Thanks for all the interest so quickly! Will be writing all weekend to keep everyone interested!
Loren called Mel as soon as she got to her room and changed out of her clothes and into something comfy for bed. She needed her, but she understood if she had to stay with her dad.
There was no answer, so she decided to find out where her mom was.
After three rings, Nora picked up. "Hi sweetie," she said.
Background noise flooded the speaker and Loren had to move the phone away until it adjusted. "Mom? Where are you?" she asked.
"I'm at MK...with Max."
"With Max? But you were supposed to be with Don?" Loren was confused; she hoped her mom was okay.
"Well I was...but then some things happened and, well, listen honey, I'll tell you about it later; I want you to get some sleep for your big day tomorrow! I'll be back late tonight, so don't stay up."
Nora hung up, and Loren sighed and set her phone down. Ever since Don asked Nora to work up to that manager position, she had been spending nights out late with Max. It's a good change from Don, but she wanted to know just what was going on in that love circle!
A beep broke her thoughts, and she saw a message from Mel that she was coming. She had a lot to tell her.
When Melissa finally arrived, she rushed in through the front door and made her presence known.
"LO!" she yelled, running to her room. "Loren, I definitely want to hear your problems, but this is major! Beth is my mother! And Lisa hid all of this for so long and I can't even be around any of them right now, not even my dad! Who, is, by the way, my actual dad."
Melissa fell onto Loren's bed next to her and screamed into the pillow. Loren, who sat up when Mel came running in, stared wide eyed and confused.
"Mel..." she said sadly. "I am so sorry! All of this really sucks-wait, how did you find this all out?!"
"I found my birth certificate..." she said blatantly. "I'm so pissed, Lo. Do you mind if I stay with you and Nora for a few days?"
"I don't; just make sure we don't get Lisa on my doorstep though, please!" Loren knew that both she, Nora, and Mel did not want to be involved in anything with Lisa.
"Don't you get it, Lo?" Mel asked, frustrated. "That's why Phil is the good one!"
"It makes perfect sense-wait, but your dad slept with your mom's sister?!" Loren was astonished. Oh, how her problems with Eddie seemed so simple now.
"Ew, ew, ew, no! Okay, I'm done. Please just keep me from thinking about all of this for tonight! My head hurts like no other, and I will just go all Chloe on Adam and teat him so wrong just because I'm frustrated if I see him right now, and-"
Loren cut her off with a hug and smiled. "Just chill. How about I make some coffee and we can stay up and talk tonight? I doubt I can sleep anyway; the concert tomorrow has me so freaked out!"
For once, Mel laughed. "Why? Your sexy little lover boy will be there the entire time. He helped you during his concert...you can't seriously tell me he won't do that this time."
"It's a long story," Loren said with a half smile and let her shoulders relax.
The two talked for a long time, mostly about Loren's nervousness about the following night. Surprisingly, Melissa seemed to be fine with everything she had just found. Loren knew her too well, though, and she knew she would explode to her when she was ready.
"How is your amazing life with Eddie?" Mel finally asked. "He nearly ate your face off at the club earlier!"
"Hey!" Loren laughed. "We just kissed.
"Mhmm, sure you did. Eddie walked in all 'where's Loren?' and as soon as he spotted you he just went up and bam, lip locked!" Melissa giggled as she watched Loren's cheeks redden; she knew she was embarrassed.
"Mel!" Loren looked down and slowly her smile faded, which caught Melissa's attention immediately.
"Lo, what's up?" she asked her best friend. "You don't seem too happy..."
"Well, truthfully, I have a problem. That's why I wanted you over tonight..." Loren looked back up and pushed her hair out of her face with a hand. She let out a long breath and tried to smile her issues away.
"Okay, so spill..." Mel ordered.
Loren, rolling her eyes, tried to find the right words to start with. "Well..." she said. "Remember how I told Eddie I loved him? And everything I told you about spending the night with him at the bungalow?" Mel nodded feverously, so she continued. "Well, ever since then, it's all about...Chloe." She said Chloe's name with so much disgust, she almost couldn't believe it came out of her mouth.
"Someone's jealous?" Mel asked innocently.
"Well, that's what Eddie said at dinner, but it's not that, really. It's more...just, he just dropped the fact that I said that to him, you know? And I just want a day...without Chloe. It's kind of like she's still one of his favorite people, even though he keeps telling me he wants nothing to do with her. Maybe he should just tell her and the rest of the world that we're together and maybe she'll stay away."
Loren got more and more frustrated throughout her entire rant, and Mel realized this was happening right away.
"Hush, don't worry. He'll come around. If not, you don't need him, Lo! You're awesome, and if he's not in love with you by now, he's not worth it. For the record though," Mel added, "have you seen the way he looks at you? He's completely in love with you, he just hasn't figured that out yet."
Loren smiled, thankful that she had Melissa as her friend. "I guess..."
"Let's go make that coffee that we agreed on hours ago," Mel suggested with a smile back.
