Page 23 of Searching for Sadie (Mystic Falls #5)

SADIE

T he sun shone on Sadie's face as her eyes blinked open.

The moment her eyes opened a fuzzy orange head butted her before it started purring loudly and kneading her chest. With a yawn she reached for her phone.

Her notifications were out of control, just like they had been for the past two weeks since she turned her social media back to public.

They had made her turn on social media, but she was not participating.

"Can you believe I'm going to meet Liam James today?" she asked George as she scratched him behind his ears.

The cat just meowed before sinking his teeth into the palm of her hand.

"Hey, what was that for you little monster?"

He hopped off the bed and made his way to the door before turning to meow at her.

"Okay," she groaned as she threw off the covers. "Let's go feed you."

As she made her way to the kitchen to open a can of cat food, she was trying to sort through the mess of emotions she was feeling.

First, she was meeting Liam James today. He was one of the best song writers out there, and on top of that he was electric on stage. This was a huge deal, and she was going to get to see his private state of the art music studio. That was a dream come true.

But... she was also going to watch the first couple episodes of Before First Sight. That thought set a boulder in her gut. These would be the first four episodes. These would be her falling in love... or at least she thought she had been falling in love.

When she was busy in this charming little town it was easy to forget what she'd left behind when she came here.

As she was about ready to go there was a knock at the door. She smiled as she thought about her handsome neighbor, hoping it was him. She was just out of the shower and getting ready for work, but she still found herself flying down her stairs anxious to see him.

She stopped by the mirror at the door and checked herself, smoothing her damp hair, she opened the door, ready to fling herself at him for a kiss... only to stop short.

It wasn't him.

"Mom. What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you. You haven't been answering your phone."

She closed her eyes and blew out a breath, deflating right here on the spot.

"I'm worried about you Sadie."

"Don't be. I'm fine."

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," she said as she opened the door and let her in.

Her mother followed in behind her before shutting the door. "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit."

"How long have you been here?"

"Your father had a work conference in Glendale, and I tagged along so I could come and see you."

Sadie stopped for a moment and took in her mother.

The concern was written all over her face.

The guilt of hiding from her started to creep in.

Her mother had always been kind and supporting, but everything was always swept under the rug.

So much of her life had been about her sister, but then her sister took all of them for granted.

It was a breeding ground for resentment.

While it may not be fair, it was there. Her parents just wanted to believe everything was fine instead of dealing with any of the issues.

"I'm kind of surprised you haven't changed anything," her mom said as she picked up a precious moment figurine that looked like a little angelic Dolly Parton.

"I know, I just couldn't bring myself to change anything. It feels weird... Do you want some coffee?"

"Sure," she said as she stopped to look at all the pictures that still lined the mantle.

Sadie turned and made her way to the kitchen. This was not how she was expecting her morning to begin. She put her hands on the counter and blew out a breath before getting a mug down from the cupboard.

As she was pouring the coffee the patio door slid open and she gave a surprised squeal as strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Good morning, Songbird."

She turned, beaming up at him.

"Oh," her mother sounded from the doorway.

Lucas dropped her and turned to the woman with surprise covering her face.

"Mom, this is Lucas. He's my neighbor."

"It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Dade," he said with an outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you. Did you know Aunt Rosemary?"

He gave the warm smile Sadie had come to associate with him. "I did. I lived next to her for a few years before we lost her, but me and my brother's all took piano lessons from her growing up."

"Aww, well isn't that nice," her mother said, putting her hand over her heart.

"She was a wonderful woman," Lucas said.

"She really was."

He cleared his throat. "I was just stopping by to see if you needed a ride to work. I'll be driving by there on my way to an estimate."

Glancing at the clock on the microwave, she had to be at work in an hour. "No, I'll be fine. Thanks for checking though."

“Okay... Well, then I'll see you later,” he said before turning to her mother. “It was nice to meet you,” he said before heading out the back door.

Sadie turned before her mother had a chance to give her the look she knew was on her face. She got her cup of coffee from the counter and braced herself to turn around and give it to her.

