Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Forty Six

—

"Come over here sit next to me
We can see where things go naturally
Just say the word and I'll part the sea"
Sit Next To Me | Foster The People

—

Jason
[Friday, August 13th, 2018 - 5:43 PM]

I aggressively button the fifth shirt that I've tried on today. The urge to scream is strong as I flop on top of the bed, grunting.

"Mom!" I scream like a whiny little boy in distress. In perfect motherly form, my mom is at my door in an instant.

"Yeah Sweetie?"

"I'm nervous," I mumble, eyes squeezed shut in exaggerated agony.

"Don't be," she hums. Then pauses. "You'll be less nervous if you find something presentable to wear."

"I thought this was fine."

"What about this?"

Slowly opening one eye, I peak over to where she is and see her holding a dark blue button-down

"It's wrinkly," I groan. Her eyes roll, annoyed.

"Jay, have I failed as a mother so much that you don't know what an iron is? It takes five minutes, you've got time."

Surprised and pleased by this news, I sit up.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mom shrugs. "I'll bring it to the laundry room to iron it, meanwhile, this bedroom is in no shape for a lady to see it."

Wincing, I look around at the scattered clothing and schoolwork all over the place.

"I'll clean it," I agree, nodding. With a satisfied smile, my mom gives me a nod and leaves the room, my shirt in tow. I heave off of the bed and begin tidying up; throwing dirty socks in the hamper, re-hanging the shirts that I had removed from my closet in a rapid attempt to find something presentable for Lilla, putting my school papers in their assigned folders and binders.

"Jay?" I hear Mom calling. Soon after, she's in my room again, the now smoothed navy blue shirt in her hands. "Here you go! Put it on and head down to the lobby. Lilla will probably be here soon."

My fingers fumble with the buttons for a moment, but at long last, the shirt gets buttoned. Doing one last scan of my room to make sure I don't need to fix anything else, I run downstairs and zip out the door to head to the lobby.

I'm only in the lobby for a (stressful) few minutes when Lilla graces me with her presence.

She is wearing a black sundress that tightens at her waist and softly flows behind her. Air freezes in my lungs, briefly, because... She looks really hot.

"Hey, Jace," I hear her say. Coming back down to Earth, she's right in front of me, even more beautiful up close. Her eyelashes flutter and my breath stops in my chest.

"Hey, Lilly." The words come out in an exhale, and before I know it, I'm wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug; burying my face in her hair. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too," she breathes into my shoulder, fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt. I stay there, holding her, for as long as I can before I feel like I'm creeping her out.

We pull away, and beam at each other, and for one moment I feel like I am on top of the world. I feel like Leo DiCaprio in Titanic when he's at the front edge of the boat.

This is the Lilla Harris Effect, ladies and gentlemen.

"Come on," I nod my head in the direction of the elevators, and rest my hand at the small of her back as we walk. I know she knows where the elevators are; but I want to keep some sort of physical contact.

"So, you talked to your dad the other day, right? How'd that go?" She questions once we enter the empty elevator.

"Yeah, uh..." I tuck my hands in my pockets. "His nose isn't broken, so that's a positive?"

Lilla blinks. I sigh in defeat.

"It was a long, long talk. It went well; he apologized, I apologized, we made amends. He felt bad for not talking to me first, and I felt bad for, you know, punching him. A lot of Joey's stuff is boxed up in the garage, waiting for someone to go through it I guess. I think Dad's still a little frustrated about the situation, but we're going to get through it, and I've been going over there, so it's not like I'm avoiding the house. I've had family dinners and let Carl teach me about the sun and all is at rest."

A warm smile grows on her face.

"I'm glad. Communication is key, and I'm really happy that you and your dad at least talked about it."

"Yeah," I nod, "me too."

The elevator dings, and we shuffle out of the box, walking down the hall to the condo. We arrive, and are met with the pleasant faces of my moms.

"You must be Lilla," Loraine starts out. "I'm sorry we didn't get to officially meet the other day. I'm Loraine, but you can call me Lor, Rain, Mama is what these kids call me, so I really don't care."

"It's nice to meet you, Loraine," Lilla chuckles.

"Lilla?" A voice from upstairs exclaims. Suddenly, the twins are perched at the top of the staircase; and their faces light in up at the sight of a Lilla. "Lilla!"

They both come barreling down at once and attack Lilla with the same fierceness, embracing her in a tight hug. Lil grins, toothy and wide and shining, and crouches down to give Diamond and Sapphire their own big hugs.

"Come on!" Sapphire urges. "Dinner's almost ready, sit next to me!"

"No!" Diamond objects. "Next to me!"

"Guys, don't worry, I can sit in between you two."

The twins squeal, and grasp tight onto Lilla's arms, dragging her off to the dinner table. Lilla sent me a half-scared, half-excited look as she gets swept away. I give her a small wave, smirking.

"God, everyone in this whole messed up family is obsessed with that girl," Mom shakes her head. "Keep her around, Jay. I have a feeling that she's going to do some good for all of us."

—

Throughout dinner, Lilla and I have a foot fight under the table as we sit across from each other. We send each other playful (and dare I say, flirty) smiles and eye each other, obvious to my moms.

Mom and Mama ask her questions, a lot about me and if I've done anything dumb lately. In between these questions, the girls keep trying to get Lilla's attention, talking about the latest project from art or what they're learning in math.

When dinner is over, everyone gives her a reluctant goodbye, and she promises Diamond and Sapphire that she will come back and they'll have a slumber party. I can tell that Mom and Mama really, genuinely like her, and would love to have her back soon.

I walk Lilla out and bring her all the way to her car. We stand next to the drivers seat door, waiting, as if something is going to happen that neither of us know.

"That was so great, Jace. You moms are amazing cooks and your sisters are the cutest."

"I'm glad you had a good time. They're definitely going to ask you back soon."

"And I will gladly accept that invitation."

We smile, and she leans against the door, and I'm content to look at her for the rest of the evening, even though I know I can't. A pair of arms slip around my waist, Lilla's, and her cheek presses into my chest.

"Goodnight, Jason. I'll talk to you later."

My arms tighten themselves around her shoulders.

"Text me when you get home," I mumble. "Drive safe."

Before she can pull away, I let my lips press against her forehead in a soft and slow kiss. My hands brace her upper arms, keeping her close, and then pushing her away so that I can look at her face. Her eyes gently open. She blinks them a few times to get herself out of whatever haze she is in.

Did I do that?

"I will."

That's the last thing she says before sending me a stunning smile, getting into her car, and driving away.