While you were sleeping Hollywood Heights
Lying all along C-7
Loren begins to cry, Nana walks to where she's sitting and hugs her. "It's okay sweetie, don't cry."
Loren leans on her. "I'm so sorry."
Derek tells his Aunt Katy what really happened the day of his accident. She sees Nana comforting Loren and sits by her side.
"We aren't mad at you Loren; you should have told us right away what had happened."
Loren looks at her. "I tried so many times, I really tried to tell you the truth and clear things up, but, everything seemed to get more complicated." She pauses for a moment. "I hurt Eddie, it wasn't my intention at all."
"Eddie will be fine, don't worry about him." Nana exclaims.
"He was very upset." Loren adds with sadness in her voice.
Meanwhile,
Eddie stops at his friend's home. Eric opens the door. "Whoa, what's wrong with you? no need to bang on the door." Eddie slams the door behind him.
"She lied, she's been lying all along!"
"Who's been lying?" Eric wonders.
"Loren! She's not engaged to my cousin!" His response is loud.
Eric furrows his eyes. "Isn't that a good thing."
Eddie looks at him.
"How? I felt lousy when I kissed her, then I realized I'm in love with her, I felt miserable because I felt I was betraying my cousin." He sighs heavily. "To make things worse! Today she tells us they were never engaged!"
"I'm sure there's an explanation for this, did you wait to hear what happened? You don't have to feel guilty anymore." Eric adds.
"How can I trust her? How many more lies has she said to my family and I."
"I know I just met her, she seems very sweet, I don't think Loren is capable of doing or saying anything else that would hurt you or your family."
"I don't even know what to think anymore." Eddie sighs heavily.
"Here, drink this beer, relax and calm down, things have a way of working out!" Eric adds with confidence.
Meanwhile,
Loren is home, she walks straight to the couch, Mel walks in. "Hey girl, why haven't you turned the lights on?"
"They know the truth." Loren shares.
Mel turns the lights on and looks at Loren. "You told them?"
"Derek remembered everything and guess what?" Loren looks at Mel. "All this time, he's had a huge crush on you."
Mel widens her eyes. "Me! Omg, I've never thought of him that way since you were the one that liked him."
"That's not important anymore, he remembered everything, we came clear with Nana, Katy and Eddie."
"Oh boy! By the looks of it, things didn't go as planned."
"Eddie was upset, he stormed out of the room, Nana and Katy were very understanding, I feel lousy, I'm sure he hates me."
Mel gets down to Loren's eyes level. "I am sure he's fine, probably feeling guilty."
"Guilty? Why would you say that?" Loren wonders.
"You know what I mean Loren! You're in love with him, and I'm sure he's fallen for you too, that's the reason he's so upset, he'll come around, true love always triumphs."
"I don't know Mel, I can't work there anymore, I will transfer to the hospital closer to our home, they're always asking me to join their team, I don't know how long Derek will be at the hospital, it will be awkward running into his family." Loren sighs.
"Don't run away Loren, Eddie will come to his senses." Mel adds with kindness.
"It's the only solution that will work for me, oh my God, never thought being in love would hurt this much."
Mel hugs her best friend. "It's going to be okay, you'll see."
Meanwhile,
Eddie's home, Katy calls him into the kitchen. Nana and Katy are standing by the kitchen counters.
"Did you finally cool off?" Katy questions.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I'm talking about, you stormed out of your cousin's room, you didn't even wait for an explanation." Katy adds.
Eddie sighs. "What explanation? Loren lied to us!"
"We don't see it as a lie, Mel's friend told the paramedics that Loren was his fiancé so Derek wouldn't go alone to the hospital after that terrible accident." Katy adds.
"I have a gut feeling that the problem isn't Loren lying, you're feeling guilty because you're in love with her, that's it, isn't it?" Katy questions.
"I knew it! Something was off with you and Loren!" Nana adds with a little giggle. "You can't fool us."
Eddie sighs heavily. "Yes! I felt very guilty, wondering how I was going to explain myself to Derek, worried about us going our separate ways because I thought we were in love with the same woman, I didn't want to lose Derek over Loren."
"Go and talk to Derek, he's alive because both Loren and Mel called the paramedic's after the accident, Loren was kind enough to be there for him."
"I need to be alone mom; I'll see Derek some time tomorrow." He walks away.
The following morning,
Loren stops by to see Derek; they chat for a good 20 minutes. "It was great to see you, wanted to bring you these cookies, Mel made them last night."
Derek smiles. "Why didn't you tell her to come with you?"
"She had a tight schedule this morning, why don't you give her a call?"
Loren gives him a piece of paper with Mel's number on it. "Are you sure it's ok to call?" Derek wonders.
"Yes, I got the okay from her, listen I have to go, I need to talk to my boss, take care Derek and thanks for understanding." Loren hugs him and she heads towards the door, at that precise moment, Eddie walks in.
Loren stops not knowing what to say, she smiles. "Hi Eddie, I'm happy to see you."
"Morning Loren." He walks inside without saying another word to her. He gives Derek a cup of his favorite coffee.
Loren walks away, Derek looks at Eddie. "What's with you cuz, you stormed out of here yesterday."
"I dislike people that lie."
"Listen, Loren didn't lie, it was a huge misunderstanding, something tells me that there's more to this, come clean with me, Eddie, you and I have no secrets, we're more than cousins, we're brothers."
Eddie sits across him. "When are you coming home? What did your Dr. say?"
"Don't change the subject on me, I know you Eddie, this isn't like you."
Eddie brushes his hair back with his hands. "I was afraid of losing you, I felt very guilty for falling in love with Loren, I honestly thought she was engaged to you, I was trying to figure out a way of telling you without hurting you."
"See how easy that was, after the accident her friend Mel was the one that told the paramedic's she was my fiancé when they asked about family, Loren didn't say anything to them because she didn't want me to be alone in the ambulance, that was a kind gesture of her part. I am happy to hear you found your one and only. In my opinion you've always been too picky."
Eddie furrows his eyes. "What do you mean picky? I dated, remember?"
"Oh yeah, her name was Amanda, all wrong for you, I told you several times. Listen I like Loren, she's kind and sweet, Nana and Aunt Katy love her, she gained their love in such a short time, Loren is a very special young lady, it seems you realized it too because you're hooked on the beautiful pharmacist, you did great this time." Derek teases.
Eddie doesn't respond, Derek continues. "I really like Loren's friend Mel, I was looking for the right moment to say something to her, otherwise, I'd grab Loren away from you."
"No way, I saw her first." Eddie sort of laughs, he stands up. "I'll be back later."
Eddie heads towards the Pharmacy, there's an older gentleman tending to the customers, he looks at Eddie.
"What can I help you with?"
Eddie scans the area. "I'm looking for Loren Tate."
"She turned in her resignation this morning, she no longer works here." He responds.
"Thanks." He runs towards the exit; he has to find Loren.
End of chapter! Now what? Story will end in the next chapter! Kindly review!