By Chance | Complete |

Chapter Forty Two

Lyra

It was the morning before we left for our trip. Up until this point, I had been mostly avoiding Lilian. After exams were over she would switch over to the trip and dad's birthday.

Every Time I saw her she tried to make me feel bad. To try to change my mind. But she was the person who said I could go, who reached out to Mel herself.

I couldn't avoid her any longer, I had to see her this morning.

After my shower, I put on a long sleeved shirt and a pair of sweatpants before venturing up to the main floor.

Lilian was there in her purple scrub's while Alec had on his usual blue polo.

"Good morning."

Alec gave me a smile. "Morning, Lyra. There's coffee, breakfast." He nodded towards the island.

"Morning." Lilian said without looking up from her phone.

I went over to the counter and made a cup of coffee before turning towards them. "I was wondering if it would be okay if I spent the night with my friends? We're leaving early in the morning. I don't want to wake you guys with me leaving."

Lilian looked over at me. "Okay."

I gave her a small smile. "Thank you. I'll call you on Christmas and on Dad's birthday."

She didn't say anything as she got up and grabbed her keys from the table. "Have a good trip." She told me before going upstairs.

"Text one of when you make it there safe. If you need anything I'll have my phone on." Alec told me gently. "Are you good with money and everything?"

I nodded. "Thank you."

"She's just emotional. You didn't do anything wrong." He reassured me. "Have fun."

"Can I leave my gift for her on the table?"

He gave me a small smile. "Of course."

I sat with my legs crossed under me as I folded my clothes. Teddy sat across from me, his back against the wall. "Are you sure you don't want help?"

"I'm okay. How are Jonathan and Alexis doing?"

"Great, actually. Mom's leaving the shop open with them and a friend of hers is going to stop by and help out while everyone's gone too."

Joanne was so kind. She was a famous romance author, though she went by a different name and she's never tied her face to her work.

Each year when Teddy and his family went on their Christmas vacation, Joanne would come help me at the bookstore. I loved having her around, she was kind, she gave me a copy of each of her books and sent me one before each release.

"Joanne?"

"Of course." He smiled as he stretched his arms up. "Do you want me to pack your makeup or skincare? Sasha made sure I know how to pack that stuff."

"If you really want to help, sure. But I'm okay. It doesn't take me long to pack."

"Can you bring the board games you brought over for game night last week? Where are they?"

"Bag next to the door." I nodded towards the white tote bag.

Teddy nodded. "Awesome. You're the best."

I folded a pair of my ripped jeans and set them in my bag. "I'm going to miss the bookstore next year."

The corners of his lips lifted up into a soft smile. "So am I. It's gonna be weird not going there after school. But my mom said we can always work in the summer."