I Never Told You What I Did for a Living
An Old Friend
My head throbbed and ached before I even opened my eyes the next morning. I attempted to go back to sleep, hoping to avoid the inevitable hangover, but it was useless. I reached for the bottle of water by my head and drank half of it in a few gulps. I finally opened my eyes, letting the light pierce my over-sensitive retinas.
I groaned in pain and forced myself up from the mattress. I could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen, and I stumbled from my bedroom. Mom and Dad were sitting together at the table, speaking quietly. Frankie and Gerard were sprawled across the two couches, and the living room floor was covered in motionless, sleeping bodies.
"You're awake," Dad sounded surprised.
I clutched my forehead in my hands. "Quietly, please."
"Lily, do you want some breakfast?" Mom asked. She was looking at me as though she wanted it to be clear that she was only being polite for Dad's sake.
"No. Food isn't exactly appealing right now."
I sat across from her and stared intently at the patterns in the grain of the wooden table. The silence in the dining room was extremely tense, and I knew that it was obvious that I wasn't happy. I knew that I should have been; after all, I'd graduated high school. But it wasn't the same now that my parents were living in some alternate reality that didn't really involve me. I was only seventeen. As much as I wanted to believe that I was fine on my own, I really wasn't.
It was hard to think with the pounding of my blood in my ears, but I wondered vaguely whether or not I was merely going to become a burden to Gerard. He was so good to me, and I loved the way he'd taken care of me the night before, but I didn't want it to become a regular thing. I didn't want to force him to constantly watch over me. I didn't want to have to really need anyone.
"Lily, have you given any more thought to that decision you told me about?" Dad prodded gently.
I lifted my eyes from the table top. "Which decision was that?" I knew perfectly well what he was talking about, I just wanted to make things difficult for him.
"The one about moving in with your boyfriend as soon as school's over."
"What part of that should I be giving more thought to?"
"Are you sure it's what you want?"
I nodded. "I'm positive. I know you don't really approve of him, and you only let him stay here so that I wouldn't be alone, but there's nothing that I would rather do. Besides, I can't stay here with you two. Or wherever it is that you're going to live."
"And why can't you?"
I glanced from him to my mom and back again. "If you can't figure that one out, then you're a lot dumber than I thought."
I pushed my chair back and left the table. Immediately I could hear the hushed voices return, as though they now had so much more to talk about. I sat on the edge of the couch where Gerard still slept. I didn't want to wake him up, yet I needed someone to talk to. I was bored.
Instead of waking up anyone and risking irritating them, I went into my room and pulled out my cell phone. I scanned my contacts quickly before deciding that this particular call was long overdue.
"Hello?"
"Jill? It's Lily."
"Yeah, I know. Your name comes up when you call, remember? What's up?"
I heaved a large sigh. It had been way too long since I'd spoken to her. She used to be my only friend.
"Not much. I just wanted to talk to you. How are you?"
"I'm fine," she sounded confused. "Lily, we haven't talked in months. Seriously, what's up?"
"Nothing, honestly. I just had my graduation ceremony last night, and once I'm finished my classes I'm moving in with Gerard. I'll be living in the city again. I just wanted to know if you would be willing to hang out sometime."
"Things have changed since you left, Lily."
"I know."
"But I'd love to catch up with you. So you're still with that guy, huh?"
"Yeah. I think we've made it through the worst possible scenarios already."
"Really?" She was suddenly intrigued. "Like what?"
"There's way too much to tell over the phone. I'll call you again when I move back there, okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
I was still slightly unsure as I hung up the phone, but I was grateful to know that both of us were willing to try to forgive and forget. It made things seem slightly better now that I knew that there was a friend waiting for me when I moved.
"How are you feeling?"
I jumped at the sound of Gerard's voice as he entered the room.
"I've been better," I admitted, finishing off the bottle of water.
"I figured. You weren't in the best shape last night."
"I know." I held up the empty pail proudly. "But I didn't hurl again."
He laughed. "That's good, I guess."
"Gerard," I took a deep breath. "I don't want you to have to take care of me all the time."
"I don't take care of you all the time."
"I know, but will it be different when we live together?"
