No More Drama

*Hey everyone. Sorry this post is later than normal. Spent all weekend fighting allergies. Damn crazy Texas weather finally got me. I'm gonna try to post like planned, but please forgive the errors. Don't have time or patience to proofread like I should!

"It feel so good
When you let go
Of all the drama in your life
Now you're free from all the pain
Free from all the game
Free from all the stress
So find your happiness
I don't know
Only God knows where the story ends for me
But I know where the story begins
It's up to us to choose
Whether we win or loose
And I choose to win" No More Drama by Mary J Blige

Tuesday morning, I went down to the office of my apartment complex and got the necessary forms to get Sammy's name off the lease. I had to admit, part of me was hoping to call her bluff and that she would change her mind. Regardless of what she chooses, I didn't want to draw it out.

There was enough drama in my life, I didn't want or need anymore. If she didn't wanna be friends anymore, I would accept that. I was done trying to make things work with people. Either it did or it didn't.  It was that simple.

I called my aunt Patty for a few recipes I wanted to make for Thanksgiving. She gave them to me, asking what my plans were for Christmas. I told her I planned to be in California. Cam and Jenna were spending Thanksgiving with her family and Christmas with ours. Patty informed me that all her children would be home, so it would be great to have everyone together. I agreed wholeheartedly.

I went grocery shopping for the week and planned out my meals. I found if I wrote a list of my meals and shopped for them, I wouldn't be tempted to eat out. After grocery shopping, I was bored, so I called Rocky.

"Hey? What's up?" Rocky answered, rushed.

"Nothing. Wanna meet for lunch?" I asked.

"I wish I could. I have a ton of work to get done since I took next week off to spend with my mom. I'm working through my lunch so I can get home on time and start cleaning." Rocky declined.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked, concerned she was going to stress herself out.

"No. Your work will start when my mom gets here." Rocky told me.

I smiled. "How? You want me to take her clubbing?"

"Sounds good to me. I told her about all your drama too, so she can give you advice and stay off my back." Rocky stated.

"Not cool. Besides, I plan to be drama free from now on. That's the new, roommate-less me." I said, sarcastically.

"Roommate-less?" Rocky questioned but before I could answer, she exclaimed, "That's the regional manager. I'll call you back later."

After she hung up, I changed into my black jogging suit with a white tank. I put my hair up and tied it down with a bandanna covered with colorful skulls. I then went over to Rocky's house.

I know how Rocky cleaned when she was having guests. She always kept her house spotless, but she deep cleaned if she was expecting company. It was just her mom. I didn't understand why she felt the need to, but I learned a long time ago not to question her.

After I got there, I put on my headphones and got to work. I cleaned all the windows, changed out the linens in the guest room, cleaned the wood furniture with Pine Sol, scrubbed down the walls, and dusted everything. I cleaned up the spice racks, made sure the pots, pans, and Tupperware were organized before I started looking through the pantry for old or expired foods.

I was taking out the trash when I saw Brandon pull up in the alley. After he parked, he and EJ got out of the car.

"Hey" I greeted them, warmly.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Brandon asked, as I gave EJ a hug.

"Just started some of the cleaning." I answered as we went inside. "How was work?"

"Long." Brandon answered, before looking around the house. "It looks good in here. Are you done?" He asked.

"For today." I shrugged.

Brandon gave me a look. "What else needs to be done?"

"Carpets, draperies, couches, the backyard..." I listed.

Brandon shook his head. "You would think the queen was coming or something." He muttered.

I laughed. "Mama Smith doesn't care. It's all Rocky. How was school, EJ?" I asked him.

"Good. I got a 94 on my spelling test." He answered.

"Awesome, good job!" I smiled at him.

"Which word did you get wrong?" Brandon asked.

"I don't know." EJ shrugged.

"You know when your dad gets here he's gonna wanna know." Brandon said.

EJ ran off to get his backpack.

"Alright, tell Rocky I'll catch up with her later." I said.

"You don't wanna stay and see her?" Brandon asked me.

"I'll see her next time."

"What's up with you and Ethan?" Brandon asked me, bluntly.

"Ask him."

"I did, he said to ask you."

Prick.

