Call me Lucy: An Enemies to Lovers romance

by Rania Battany

  ‘He may have had his reasons for leaving, but they’ll never be good enough for me to accept. He hurt my mum. He hurt my sister …’

  Billy looked directly ahead, his gaze holding a fierce edge. ‘If I ever get married and have kids, I will never, and I mean never, hurt them the way he hurt us.’

  Billy’s raw protective streak set me alight with desire, and I slipped my naked body on top of his. I loved how passionately he cared about his family, how he would do anything to keep them safe. It made me feel safe to be with him.

  I leaned forward, and he smiled when my nipples touched his chest.

  ‘Will you do that thing to me again?’ I whispered, grazing his lips with mine, inhaling his breath deep into my lungs.

  ‘What thing?’ he replied with a knowing grin.

  ‘Lie between my legs. Fuck me.’

  ‘Do you really need to ask, Lucy?’

  Lucy.

  Rolling off him, I shifted onto my back. He taunted me with drawn-out, sensual kisses over every inch of my body before finally reaching for a condom. This time, he slid in and out of me with slow, deliberate thrusts. This time, he gave me something so much more than sex. I clutched on to him, to every time he whispered Lucy in my ear, holding it like it was the sweetest word I’d ever hear.

  I would tell him the truth about Meg.

  I would.

  But not while he was moving in and out of me like this.

  Right now, I needed to be his Lucy for a little while longer.

  17

  Her

  I remembered it was Sunday when Billy rolled over to kiss me good morning. He grinned at me as if he’d discovered a magical secret.

  ‘You talk in your sleep,’ he said.

  ‘What did I say?’

  ‘Something about needing to sharpen your pencil so you could get the lines right.’

  I smiled, relieved I hadn’t given anything away, but mostly just happy to have Billy’s deliciously warm and naked body close to mine.

  But he’d be leaving soon. He always left on a Sunday.

  ‘I might draw today,’ I told him.

  Apprehension flickered across his face. ‘So, no more seeing Tyler then?’

  ‘No. I said goodbye to him yesterday.’

  ‘Is that where you went every Sunday? To see him?’

  ‘Mostly. Sometimes I went to Railway Square on my own.’

  His brows creased. ‘Why?’

  ‘To watch the buses. I wanted to see where I got hit.’

  He nodded, looking deep in contemplation, and I continued. ‘I wanted to see where my whole life changed. And I imagined that by sitting there, I’d somehow remember who I was.’

  He caressed the side of my face. We both fell silent, and I nestled in closer until our naked chests touched.

  Billy cleared his throat. ‘Would you like to come with me today?’

  I sensed him hesitate, his offer making me uncomfortable. The last thing I needed was a pity invitation from him—from anyone.

  ‘Sunday is your thing,’ I said, not wanting to intrude on his plans.

  ‘It’s just lunch at my mum’s.’ He grinned as he brushed his fingers through my hair, and I thought perhaps I’d imagined his initial hesitation. ‘She wants to celebrate me going back to work on Wednesday. She thinks it’ll stop me from sulking.’

  Despite his smile, my stomach sank. Billy was going back to work in three days.

  I’d always said I’d be gone before he went back to work.

  And now that I knew who I was, there was no reason for me to stay.

  Now that I knew who I was, I needed to tell him the truth.

  After he discovered the truth about Meg, would he even want me around?

  ‘You okay?’ His voice brought me back to the moment.

  I stared into his concerned face and forced myself to nod. ‘If you don’t mind me joining you, I’d like to see your mum again.’

  I’d met her once, and only for a few minutes, but even in that brief time, she’d managed to leave a lasting impression. Billy’s mum was like the sun—warmth radiated from her in waves. And I could do with a little sunshine before I opened the floodgates of my past on Lillian and Billy.

  ‘I wouldn’t have asked if I minded you coming.’ A devilish grin swept across his face, and he groped my ass, pulling me on top of him. ‘Speaking of coming …’

  I laughed. We smelt like sleep and sweat and sex, and still, I could have spent the rest of the day in bed with him.

