Tattered and Torn
Chapter 8 : Movin' Up & On
RECAP:: You began packing up your room and shared a special moment with Jim.
** LILIANNA'S POV **
Jim had helped me twice today in dealing with moving out of my haven. He's done such a great job and doctoring and comforting me even though he doesn't really know me. His sweet disposition and caring nature attracted me to him even more than I already was. At 6'6, he was a full foot and a half taller than me!
"Lily? We're back!!" I heard Dani yell loudly as she came up the stairs
"Good! We need lots of boxes and bubble wrap!" I yelled back
"We probably got more than you really needed but we wanted to make sure we got enough." Shawn exclaimed, making the whole room chuckle.
Dani grabbed my camera and started taking photos of my room. Smiling at her, she knew that I wanted something tangible to remember my time here. It was important to me and she knew it. Despite Clown's destructive personality in the mask, without it he's quite gentle. Which was good for me since he was wrapping up all my glass and ceramic pieces!!
Jim had finally finished packing up my computer and quickly made his way back over to me to see what else he could do. Smiling at my Gentle Giant, I told him whatever he could find to do that would speed things up would be fine. While I finished folding my clothes to pack up, Dani started working on my bathroom. Joey and Craig stayed downstairs with our parents but the rest of the band came up to help me pack up.
As much stuff as I had I figured it would take a few days to pack up! Nope, not with 7 very strong and determined men and 2 equally as determined women working almost non-stop for about 8 hours! Suddenly there came a knock at my door which startled me. All the guys by now just walked into my room. Regardless, I opened up the door to reveal Mrs. Jordison. She was smiling warmly at me. She informed us that the moving truck was here and ready to start moving boxes.
"What moving truck?" Dani asked looking between me and Mrs. Jordison er Carol
"Well, Joey informed us that you were packing up today so we thought a moving truck was in order. We finally found one that's willing to take all your stuff to Iowa if you choose. They have 2 guys that will help take boxes down whenever you're ready." Carol stated
"Oh! Well, thank you! I hadn't even thought about that!!" I chuckled
"It's no problem, Sweetie. We also have dinner on the way. You guys haven't stopped for food once today!" She laughed softly
"What time is it, Mrs. Jordison?" Shawn asked
"It's about 5:30pm." She replied
Wow! Time sure flies when you're having fun. Chris made the comment that Val and Gary haven't been seen for like 2 days. Dani looked at me and then stated that sometimes they sorta take off for days at a time. Their timing was to our advantage this go-round and I was extremely thankful for it! I'd finally boxed up all my clothes, and had the boxes marked appropriately, and then started in on what was left. With all the guys helping, it didn't take as long as I thought. In an hour or 2 we'd be completely packed up and have it all on the moving truck.
Suddenly Corey thought of Dani, it seems, and asked if we were going to pack up her stuff as well. I turned my attention to my friend in anticipation of her answer. Smiling she said it wouldn't take as long to pack up her stuff as she wasn't taking everything she owned. My room was basically a mini-apartment to me without the kitchen! Jim, Corey, and Dani were writing on boxes while the rest of us walked around making sure we hadn't left anything of importance.
Carol came up and said that dinner had arrived so we all decided it was a great time to take a break. On the way downstairs, Dani and I started discussing whether or not it would better for everyone to stay here and help load the moving truck or for her to take 1 or 2 people and start packing up her stuff. It was quite the dilema for the 2 of us!! Apparently Carol and Micah had went out and gotten Chinese for everyone. We sat around the living room eating and just talking. The 2 moving guys were already moving boxes into the truck.
"Well, are we ready to get back to work?" Shawn exclaimed
"Yep. All that's needed is to break down my bed and we're done packing up." I said, smiling at the group
"We're going to head back to the hotel. Call us if you need anything!" Carol said, getting up to give me a hug
"Ok. We'll see you tomorrow, then." I replied hugging her back
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We asked the moving truck to follow us to Dani's house so that we could have all our stuff packed up and they could start the long journey to Iowa. It didn't take us but maybe an hour before we had all the stuff she wanted to take packed up. With one last look around her room, she shut her bedroom door and took the last box with her. The guys were all outside talking with the moving guys. Dani was having the same feelings I was about this. At the same time though I think she was excited.
We all stood and watched the moving truck take off down the street on the beginning of it's journey. Taking a deep breath there was nothing I could now! Suddenly I realized just how tired I was! We'd been going non-stop all day packing up. Paul was on the phone with the limo to pick us up from Dani's house to take us back to the hotel. Dani suddenly exclaimed that we had nowhere to stay. Corey was quick to point out we could stay with them. Then Joey said he insisted.
Once we made it back to the hotel we pretty much went to our own rooms. Carol had called Joey and said that her and her husband had rented a room for Dani and I and that the keys were waiting for us at the front desk. Since Corey and Jim were helping us with our bags, they stayed with us while everyone else went to their respective rooms. Having the key, Dani and I immediately went upstairs. All I really wanted was to soak in a nice, hot bubble bath and let the hot water relax my aching muscles.
