It was a Friday night, and Leah was sitting on the couch next to Jill watching "She's All That" starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. (a total hottie!) and Rachel Leigh Cook, along with the twins who were wrapped up tightly in their brand new Spice Girls sleeping bags, (which Leah and Jill were forced to buy, by losing a bet to the twins). Upon popular request, Leah had decided to extend her stay for another few days, and in all honesty, she didn't mind. Being home was nice. Leah just thought of how weird it was to consider this place home, she never thought she would, but it for once almost felt natural. Maybe their family was starting to get as close to normal as possible.
Right when Laney Boggs made her unveiling, after undergoing a transformation from a nerdy duckling to a swan, Leah's cell phone began to ring. Glancing at the caller I.D. she sighed. Deloach, Ashley it read, aka Nikki Deloach, Leah's former Mousketeer buddy. This was the fourth time that Nikki had called her today, and the fourth time that Leah had hit ignore. Seriously? Why was Nikki calling her after all of this time? So much had happened between them and not once within the last seven years has she ever tried to reach out to her. So why now? All Leah wanted to do was try her best and get her life back on track, and she just wasn't ready to face Nikki yet, for fear that she would just be doing major damage to her recovery.
November 1994
It was two weeks after the breakup, and a distraught Leah needed a break from recording, so Lucky invited her come hang with her a few days in Orlando to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family. Lucky thought that maybe getting her out of the cold New York air, and back into the Orlando sun would do her some good. It was the day before Thanksgiving and the girls were in Lucky's room unpacking.
"Maybe all of this is for the best." Lucky said, unpacking her suitcase. This was the first time that she had been home, since leaving to attend school in Los Angeles at the Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising.
"Maybe so, but that doesn't stop my heart from hurting any less." Leah replied, unpacking her bags as well.
"Hey, listen, I know it hurts, but look at it this way, you can pour all of this pain into your music, and could make a killer first album." Lucky said, trying to cheer her friend. Leah wasn't sure that she was artistically at the point to make such a soul baring album at the expense of her heart, and what she had with JC, it was just way too personal. But then again she was an artist, and artist were supposed to be raw right?
"I can't even think of my career right now Lucky." Leah replied.
"So you're saying that you're going to let some guy, stand in the way of everything you've worked to achieve your whole life?" Lucky asked, placing some mini skirts in a drawer. The best part about living in both Florida and California is that she never had to experience winter! Being a Florida girl born and raised, Lucky couldn't imagine how Leah could stand snow, or cold. She shivered just at the mere thought of it.
"Lucky, he's not just some guy! You know that! He was so much more." Leah sniffled, flopping her body down on Lucky's comfortable queen sized bed. Leah realized that she was being a great guest right now, but she didn't care about anything. her heart hurt and she just wanted to lay there and die.
Lucky looked at her Leah, her body almost lifeless. Gosh, sick people weren't even this lifeless. If Leah had the Ebola virus or ate bad sushi she could understand, but love did this to her? Lucky could never imagine being in love, nor did she want to. She could never imagine letting a man ever being able to control her emotions. In fact, she could never even see herself getting married. The girls at school used to call her Heartless Lucky, she'd never had a boyfriend- she didn't want one- the only thing she ever used a guy for was sex, and that was it. If love left you looking like a vegetable, lying in a fetal position, like it had Leah, then she wanted no parts of it. "But lets look at the situation, and what condition you're in now." Lucky, sitting down on the bed next to Leah. "He did this to you, and now you're lying here, looking like another one of those heartbroken girls, from one of those sappy girly movies. So yeah, he is just another guy." Lucky said. Leah gave Lucky a look of disbelief, and she just shrugged.
"Lucky! I can't believe you just said that!" Leah exclaimed.
"Well, it's true! Whether you like it or not, it's true." Lucky said, unapologetically. Even if Leah couldn't see it at the moment, one of the benefits of having Lucky as a friend was that she was incredibly blunt, and unapologetic about it too. She knew Lucky was telling her the truth even if the truth was what she didn't want to hear. "You have to stop putting him on a pedestal that he does not deserve to be help up on. If he was so damn perfect than he wouldn't have broken your heart now would he?"
