LUCY

by Danielle James

  I didn’t want to go through with it.

  Something felt wrong. Nothing about it felt playful. Eric was holding me too tightly. He was too intense. He kissed my neck and I tried to wiggle out of his grasp. “I don’t think we should do this, Eric. It’s not right.” Those were true words and not staged.

  “Don’t act like you don’t want this dick, Lucy. I know you’ve been flirting with me.”

  “Not really, I insult you around every corner, Erica.” He slapped my ass and I rolled my eyes. “Can I get up now?”

  “Nah. I like you here. My dick likes you here.” He held my jaw in his hand and pulled my face close to his. He was flawless. Not one scar or mark. No hair out of place. He was still creeping me out.

  He forced a kiss to my lips and I pulled back. “Eric, no.”

  “Stop bullshitting, Lucy. Open your goddamn legs like I know you want to.” He flipped me on my back and I slammed my thighs shut.

  “Eric, I’m serious. This isn’t happening. I know I play around a lot but I’m not playing right now.” I slid back into the corner of the couch but he yanked me closer and forced my legs open. I regretted having on a skirt. I regretted thinking this stupid ass scheme was a good idea. I regretted everything.

  “You don’t have to be playing. I’m not playing right now either. I want this pussy.” He unbuckled his belt and kissed my neck while I thrashed against him. “Stop fighting it, Lucy. You’re a messy little slut anyway. Give me what I want and I won’t tell Nora that you’re trying to fuck me.”

  “I’m not,” I squeaked.

  “That’s what I’ll tell her.” He hooked his fingers inside of my panties and worked them down around my thighs.

  “Stop!” I shrieked. Terror pulsed through me. I broke out in a sweat and tried in vain to push him off me. He was too solid and strong though. “Nora!” I shouted.

  “Oh, now you’re calling your sister? She’s sleeping, Lucy.”

  “No, I’m not, motherfucker.” A loud clank rang out and Eric tore himself away from me. I looked up to see Nora standing over him with a cast iron frying pan. Eric stumbled back, clutching his head. I stood up and looked at Nora with wide eyes.

  “You didn’t bring one for me, bitch?” I asked.

  “Sorry. Quick thinking.” I shrugged and hurled a heavy crystal picture frame at him.

  “Nora, your sister was trying to fuck me,” Eric slurred. Nora got him pretty good with that pan. I didn’t know how he was still standing. He wouldn’t be for long though.

  “Looks like you were trying to fuck her…against her will, Eric. Get out!”

  “No, I’m not leaving. This is my house. Lucy needs to leave.” He rested against the wall and that’s when I saw the bloody gash Nora opened up on his head.

  “I called Abel,” Nora whispered to me. “That’s what took so long. I would have been down here sooner.”

  “It’s okay, Sissy.” I kissed her cheek. In the next minute, the front door flew open and I heard Abel barge in. “We’re in here, Abel!” Nora shouted.

  “Abel, it wasn’t me. You know how Lucy is, right?” Eric still wasn’t unconscious. What the fuck? Abel looked like a madman. He didn’t hear a word Eric said because he was punching him in the face repeatedly.

  “You touched my little sister?” He grunted as his fist crashed down. I actually felt bad for Eric.

  Okay, I’m lying.

  I didn’t.

  It sounded nice though.

  “Okay, Abel, he’s out,” Nora shouted, rubbing Abel’s shoulders. He still hit Eric though. I knew I was the only one who could get him off so I walked over and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

  “It’s okay, Abel.” He stopped immediately. He turned to look at me and rushed me with a tight hug.

  “Are you okay, Luce?” He sighed.

  “I’m okay, Abel.” I buried my face in his neck and he gripped me tighter while tears rolled down my cheeks. We stayed like that for a long time until Nora nudged her way inside our hug circle.

  “Let me call the cops,” Abel said. I nodded and sat on Nora’s lap while she stroked my hair.

  “What happened, Luce?” She asked, kissing my neck.

  “I couldn’t do it, Nora. I wasn’t going to go through with it. Eric was way more intense than I expected. I didn’t have to do anything. He was all over me.”

  “Yeah, I saw that. I mean…what made you change your mind?”

  “I don’t know. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t want to fuck your man. It seemed cool at first when I was drunk but sober me didn’t agree.” Nora nodded and pulled my lips to hers.

  We shared a slow kiss. That felt right. I wrapped my arms around her neck and closed my eyes.

  “Um…girls?” Abel chuckled.

  “Sorry,” we laughed.

  “You two are going to be the death of me. Stop doing that.” It was always weird for Abel to see us make out. He didn’t think of Nora like that at all and she didn’t think of him in that way either. Seemed like I was the only common denominator for my siblings. They both loved me in ways they shouldn’t have but it didn’t apply outside of me.

  I looked at the clock on the wall and cursed, hopping off Nora’s lap.

  “I’m late!” I squeaked. I rushed out of the house, stepping over Eric’s passed out frame.

  “Hey, Hell Raiser, I’m staying the night here. I want Nora to feel safe.” I slowed down in my haste and looked over my shoulder at Abel. He hurried toward me but stopped short of a hug.

  “Okay, I guess I’ll see you when I get in.”

  “Yeah. I’ll call to check on you when you get off. I love you.”

  “I love you too…bro.” I saw the kiss he wanted to give me, swimming in his eyes but it hurt to look at so I unlocked the door and got in the car instead. Abel tapped the roof and I drove off. Shaking him was so fucking hard.

  **

  “You okay?” Hush asked quietly as I fumbled to tie my apron.

