Lucky Me!

Tuesday dawned. I gave Mandy my number and offered help whenever she needed it. I owed her. I wore blue fitted jeans and a black T-Shirt to college.  With a neat pony tail and black joggers I walked through college grounds.

“Lilly?” someone called.

I stopped and turned around. What I saw made my heart skip a beat.

“Anna?”

“Oh my God! It really is you,”

“Oh shit! Anna.”

We hugged each other for a long time. Anna Anderson, my best friend from Montona. We were like inseparable besties. She was my other half so you can imagine how close we were. After three weeks of my parent’s funeral, she was gone. My mom’s phone carried her number and it was crushed to pieces after the accident but I don’t know why Anna never called.

We sat at lunch break. She told me her mom’s phone got virus and so they had to reboot it and therefore she lost all my numbers. I told her my story. We gave each other our numbers.

“So how’s everyone at your place?” I asked.

“Fine, I guess” she shrugged.

“What, you’re not sure?”

“It’s a long story. I don’t live there anymore.”

“You don’t? Why?” I was shocked.

“High school rumors,” she sighed. “People said I was going out with a guy and we were pretty serious and the teachers got to know and called my parents. Mom and dad didn’t believe me, and I got mad especially when dad said ‘you’ve brought shame to this family.’ I packed my stuff and went over to a friend.”

“How long has it been?”

“Two years. This is the second. I’m lucky they’re still paying my college dues,” she said. “What about you? Have you shifted here?”

“Nah! Grandma decided to let me go to college. I’m staying at college dorms”

“Oh! How’s granny?” she said with a soft smile. I recalled her voice calling Grandma Granny back when she used to come to my home and we used to make Grandma find us while we hid.

“She’s great”

“Listen…why don’t you stay with me?”

“You’re staying at your friend’s house Anna,”

“Well, my friend who I live with is very rich and has a house to…itself…given by the parents and there is also one more person living with us”

“Okay, uh…is it just me or is there something wrong with your English?”

“I’m living with my boyfriend, Andy.” She sighed, taking the defeat. “His name is Andrew. Our best friend, Edward also lives with us. I just didn’t want you to know that I’m living with two guys. Look, it’ll be great if you come live with us. I have to get to know you again.” She held my hand in hers.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

Anna was the sort who would do anything to keep a good friendship. No matter how crude she could be, she always had a sweet, loving and most of all an adamant side of her. She told me the boys weren’t here at college today. After texting me the address, she ordered me to get there when college ends. The first thing I did was cancelling my college application for providing me a room. I then went over at Mandy’s and thanked her for what she did and reminded her of my help if she ever needed any.

I reached the address Anna sent me. It was a nice house. It had a front lawn and a garage opening to the road. The house clearly had a classy taste. I headed to the front door. Before knocking I took a deep breath. Someone opened the door.

We almost bumped.

“Whoa!”

The tone was sweet and familiar. It was the same guy from yesterday, the one who saved me. Okay now that sounds too heroic.

He smirked. “You? Aren’t you from yesterday?”

I nodded.

He came forward and whispered, “Are you stalking me?”

“What? No. I’m Lilly, Anna’s friend,”

He had a cute smile that showed his dimples as he leaned against the door. “Oh, Anna never mentioned her friend to be this beautiful. Come in” he moved aside.

“I’m Edward Collin. My friends call me Ed, nice to meet ya,” we shook hands. His grip was firm and solid but his hands were gentle with mine. “Lilly Lodge,” I recalled what he said yesterday, “You did say you’ll see me soon,”

“Sooner than I expected,”

“Is Anna…?” said another male voice. “Ah, you must be Lilly. I’m Andrew. You can call me Andy,”

So this was Andrew. He was a gorgeous guy with brown curly hair, hazel eyes and fair skin. He was almost as tall as Ed. We also shook hands.

“Hey Andy, guess what. I met her…” his voice trailed off when he saw me slightly shaking my head. “Someone like her yesterday,”

Andy had a puzzled expression. “Good for you mate” he patted him on his shoulder. “Let’s go the T.V lounge.” He said.

I whispered to Ed, “Can we please not tell them about yesterday?”

“Sure. If you want to keep it a secret,” he winked and followed Andrew.

I smirked. Anna came home with three shoppers filled with drinks, chips and ice-cream. The guys asked me to introduce myself properly. So I started, “I’m Lilly Lodge, 18 years old. I live with my Grandma as my parents passed away. I love ice-cream…a lot. And I’m not bragging but…I can be fun.”

Ed was staring at me. His arms were spread across the couch. With a smile I looked at him. He winked and didn’t lose eye contact with me. I kept looking at him. Andy broke the silence.

“Lilly…I uh…I just wanted to clear that Anna never forgot you. She mentioned you almost every time we had fun or in conversations. Ed and I know your name for quite a while now,” Anna smiled and held Andy’s hand in hers.

“Yeah, I missed you too,”

“So you are a part of us now Miss Lilly,” Ed leaned forward. His smile was comforting and his words, assuring.

“Yes, and if you need anything or anything is bothering you or you want to talk about something, we’re there for you,” Anna continued.

“And one last thing, know that we’ve always got your back…” Andy followed.

“Even if you are wrong,” Ed said and winked.

Looking at them made me feel at home. I’m glad I agreed to this. It has been almost 10 years and Anna hasn’t changed one bit. Andy would be a wonderful best friend and Ed…something told me he and I…were going be really close. I just had a sort of vibe. “Thank you guys”

Anna explained that I’d be sharing the room with Ed.

Great!

The room was huge. It had a lot of space despite the two cornered beds with side-drawers, two beanbags, blue and green, and a dressing table. The closet was in front of the bathroom. I stood looking at the beds, unsure of which one was mine.

“Yours the left one,” said Ed from behind me as if he read my thoughts. He sat on his bed and looked at me thoughtfully, “Are you sure you don’t feel uncomfortable sharing the room with me? We can…”

“No, I’m great. Are you?”

“Trust me. I’m more than great,” he smirked and left the room.

I called Grandma telling her about the whole Anna incident and she was very happy to hear. We watched a horror movie that night. Anna was cuddled up with Andy. We all sat on the same couch. Ed sat beside me.

“You know since Andy’s taken, you can always cuddle with me if you get scared” he whispered.

I smiled and whispered back, “Funny, I was about to say the same to you,”

He moved back giving me glare, “Ouch!”

It was fun to watch Anna covering her face with her hand. It reminded me what scaredy-cat she used to be. I was very lethargic at the moment. My eyes were shutting every ten seconds. Before I knew it, the picture in front of me got blur.

An eerie scream woke me up. I realized I was resting on Ed’s shoulder so I moved back up.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize,”

“What’re you apologizing for? Sleeping?” I looked at him, blankly. He let out a giggle, “You can sleep in the room, you know, it’s yours from now too,”

“Yeah, I think I’m going to go,”

I told Anna I was going to sleep. I lied on the bed without changing. The last image in my mind appeared to be Ed’s gorgeous face.