  Billy’s mum lived no more than ten minutes away in an older style but neatly presented brick house. We drove there in silence, with nothing but the monotonous drone of hip-hop music in the background.

  It was the sharp pain in my chest that kept me from talking. Unlike my other episodes, this pain didn’t leave me gasping for air. Instead, every inhale felt like a knife piercing through my heart.

  Billy’s affection toward me contradicted his tense shoulders and hesitant smile, making me feel utterly confused about whether he truly wanted me there or not. I studied him, his long, dark eyelashes and defined jawline. He hadn’t shaved for a few days, and his stubble had grown into a sexy-as-hell rugged look. I stared at his full lips, drawing the contours on an imaginary canvas in my mind. His lips had tasted most of my body, his mouth devouring me, feasting on me, kissing me.

  For the first time since my accident, I contemplated attending the appointments Lillian had organized for me. Now, looking at Billy, I thought perhaps I had found a reason to fix everything that was broken in me.

  We stood at his mum’s front door. There were so many cars parked in front of the house—in the driveway, on the footpath, down the road. Wild laughter and boisterous conversation echoed from inside, making me wonder just how many people had been invited to lunch.

  Billy was visibly tense now. I contemplated asking if he wanted me to walk back to his place, but he offered me the sweetest smile before I got the chance.

  Cupping my chin, he tilted my head up so I could meet his gaze. ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  I nodded.

  The conversations and laughter stopped the moment I walked into the room, all eyes landing on me as heads shot up. There must’ve been at least fifteen people, half in the living room, half seated outside beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, all staring at me.

  I sucked in a sharp breath, and the pain in my chest intensified. My shoulders began to droop, and I wanted so much to hide behind Billy.

  Lillian’s gaze caught mine, and her forehead creased with confusion. Her gaze then shot to Billy, and she glared at him with a fire I’d never seen burning from her before.

  The silence was too much. Having everyone stare at me was too much. The pain in my chest was too much.

  Billy’s mum broke the tension.

  ‘Lucyyyy!’ She squealed, clapping her hands, and cut across the living room toward me. She cupped my cheeks tightly and stared at me with her wide, round eyes. ‘Lucyyy! Oh, so happy you here.’

  She hugged me, squeezing me into her warm bosom, whispering something in her native language like she had the first time we met. Taking my hand, she led me further into the living room.

  ‘This is Lucy,’ she sang.

  Everyone yelled hello—even the people sitting outside—one on top of the other, so they all sounded like an out-of-key choir.

  I waved back.

  I’d never had that many people stare at me all at once.

  Lillian ran up beside me. ‘Are you feeling okay?’

  Obviously, she’d noticed how much I wanted to hide from all the curious eyes.

  I nodded.

  Looking behind me, I met Billy’s gaze as he stood against the kitchen bench. His expression was flat. But before I could wonder what it meant, someone else was talking to me.

  I turned to see Gabby.

  ‘Ah, Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.’

  Like Billy’s mum, Gabby wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug, but she also kissed me three times on my cheeks—l
eft, right, then left cheek again.

  ‘So nice to see you.’

  I smiled back at her, then edged out of her grip.

  When Billy had asked if I was ready to come inside, I couldn’t have possibly imagined that this was what he meant.

  Where was Billy?

  I looked around but was unable to find him. I looked for Lillian, too, and couldn’t find her, either. I crept to the edge of the room and stood in the furthest corner, away from everyone. Their conversations resumed, talking one on top of the other, walking in from and out to the outdoor entertainment area so that multiple conversations occurred in every direction.

  I spotted Leila outside, cradling a red wine, seated beside Jacob. Even on the weekend, when she wasn’t wearing her stiff corporate suit, she still seemed uptight. That was until Jacob kissed her. When he did that, Leila seemed to melt, her smile as wide and as beautiful as she was.

  ‘They cute, yes?’

  I jumped, clutching my hand to my chest.

  ‘Who is?’ I asked Gabby, who I hadn’t heard walk up beside me.

  ‘Leila and Jacob. They just got back together after long breakup.’

  I turned to look at Leila and saw the pure adoration in her eyes every time she gazed at Jacob. ‘You can tell.’

