Goodbyes and Fresh Starts

Chapter Five

"Hi, my name is Robbie McGrath, does Lily Randall still live here?" Robbie said to the unfamiliar voice in the phone.

"Robbie! I've heard so much about you. I can't wait to meet you next month; the show is going to be off the hook!"

Robbie laughed, "You must be Charlie; nice to put a voice to the name. So is Lily around?"

"Yea, hold on." Charlie set the phone down and Robbie heard him yell, "LILY, phone!"

A few moments later Lily answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Lil, it's me; just wanted to check in on ya and how things are going."

"Rob, it's so nice to hear from you. I'm sorry I haven't called lately, I've been recording non-stop for weeks. I have to in order to get the week off to come back to Roscoe."

"A week?" Robbie asked. "That's a long time."

"Yea, but I need it; I need to see my family and everyone else. So what's new?"

"I met someone, her name is Becki and she's great, you'll love her Lily."

"Great! How did you meet her? Give me all the details!"

"Ray and Kat..." Robbie replied, suddenly realizing what he said.

"Ray and who?"

"Katie, Ray's girlfriend."

"Oh..." Lily stammered. "Good, I'm glad he met someone."

"Are you Lil?"

"Of course...Yea I am." she replied.

"You'll like her, she's cool."

"I'm sure I will. So does this mean Ray is coming to the show?" Lily asked excitedly.

"Yea, it took some coaxing but he's coming. He wouldn't miss it for anything in the world."

"Good." she replied. "Well, Charlie and I have dinner plans, so I have to go. Tell everyone Hi and that I'll see them soon."

"Bye, Lily." Robbie said hanging up.

Lily hung up the phone and finished putting the lone earring in her ear. She was doing that when Robbie called and didn't bother to finish before she answered the phone. A few minutes later, she was in Charlie's car and they were headed to a restaurant. Charlie didn't want to tell her what it was or what the plans were for the evening and she just went along with it. She couldn't keep her mind off of Ray and this Katie girl that Robbie spoke so highly of. She was jealous; she knew she had no right to be. Ray was probably not jealous of Charlie but she couldn't help the feeling that overcame her.

"Stop the car!" Lily shouted.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Stop the car!" She repeated.

"I can't, Lil; we're in the middle of traffic on the freeway. I can't just stop." He told her.

"Then slow down." she insisted.

He slowed the car down to about 10 mph and she opened the door and jumped onto the side of the road. She began running; she wanted to get as far from him as possible. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she had to get away. It was slowly turning dark out and she had no idea where she was and to make matters worse it began to rain. She pouted for a minute and then realized it was just rain. She and Ray had spent so many times walking in the rain together. She slowed down her pace and began to slowly walk. She stopped, looked up into the sky, and let the rain spill onto her face. Her hair was sticking to her skin but she was at peace. Then and there she made a pact to herself that she was going to win her Ray back and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her from doing it. Her cell phone vibrated in her oversized bag.

"Hello?" Lily answered.

"Lil? Where are you?" Charlie asked her.

"I'm fine, I don't know where I am but I have some cash and I will find a cab to drive me home." She told him.

"What happened Lil?" He pleaded.

"I don't know." She lied.

"Did I do something? You can tell me." He said.

"No, it's not you…" She started out with the famous words, "It's me. I'm sorry, Charlie, I think you're great but this isn't going to work out. I'm so sorry."

"You mean this, don't you?" He asked.

"Yea, I do." She sighed. "When I'm with you, it's like being with a brother, and I want you in my life, but as a friend, and as my drummer, I hope you understand."

"This isn't about me and it's not about you, Lily," He began. "It's about Ray isn't it?"

"Honestly? Yes, I love him Charlie and I want him back. He means everything to me and I'm willing to give up everything I've done in LA just so I can be with him." Lily told him.

"Then you need to go for it. Lil, I understand how you feel; I do. Just let me come pick you up and we can talk about this some more." Charlie pleaded with her.

Lily looked around to see if she could tell where she was. She was lost; she didn't know where she had wandered off to. "I don't know where I am, Charlie, and it's dark and rainy and I'm scared."

"It's ok, you couldn't have gotten too far. I'll just turn the car around in the direction you ran and look for you. Just stay where you are, don't go anywhere."

"Ok," she mustered into the phone.

She was scared. She put her phone back into her bag and sat down; she was wet and cold. She sat there for about a half an hour until she saw bright lights coming towards her. She heard a car door slam and someone calling out to her.

"Lily?" Charlie shouted. "Is that you?"

"It's me, Charlie," she replied standing up. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad to see you; thank you so much for putting up with me."

"No worries, Lil." Charlie said embracing her. "What are friends for?"

"Thanks," she replied.

They talked some more; Charlie was very understanding of how Lily felt. He wasn't mad that she had broken up with him; he was happy that she was safe. He wanted more then anything for her to be happy and he vowed to her that by the time their week was up in Roscoe, Ray and Lily would be together again. The more Lily thought about it, she didn't know if she would be coming back to LA after going to Roscoe. Sure, maybe it was a long shot to try and get Ray back but not only did she miss him, she missed Robbie and her family and everyone else. She wasn't even so sure if LA was the life for her; she didn't feel all that comfortable here since the day she stepped off the plane.

A/N: Please read and review.