"well, it's not exactly like he cheated on me." Leah sighed.
"Well why exactly did you guys break up?" Lucky asked. Leah hadn't exactly gone over details. Actually, she'd been quite vague about the way it had all went down.
"Distance." Leah sighed. "He said, that he needed to take a break. He needed space. We barely saw each other, and it was just so hard for us to make it work." Leah admitted.
"So... That's it?" Lucky asked. Leah nodded. "Well damn, you made it sound much worse than it was."
"I know." Leah sighed. "But it hurts sooo bad." She sniffled. "It hurt enough to be apart from him when we were together, and it Hurst even worse now that we're broken up."
"C'mere." Lucky said, motioning for Leah to scoot closer to her. When Leah did, Lucky embraced her in a hug. "I know you feel like this is the end of the world, but it isn't. Maybe JC was right, maybe this is the best thing. You guys were on different sides of the globe, and you guys were almost never together. Maybe you guys can make it work when sometime in the future, when you've both made it."
"You think so?" Leah asked.
"I know so." Lucky smiled. As much as she hated to admit it right now, JC did seem like a pretty decent guy. The ring of a cell phone interrupted the BFF moment.
"Oh, that's me." Leah said, reaching for her new cell phone (the first she's ever had), and answered it. "Hello?" Leah answered, trying to even out her voice, so it didn't sound like she had just cried herself a river.
"Leah? Hey it's me Justin!"
"Oh hey Justin!" Leah replied, wondering why Justin was calling her.
"I just wanted to let you know, that we were back in Orlando for the holiday, and that we're having a homecoming party, and that you're invited." Justin explained. Leah's heart fluttered. First with excitement, then with anxiety. Good news: JC was in town. Bad news: JC was in town.
"Listen Justin, that sounds great and all but-"
"Please." Justin interrupted her. "You have to come, everyone's gonna be there. I know that you and 'C broke up but, we're still friends right?"
"Yeah, Justin, we're still friends." Leah replied.
"Good. Because I want you there. I miss you." Justin said. "You can even bring your friend, um you know, the Goth one, um Lucky right?"
"I am nawt a Goth!" Lucky yelled into the receiver. Okay, just because she liked to wear black, had a slight obsession with Anne Rice novels and the literary works of Edgar Allen Poe, and sometimes scared small children, that did not make her a Goth!
"Um she's sitting right by me!" Leah laughed for the first time that day.
"Oh well tell her she's invited." Justin replied, as a chill ran down his spine. Lucky kind of scared Justin. She seemed nice, but damn was that girl dark.
"I don't know Justin..." Leah sighed, contemplating whether or not she should make an appearance at the party.
"Pleeeaaassse Leah! I really want you there." Justin begged. He really loved Leah, he always saw her as the big sister he wished he had. "And so do Chris, Lance, and Joey."
Leah smiled at the mention of the others names. She had met Joey when he first moved to Orlando, and used to hand out with him and JC on her days off from the MMC, and when the group formed, JC and Justin had introduced her to Chris and Lance, who treated her like one of the guys. She did miss them, and it was impossible not to have fun around them, how could she enjoy herself around the guys with JC there? She still wasn't over him. It's not like they could just go back to being friends after everything that had happened between them. How could she ever seem has just a friend after they... made love? But at the same time she definitely missed him, and she would kill to see him again, even if they weren't together anymore, and Justin's offer did sound tempting.
"Does JC know that you're inviting me?" Leah asked.
"Are you saying yes?" Justin asked.
Leah could practically feel Justin smiling from ear to ear. Lucky sat across from her sitting Indian style on the bed, anxiously awaiting her answer. Whatever decision she made, Lucky would have her friend's back.
"Okay, I'll come." Leah finally answered. It's almost as if the words had slipped passed her lips, before her brain could catch up with what she was saying.
"You will?" Justin asked in disbelief. For a moment he was starting to lose hope. "That's great!"
"One more thing." Leah said.