"Here you go ladies!" Corey exclaimed as we entered our room
"Mmm, sleep!!" Dani laughed, throwing herself onto the right bed
"Mmmmm, hot bubble bath!" I said, laughing too
"A hot shower does sound really good right now." Jim replied
"Um, I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow then?" Dani asked, staring at Corey
"Yeah. Get some rest ladies, it's been a long day." Jim said, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a light hug
We watched the guys leave and sighed. She wanted to be with Corey but she was incredibly tired too. I looked at my friend funny when she started chuckling softly. She told me to go have my hot bubble bath and that she'd have a shower in the morning. Quickly slipping out of most of my clothes, except my unmentionables, I walked into the bathroom to run my bath. Once it was ready, I easily slipped into the tub.
The past 3 days have been unreal. I met my favorite band, have been hanging out with them, discovered I'm the younger sister of the drummer, am rapidly falling for one of the guitar players, and am moving to be closer to them. How fucking crazy is that?! Then there was my rapidly intensifying feelings for Jim. Although we haven't had any time to really get to know one another, I feel like we already know each other. Is that weird?
He is a very attractive man, there's no denying that!! But my attraction to him goes deeper than that. Man I gotta quit watching all those cheesy romance chick-flicks! Sighing, I temporarily slipped under water. A vision of Jim in the shower humming popped into my head as I resurfaced. The vision wasn't anything sexual or dirty. Just him, from the waist up, washing his hair and humming some tune I couldn't place. What the fuck made me think of that?! I must be even more exhausted, physically and emotionally, than I previous thought!
Opting to get out, I pulled the plug to the tub and reached for my towel. What would it be like to kiss him? What would it be like to have him? Is he gentle in bed? Does he like to take charge or let his woman take control? Suddenly standing at the foot of my bed I wondered how the hell I'd gotten here. As I fell onto my bed I let out a heavy sigh. Things were going to be different. I've got a new family, a new home, some new friends.
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"Lily? Lilianna... wake up Sweetness." I heard a soft voice whisper
"Mmmmm, sleep." I mumbled
"Lilianna... come have breakfast with me." I heard him whisper
"Come sleep with me." I replied, making him chuckle softly
"Lily? Lilianna, I can hear your tummy making noises. I want to spend some time with you before everyone else wakes up." He replied, softly stroking my cheek
I rolled onto my back, as I was on my right side facing the window, and looked up him. With the open window behind him, the light from the sunrise made him sort of glow. He smiled at me with an affectionate look before leaning down and placing his lips to mine. My heart fluttered at the contact. We pulled away when Dani started grumbling in her sleep. Smiling at the older man, I begrudgingly slipped out of bed and began looking through my bags to find something to wear. I decided on:
and 
I slipped into my combats, grabbed my messenger bag, and then quietly followed him into the hallway. It was about 7am and even though I wanted to spend time with Jim, I wanted sleep more right now. He promised me that after breakfast I could go back to sleep if I wanted, and that he just wanted to spend some alone time with me. In the elevator, Jim engulfed me in his arms and I leaned my head on his toned chest.
Breathing in his scent sent a wave of comfort and oddly a feeling of familiarity. His scent was calming and relaxing and I could most certaintly get used to his smell! Jim rested his head on top of mine while we waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. I could feel people staring at us, whether it was because they recognized Jim or not is unknown, and I couldn't care less. Let 'em stare! The elevator dinged and the doors opened up.
People piled off and scattered like ants. Jim draped his arm around my shoulder as we made our way to the hotel restaraunt. We were seated almost immediately and gave our drink orders. The whole restaraunt was quiet and seemed almost empty. Right after our waiter left with our drinks, Jim started talking.
"So, how are you going to decorate Joey's house?" He asked softly
"Probably the same way I decorated my room. I've always felt the most at ease in my little haven!" I quietly replied
"Sounds like you're gonna be incredibly busy." He replied with a sad tone
"Why do you sound so sad?" I asked sweetly
"Well, we have a week and a half left before we have to hit the road again and you probably won't be able to find much time to "hang out" once we get back to Des Moine." He replied, looking down
"Well, like you said, you guys only have a week and a half left. I'll have plenty of time to decorate and what-nots after you guys leave." I told him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze
"I would like to take you to my favorite restaraunt back home. And one of my favorite childhood places, if you'd like to go that is." He quietly said
"I'd love it if you would take me around your hometown! I'd really love to spend more time with you..... more than anything." I all but whispered
Breakfast went well. We had great conversation. Having my belly full and still pretty tired from yesterday, I wanted to go back to bed. Jim smiled warmly at me before asking if I was ready to head back upstairs. He suprisingly, well not really surprisingly as he is quite the gentleman, paid for my breakfast too before we made our way to the elevators. As we boarded he asked if I wanted to go to his room and actually looked a bit nervous! On the way up, we just stood in each other's arms awaiting to arrive on our floor.
Thankfully noone wanted to get on the elevator so this trip was really fast. The doors dinged and opened up. He ushered me to his room and then apologized for the state. Looking around I found his clothes were scattered everywhere and some of his "essentials" were strewn on the chest of drawers. The maid hadn't been by yet so his bed wasn't made. He took his shoes off and then slipped his shirt off. I followed suite, minus the shirt, and climbed into his bed.
He settled in next to me and then I snuggled up to him. Immediately he wrapped his arms around me as I laid my head on his chest. Jim once again rested his head on top of mine, seemingly making us even closer. The rythm of his heartbeat and the warmth of his body coupled with a full tummy lulled me to sleep a few short minutes later.
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