Page 2 of Lexi Lets Go

Lexi- Thanks, but I'm just gonna cozy up at home tonight.

Josh- You sure? We would love to have you.

Lexi- I appreciate it, but I'm sure. Next time.

Josh- Next Time! For real Lexi, I haven't seen you in weeks.

Lexi- You just got married three months ago. Aren't you guys still in your honeymoon phase? You don’t need me hanging around.

Josh- Yes, but I still miss my sister. You are coming over this weekend or I am coming over there. End of story.

Lexi- deal.

Slipping her phone back into her purse, she started on her way home. Life had changed for her in the past six months. Her whole life, it had always been her and her brother against the world. The two of them were all the family they had left and had always leaned on each other heavily. But three months ago, her baby brother had gotten married, and while she was nothing but thrilled for him, it had changed things.

She loved Poppy, and she loved seeing Josh happy, but things were just different. Her life used to be: work as hard as she could, take care of her baby brother and figure the rest out. Now she was still working as hard as she could, but she didn't need to take care of her brother. She hadn't really had to take care of him in years. He was just as hardworking and independent as she was. And in the past couple years she had grown to lean on him just as much as he had leaned on her. He was someone to call when her car wouldn’t start, a warm meal on the table after working back-to-back shifts. But now it was just her.

She missed feeling like she was in this with someone else. When he was younger, she had taken care of him because someone needed to. So, she just did it. She had been in survival mode since she was young, and that kind of thinking was hard to shake.

Once she was home and showered, she put some comfy pajamas on. She then went to the freezer to figure out what was for dinner that night. She picked the least objectionable microwave dinner, she got it out, poked the plastic film, and put it in the microwave. The stack of mail on the kitchen table was growing into a mound. Pulling out the bills and the important looking mail she swept the rest into the recycle bin and poured herself a glass of wine. After the microwave dinged, she got her frozen dinner and her glass of wine and went to watch TV.

As she looked down at what the box had called chicken and broccoli, she was kicking herself for turning down Josh's invitation for dinner. He was a fantastic cook, sure she missed him, but she might have missed his food even more. She somehow managed to eat her dinner, if she was even going to call it that, drank another glass of wine and watched a couple reruns before turning into bed.

In her bedroom, she plugged her phone in and made sure the alarm was set. She pulled up the romance novel she was currently reading and settled into bed. She wasn't sure why she read these books. She had never been in what most people would consider a real relationship. There had been some purely physical encounters over the years, but she had just never taken the time to get to know anyone new. It might be time to start, but after a lifetime of keeping everyone at arm's length, she wasn't really sure how to go about letting people in.

Next time Josh invited her over, she would go. She told herself that every time, but then he would message her, and she would say no and go home to her sad Lean Cuisine. She wasn’t even sure why she was pushing him away. It was time to make a change. Maybe make a friend that wasn't her brother. Making life changes in your thirties however, is much easier said than done, but that was a problem for another day.

The next morning Lexi swatted her nightstand trying to turn off her phone's alarm. It was time for another day in Mystic Falls. Which would be just like yesterday in Mystic Falls, which would be just like tomorrow in Mystic Falls. She got ready for work and decided to stop at the diner for breakfast on her way to the inn, at least that would be a little bit of novelty for the day.

As she walked in, she could tell people were all a twitter about something, she chuckled thinking what it might be. Last month a raccoon had gotten into Fipp's Market over the night and had made a mess of things and just walked right out when Mr. Fipp came to open the store, like the fat and sassy raccoon he was. That caused quite the hubbub for a week. Lexi wondered what it might be now. A cow in the town square? High school students making out behind the theater?

Sitting in her usual booth, she decided she might stay for an actual breakfast today instead of her usual coffee and muffin to go. Mae made her way over to the table and brought her a menu.

"Good morning, Lexi. I haven’t seen you in a while. Are you eating here this morning?"

"Yeah, I have a little time. What's going on? Everyone seems a bit more excitable than usual.”

"Well, ya know, it's kind of interesting,” Mae said, giving her a conspiratorial look. “Sometime last night this large tour bus broke down. No one is really sure why it’s here or what's going on with it.”

"Tour bus?” Lexi asked, “What do you mean?"

"One of those big buses just pulled over on the side of the road over on the south end of town."

"Hmmm... Interesting. Can I have a ham and cheese omelet?" Lexi asked.

"Coming right up." Mae left the table and Lexi watched with an amused smile as Vivian Williams and Ms. Maple sat in the booth by the door sharing whispers and keeping the cogs of this town's gossip machine well oiled. Looking out the window she spotted one of Mystic Falls newest faces, Bridget from the magic shop in town. She smiled at Lexi as she walked past the diner. Lexi waved back and she nodded her head as she passed by. She had done a card reading for Lexi a few months ago and Lexi had been thinking about it for a long time. She didn't hold much stock in magic, but there was something about that woman made her question it.

Ms. Maple gasped and pointed out the window. Vivian turned almost all the way around in her seat to look. But then Lexi saw what they saw. It was a large group of people walking towards the diner. There were probably ten people all coming their way. Half of them were staring down and furiously texting on their phones, but in the middle of all of it was a man she recognized, but she couldn't figure out where from. Definitely not from Mystic Falls.

They all came bustling into the diner as Mae brought Lexi her breakfast. Mae's eyes were huge, and Lexi could see the panic setting in.

"Find a seat where you can, I will be right with you all," Mae said.

"Do you have a meeting room here?" asked one of the women who barely glanced up from her phone.

"Ummm... No, I'm sorry ma'am. We can move some tables together if you'd like."

The woman looked up at her with utter irritation.

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