  ‘You met them before? At my café, no?’

  I nodded in confirmation.

  ‘You never came back to my café, Lucy.’

  My face contorted, revealing my embarrassment, but Gabby only laughed.

  ‘I just tease you,’ she said.

  Her eyes softened on me, and as her laughter eased to a small, genuine smile, she cupped my cheeks. Slowly, I was growing accustomed to Billy’s mum and Gabby touching me. Strangely, I didn’t mind it.

  ‘You very quiet girl,’ she said. ‘Not like us, we yell everything. Even when we just talking. Come, sit with me, and I tell you who everyone is.’

  She led me to the dining table. Sitting beside me, she proceeded to whisper, secretly pointing to everyone, telling me their names and a little about them.

  ‘Okay, Leila and Jacob you know. They were high school sweethearts for nine years. Broke up and now back together.’

  She nodded in the direction of the kitchen, where Billy’s mum stood, wearing a dark-blue apron and kneading the contents of a large bowl.

  ‘That is Lillian’s mum. Her mother and my mother friends from long time ago and they are like family to me. Everyone call her Helen, easier in English. I think maybe she is the best cook … other than me, of course.’

  Gabby’s lips broke into a wide smile, and I smiled with her. I still couldn’t see Billy or Lillian anywhere, and sitting with Gabby, hearing about Billy’s family, filled me with a warmth I couldn’t describe.

  Gabby peered through the glass doors to where a guy sat drinking a beer beside Jacob, and her olive cheeks flushed soft pink. ‘That is Charlie. He is a friend of Jacob.’

  Her words floated out in a heated whisper, and I eyed her with curiosity. Turning back, I studied Charlie. Unlike Jacob, who clearly worked an outdoor job, Charlie’s skin was nearly as pale as mine. His striking blue eyes glimmered in the sun’s reflection, and his white-blond hair was perfectly styled.

  ‘Do you like him?’ I asked.

  Her cheeks flushed a deeper red, and her eyes twinkled. ‘Nooooo. No. No. Okay. Maybe a little.’

  ‘Have you told him?’

  She shook her head. ‘Oh, no, no. Maybe he doesn’t like someone who doesn’t speak English good. He is Australian, like you and Jacob. But I wasn’t born here, not like Lillian and Leila. And I’m older than him by three years. Maybe he doesn’t like older woman.’

  I stared at Gabby, at her wide brown eyes, wild curly hair, curvy frame, and generous bust. Her beauty, like Lillian’s, extended so much further than her physical appearance, and I wondered how she could possibly imagine Charlie would mind that English was her second language.

  ‘I think you speak English just fine,’ I said. ‘And I think you’re beautiful.’

  She turned away from me, flushed with embarrassment, and whispered, ‘Thank you,’ although I felt she didn’t believe me.

  Why couldn’t she see how beautiful she was?

  Billy’s mum, Helen, called out to Gabby, requesting help preparing food in the kitchen. With a promise to return, Gabby left me at the table. I studied the living area, noticing the walls covered with family photos, mostly of Lillian and Billy. In the center of the living room wall, right above the television, hung a large generic painting of the Last Supper.

  To my relief, Lillian emerged from the hallway, Billy walking in behind her. His jaw was clenched, and he didn’t look at me, making my stomach sink and my heart drum with worry. He strode outside, grabbing a beer before dropping into a seat beside Charlie.

  Lillian sat beside me. ‘How are you?’

  She asked that the same way every time—her tone fraught with concern and her smile filled with warmth.

  ‘How are things with Billy?’

  Lying to Lillian now felt so much worse than before.

  ‘Good. Things are good. He treats me well.’

  She nodded. ‘Are you still drawing?’

  ‘I’ll never stop drawing. Have you seen Blake?’

  Her smile grew. ‘We’re not here to talk about me.’

  ‘You’re probably breaking his heart, you know. From the way he looks at you, I know that not having you will be torture for him.’

  She let out a soft laugh. ‘You wouldn’t think it, but he’s very shy. I think if anything were to happen, I’d need to drive it, and I’m not sure I’m ready.’