"Look, I'm not trying to get in the middle of you two-"

"Then don't." I finished for him. Thankfully, EJ skipped back in with his spelling test.

"I got it. I forgot the "e" in stripe." EJ explained.

"You forgot? That's the most important part!!!" I exclaimed, dramatically.

 "You can't even hear it." EJ protested.

"I know that. It makes the "I" say its name. Str-I-pe. Without the "e" it would be strip." I sounded it out for him. "What if your teacher thought you wanted her to strip?"

"Ew!!!" EJ laughed.

"Yeah, then you would have a naked teacher running around." I laughed with him.

After Brandon got him settled with popcorn, I left. It was still cold, so I decided to drop by the gym on the way home.

I was 30 minutes into my run, "Give Me Just One Reason" by Pink blaring in my headphones, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Jake.

"Hey..." I said, pulling off my headphones and slowing down to a walk. "Good to see you." I smiled, sincerely.

"I'm surprised to see you. I thought you stopped coming." Jake said, before setting up on the treadmill next to me.

"I did, for a while. You know how I feel about wasting money, so I came back when I knew you were at work." I answered, honestly.

He grinned at me. "And now?"

"Since you've taken so many punches for me, I figured I could bless you with my presence." I joked, grinning too.

Jake laughed and we settled into companionable silence as we worked out. I turned off the treadmill and gave him a small smile before heading to the ab machine. I watched when Jake got off the treadmill too and headed to the bench press. Our eyes met briefly before my phone rang. I looked down to see Rocky calling me. I texted her back, telling her I would call her after my workout.

After I finished, I walked to the locker room to change. On my way out, my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my bag as I was walking out.

Ethan: If you are going to continue to interact with my son, you need to keep it appropriate. He will repeat what you say.

That freaking confused me. I couldn't even remember what I said that was inappropriate.

Me: Sure... what did he repeat?

I stood by the door, waiting for his response.

Ethan: Your comment about his teacher stripping.

I rolled my eyes and put my phone away. I wasn't even going to validate that with a reply. I understood him being upset, but he was taking it extremely too far. I wasn't going to argue with him.

"What's wrong with you?"

I looked up to see Jake.

"Dealing with the consequences of my decision." I sighed.

He looked at me, questioningly. I showed him Ethan's texts and explained what I said to EJ.

Jake just shook his head. "I'm gonna say something to him. I'm already dead to him, can't get worse than dead."

"Please don't. Just leave it." I answered, pulling my bag on my shoulder.

"Are you out?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

"Unless you wanna grab something to eat together."

"Umm..."

"Just friends. We can go to McDonald's, just to keep it causal."

"Make it Chiptole and we have a deal." I answered.

"Ok. See you there."

We met up at Chiptole near my apartment. I sat down at a window booth. While Jake ordered our food, I called Rocky back. I told her about Sammy moving out and Ethan's text.

"Are you going to be ok, rent wise?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I really don't need the space, but I love the apartment. So I don't mind paying for it." I replied.

"I think it's for the best. You might need a break if y'all wanna save the friendship." Rocky said.

"Well, she thinks I'm fake and doesn't wanna be around me, so the chances of that are slim to none." I explained as Jake joined me with the food.

"Well, I say good riddance. After the whole Trevor thing, I didn't think the friendship was going last anyway." Rocky stated.

"Tell me how you really feel." I said while simultaneously munching on a chip with guacamole.

"I would rather tell Ethan. I wish I would have known while he was here. He's being a dick." Rocky declared.

"I'm just gonna ride out my consequences until he decides to forgive me."

"This is not consequences. All you did was not tell him. Consequences would be him not trusting you. He's punishing you for something that happened years ago. He needs to grow up and get the fuck over himself."

"Maybe, but you still don't need to say anything. No need for anymore drama. I'm handling it, ok?" I said.

"Ok..." Rocky agreed, reluctantly.

"Rocky..."

"Fine. I won't say anything. Not because I agree, but because you cleaned my house and I don't wanna seem ungrateful on Thanksgiving."

"Thank you." I grinned. "I'm so thankful for my friends, the ones I still have."

"Bye Lily." Rocky laughed.

I hung up to Jake watching me, disapprovingly.