"Yeah?"
"Does Josh talk about me?" Leah asked, her voice sounding a bit hopeful.
Justin's heart dropped. He felt sorry for her, and he couldn't believe that JC would break up with her without even really trying or making an effort to be with her, despite the distance between them. If he really did love her, he would've tried harder. "Umm..." He stalled. "He's definitely not over you." He answered.
For a second, Lucky thought that she had seen Leah's eyes light up, something she hadn't seen in Leah since she had gotten back to Orlando. What had Justin said that made her so happy all of a sudden?
"Pen," Leah mouthed to Lucky. Lucky looked reached behind her, to grab an ink pen off of her dresser. Leah reached into her duffel bag, and pulled out one of her notebooks, and got the pen from Lucky, and scribbled down the address, that the party was located at. "Uh huh... Okay... Alright... Bye."
"What happen?" Lucky asked.
"Well it looks lie we're going to a party!"
**************************
"Are you sure you wanna do this Leigh?" Lucky asked, from the driver's seat.
Did she? Leah tugged anxiously at her hair, something she always did whenever she was nervous. Did she really want to put herself in this situation. She looked from the huge mansion, and back to Lucky, and then down at her outfit. She had chosen to water her floral dress, with pink ballet flats, pearl earrings in her ears, and her hair in spirals, the top half pulled back off her face,and tied up in a white hair bow. Lucky had done her makeup, and gave her a very natural dewy look. All though the look was very simple, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was being over the top. She usually loved getting dolled up for any occasion, but she felt like she was being very over analytical when it came to picking out an outfit. Was she doing too much? It was a party, afterall, so she figured she should've dress accordingly. But was she just dressing for a party? Or was she dressing for JC? Deep down, she knew the answer. She wanted him to notice her, to take his breath away, but she didn't want him to know that. She wanted him to want her like he did before, yet she didn't want to beg him to be with her either. She didn't want him to know how badly he hurt her, and that she was still in pain. She wanted him to see what he was missing out on, but yet she didn't want to come off as though she were trying to grab his attention. She didn't want to be a try-hard. These were all of the thoughts that have been running through her head ever since she got that phone call from Justin. And now here they were, outside of Lou Pearlman's mansion, sitting in Lucky's Jetta, waiting for Leah to make up her mind. Of course she couldn't think clearly with Kim Deal singing. Usually she didn't mind, usually music soothed her, but she had never felt such an anxious, uncertain, nervousness before. Leah closed her eyes and began to take deep yoga fire breaths like Lucky had taught her. "I think I'm ready." Leah finally answered.
"You think?" Lucky asked raising her left brow.
Leah cocked her head, and stared at Lucky, she never could understand how Lucky could just move one eyebrow like that. Leah use to practice that in the mirror to no avail, she only ended up with a sore face. Focus, Leah thought to herself. "I'm ready."
"You sure?" Lucky asked. "Because we can totally go back home, and watch sappy chick flicks."
"No! I can do this." Leah decided. Plus, she thought of how crushed Justin would be, and she didn't want to disappoint him.
"Well let's rock this bitch!" Lucky said, trying to ease her friend a little. Leah gave a slight smile, something she didn't do much of anymore.
Before she knew it, both her and Lucky were in the backyard of the mansion. "Wow, this Lou guy must be the real deal, this crib is the shit." Lucky said, grabbing a cup of punch from a table. Leah looked at her friend; Such a pretty girl, with such a dirty mouth, but Leah wouldn't have it any other way. If she didn't swear like a sailor, then she just wouldn't be Lucky. "I'm not a proper bitch!" Is what she once told Leah. As soon as they entered the party, filled with some familiar faces, and some strangers, probably some industry execs, eyes instantly went to Lucky. at 5'9, she could've been a model, but opted to stay behind the scenes and become a fashion designer. Unlike most Florida girls, she despised tanning, and her pale porcelain skin, sparkled like crystals in contrast with her jet black her, and her grey eyes shone like diamonds. In true Lucky fashion, she wore black, like always. Her sheer flowly, long sleeved mini dress belted at the waist and stopped right above her knees, she wore no jewelry, and other than the dress the only item of clothing she wore were her old worn out black leather combat boots.
