Chapter 3
The last few days have been agonizing at best. Dad had decided to let me moved to Florida until August, after seeing Vincent didn't look to apologetic during the meeting. Once summer comes, dad and Sydney will be coming out to Florida for a visit, plus dad is going back on the road, since we'll be out of school.
I had been avoiding talking to Cody since Monday, I wasn't really sure what to say to him. I knew Teddy had told him what Vincent had done, but I think I'm safe in assuming that I was a little afraid of Cody and his reaction to me and what happened. I talked to Kristen today, she told me that Cody was flying back with Teddy next week so he could see me. Going over to Sydney's room, I flopped on the bed.
"Syd, would you do me a huge favor?" I asked, looking at her hopefully.
"What is it?" She asked, glancing over at me.
"I need you to call Cody and pretend to be me, and tell him that I think we need to stop our relationship now, cause I wasn't going into it with a clear head." I replied, as she looked at me like I was crazy.
"Have you lost your mind?" She asked, gaping at me.
"Please Syd, I can't do it myself cause he won't let it go." I replied honestly.
"Lils, I can't end your relationship with him. You know you want to be with him, you know you love him. Heck when we were little and used to play wedding, Cody was always your groom." She said bluntly, as I started crying.
"I know that Syd, but I'm scared to death to be with him now." I said tearfully. "Well if you won't do it, I'll just send him a text message and tell him that dad doesn't want me with Cody, since I'm still only seventeen.
Looking at me like I was truly insane, she shook her head. "Do what you want, but I think you are making a huge mistake." She said, turning back to her computer, as she was putting new pictures on her Facebook.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I sent Cody the same thing I said to Sydney. Closing out of my text messages, I went into my photos and stared at the picture that was taken of me and Cody the day he left. Knowing in my mind I was doing the right thing, I ignored the phone call I got a few seconds later from Cody.
"I'm going to go fix dinner, what do you want?" I asked, getting up from the bed.
"I don't care, whatever you feel like fixing." She replied, going back to the chat conversation she was having.
"Alright." I replied, heading downstairs then.
Grabbing her phone, Sydney quickly called Teddy and got his voicemail. "Bubba, it's Syd. Listen Lils did something stupid and lied to Cody. She's afraid to be with him now, it has nothing to do with dad like she told him. Call me when you get this. If I don't answer, I'm with Lily." She said, before adding. "Love ya, be careful tonight."
Friday morning, dad drove me to the airport after we dropped Sydney off at school. I had ignored any texts and phone calls from Cody, and every one from Teddy after he called me, and wanted to know if I was crazy for breaking up with Cody. Dad didn't say much to me about it, so when we were standing at my gate and he finally said something, it shocked me.
"Lily, you shouldn't let what Vincent did to you, ruin the love you have for Cody. He would never dare hurt you. I see the way he looks at you, and while I'm not anxious to see you grow up, I see the same look your mom and I had for each other." He said honestly, making me tear up a bit.
"I'm just scared daddy." I said, letting the tears fall.
"I know baby, but you can't spend the rest of your life living in fear." He said hugging me tightly, as my flight was called.
"I'll try and get past this." I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
"I know you can baby. "He told me, kissing the top of my head. "You better get to your seat. Call me when you get to your brothers."
Nodding my head lightly, I picked up my carry-on and gave my dad one last hug and kiss, before heading to my gate.
By the time the plane landed, I was a ball of nerves again. I wasn't sure if Cody would be coming home with Teddy still, or if either of them would talk to me ever again. Once I got off the plane, I found Brett, Leah and Kristen all waiting for me.
"Hey guys." I said, walking over to Brett, as he hugged me tight.
"Hey Lil' Bit." He whispered, hugging me tight.
"Lils, Teddy wanted me to let you know that he loves you, and he'll try and call you tonight before the show." Kristen said, smiling at me gently.
"Okay, I need to apologize to him anyway. I wasn't exactly nice to him the last time we talked." I said, feeling bad for how I treated him and Cody this last week.
"Sweetie, they both understand." Brett said, wrapping his arm around me, and leading me to the baggage claim.
