Broken Lullaby

One week had gone by since Sydney had told her boss about her interest in the transference to Miami. He was surprised like she would expect him to be and a bit disappointed for having to let her go, but ended up agreeing with it.
She had signed her transference papers yesterday and now she faced the hard task of having to tell everybody what she was about to do. She would have to start working in Miami in a month, so she knew that the truth couldn’t be hidden for long.

Since her birthday, she had barely spoken to Brian. Michelle, on the other hand, had seized every opportunity not to leave her side. Sydney was actually starting to find it annoying, because all she ever talked about was her upcoming wedding. She tried to keep a positive attitude towards it, tried to be happy for her, but if the engagement had shown her anything, was that she still had feelings for Brian. Damn, she still loved him.
She couldn’t blame him for getting engaged, just like she couldn’t blame him for the situation they were in now. That was all her fault, hers and her stupid feelings that had gotten in the way of their friendship.
He had just done what she wanted him to do. He had moved on with his life, he had forgotten it like she had told him to. She was the one who couldn’t.

Sydney walked inside her house and immediately recognized Michelle’s voice coming from the living room. She was showing a bride’s dresses catalogue to Morgan, who seemed to die a bit more every time she turned the page and showed her another dress.

“Forget it Chelle, you’re preaching to the wrong church,” Sydney placed her briefcase on top of the large dinning table and walked toward the kitchen.
The dinner was already ready and she wondered if Michelle was going to stay for dinner.
On a regular day, that wouldn’t bother her, but today she just wasn’t in the mood to hear her talk about dresses, or how she wanted the wedding venue to look like.
Michelle’s chatter moved to the kitchen and Sydney sighed as her suspicions about her staying for dinner were confirmed.

“We’ve got to start thinking about your dresses,” Michelle almost demanded, her mouth full of pasta and sauce. “You already know you’re going to be my bridesmaids, so I’ll need to set a date with you and the other girls to find matching dresses.”

Sydney had to force herself not to roll her eyes. What was worse than having to wear a dress and high heels during all day? Wearing the same dress and high heels than six other girls during all day. Or maybe five, since she wondered if Zacky’s relationship would last that long, which reminded her that she had to do something about him and Morgan before leaving to Miami.

“Val’s going to be the maid of honor, right” Morgan stated more than asked and Michelle simply nodded, continuing to discuss with herself about the best color for the bridesmaids dresses.

Even though she didn’t like the fact that that marriage was going to happen, Sydney knew she had to tell Michelle she wouldn’t be there to help her. She knew she was counting on her, but she was not sad to let her down. In fact, moving to Miami was the perfect escape. She would be able to stay away from Brian, she would miss the wedding preparations and she would save herself from all the drama that she knew it would come with that. The question was on when and how to tell her.

“Is something wrong?” Morgan almost whispered at Sydney, making her realize that Michelle was no longer between them.

“I really need to talk to you,” she glanced around, making sure Michelle couldn’t hear them. “Please don’t be mad at me, but I… I have some bad news.”

Morgan didn’t like the look on her friend’s face. Sydney was the kind of girl who screwed things up on a daily basis, but the look on her face showed that something was really eating her insides up. “Spit it out Syd, or you might cause me a heart attack.”

“I’m moving to Miami.”

“What!?” Morgan’s shock came out in the form of a squeak. She cleared her throat. “What are you talking about?”

“I have to move to Miami because of my job,” she decided to lie. It would be better if Morgan thought she had no other choice. “Mr. Harrington said that I had to be transferred.”

Morgan didn’t seem to buy her lie, but still, she nodded. “So now what? You’re not coming to their wedding?”

“Well, of course I’m coming. I mean, I have to, right? I’m just going to miss all the wedding preparations.”

“Lucky you,” Morgan let out a dry laugh. “So this is going to be it? You messed things with Brian and now you’re excluding everybody from your life, including me?”

“You didn’t get it, I have to go to Miami.”