"Damn! Look at that fine ass!" Lucky exclaimed. Leah looked in Lucky's direction, and saw a tall guy, whose skin was just as pale as Lucky's, he looked at least thirty (she never dated anyone her age, the older the better), he had black wavy hair, a beard, and had the whole grungy/dirty look going for him. Decked out in a flannel shirt, and ripped jeans, and smoking a cigarette, he looked exactly like Lucky's type. "I'm sorry Leah, but I just can't let this sexy ass opportunity pass me up. Do you think you'll be okay on your own?" Lucky asked, her eyes pleading.
"Go." Leah said.
"Thank you!" Lucky said, before running off.
I can do this, I can do this, Leah silently chanted to herself. She began to search the crowd for a familiar face. Maybe she could find Justin, and say a quick hello to him and the other guys without seeing JC, and she and Lucky could duck out early. Making her way through the backyard, she canned the crowd, and laid eyes on Justin talking to someone. As she made her way over to him, she hadn't expected for him to be so tall. "Hey." She said shyly.
Justin swiveled around at the sound of her voice. "Leah! You're here!" Justin exclaimed engulfing her into a hug. For a second, he doubted that she would make it.
Leah noticed a change in Justin. He had grown a few inches, by no means was he a giant, but he definitely wasn't the same little munchkin that she had first met on the set of the MMC. Was he even getting a little fuzz? No way! "Hey Baby Bro, what's up?" Leah said hugging him. She always affectionately called him her 'Baby Bro'.
"I want you to meet somebody," Justin said, turning her towards his best friend, Trace.
"Trace, this is my 'Little Big Sister', Leah." Justin teased, introducing the two.
"Whoa now! Don't go getting cocky, just because you happened to grow a few centimeters!" Leah shot back.
"Whatever, don't be mad just because I outgrew you." Justin joked,
"Justin's told told me so much about you." Trace said, smiling.
"Has he?" Leah asked. "Because, he's told me a lot about you!" Leah was glad to finally meet Trace, the main character of all Justin's Memphis stories. She felt like she already knew him.
"He speaks very highly of you." Before Leah could reply, she felt a pair of big strong arms wrap around her and lift her up in the air.
"Leah! Long time no see!" Joey said, placing her back on the ground. "Damn girl you're looking good!"
Leah rolled her eyes playfully at Joey's shameless flirting. "I know you better stop all that flirting, especially if Kelly's around."
"Especially 'cause she's right here!" Leah turned to see one of her old friends.
"Kelly!" Leah exclaimed, she was soon consumed in a tight hug by Kelly. After Kelly, Leah was being hugged by both Lance and Chris. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad afterall. After seeing, and being embraced by all of her friends, she felt like she was going to be okay. She felt calm. Now all she had to do was steer clear of JC.
"Oh my gosh! It feels like forever since I've seen you!" Kelly exclaimed.
"I know right? I've really missed hanging out." Leah replied. Back in high school, JC, Leah, Joey and Kelly used to hang out all the time and do everything together. Mall, beach, Disney World, you name it, they did it. A wave of nostalgia came over Leah, and she was glad to be back with old friends again.
Kelly threw her arm around Leah's shoulder and spun her around. "Come on, let's walk." Kelly said, turning her away from the guys. "So, how have you been?" Kelly asked concerned, referring to the breakup. She knew how close Leah and JC were, and knew that it must have been killing her.
"I'm okay." Leah lied. Kelly looked at her, raising her right eyebrow, as they walked into the Lou Pearlman's enormous kitchen, where they could get away from the loud music, and all the people, so that they could just talk amongst themselves.
"Like you actually expect me believe that." Kelly stated, sliding the kitchen door shut behind her.
"I really am fine." Leah insisted.
"Sure, tell that to someone who doesn't knew you." Kelly replied. "How have you really been?"
