Choices (Book Four)

Chapter 4

Shawn

The chiming of my insistent alarm slowly wakes me and I let out a groan as I roll to my side reaching for my phone to turn it off. I put a stop to the early morning noise interruption and roll onto my back as I stretch out. We had a late night practice yesterday after already doing off ice training in the afternoon and I am feeling the ramifications of it today. My legs feel like solid cement as I try to stretch each one out under my comforter. I let out a long yawn before I mange to sit up in my bed and accept that my day needs to get started. I pull the blanket off me and feel a small chill run up my body as the cool morning air hits me bare skin. Fall has made an early presence this year.

As I stand from my bed, I grab a t-shirt hanging on the back of my desk chair and throw it on before sliding on a pair of sweatpants over my boxers. The new layer of clothing seems to help with suppressing any shivers. I grab my phone before I leave my bedroom and head for the kitchen, my first stop at the coffee pot as I fire it up. Once I know caffeine is on the way I take a seat at my kitchen table and unlock my phone. I have a few email notifications so I open the app and start to sort through them, most of it junk mail as I delete it right away. My thumb pauses when it hovers of Lyla's name.

She wrote me back. The time stamp shows she sent it at nearly four in the morning, which has me curious as I open it and begin to read. I read over the first few sentences about her first week of school. I ignore the blatant grammar and spelling mistakes quickly determining some alcohol must have been involved in the drafting of this email. Hell, the booze is probably the main factor in why I got a response from her to begin with, I was banking on her never replying to me after my summer dry spell. I continue reading and don't miss the way my hand involuntarily grips the phone a little harder at the part where she talks about being at a frat party last night and dancing the night away knowing the attention she draws to herself on the dance floor. No doubt she knew stuff like that used to bother me and it damn sure still does.

I finish the email and head right over to Instagram, heading to the search bar and clicking on her profile name which pops up first in my list. No new photos or stories. Her last post is still one she made about four weeks ago when she was in Africa still. She is smiling as she is surrounded by a group of young kids that are all group hugging her. She looks absolutely breathtaking. I slide my finger across the screen to flip through the other seven photos she posted. One of the clinic she helped build, one of her room she stayed in, then I stop on a photo of her and Will. He has his arm around her shoulder as he looks down at her smiling like a fool while she stares into the camera grinning away and appearing oblivious to her admirer beside her.

I go to the next profile that I know is my best chance at getting any crumbs of Lyla. Megan's. She is constantly posting stories, I was able to catch a quick glimpse of Lyla earlier this week in a video Megan posted somewhere on campus of the two of them. Sure enough, she has a new story that I click on and start to watch. A loud video blares through my speakers as I see Megan and Lyla sing along to whatever song is playing as the sway together on a dance floor filled with people. They have their arms draped over each others shoulders as the laugh along together. I smile down as I watch Lyla having fun and being the carefree version of herself I always found so irresistible. The next story is a selfie of Lyla and Megan where Megan is kissing Lyla's cheek and Lyla has her eyes squeezed shut. Up next another video of Lyla and Will doing some ridiculous dance routine as they laugh hysterically with one another, Will holding on tightly to both of Lyla's hands as he spins her around. Could've done without seeing that one.

The last post of the story is a picture of the three of them sitting in a booth at some diner, grinning away over their plates full of food. Judging from when the picture was posted it's around the same time Lyla would have sent me the email. A small part of me can't help but feel good that I still come to her mind when she's out with her friends having a great time, selfishly I like knowing I still have some part of her. I glance at the time and see it's almost nine o'clock now. I have no doubt all three of them are still sleeping off their hangovers as we speak, especially if they didn't get in until after four in the morning.