Love's Deception

Chapter 41 - Surrender

At what point in a fight do you surrender? At what point in a war do you surrender and wave the white flag? What would make you surrender? Is it the fact that you're too tired to fight more? Or the fact that you know it's the right thing to do.

You're tired of fighting with someone. Maybe it isn't worth your energy, maybe it's worth too much energy but you just can't do it anymore. Or maybe you know it's the right thing to do and you decide to stop the fighting in order to bring peace.

This can be an internal war or a war with another person. But now you want peace. And you're going to get it. Just because you surrender doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're strong enough to be the bigger person to end the war.

~~~~

The next morning, I wake up feeling more refreshed than I have in a while. My alarm goes off just seconds after I wake up and I shut it off. Lily stirs next to me and groans.

"Why is your alarm going off this early?"

I laugh and rub my eyes, "This is when I get up to go to work. But not today, we have the day off since it's the day after the trial. I should get home and start packing though."

I roll out of bed and grab my bag, stuffing my items into it. Lily gets out of bed as well and helps me get my items together. We say our goodbyes and I leave and get in my car and drive away.

When I get back to my apartment, I set my bag down on my bed. I debate on whether or not I want to go back to sleep, but that'll just ruin my sleep schedule so I grab a cup of coffee and begin organizing.

I have a lot of case files and information scattered all around, so I begin to pile it up. I clip it all together and remind myself that I need to return that all to the field office tomorrow since it needs to be filed away.

I then spend another hour organizing and cleaning my entire apartment, before heading out to a storage facility and buying some cardboard boxes for my belongings.

I haven't even told Director Scott that I'm taking the transfer, but I want to get to packing so that nothing will change my mind about it. I grab the boxes and drive back home, and when I get inside I look around my apartment. The place I've called home for so many years. I walk to the window and look out of it.

I see the skyline of D.C., oh, how I'll miss it. Am I really making the right decision here? I think I am, I hope I am. I sigh and look away before I become even more nostalgic than I'm feeling.

Grabbing the book, I begin to pack up my items. I spend about two hours packing up my smaller belongings in boxes. I've filled a bunch. I decide to take a break for about an hour and I go on my laptop to look for places to live in LA. Everything is so expensive, but with my income, it's fine.

I scroll through the internet and find a few apartments. I print out their information and lay them on the kitchen table. I'm about to go searching some more when there's a knock on the door.

Setting down my pen, I go to answer the door and find Paige and Jax on the other side, smiling at me.

"Hi! What are you guys doing here?"

"We were just heading out to grab some lunch and thought to invite you, but it seems you're busy," Paige says as she looks around my apartment, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm packing."

Jax looks at me shocked, "You're moving to LA?"

"Yeah," I nod, "I decided yesterday, and tomorrow I'm telling Director Scott. I just figured I'd get a head start on packing."