Chapter 25

"Hey Banan! How was shopping?" Lucy asked nervously.

"It was really fun. I got some really cute stuff! Give me a sec and I will show you everything!" Annie replied excitedly.

As Annie went to her bedroom to put her boots and purse away, Lucy gave Claire a nervous glance. Claire gave Lucy a nod back encouraging her to tell Annie about everything that happened that weekend. A moment later, Annie returned to the living room.

"Sorry to leave just as you are getting here, Ann, but I told Kurt I'd be home tonight. He probably assumed I meant hours ago." She stood up and gave Lucy a hug and moved to give Annie one as well. "The three of us will have to do dinner and drinks soon, though. Maybe next week sometime?"

"Yeah, sure. That sounds great!" Annie said cheerfully.

After Claire said her goodbyes, she gave Lucy one final look and gave her the call me signal before heading out the door.

"So are you hungry? We literally just ate like a half an hour ago and there is leftover pasta in the fridge" Lucy said.

"No thanks, Soph and I got sushi before we left the mall" Annie replied before taking Claire's spot on the couch.

"Oh man, that sounds so good right now" Lucy said smiling. "I'm glad you guys had a good time though. I really wish my sister lived in LA so we could do shopping trips more often."

"Yeah it was nice to catch up, we've both been pretty busy lately. But speaking of sisters, how was Tennessee?"

"It was so great to see my family, I really missed them. With all the stress I have been under lately, the vacation was needed. And to be honest, it helped clear my head so much. I feel like I can actually think straight again" Lucy began honestly.

"So what did you do while you were there? Did you get a chance to get to the recording studio?" Annie asked with interest.

"I did. And I wrote and recorded a song within a couple of hours. It was amazing. You will have to hear it" Lucy gushed.

"What is it about?"

"Um...well...it is about falling for a best friend. Which is something else I have to tell you. I had a heart to heart with Maggie and she really made me realize what I want" Lucy said nervously. She ran her hand through her hair and looked up at Annie to gauge her expression. When she found her to have a confused look on her face, Lucy knew she had to continue. "Ann, I really need to end things with Chris. Like, for good. He is only bringing me down and although he is a great guy and will make someone extremely happy one day, that person is not me. I guess I am just realizing how happy Ian really makes me. I feel like I will never be truly happy with anyone else until I try things with Ian. If things don't work out, fine. But at least I can say I gave it a shot."

Lucy continued to watch Annie's expression. It went from confusion to an expression she couldn't quite read.

Annie nodded slowly and sighed. "Well Luce, you are going to do what you want, and if that is cutting things off completely with Chris, then I guess so be it. But don't you think you should try to have a friendship at least? I just feel like you will regret it later if you stop talking to him altogether..."

Lucy was starting to get irritated rather quickly. She was sick of Annie trying to push Chris on her. "Look Annie, like I said he is a great guy, but I cannot take another day of his controlling demeanor. I just can't. From the very first day of our breakup I told him I needed some space and after some time we could slowly start talking again. He couldn't even leave me alone for a week. I just feel like the more I am around him, the more he annoys me. And I am so sick of being with someone solely for someone else's pleasure. I want to be happy. For once in my life." She could feel her face radiating heat as she continued her rant. "If you aren't happy with my choices, fine. I can't do this to myself anymore. I have denied my feelings for 3 years, Annie. Three fucking years. I have been with other guys but none of them have made me feel as happy as one day with Ian makes me feel. I know you don't care for Ian but I'm sorry. This is my love life, and I am going to date who makes me happy."

Annie looked at Lucy, shocked. She had never seen Lucy get so angry towards her. Sighing, she grabbed Lucy's hand. "Luce, look. I want you to be happy and I didn't mean that you should date Chris again or anything like that. I'm sorry if you felt pressure from me to date him or continue talking to him. I guess I just never realized just how much you cared about Ian. I always thought it was just more of an attraction. But if that is what genuinely makes you happy, then go for it. I don't not like Ian, I just think it is risky to date a costar is all. If you guys date, I will get to know him, and I'm sure he is great. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Well Ian has never hurt me the way any of my previous boyfriends have." Lucy looked at Annie with tear brimmed eyes. "I love him, Ann. I really, really do. The more I deny it the stronger that love is. I don't know how much longer I can take it. I plan on talking to Chris soon, hopefully tomorrow. Once I talk to him I plan on talking to Ian. I just want to make things right."

Annie threw her arms around Lucy's shoulders. "Well whatever you decide, I will be here for you. I may not agree, but I will always support you. You are my best friend and I love you!"

"Thanks Banan. I love you too." As the girls separated from their embrace Lucy looked at her phone to find that it was already 9:20 pm. "Well, I am going to try to get ahold of Chris and see if he will meet me tomorrow so I can break the news to him" Lucy said reluctantly. She got up from her spot on the couch, giving Annie a small smile as she walked to her room to call Chris.

Lucy sat on her bed petting Jack nervously as the phone rang. After 5 rings, there was no answer and it went to voicemail. Lucy took a deep breath and waited for the beep to leave a voicemail. Seconds later the beep sounded and Lucy began to record her message:

"Hey Chris. It's me, Lucy. Um, I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow afternoon. I really need to talk to you about something, and I was wondering if you wanted to get coffee or lunch or something. Let me know once you get this. Thanks. Bye."

After hanging up, Lucy tossed her phone aside and flopped down on her bed. Jack hopped up excitedly and began to lick Lucy's face. She giggled at her dog and rolled over to pet him some more. As she rolled over she saw her phone lighting up. Picking it up she found a text from Claire.

"So...how'd it go?!"

Lucy smiled and replied with "better than expected" and put her phone down on the bed. She stood up and went to her dresser to find pajamas. As she looked up into the mirror above her dresser, she noticed a small smile was plastered to her face. In less than 24 hours, she may be free of Chris, she thought. Thinking this made her smile even larger. Shaking the thoughts from her head she searched her drawers and found a small pair of black shorts and a red t-shirt. After slipping them on, she returned to her bed to find a new text. This time it was from Chris. Lucy's heart pounded and her hands began to shake and she opened the new message. "Tomorrow sounds great. Meet me at the Rainbow Cafe across from Trader Joe's at 1?"

Lucy felt the all too familiar smile cross her lips as she accepted his offer. She leaned back against her pillow and turned off the bedside lamp. She was exhausted and sleep would come easy for her after a long day of traveling and laziness. On top of that, she needed her sleep, since the next day was going to be a big day for her.