Rekindled Love~ Julien Baker🖤

Chapter 1

A few years later...

It was Monday morning and Betty's alarm was going off loudly. Born To Die by Lana Del Rey was blaring through her room. It was 7 am, and Betty had work at the bookstore in an hour. She hit snooze, turning back over in bed.

Betty's alarm went off another two times. Each time she snoozed, covering her head with the pillow. Gracie had woken up to the first alarm and was listening for Betty to get up, but she didn't hear her movement. After sitting up in bed, Gracie rubbed the sleep from her eyes before heading next door to Betty's room.

"Betty?" Gracie said through the door. She softly knocked and waited for a response. But there was no response. Gracie sighed and opened the door to Betty's room.

Betty was still laying in bed with the covers pulled up, hair sprawled out on the bed and a pillow covering her face. Gracie laughed at the sight, moving closer to the bed.

"Come on sleepyhead. You have work soon." Gracie said, removing the pillow from Betty's head.

Betty groaned and opened her eyes slowly. Her eyes met Gracie's before she rubbed them and sat up.

"I just want to call in." Betty said tiredly.

Gracie cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "You feel sick?" She asked. Her voice was soft.

Betty shook her head. "No, I just don't want to go in today." She laid back on the bed dramatically, staring up at the ceiling.

"No, you are not starting your work week off like this. I'll go make you breakfast if you get up and get changed." Gracie said, eyeing her friend for a response.

Betty met Gracie's gaze and she sighed with a nod. "Fine."

Gracie smiled and nodded. "Good. You want a bagel?" She asked.

Betty nodded, finally sitting up with her feet dangling over the side of the bed. "That sounds good. Thanks, Grace." Betty said softly.

Gracie ruffled Betty's hair before leaving the room to let her friend change. She popped a bagel in the toaster and then worked on getting coffee for the two of them. The two of them were coffee addicts. They had an expensive espresso machine and a fancy coffeemaker. Though the two would still get Starbucks from time to time.

Betty choose a long floral skirt from her closet and paired it with a black long-sleeve shirt that she stole from Gracie's closet. She put a simple pair of stud earrings in her ears and put on a crap tone of rings. She wore mascara and a bit of lip-gloss before deciding she was happy with the way she looked. Her hair was pulled back with a claw clip, and she pulled her baby hair out in the front.

"Breakfast is ready." Gracie called from the kitchen.

Betty took one last glance in the mirror at herself before heading out into the kitchen. Gracie's head snapped in Betty's direction when she walked into the kitchen.

"Is that my shirt?" Gracie asked with a laugh. Betty shrugged and laughed.

"What's yours is mine." Betty said with a laugh before going to sit at the table.

Gracie shook her head and laughed "Touché."

Betty and Gracie had gotten an apartment together a few months after Julien had left Betty. Gracie knew that Betty was going to need her support and it worked out that the two girls were so close.

In the months following the breakup, Betty was a mess. Although Gracie tried to help Betty, it was hard having to watch her every move. Betty would have days where she seemed fine and then the next day, she would spend all day in bed. Betty's addiction spiraled out of control. She was hiding her alcohol use behind Gracie's back and drinking whenever she had the opportunity. Betty wasn't eating right and lost a lot of weight. Her sleeping pattern was also very irregular. Sleeping maybe 4 hours at most a night.

When Gracie found out how bad Betty's relapse was, she knew she had to commit Betty to get the help she desperately needed. The thought of losing her best friend to this addiction scared Gracie. She would stay up late at night to make sure Betty was sleeping and would try not to leave her alone for too long. Thankfully, the treatment Betty received, allowed her to get back onto the road to recovery. And now, five years later, Betty was doing a whole lot better. Sure, she still had some anxiety and struggled with depression, but she was sober from alcohol.

"What time do you work till today?" Gracie asked Betty as she sat down at the table, handing Betty her coffee and bagel.

"4." Betty said, starting to eat.

Gracie nodded. "Make sure you wear a coat out there today, it's cold."

It was January in New York, and the weather this time of year was shitty. Cold and windy, with snow here and there. It changed almost every day. Today it was a bit snowy and 30 degrees out. Maybe wearing a skirt wasn't too smart, but Betty was used to the cold. She grew up in Upstate New York but moved to NYC when she turned 18. That's where she went to college, and it made sense for her to find permeant residence there.

After Betty finished her food and washed her dishes, she walked over to the front closet to grab her long black winter coat and a pair of doc martens.

"I'll see you when I get out tonight." Betty said to Gracie as she turned to look at her.

Gracie was holding her coffee mug and she nodded. "Alright, I'll see you. Please don't slip on the ice."

Betty laughed and nodded. "I'll try not to."

After grabbing her bag with her essentials, Betty head out of the apartment to work. The second she opened the door to the outside, the cold air instantly hit her face. The walk was only about 10 minutes which wasn't too bad. Betty tried to walk a bit slower than usual, the snow was covering the sidewalks and it didn't seem like the salt that had been put down was doing much.

Betty had earbuds in her ears which were playing Lana Del Ray's Ultraviolence album. She kind of daydreamed on her way to work, almost missing the building. Once outside, she slipped her earbuds out and then headed inside. The bell on the top of the door rang as Betty walked inside to her job. Her coworker/ best friend Cory was fixing books on the shelf when she walked in. His head turned in her direction when he heard the bell.

"Surprised you're not late today." He said in a joking tone, while being serious.

Betty laughed. "You can thank Gracie for that." She said, as she headed towards the backroom to take off her coat and set down her bag.

The workday was pretty slow, and Betty found herself boredly playing on her phone. Sure, they weren't supposed to be on their phones longer than a quick text, but Betty didn't care. There wasn't anything to do, and she wasn't going to keep rearranging the books on the shelf.

Betty found herself looking through Instagram. She liked a few photos of her friends and people she followed before her recommended-to-follow popped up. Betty's eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she saw the account xboygeniusx recommended for her. She curiously clicked on the account seeing one photo.

The photo was three hands up in the air. The caption read that the band was dropping an album and three songs were out.

Betty's heart stopped for a moment. She hadn't listened to any of the band's music since the breakup. She didn't even listen to their solo music because it would be too painful. But something in her told her she needed to listen to this.

So, Betty said fuck it, and she pulled Boygenius up on her Spotify, and hit play on one of the singles, letting the music fill her ears.
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