  ‘Is Billy holding you back? He gave Blake death stares those times he came around.’

  Lillian rolled her eyes. ‘I know, I saw. And I’m certain Blake saw, too. But I’m not hesitating because of Billy. Well, not mostly.’

  ‘Why doesn’t Billy like him?’ I asked, genuinely curious. From the little time we’d spent with Blake, he seemed like a nice enough guy.

  She rubbed her fingers along her brow in deep strokes. ‘It’s not Blake specifically that Billy has a problem with. It’s … you see, Billy’s worried I’ll make poor decisions that will lead to me getting hurt. You might not think it, but Billy cares—a lot. Sometimes too much. I don’t mind, because we look out for each other. We always have. Since we were kids.’ She laughed as if lost in a memory. ‘We argue all the time, but he’s my best friend, and if it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would’ve made it through this past year.’

  I lowered my gaze to the table, tracing the wood grain with my finger. ‘I know Billy cares a lot. I can see it.’

  Lillian’s tone shifted, now burdened with concern. ‘Are you sure you’re all right? You seem a little tired today.’

  I nodded. I couldn’t lie to her again with words.

  ‘Just so you remember, you have three appointments on Tuesday,’ she said. ‘I’ll swing past and pick you up, okay?’

  My name is Meg.

  I should have told her the truth then. Knowing my identity meant being able to access my medical records, something the doctors at the hospital probably needed to do. And I wanted to go to my appointments this time. I also wanted to tell her the truth. To tell them all the truth.

  But this was not the time. So I nodded instead, promising to reveal my identity to Lillian before my appointments on Tuesday.

  Helen called out, announcing lunch was ready, and everyone shuffled outside. Platter after platter of various finger foods, salads, rice, and meat covered the outdoor table, enough for a small army.

  An unexpected, searing pain sliced through the left side of my chest, and I sucked in a sudden breath. I lagged behind, struggling to stand straight, the pain so intense I found it difficult to walk.

  Gabby came up beside me, wrapping her arm around my waist. ‘You hungry?’ she asked, gesturing to the food.

  At the table, Helen and others set down the last of the cutlery and plates. Pride beamed in Gabby’s eyes
as everyone ogled the feast. But the ache piercing through me made the thought of eating unbearable.

  I nodded politely, then glanced at Billy, seeing that he and Gabby were smiling at each other.

  ‘Ah, Billy,’ she said with a hint of nostalgia. ‘I love Billy. I keep asking him to come to the café lately, but he say he so busy. I have a new friend working for me, and I think he will like her. Now, maybe because he go back to work, he might be happier. I will talk to him about her. I know my friend will take care of him like he take care of everyone.’

  I smiled and nodded as pain rippled through my chest with such intensity, it felt like a bullet had shot right through me. I couldn’t keep myself up, and I needed somewhere to hide. But just as I was about to shuffle inside, Billy’s mum took hold of my hand.

  She led me to the table. With my hand in hers, she announced, ‘We bless the food now,’ then lowered her head.

  Everyone bowed their heads—all except for Leila, who was on a phone call at the back of the garden.

  Helen chanted something in her native language. Behind me, Gabby sang in unison with her, word for word, a melodic prayer said quietly, deep reverence in their voices. Lillian’s eyes were closed, her head lowered, but she didn’t pray with them. Jacob and Charlie also had their eyes closed, silent meditation in their expression, and I gathered this was something they’d become accustomed to.

  Helen’s hand tightened around mine, and she whispered, ‘I prayed for you, too, Lucy. Not just the food, but for your memory.’

  Tears glazed my eyes and blurred my vision.

  I’d spent a lifetime being no one—a lifetime of never being noticed—and now, I finally accepted there was a reason for that.

  Meg did not belong here. Not with Billy. And not with his beautiful and loving family.

  I was way too broken for them, and Billy deserved someone better.

  18

  Him

  Lucy disappeared.

  Mum prayed over the food, then called everyone to eat like she usually did. Then Lucy bailed. I saw her sneaking into the house when everyone else was overstuffing their plates.