"Lily, look around. We practically live together now. And we did before, remember? We get along great, even in bad times. Don't worry about the future, it'll all work out."
"Somehow, I believe you."
I groaned in pain and forced myself up from the mattress. I could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen, and I stumbled from my bedroom. Mom and Dad were sitting together at the table, speaking quietly. Frankie and Gerard were sprawled across the two couches, and the living room floor was covered in motionless, sleeping bodies.
"You're awake," Dad sounded surprised.
I clutched my forehead in my hands. "Quietly, please."
"Lily, do you want some breakfast?" Mom asked. She was looking at me as though she wanted it to be clear that she was only being polite for Dad's sake.
"No. Food isn't exactly appealing right now."
I sat across from her and stared intently at the patterns in the grain of the wooden table. The silence in the dining room was extremely tense, and I knew that it was obvious that I wasn't happy. I knew that I should have been; after all, I'd graduated high school. But it wasn't the same now that my parents were living in some alternate reality that didn't really involve me. I was only seventeen. As much as I wanted to believe that I was fine on my own, I really wasn't.
It was hard to think with the pounding of my blood in my ears, but I wondered vaguely whether or not I was merely going to become a burden to Gerard. He was so good to me, and I loved the way he'd taken care of me the night before, but I didn't want it to become a regular thing. I didn't want to force him to constantly watch over me. I didn't want to have to really need anyone.
"Lily, have you given any more thought to that decision you told me about?" Dad prodded gently.
I lifted my eyes from the table top. "Which decision was that?" I knew perfectly well what he was talking about, I just wanted to make things difficult for him.
"The one about moving in with your boyfriend as soon as school's over."
"What part of that should I be giving more thought to?"
"Are you sure it's what you want?"
I nodded. "I'm positive. I know you don't really approve of him, and you only let him stay here so that I wouldn't be alone, but there's nothing that I would rather do. Besides, I can't stay here with you two. Or wherever it is that you're going to live."
"And why can't you?"
I glanced from him to my mom and back again. "If you can't figure that one out, then you're a lot dumber than I thought."
I pushed my chair back and left the table. Immediately I could hear the hushed voices return, as though they now had so much more to talk about. I sat on the edge of the couch where Gerard still slept. I didn't want to wake him up, yet I needed someone to talk to. I was bored.
Instead of waking up anyone and risking irritating them, I went into my room and pulled out my cell phone. I scanned my contacts quickly before deciding that this particular call was long overdue.
"Hello?"
"Jill? It's Lily."
"Yeah, I know. Your name comes up when you call, remember? What's up?"
I heaved a large sigh. It had been way too long since I'd spoken to her. She used to be my only friend.
"Not much. I just wanted to talk to you. How are you?"
"I'm fine," she sounded confused. "Lily, we haven't talked in months. Seriously, what's up?"
"Nothing, honestly. I just had my graduation ceremony last night, and once I'm finished my classes I'm moving in with Gerard. I'll be living in the city again. I just wanted to know if you would be willing to hang out sometime."
"Things have changed since you left, Lily."
"I know."
"But I'd love to catch up with you. So you're still with that guy, huh?"
"Yeah. I think we've made it through the worst possible scenarios already."
"Really?" She was suddenly intrigued. "Like what?"
"There's way too much to tell over the phone. I'll call you again when I move back there, okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
I was still slightly unsure as I hung up the phone, but I was grateful to know that both of us were willing to try to forgive and forget. It made things seem slightly better now that I knew that there was a friend waiting for me when I moved.
"How are you feeling?"
I jumped at the sound of Gerard's voice as he entered the room.
"I've been better," I admitted, finishing off the bottle of water.
"I figured. You weren't in the best shape last night."
"I know." I held up the empty pail proudly. "But I didn't hurl again."
He laughed. "That's good, I guess."
"Gerard," I took a deep breath. "I don't want you to have to take care of me all the time."
"I don't take care of you all the time."
"I know, but will it be different when we live together?"
"Lily, look around. We practically live together now. And we did before, remember? We get along great, even in bad times. Don't worry about the future, it'll all work out."
"Somehow, I believe you."