The morning sun shone in through the window and woke Lola up from her light sleep.
The day would bring warmth and crowded streets as people soaked up these rare rays of sunshine.
Early winter cold wouldn't stop them as they layered on the clothing to stay outside for as long as possible.
Lola groaned, the pain of knowing where she had to head off to in just under an hour had her questioning whether she should get out of bed at all.
She and Lavina are supposed to meet at Mayor Clan's house to help plan for the Winter Whimsy- company she'd rather avoid and plans she couldn't care less about, it wasn't shaping up to be a good day after an awful night.
She rolled out of bed, dragged herself to the closet, and got dressed.
The Omegas whose job it was to look after the mansion had fixed the guest room in under a day. They had put in new closets, as well as other amenities, to make it more homey for her. As if they'd somehow gotten orders from high up as if they knew she wouldn't be spending her time in Jax's room anymore
She stared at her reflection, the dark bags under her eyes and the dullness in her skin.
"Awesome." She said, dragging a hand over her face.
Lola dragged her feet down the stairs. She tossed her head back and stomped on the floor just before leaving the mansion.
With each step, she was reminded of the company she would soon be around.
Lavina, Mayor Clan, and his family.
They would plan the execution of the Winter Whimsy and though she didn't mind attending the events, Lola had never actually been part of the organizing committee.
She immediately thought of Melissa and how she would be the perfect fit for the mission, Melissa always loved to carry her clipboard and take notes of everything that needed to get done. Her organizing skills couldn't be matched and her ideas were a never-ending pour.
As Lola exited the mansion there was a car waiting with the engine running and the door open.
It wasn't possible to smile wider than Lola did when she saw Melissa leaning back against the hood of the car. Her hand was lifted in the air, holding a mirror that she looked her lips in while applying the gloss.
"There she is." Melissa cooed with a bright smile that widened when she saw the joy on Lola's face.
They paced toward each other and embraced in a tight hug- they both held on for a good minute.
It had been a while since the last time they saw each other, Melissa had been busy with Ed and Lola didn't want to be a bother.
"I've missed you so much," Melissa murmured against her shoulder.
The vanilla-scented hair oil seeped up Lola's nose and she was instantly pulled back to those days in Melissa's bedroom when they were getting ready to head to school. The last touch to her finished appearance was always hair oil to moisten the bouncy curls.
"I've missed you! And I'm dying to hear about everything you've been up to but I'm already late for this thing I have to do," Lola sighed.
With a grin on her face and her Chloe bag hanging on her arm, Melissa winked and gestured for Lola to get in the car.
"Breakfast meeting at the Mayor's house, right?"
Lola's jaw dropped and she raised a brow in question.
"You didn't seriously think I would let you go alone with the mistress of the mansion, did you?" Melissa asked with a giggle.
Lola shook her head and bit back a laugh as she got into the passenger seat and looked warily at the mansion.
"Be careful what you say around here, they can hear you wherever you are." Lola mused.
Melissa shuddered, pressed on the gas, and hurried down the hill.
"That sounded way more creepy than it needed to," Melissa said, provoking a laugh from Lola who knew that her friend would want a recap on everything but for the moment she was just happy to finally have Melissa by her side again.
As they took off driving down the road leading to the mayor's house, Melissa blasted the music and the girls sang along to every song.
They sang at their loudest capacity, closing their eyes to press out that last bit of air, and even when their voices scratched again their throats like sandpaper they kept on singing at the top of their lungs.
All the way through town, past the people who were out and about soaking in the heatless sun that would be hidden behind clouds any moment now, and past the school that reminded them of how little time they'd actually spent there the last few months.
Melissa turned her head and winced, she stopped singing and the girls looked at the cars parked in front of the university.
Melissa sighed and lowered the volume to where they could hear themselves think.
"How is everything in the Adams family?" Melissa asked.
Lola cast her friend a look and rolled her eyes.
"They're nice people... at least some of them are," Lola defended.
She heaved a sigh and looked out over the road with a shrug of her shoulder. They were getting close to the mayor's house and she needed to be on her A-game.
Melissa licked her lips, she glanced sickly between Lola and the road and her lips opened and closed several times before the words eventually formed.
"Ash texted me. Something about an attack and then you leaving with Jax. He also said you guys arrived late and went into separate bedrooms with slammed doors."
Lola turned with a quizzical look.
"That's specific, I'm glad you've been debriefed on the situation by someone who wasn't even a part of it."
Melissa drove through the buzzed gates leading to the house while throwing worrisome glances at Lola's defensive walls that were coming up one by one.
"Don't do that, he was worried about you and you weren't calling me which he figured you wouldn't." Melissa drove up the path with beautifully curved street lamps lining up on each side of the road and they were about to reach the front of the house.
"Since when do you and Ash text?" She sneered.
"I gave him my number that night when we slept together but he never used it until last night," Melissa replied.
She parked in the parking lot by the hedges and turned off the car. The patio was being cleaned as they walked up and Mrs. Clan was waiting by the door to greet them. But before they made it close enough for her to hear, Melissa tried her luck again.
"I know I've been MIA lately but I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. We can turn around right now and go back to the car and drive somewhere to talk. I'll tell Mayor Clan that we had girl problems."
Lola pressed her nails into the palm of her hand. She turned around so that nobody around the house would be able to see her as her eyes began to sparkle from the rising tears.
"I can't do this right now." She whispered. A whisper was the only way to keep her voice from completely giving away how shattered she was.
Melissa's eyes widened and she grabbed Lola's hand but it was pulled away and Lola shook her head.
"I get it, later," Melissa said.
They turned back to the house and prepared for the day ahead. Standing in the doorframe with Mrs. Clan was Lavina, a mimosa in hand and dressed in a blouse and dress pants. The pearls around her neck sparkled under the light from the lamp and she waved eloquently to the girls.