"What?" I asked, unwrapping my burrito.

"I don't think you should have to ride out anything. He's being unreasonable."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I would imagine you would be able to empathize with him."

"Not anymore." Jake answered, plainly.

We ate in silence before I asked him what he was bringing for Thanksgiving.

"My presence." He replied.

I laughed at him.

----------------------

The rest of the week went by without any drama. I noticed Sammy was slowly moving her things out. I remained cordial to her. She didn't offer any information, so I didn't ask. It was hard, but I respected her wishes.


Trevor invited me to go to Austin with him on the weekend. Bilal's girlfriend was throwing a pre-thanksgiving get together and Trevor was going. I declined. Darren had the next round of playoff games and I told Amber that I would babysit her kids Saturday.

On Friday, I met up with Forrest at his school. The playoff game was at a stadium about 45 minutes away and Forrest offered me a ride if I didn't mind riding with them on the student trainer bus. I called Rachel to see if she wanted to carpool, but she was having a much needed girls' night. She invited me too, but I declined. I couldn't miss Darren's playoff game. If they lost, it would be his last.

I greeted Forrest with a wave as he and the kids loaded the short bus with supplies. He hopped out of the bus and introduced me to the head athletic trainer, Coach Tolbert and his wife, Mariah.

After the bus was loaded, we all got in the bus and took off. The group of trainers, all 9 of them, sat in the back of the bus. Mariah and Coach Tolbert sat in the front behind the bus driver and Forrest sat in the seat beside them. I sat behind Forrest.

They talked about the matchup between the two teams for a while with me listening before Forrest turned to me.

"So what's going on with you?" He asked me.

"Nothing." I said. When he just studied me, I shrugged. "What?" 

He got up and sat down beside me.

"Are we ok? You've been weird." Forrest asked, concerned.

"We're fine."  I nodded "I'm just practicing a drama free lifestyle as of late." 

"Yoga?"

"Hell no." I grinned.

We spent the rest of the ride catching up. When we arrived at the stadium, the bus was unloaded and the training room was set up. After ankles were taped, Gatorade was made and water bottles were filled, everyone headed to the sidelines. I decided to stay on the sidelines and play water girl. Darren teased me mercilessly during warm-ups. When the game started, he was serious and focused.

Unfortunately, his efforts weren't enough during the first half. The opposing team had a wide receiver that none of our defensive backs could keep up with. They scored 35 to our 14 in the first half. The mood at halftime was depressing to say the least.

The head coach had the idea to put Darren on defense, so he could cover their wide receiver. I wasn't completely convinced that he should be playing double duty and putting all that stress on his knee, especially for a game we were most likely going to lose.

All of my doubts went away the first time Darren intercepted the ball and ran it in for a 65 yard touchdown. The crowd, the team and the sidelines exploded with excitement. It was the spark our team needed to come back. By the 4th quarter, we took the lead. With Darren defending their star player, we maintained the lead to win the game.

Everyone went crazy when the time ran off the clock. I cheered widely. Forrest was coming down the sideline, high fiving everyone. When he got to me, he picked me up in a huge hug and twirled me around. I laughed, excitedly, as he put me down. 

After we got back to the school, I stuck around and went to the training room with the trainers. I congratulated Darren as I checked out his knee and asked him how he was feeling.

"100%." He grinned.

I smiled at him, before sending him on his way.

"So are you celebrating with us?" Forrest asked me.

I wanted to, but I didn't think that was a great idea without Rachel. 

"I would, but I have to work tomorrow." It wasn't technically a lie. I was on call. I might have to work.

"Ok." He said, giving me a hug. I held my body away and broke it off after a second. 

"Give me a call. I have all next week off. We need to hang out." He smiled.

"Will do. Just let me know which day is best for Rachel." I agreed.

I left and went home. I saw Sammy unmounted the TV from the den. On the kitchen table, I saw a note that read:

We can get the forms notarized this weekend. Let me know what time is best.

I sighed and put the note away. After changing into my pajamas, I made myself a sandwich and grabbed a drink before snuggling on my couch. I had notifications on Facebook, texts and missed calls, but I ignored them in favor of quiet, solitude and peace.