"I don't know." Leah sighed. "Not myself." She answered honestly, hopping up onto the island. "I've never been through a breakup before, so I don't know if I'm doing this right."
"Doing what right?" Kelly asked, sitting beside her.
"I don't know, grieving properly I guess?" Leah said.
"Honey, there is no right or wrong way to get over a relationship it just takes time." Kelly said, rubbing Leah's shoulder, comforting her.
"But how much time?" Leah asked. "JC and I were friends, long before we ever got together, and I never wanted our romantic relationship to affect our friendship, but now that we're broken up, I can't imagine ever talking to him again, let alone going back to being friends. I feel like our relationship is permanently damaged."
"I know you feel like you'll never be friends again, but maybe should just give it time, maybe you guys can reconnect when you're feelings aren't so raw. You know they say time heals everything."
"Maybe, I just can't wait to put this all pass me, because hurting sucks!" Leah says.
"That's the attitude to have! Trust me, everyone goes through this at some point in their lives, it's inevitable, you'll only come out of this stronger." Kelly replied, smiling.
"Thanks Kelly! I really needed to hear that." Leah said, wiping a tear away. She was tired of crying too, she was surprised that she wasn't completely out of tears. This sucked more than anything.
"Great! Now c'mon, I'm starving, and I hear that Ms. Lynn is cooking." Kelly said grabbing to Grape Crushes from the fridge, one for her, and one for Leah. They both opened their drinks, and Kelly then swung her free arm around Leah's shoulder, and she led them out of the kitchen and back out into the backyard.
As they walked through the backyard, arms linked together, Leah encountered many of her old friends who she used to hang out with. It seemed like everyone was there! If really felt good to be back in Orlando and around familiar faces, because to be honest she had barely any actual friends in New York. Maybe coming here wasn't the worst thing, and the best thing for her to do was to keep her distance from JC.
As Leah and Kelly made their way over to the grill, they approached a couple in a hammock totally swapping spit. "Eww get a room." Leah whispered. Kelly laughed, almost spitting out her drink.
"That's so gross." Kelly giggled. "It's look like they're gonna swallow each other."
"They seriously need to get a room!" Leah replied. As Leah Kelly got closer and closer she wondered if they were ever gonna come up for air. Oh, how she wished it were her, being that in love. As the mystery couple decided to give their lips a break, Leah and Kelly got a better look at the couple. She dropped her pop can at the sight, the purple, sugary beverage, coating the freshly shaven grass. "Josh? Nikki?!" Leah asked in disbelief. Her eyes were met with two guilty pairs staring back at her, looking caught like a deer in head lights. Kelly stood next to Leah in shock, not saying a word.
JC stared at his ex, panic racing through his body. Shit. How was he supposed explain this. Better yet what the hell was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be in New York?
Nikki's eyes went from JC to Leah and back again. Shit, shit, shit, shit! This isn't good! Nikki thought to herself. What should she do. Should she try to explain, should she run away. For the first time, she was actually scared of Leah.
"Liste-" JC started, but his voice was caught in his throat. this was bad. very bad.
"What the hell Josh?!" Leah yelled. People were starting to take notice of the commotion, and the normally quiet Leah frankly didn't give a shit that she was causing a scene. She was far beyond caring, she was pissed. The fuck. Off! Leah had spent the last two weeks crying her eyes out over JC, and here he was making out with another girl having a grand ole' time. And not with just any girl- this was Nikki! Nikki off all people, someone who she had considered a friend. Had he really moved on so quickly? "We've only been broken up for two weeks, and you're already on to the next bitch?!"
Before Nikki could defend herself, Leah cut her off. "And YOU! What the hell Nikki? I thought you were my friend, and now you pull this shit? Is this why you've been ignoring all of my phone calls?" For the past two weeks, Leah had been trying to contact Nikki, but all of her calls went straight to voicemail. "I can't believe you would do this to me."