And there it was. The knowing smirk she knew would be there. "So, Lucas?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, he's my neighbor."

"Your neighbor who lets himself in and hugs you," she said with eyebrows high enough they were in danger of leaving her face entirely.

Sadie just looked at her, not wanting to really engage with any of this.

"And did he say you have a job?" she asked.

"I do. I'm just waiting tables at the diner in town."

"Oh well, that's nice. And you have to work today?"

"I do."

"Do you have any time today to talk? I really do want to talk to you?" The sincerity in her mother's voice was palpable.

Sadie sighed as she rested her hip against the counter. "Today is busy, but I'm free tomorrow. When are you guys leaving?"

"It's a three-day conference. So, dad will be working, but I'll come over late morning, if that works for you."

Sadie chewed on her lip and nodded. "That works."

"I love you, Sadie Lynn," her mom said with a pain in her eyes Sadie didn't quite know what to do with.

"I love you too."

"Okay, well, I'll let you get ready for your shift, and I'll see you tomorrow," she said before pulling her into a hug.

"Yep, that sounds good."

The rest of the day Sadie spent in a daze. All through her shift her mind kept going where it so often did. Lucas. She should be ashamed of how quickly her shift at the diner passed with thoughts of Lucas alone. Even with the sudden appearance of her mother, she was still content.

But as the day went on, the excitement of meeting Liam James had started to overtake her.

She found herself living in this limbo of being unable to believe her life was so good, between Lucas and she was literally driving to meet Liam James, one of the top artists of her lifetime.

But she was driving there to watch the first couple episodes of her on a reality show that had ruined her life. It was a head trip to say the least.

She pulled up to what can only be called an estate, but even still, it looked homey for someone with as much money as Liam James. The dichotomy of life reared its head again when she knocked on the big door, expecting a housekeeper or someone, but instead it was Lexi.

She liked Lexi a lot when they met at book club. She liked all the women that she'd met that day but there was something about Lexi that pulled her in. She had a really laid-back energy without being aloof, which was hard to do.

"Hi Sadie, come in. We are all getting settled in the back room. We're still waiting on Poppy, but that's nothing new."

They made it into a grand foyer with a large stairway on one side and a living room on the other with a beautiful grand piano Sadie would love to play. While guitar was her preferred instrument, she did love to play the piano as well.

"Right this way," she said as she led her down the hallway beside the staircase until they came to a couple stairs leading down into a less formal sitting area. Hannah and Kate were already there.

"Hey," they both greeted her.

"Hi," she said, fighting her nerves.

"How are you feeling?" Hannah asked, picking up on her reticence.

"Honestly, I'm a little scared. This show wasn't a good experience."

"Well, come sit with us, we have all the wine and chocolate you need to get through it," Kate said as she patted the seat next to her.

"Before we get started, did you want to see Liam's studio? He's down working, but I told him you wanted to see it."

Her heart fluttered with excitement. She didn't know if she was more excited to meet Liam or see his studio.

"Yeah, I would love to see it."

"Follow me," she said as Lexi opened a door on the other side of the room that led down a soft carpeted staircase.

The sound of a softly strumming guitar filtered up the stairs and her legs were having to work doubly hard to hold her up. As they turned the corner, Liam was kicked back in a chair, looking effortlessly cool, strumming the guitar.

"Hey babe, this is Sadie who I was telling you about."

Liam turned around and greeted them with his famous smile. Saide took a deep breath and reminded herself to be a person. She'd met famous people before... given none of them as famous as Liam James, but she could do this.

He stood and walked over to them and reached out a hand. "Hi, I'm Liam."

"It's nice to meet you," she said, quite impressed with herself that she'd gotten it out that coolly.

"I'm gonna head back up the stairs. I think the food is almost ready," Lexi said.

"Okay, I'll be up in a bit," he said as he looked at her with so much love in his eyes before giving her a quick kiss.

"Lexi told me you used to work for Neon Mountain Records," he said.

"I did. I was an assistant producer there for a couple years."

"Do you want to see the board?" he asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, I do."