“Of course you have,” Morgan snorted “I’ve known you for over a decade, I know when you’re lying.”
“I really didn’t want to go,” Sydney placed a hand on her shoulder “but given what happened, this is a good opportunity to get away for a while and let things cool off,” she pulled Morgan into a hug. “I promise I’ll be back.”

“Just do what you have to do,” Morgan broke the embrace and sighed deeply. “Right now I’m just too mad at you to say you’re right,” both girls smiled. “So, how are you going to tell Michelle?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you first. I need your help,” suddenly, Sydney worried face quickly turned into a smiling one.

“Are you going to stay here all night?” Michelle’s voice behind Morgan made her quickly turn around. “We got stuff to talk about and plans to make!”

“Michelle, Sydney is going to move to Miami.”

“What!?” This time it was both Michelle’s and Sydney’s turn to be shocked.

Morgan faced Sydney and mouthed a sorry, before starting to explain the situation to Michelle.



Michelle had reacted better than Sydney had expected. After asking a million times the reason for her departure, and Morgan had told her a million times that it was not her fault and that her job was at stake, she finally understood. So, after Sydney assured her that she would take a few days off for the bridesmaids dress fittings, her bachelor party and the wedding itself, Michelle left their house not that disappointed.

Sydney was now back for another work day at the hotel. While chewing on her pen, she thought of a way of getting Zacky and Morgan together. Morgan needed a little push, or better saying, a big shove, in Zacky’s direction and she had promised herself that she wouldn’t leave Huntington without granting them a chance to be alone in a romantic inclined environment. She just needed an idea.
Her lips curved into a smirk, holding the bitten pen. Something inside her head clicked and she quickly dialed Morgan’s phone number.



Morgan waited and waited, paced and paced until she couldn’t wait and pace anymore. They were going to be late if Sydney didn't decide to appear at that moment.
Still waiting for her to arrive, Morgan's phone started to buzz. Her face immediately frowned when she saw her best friend's name on the caller id. That didn't sound good.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, hello to you too." Sydney sounded too cheerful for someone who was already late for their dinner with Zacky. "Something happened here at the hotel, so I'll have to stay a little longer, but I'll meet you guys at the restaurant!"

Morgan sighed deeply. "Are you sure?" There was something fishy about this dinner, but she had to trust her friend.

"Yeah, don't worry! This will only take a few more minutes. I'll meet you there."

"Fine, but don't make us wait all night."

"Sure, sweetheart. See you later!"

Morgan grabbed her purse and, after checking if every light was off, left their house.

After a fifteen minute drive, she and Zacky found themselves at the restaurant entrance. She and Sydney were supposed to pick Zacky at his house, but since she had gone alone, the ride had been a bit on the weird side. It was not like they weren't used to hang out together, it's just that usually there were other people with them.
Morgan dialed Sydney's number and waited for her to answer. When she didn't, she tried again. And then a third time.

"Maybe she's too busy to answer right now," Zacky suggested and smiled once he saw Morgan's upset face.

"Why does she always have to do this? Why is she always late for everything?"

"Maybe we should go inside. At least we'll wait for her while having something to drink."

"Good evening," the hostess, a woman that looked to be about Morgan's age smiled at them.

"Hi, good evening," Morgan smiled back "we have a table booked under the name of Sydney White."

"Yes, a table for two," the hostess said after looking at the restaurant's booking list.

Morgan's smile disappeared. "No, I'm sorry, but it was a table for three. It must have been a mistake."

The hostess checked again. "Could you excuse me for a second?" She walked to the end of the restaurant, where a blonde waitress was. Less than a minute later, she was back. "I'm sorry, but Ms. White booked a table for two. My colleague was the one who took the call," she pointed at the girl.

Zacky and Morgan looked at each other. She couldn’t believe Sydney had done such a thing to her. Everything Morgan wanted to do was hide, or run away or beat the crap out of her, and she was probably going to do the last one.