"When dad and Sydney come out this summer, dad wants me and Syd to learn how to defend ourselves." I said grabbing a couple of my bags, while Brett grabbed the rest.
"That's a good idea." He said, seeing the faint remnants of the busted lip I had.
"Come on, we're going to go get some lunch." Leah said, as we walked out of the airport then.
After we ate, Brett and Leah dropped me and Kristen off, and left after they helped me lug all my bags in.
"Kristen, do you think Cody will forgive me?" I asked, as she was helping me unpack my things.
"I'm sure he will Lils. You went through something traumatic and you let that fear cloud your thinking. He understands that I'm sure." She said gently, as my phone started ringing then.
"It's Bubba." I said, looking down and seeing his name flashing on the screen.
"I'll leave you alone so you can talk to him." Kristen said, as she walked out of the room.
"Hello." I said, answering the phone before it went to voicemail.
"Hey Li Li." Teddy said gently. "Did you get to the house okay?"
Kicking my shoes off, I laid down on the bed. "Yeah, Brett and Leah dropped us off a little bit ago." I said, before adding softly. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you this week. I was just freaked out about everything and I took it out on you and Cody and I shouldn't have."
"I know Li Li, I shouldn't have forced you to talk to Cody. It wasn't the best idea I've ever had." Teddy said, chuckling lightly.
"Yeah." I replied, before asking. "Is Cody with you right now?"
"No, he's at a signing right now. I'll catch up with him at the arena later." He replied. "Do you want me to have him call you tonight?"
"No, that's okay. Is he still coming here with you on Tuesday?" I asked, knowing I really had to talk to him in person.
"Yeah, he wasn't going home anyway." He chuckled. "He was going to make you see reason."
"Great, I'm dating someone as stubborn as me." I said, shaking my head. "Listen, I'm going to get off here now. I still have some unpacking to do, and I need to call dad and let him know I got here okay."
"Alright sweetie, tell Kristen I'll call her later on." Teddy said gently.
"Okay I will. Be careful tonight, I love you." Once we said goodbye and hung up, I went back to unpacking and making the room a little more me.
Grabbing a picture that was taken of me, Sydney and mom at Christmas, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. Setting it on the nightstand by my bed, I laid down and cried myself to sleep.
The rest of the weekend pretty much went the same as Friday had. Kristen had left me alone as far as talking about Vincent or my craziness afterward. I was downstairs in Teddy's office working on some of my homework, to email my teaches, when I heard Teddy and Cody in the living room. Looking up at the clock, I realized it was almost 4:30 in the morning.
"Guess Raw was closer to here than I thought." I mumbled, as I got up and went into the living room. "Hey Bubba."
Turning around quickly, Teddy came over and scooped me up. "Hey Li Li. Are you really sure you're okay?" He asked, pulling away to look me in the eye.
"Yeah, I'm as okay as I'm going to be." I replied, before glancing at Cody. "Hey Cody."
Instead of saying anything, Cody grabbed me from Teddy and hugged me tightly. "Don't ever do that again." He whispered, tangling his fingers in my hair.
"I didn't want to hurt you. I just didn't know how to deal with everything." I mumbled, wrapping myself tightly in his arms. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."
Hearing Teddy go upstairs, Cody picked me up and carried me into the living room. "Lily, you do know that I would never hurt you, right?" He asked, sitting in the big over stuffed recliner, that was a personal favorite of mine.
"I know that. That wasn't even why I tried to break up with you. I was, heck I still am scared of what Vincent would do to you or me, if he figures out where I am." I replied tearfully.
"Lils, he's not going to hurt you anymore. I won't let him and your brother's damn sure won't let him." He whispered, kissing the top of my head gently. "If it comes down to it, you can go on the road with us this summer, and I'll stay with you when you go back to school in the fall."
Looking up into his eyes, I couldn't help but ask. "You'd really do that for me?"
Pulling my face down to his, he looked me straight in the eye. "Baby, don't you know by now I would do anything for you?" He asked, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
"I guess I never realized just how much you really cared about me." I replied honestly.
"I do care Lily." He said, before dropping another shocker on me. "I love you."