Almost Easy

Liz’s POV

It had been weeks since Vegas, it was nearing Christmas, and nothing. Every day my anxiety got the best of me when a notification would come in through Facebook. Did someone tag me? Did someone tag Colton? I hated it.

I deleted it.

It took me almost a month but I finally deleted my social media once again, Danny had come up with an excuse for me and cut in when anyone would ask me why. He was extra protective lately and extra on my side, not that he was ever not on my side. The new house in Indianapolis was enough to keep us both busy with picking new colors and furniture that the small time away was being sucked up with anxiety.

I had decided to stop working, per Danny’s suggestion, and was doing a lot more self care in time Colton would be at Greg and Anita’s for the weekend here and there. I would soak in the giant jacuzzi tub upstairs, drink wine, and listen to classical music. A drastic change from Liz ten years ago. Ten years ago Liz would have been drunk at the bottom of the tub with metal blaring through the speakers. But that’s not where I felt calm any more.

I felt calm in a different element now and watching those ways slowly slip through my fingers was refreshing. Scanning right past the rock station on the radio I was bound and determined to find more classical music but something caught my ear.

I leaned over the edge of the tub and tuned in to the station, listening carefully as I turned it up and the DJ spoke.

“This weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse; Avenged Sevenfold! You’d better be the lucky ones who have tickets because this concert is sold out! We have two pairs left to win this afternoon but after that we’re shit out of luck!”

My stomach churned, no fucking way. I changed the station and slipped in to the tub, violins serenading my mind enough to find a new path of thought. That was the last thing I needed to hear right now.

My fingers tapped a rhythm out with the metronome in my head, keeping time with whatever was dancing through my speakers. I closed my eyes slowly and let the music conjure up thoughts of what we were going to do over Christmas and if we were going to go to Danny’s parents this year again. I chuckled at the thought. It was never a dull holiday with the Heely family. One of his brothers always managed to get a lecture about settling down, which was mostly Jeff lately since breaking up with his girlfriend. I grabbed my phone and decided since Danny was working today, to bother my new brother-in-law.

“What’s up Lizzy?” He answered on the first ring, sounding less than busy just by that fact alone.

“Bored. What are you doing today?” I glanced at the clock, it was barely nine in the morning, I had just returned from dropping Colton at Danny’s parents for the day, Anita insisted on taking him to some fun center and was possibly keeping him over night. I wasn’t sure.

“Currently? Nothing. Later? Also nothing. Want to do lunch? I should probably start picking your brain for Christmas present ideas on my brother’s behalf.” He laughed.

“Which one? Because Danny said he already got me a present, and I’m half worried it’s going to be a bow wrapped around his dick one night when Colton isn’t home.” I shook my head at the laugh erupting from Jeff’s mouth.

“Yes, Danny. I don’t think Kevin is going to be home for Christmas this year. He met a new girl a month or so ago and I think he’s going to visit her for this holiday.” The tone of his voice shifted, “All of you are making me look bad for not being in a relationship. Lets do lunch.”

“Alight, lunch it is. I’ll come get you in half an hour?” I asked, remembering how close he lived now that we were in Indy, “I just need to find clothes appropriate of leaving the house.”

“Sounds good, I’ll make reservations at my favorite place for us. See you soon Liz.”

I hung up and washed up fully, draining the tub as I stepped out on to the cushioned rug on the floor. My toes gripped against it instinctively. I grabbed my phone and put it on the counter as I brushed out my hair, did minimal makeup, and then made my way to the closet to find clothes. Quickly I settled on a pair of dark high waisted jeans, a cream colored sweater, and some boots with a heel on them. It hadn’t snowed yet, my fingers were crossed it would hold off a week or so until the holiday was over. I was still acclimating to having weather this cold and especially the snow that came with it.

I grabbed a scarf from the rack on Danny’s side of the closet, and my winter jacket. It didn’t matter, if it was under sixty, I wore it. I tucked my phone in a pocket and grabbed my purse, car keys, and a beanie before walking out the door to my car. Danny had helped me shop for a new one when my old one decided working wasn’t in it’s wheelhouse.

I started up the engine of my Audi A6 and drove away from the large house I still wasn’t sure how belonged to me. In record time I parked in front of Jeff’s house, honking twice before he finally came out, flipping me off as he finished pulling on his sweatshirt. He got in and chuckled, “What?” I asked, adjusting the heating vents to point at my now half frozen face since a gust of wind picked up right as he opened his door.

“Miss cold blood.” He gestured to my jacket, “I don’t know how you decided to live here if where you’re from wasn’t cold. Apparently ever.” He grabbed his phone and turned the GPS on for me to find his favorite restaurant.

“California, you know I’m from California. I haven’t done cold in so long, years. I spent a few years in Colorado, I loved it. Skiing was my life. But...” I laughed a little bit at the thought of living there now, “I really miss the warmth.”

“I’m not the biggest fan of sweating my ass off thanks.” He gestured for me to take a turn, talking over the GPS by accident, “Are you going to the big show this weekend?” He asked.

“What show?” I raised an eyebrow, internally hoping he was talking about something other than what I was noticing was all over the radio the whole car ride so far.

“The rock show, there’s a bunch of good bands. The supporting ones are actually a few of my favorite, Volbeat has been my jam for years now.” He nodded, “You don’t listen to much of that though do you?” He asked, I had to shake the thought that Danny would have said anything and this was just a coincidence. Not everyone in my life was going to make my life miserable on purpose.

“Uh, I’ve heard of them. Avenged Sevenfold?” I asked, he nodded.

“Right, wait, you’re from Huntington Beach, so are they. You could have grown up with them if you were in to that scene.” He laughed, “Yeah right, town isn’t that small.”

I chuckled to myself, “Yeah, very unlikely.” I re-gripped the steering wheel, “Are you going? With your invisible girlfriend?”

“I’m going, but with a group of friends. I told Danny he should bring you as a Christmas gift, since I’ve definitely caught you wearing a Metallica shirt around before, but he said you weren’t super in to that genre.”

I exhaled, praising Danny’s catch even if it was before I told him, “He’s right. I mean..” I shrugged a little bit, totally denouncing my love for where my music roots started seemed a little betraying to me, “I can get down to some Metallica, even Guns n’ Roses. It’s just not my go-to any more.”

“Maturity, yuck.” Jeff mocked as I found a parking spot, “Well, I’m glad I didn’t listen to him then.”

“What?” I turned in my seat, my eyes widening slightly as his suggestive tone, “What’d you do?”

“I got the three of us tickets. Danny’s always been in to hard rock, you didn’t know that?”

“I knew that,” I nodded, how could I not have? That was the main reason I kept from him so long the entire details of my life prior to moving, “Of course I did. I just didn’t know he was in to concerts.”

“Oh, he is. We did some pretty wild shit back in the day when I took him to his first Kiss show. We’ve seen almost every big name to come around here.”

I gulped hard and nodded, “Well, I don’t know if I’ll be going. But I’ll definitely force him to go spend some time with you.”

“Well I’ll have an extra VIP ticket, can we take Colt?”

The car door slipped from my fingers as I went to shut it, causing it to slam and Jeff sent me a concerned look, “What?”

“I asked if we could take Colt if you weren’t coming... I mean.. He’s almost six now, that’s about the same age my uncle took me to my first concert.”

I laughed a little to hide my stomach nearing the surface of my throat, “I’ll think about it. Let’s just get through lunch.”

“Don’t be a prude, mom.” He teased and opened the door, “Now... what can I tell Danny you want for Christmas so he gets off my ass?”