JC tried to speak up, but Leah didn't want to hear a word he said. "Save it Josh, nothing that you say, will ever make this okay. You two are pathetic, and you deserve each other." Leah then turned to Kelly, "I'm sorry Kelly but, I have to go." Leah said barely above a whisper, her voice cracking, Leah turned and left trying to find an escape, she ran past the crowd that she had attracted, and made her way towards the entrance, where she found Lucky, making out with the guy that she had just met. "Lucky I want to go home." Leah whimpered. "Please."
Lucky turned to see her best friend in tears, and almost shaking. "Leah what happened?" Lucky asked astonished.
"I saw Josh kissing Nikki." Leah explained.
"Wait, are you talking about that little bitch from the Mickey Mouse Club?" Lucky asked. Leah nodded. "Oh, I am totally going to beat her ass!" Lucky exclaimed storming off. No one hurts her friend, and gets away with it. But Leah grabbed Lucky by the arm, before she could get away.
"No, she's not worth it. I just want to get out of here." Leah replied.
This would be a time when Lucky would love to be aggressive, and beat the shit out of that little bitch, but she could see that Leah was really hurt and needed her. "Okay." Lucky finally said taking a deep breath, trying to check her temper. She turned back to her guy. "Listen Zach, my friend needs me right now, so I'll call you later?"
"Sure." Zach said.
"Thanks." Lucky replied before turning back to Leah. "C'mon let's get out of here." Lucky wrapped her arm around Leah as they made their way back to Lucky's car. "When we get home we can totally order out from anywhere you want, pig out, and watch those really shitty chick flicks that you love so much. Does that sound good?" Lucky asked, comforting Leah.
"Okay." Leah croaked, sobbing.
"Hey, everything's gonna be okay, Leah, trust me, they're totally gonna get what they deserve." Lucky said, reassuring her friend.
Leah's phone rang again, snapping her back into the present, she saw that it was Nikki again, and let it go to voicemail. Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood to watch a movie anymore, or eat either. "You know what, I think I'm gonna head upstairs and take a shower." Leah whispered to Jill, as she set her plat of pizza onto the coffee table.
"Why? This is the best part." Jill replied, eyes glued to the screen, and stuffing handful after handful of buttery popcorn into her mouth.
"I'm just really not in the mood to watch a movie right now." Leah said. Jill turned to her sister, sensing that something was wrong.
"Are you okay?" Jill asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired." Leah lied.
"Well, at least take your pizza, you haven't eaten all day." Jill replied. Leah literally hadn't eaten anything all day, and Jill found her sisters behavior patterns around food awfully strange. Some days she'd eat like a gluttonous pig, and some days she would hardly eat at all.
"No thanks, I'm not that hungry." Leah said. Jill raised an eyebrow, looking at her strangely.
"Well, if you ever wanna talk-"
"I don't." Leah snapped, abruptly cutting her off. She grabbed her cell phone and headed upstairs. Sure, Leah and Jill had grown close, but not that close. She can't remember ever having a heart-to-heart with Jill. the only time that she could remember trying to have a sisterly talk with Jill was the time that she got her first kiss, and she wasn't very helpful. Leah raced up the stairs, and into her room. She put on her pajamas and threw her robe over it. She was headed to the bathroom to take a shower when her cell phone rang again. She was prepared to hit ignore, when she saw that the caller ID read, St. James, Lucky. "Hey Lux," Leah answered calling Lucky by her nickname.
"Hey Leigh, what's going on?" Lucky asked. Poring through racks of clothes. She had to find the perfect dress for Natalie Portman for an upcoming event, or it was her ass.
"Nothing much."
"Is Jill treating you right? If not I could check her for you." Lucky smirked.
"No, no, everything's cool." Leah giggled.
"What about Gabrielle? Is she being nice?" Lucky asked.
"Yes!" Leah replied. "I'm surprised that we've actually been getting along for this long. I didn't think it would last."
"Me either!" Lucky replied. "Hey, what do you think Natalie Portman would wear?" Lucky asked.
"I don't know! Why?"
"Because, she hired me to be her stylist for this event, and it's in less than sixteen hours, and so far I have found nothing."
"Lucky, you're constantly surrounded by gorgeous designer dresses, how can you not find anything?" Leah asked.
