reached out and picked it up, twisting the bottle so that I could read the label better. Percocet 10mg, Terra Brookes. I felt the anger boil up inside of me, so fast it even surprised me. Why would they get pain pills for me when I had specifically told them not to do that?? I slammed the bottle down on the counter, and went to leave the bathroom. My hand froze on the door knob. I wanted today to be a good day, not full of anger...or pain. I turned back towards the sink and stared at the dark green medicine bottle sitting there. I could just take half of one. 5mg would be enough to help with the pain, and get me through the day. It would be just enough and I would be fine. I wouldn't take anymore, and I would tell Denise to flush them immediately. Yeah, that's what I would do. Just take a half of one and not tell anyone. They would make a big deal about it. I just wanted to feel normal today. I stepped closer to the counter, and picked the bottle back up. As I twisted the lid off, I felt an old urge to pour out two or three of the pills to take at once. I swallowed hard, and took one pill out. I broke it in half, against the scored line on it, and put the other half back in the bottle.