Friday Morning
Lexie:
"Sweetheart, it's time to get up." I'm gently shaken awake by my Mom at the ungodly hour that is three a.m.
The two of us have an early flight to Atlanta this morning and whilst I am filled with excitement, the whole waking up before the sun is less than ideal.
Yesterday evening in my therapy session with Olivia, she gave me the all clear to be able to go on this trip, but the same rules apply in Georgia as they do in California.
I'm not allowed to be left alone unless it's to shower, change or use the bathroom and I still keep up my sessions with her every Monday and Thursday, just over zoom now.
That and the fact that I have to eat at least two meals every day.
It's definitely been a challenge, but my motivation to be able to work and have alone time again is starting to outweigh the desire to have an empty stomach.
"I want more sleep," I groan, turning away from my Mom. "I know, honey, but we can't miss our flight. You've got a table read later this afternoon," she explains in a whisper.
Deciding to be stubborn and not move, Mom physically rolls me onto my back and pulls me up by the my wrists. "You're so mean," I whine, keeping my eyes closed.
"I've already made you coffee," she says, holding the mug under my nose, the strong smell causing me to open my eyes and take it from her. "Thank you," I manage a tired smile.
"You're welcome," she smiles softly. "Now stay there,
I'm gonna get your brush and braid your hair."
As she gets up to head into the bathroom, she almost trips on the mattress that's been on my bedroom floor all week, making me hold back a laugh as I try not to spit my coffee out.
She turns her head back to me and flips me off jokingly after seeing the grin resting on my lips.
The reason for the mattress being on my floor is because she's scared to sleep in a separate room to me just incase I tried to hurt myself, so she's decided to camp out in my bedroom instead.
The first night back from the hospital she even slept in my bed, but I kicked her off because that woman takes up so much of the blanket.
Once I've finished my coffee and she's braided my hair, I go off into my bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth and change into a tracksuit whilst Mom finishes packing up our suitcases.
The two of us said goodbye to Rose and Cosmo last night before they went to sleep, because otherwise Colin would be stuck with two very grumpy children if we'd chosen to wake them up before we left.
On our way to the airport, I was messaging Annie who apparently hadn't even gone to bed yet. She's very talkative for someone who's been awake for nearly twenty-four hours, but when we arrived I told her to go to sleep and as far as I'm aware, she crashed.
"Mom," I say, stopping in my tracks as we go to walk through the doors of the airport, dragging our suitcases with us. "What?" She frowns, turning back to look at me.
"I left my passport at home."
"You're flying domestically, you don't need it. You have your license in your purse though because you'll need some form of ID?"
Entering panic mode for a moment, I frantically search my purse until I finally find my drivers license. "Oh, thank god," I breathe, looking back up at her with a small smile.
She shakes her head, giggling before placing a hand on my back as we walk to the check-in and baggage drop area.
After making it through security and getting to the first class lounge, Mom and I order another coffee and for the first time in ages, I get a vanilla latte. I've been too scared to have them because of the extra sugar in the syrup, but baby steps.
Seven Hours Later
After a four hour flight and a long drive to the hotel we'll be staying in for the next couple of weeks, I dramatically collapsed onto my bed with a long sigh.
It has to be the biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in. It's practically an apartment. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full ass kitchen/living room area.
Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to unpack and make ourselves comfortable before I had to make my way to set.
Mom's going to drop me off and make sure I get to where I need to go before leaving me in the care of Lizzie and of course Reese, my chaperone.
She trusts Lizzie more though, especially after somewhat informing her of my current mental state (with my consent of course) so she's aware that I'm not allowed to be left by myself.
Once we arrived on set, Reese met up with us and showed us to my trailer which this time is between Aubrey and Lizzie's.
No, I'm still not prepared for the fact I'm going to be meeting Aubrey and Kathryn today. I don't actually know how one is supposed to prepare for that.
"Pipsqueak!" Lizzie comes running up to me excitedly as both Mom and I step out of my trailer.
"Lizzie!" I squeal, running into her arms as she lifts me up and spins me around. "I missed you," I state. "I missed you too, kiddo."
"Hey, Lizzie," Mom chimes in, giving her a quick hug too. "Hey Scarlett," she replies, pulling away with reassuring smile resting on her lips.
"She's safe with me, I promise."
"Uh hello, she's right here," I quirk an eyebrow, flicking the side of her head.
I know my Mom is nervous about leaving me, even if it's just for the next few hours whilst we have our table read. She doesn't have to say anything, I can just tell by her body language.
But, in this moment I feel safe and I know Lizzie is safe so I assure her of that too before giving her a cuddle and making my way to the green room with my aunt.
_________
this is shit