Come Back To Me

Hollis got up the next morning excited for her meeting with Norelle and not so excited for her meeting with her mother. The more she was able to immerse herself in work the easier it was for her to deal with her mother's wedding and her insane lack of a social life. She showered quickly and got dressed in a semi-dressy outfit, keeping it office appropriate but still making sure it would be comfortable enough to wear all day long.

She then threw her hair up into a loose ponytail and slipped her shoes on, heading out the door, being sure to grab her briefcase as she left the apartment. Her only appointment for the day called out, so she took that time to catch up on case files and paperwork that she had fallen behind on. When it came time to meet with Norelle, she found herself getting a little nervous for reasons she couldn't understand. She knew that this wasn't anything to be worried about but she was nervous that maybe her paper idea would turn into a flop or Norelle's patient/boyfriend wasn't going to want her around. But despite her fears she piled into her car and drove off towards Norelle's office.

She parallel parked outside the office and walked up the front steps to the office. She opened the door to be greeted by a young blonde receptionist, who quickly figured out who she was and showed her into Norelle's office to wait for Norelle and her patient. She opened her briefcase and pulled out the new notebook she had purchased for notes on her paper. She took the pen out and stuck it through her ponytail, placed her briefcase on the floor and waited.

It was only a few minutes before she heard the door to the office open and she stood up to meet Norelle and her boyfriend.

"Hi Hollis, it's nice to finally meet you in person." She said with a smile.

"Likewise. Thank you again for letting me do this and helping me out."

"It's really no problem, and I already talked to my patient and he has no problem with it whatsoever." She said to Hollis and then looked at the door, "Don't creep around in doorways" She said with a laugh and slowly the door opened more and he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Hollis' breath hitched in her throat when she saw who it was.

"B-B-Brian?" She mumbled out as Norelle took her seat behind her desk and Hollis and Brian sat on the other side.

"Hi Hollis" He said in a remarkably clear voice as he said beside her. "How have you been?"

"Hold up. You two know each other?" Norelle asked, obviously confused. She looked to Brian, "Why didn't you tell me you knew who she was?"

He shrugged, "Because it didn't matter. I wanted to help her write the paper."

"Thanks." Hollis said, "I'm surprised that you wanted anything to do with me, let alone help me out."

"Okay, I'm so confused. How exactly do you guys know each other?"

Brian and Hollis looked at each other, having a silent battle as to who would be the one to tell Norelle. Hollis lost.

"We dated a couple years back. It was kind of a complicated break-up. We haven't seen each other since. But, I'm ready to put that behind me and be civil." She said and Norelle's facials were hard to read, it was obvious that she was surprised but it was hard to tell if she was okay with it or not.

"Same here. We're adults. We can still be friends, right?" Brian asked hopefully.

Hollis nodded with a smile, "Of course. I've really missed you."

He smiled, "Same. Now let's get this paper dealt with."

"Now that is something I can understand" Norelle said, her cheery voice returning.

The meeting went smoothly, everything was planned out, from when Hollis would observe and when the paper would tentatively be published. After an hour, Hollis knew that she had to go and meet her mother for lunch at Panera. She thanked Norelle again and walked out with Brian, who was heading over to his parents for work-related things.

"How've you been? Any boyfriends?" He asked nonchalantly as they walked to their cars.

"Nope. I've been married to my work for the past two years. Pretty pathetic right?"

He shook his head, "Not at all. You care about your work and you know what's important, that's what matters."

"How long have you and Norelle been together"

"A little over a year. We met when I had to switch physical therapists."

"Why are you in physical therapy in the first place? I never asked."

Brian took a deep breath and put his hands behind his head as he leaned against Hollis' car, "I was in an accident. A little while after you left. I almost died. I've just recently been able to walk right. I have a limp you may have noticed...I'm getting better though. Elle says that I'll be able to walk right in a couple months. So you get to see me on the home stretch."

"I'm glad you're better. You should have called me or something after the accident, I could have taken care of you."

"Hollis, you and I both know that wasn't going to happen. Everything happened the way it did for a reason. You know that. But now maybe we've both done a lot of growing up and we can be friends. I would like that."

"Me too. How's Zacky doing?"

"Fine. He's seeing a new girl recently. She's adorable. He told me he saw you."

"Did he?"

"Yeah. He said it didn't go well."

"You could say that. I feel really crappy about how that turned out. I never thought that was how me seeing him again for the first time was going to go. I wanted it to be civil but it wasn't. I'm guessing he wouldn't want to see me again any time soon."

Brian shrugged, "I don't know. You never know with Zacky. Maybe we can just hang out sometime next week and see what happens. The worst case scenario would be Zacky doesn't want to hang out with us. He just needs time Hollis, you hurt him really bad."

"I know. Believe me I feel terribly about it."

He nodded. "So where are you off to?"

"Lunch with my mom. She's getting married. We're planning the wedding."

"That's awesome. I'm glad you're talking to your mom again, you had mentioned before wanting to get back in touch with her."

"Yeah. And I've been talking to my brother a lot too. He in Iraq right now actually."

"Really? I didn't even know you had a brother."

"We hadn't talked for ten years when I contacted him last year. We talk as often as we can now. Whenever he is able."

"Well congratulations. Family is important."

"And congratulations to you and Norelle. I have to go meet mom now, but give me a call sometime okay? I would love to hang out with you again."

He nodded and pulled her in for a hug. While he hugged her everything she loved about him came flowing back and she simply enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms again. Once they separated they said goodbye once more and Hollis climbed into her car, knowing already that her mom was going to be mad at her for being late. But she wasn't worried about that. She was happy.

For once. She was happy.