"I don't know, nothing screams 'Natalie' to me." Lucky said.
"What do you expect? For a tiered blush silk organza Atlier Versace gown to just jump out at you and scream, 'Natalie, Natalie, Natalie!'?" Leah fake-cried, laughing.
"Exactly." Lucky laughed.
"So guess who keeps calling me." Leah said.
"Who?"
"Nikki." Leah answered
"As in Deloach?" Lucky asked.
"Yup."
"Ewww, why?"
"I don't know, I guess she wants to try and be my friend again?" Leah guessed.
"Or maybe, Innosense wants to be you opening act on the tour you go on." Lucky stated.
"Are you saying she only wants to use me?" Leah asked.
"Uh, yeah! Why else would she be calling you up out of the blue after all of this time? I swear, she's sooo fake. Stay away from her Leah, she's not a good friend, she never was." Lucky had a gift for sniffing people out. She could see their true colors from a mile away, it was like a sixth sense. While Leah on the other hand, could sometimes be a bit naive, she truly believed that every person was good, and had a heart of gold, that is until they hurt her. Lucky would go to great lengths to protect Leah, and didn't want to see her hurt again.
"Maybe you're right." Leah said.
"I am." Lucky replied.
"Ugh! You are so cocky." Leah laughed. "But thanks, because I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Aww tear!"
"If you were here, I'd do throw my pillow at you!"
"Leah you are a genius!" Lucky exclaimed, abruptly changing the subject.
"What I'd do?" Leah asked confused.
"Blush is the perfect color for Natalie Portman! It goes great against her skin!" Lucky squealed.
"Aww! Is my little Lucky having a girly moment?"
"Shut-up!"
"Well, I'll let you get back to work my little rottweiler," Leah teased. "Call me back when you're not so busy."
"I'll call you tomorrow to tell you how the event went."
"That sounds great, I'll talk you later." Leah said.
"Okay, bye." And with that Lucky and Leah hung up.
Leah laid back on her bed and decided to go through all of the messages that Nikki had left her. Five too be exact.
Message number one:
"Hey Leah, this is Nikki, I know it's been a while since we've last seen each other, and I wanted to see how you were doing. Call me back!" She said cheerfully.
"Ha! Saying we haven't seen each other in a while is a bit of an understatement, huh Nikki?" Leah said to herself.
By the third message, she didn't sound as hopeful, but not completely at a loss:
"Hi Leah, it's me again. I wanted to let you know that I'll be in New York next month, and I wanted to know if we could catch up? I think it would be great for the both of us. Get back to me and let me know what you think. Bye"
"Sure, Nikki, fat chance in hell!"
And by the fifth message, the girl just sounded downright desperate:"Leah listen, I hope that you're still not made about what happened all those years ago. I admit that I messed up, but I really miss you as a friend. I was hoping that we could get over it. I really am sorry, just please call me back."
Leah began to soften up a bit, and open up to the idea of a reunion. Nikki did actually sound genuine, and Leah did use to miss the days when they used to hang out at the mall and go to the movies. Leah hated losing friends, and she and Nikki used to be close, but Nikki knew how close that she and JC were, and how she felt about him, so how could Nikki do that to her? That's what hurt her the most, was that she was so open with Nikki about everything and Nikki had completely taken advantage of that, and that's what hurt the most. But on the other hand, Leah sometimes wondered if she had made the right decision by forgiving JC and not Nikki, afterall, he was just as at fault as she was. But she had known JC longer than she had known Nikki, they had a history together that she didn't want to let go of, and deep down, she still loved him.
So maybe if she forgave JC, she could find it in her heart to forgive Nikki? Maybe she should, but Lucky's voice was still in her head telling her not to. Leah hated cutting people out of her life, but she had learned the hard way that if she didn't, then she would only end up getting burned. One of Leah's issues had always been trust. She was always too trusting, and some people liked to take advantage of that.
That night, Leah contemplated whether or not she should let Nikki back into her life. More than anything she wanted to make up with Nikki, but something kept telling her that she just might end up regretting it.