  “I’m fine. Lots of drama at Nora’s tonight. I’ll tell you when we get off.” He nodded and went about his work.

  “Luce, you’re never late.” Treasure frowned at me and pointed out a few customers that were looking for me.

  “I know, I know. Family drama.” I greeted my customers with a grin and started doing bottle tricks.

  “Table forty wants a flaming bottle,” she told me over the noise. I climbed up the ladder to grab a bottle of champagne and heard whistles from men at the bar. I rolled my eyes so they couldn’t see and slid back down the ladder, missing the last few rungs on purpose. A few people clapped and I blew them kisses.

  I was on fire like that the rest of the night and by the time I could take a break, I was more than ready for one. I hid in the break room and like clockwork my big giant came in, eating up the entire door frame with his bulk. I was happy to see him. I slid over so he could sit beside me, then I hugged him tight.

  “What’s wrong, Lucy?” He smoothed my hair back. I didn’t say anything I just clutched him. It was the first time I realized how much I liked him. He was so soothing for me.

  “I don’t want to talk about it here, Chase.”

  “Okay, you don’t have to.” He’d gone from turning into a statue when we hugged to turning into a teddy bear. He wrapped his arms around me tight and squeezed. It felt amazing. Like I could face anything.

  I didn’t know how much I needed that moment to recharge. Even fifteen minutes was better than nothing. When our break was over, I put on my happy face and went back out to the bar. Treasure eyed me curiously the entire night.

  When we finally shut things down, I asked her what she was looking at me like that for. She looked around to make sure we were alone then she leaned into me. “I saw you and Hush hugging in the break room.”

  “So? He’s my friend.”

  “Is that it?” She asked with a smirk.

  “Yes. That’s it.” I handed her a few empty bottles and she set them aside for Hush to pick up.

  “
When did that start? He never says more than two words, how can you be friends with someone like that? I always thought he was a retard. I feel bad for him.” Irrational anger surged through my veins and I felt a crackle of electricity spark inside my chest. I slammed an empty glass down, and it shattered in my grip.

  “Nothing is wrong with him, Treasure.”

  “Okay, God. Calm down, Lucy. You’re bleeding.” She rushed to get me a clean bar towel and wrapped my hand as scarlet soaked the terry cloth. “Are you okay?” She asked.

  “I’m fine. I hate when people call Hush a retard. He’s not. If anybody ever took the chance to get to know him they’d understand that.” I walked off cursing under my breath and thank goodness Treasure didn’t follow. I was in a pissy mood after hearing her insult my friend and slicing my hand on a glass.

  I stood in the break room, running water over my wound and watching the red-tinted water swirl down the drain. I cleaned my cut until it wasn’t actively bleeding anymore, then I found another clean towel to wrap it in.

  “Hey,” Hush’s deep voice startled me a bit.

  “Hey. You ready to clock out?” I asked. He frowned at my hand and shook his head at it. Usually, I clocked him out but that time, he clocked me out and motioned to the parking lot.

  “Wanna tell me what the fuck that was in there with Treasure?” He asked before I got into my car.

  “Tell you over fried fish.” I smiled and so did he.

  **

  We sat down in our usual booth and became Lucy and Chase, not Lucy and Hush. He took my hand in his and inspected it. “You need stitches.”

  “Not before I eat,” I protested.

  “You want an amputated hand. Fine.” I looked at him and a sliver of fear rippled through me. My hand wouldn’t really get amputated if I didn’t get it looked at right away, would it? I was too much of a punk to find out.

  “Okay. Let’s order it to go.”

  “Good girl,” Chase laughed. I bit my bottom lip and tried to ignore the pulsing between my thighs when he said that. I’d never ordered food so fast in my damn life.

  I rode with Chase to the ER and the nurse agreed with him that I definitely needed stitches. Five to be exact. It was a small cut but damn it was deep. I stared at it the entire drive back to his place.

  “What happened at work, Crazy?”

  “Well, weirdo, if you must know,” I sighed, “Treasure saw us in the break room hugging.” His sculpted forearms flexed then tensed. I stared at them. One resting on the gearshift, and the other on the steering wheel. I stared at the tattoos and the veins and every dark hair that curled against his ginger toned skin.

  “What did she say?” He asked.

  “She asked if we were just friends and I told her of course.” I hated how dry my mouth got each time I mentioned Chase and me were just friends. “Then she said some stupid shit that I didn’t agree with. It made me mad. Sometimes I fly off the handle when I’m mad.”

  “You fly off the handle all the time. You’re unpredictable but fragile.”

  “I’m not fragile,” I huffed, folding my arms.

  “Not fragile like a flower, Lucy. Fragile like a bomb. Fragile like the turn of the weather. Like how it goes from sunny outside to a tornado ripping up the ground. That’s how you’re fragile.”

  Air refused to leave my chest. It was caught there for a few seconds until my lungs burned and I had to exhale.

  “That was beautiful, Chase.”

  “That’s you…” I bit my lip to stop the smile from spreading any further across my face. He pulled into his complex and we sat there while he examined my stitches.

  “You don’t want to know what Treasure said?” I asked him.

  “Nah. What good would it do? It would piss me off. My energy is better spent elsewhere. Besides, nowhere in the universe is it cool to talk shit about someone for no reason. If Treasure doesn’t know that now, karma will teach her later.”

  I thought my heart would burst in my chest and rain down little pieces of confetti hearts. “That’s so fucking true, Chase.” We stared at each other for a few beats, then went inside. I tossed my bag in a chair and fell on the couch. I had to take pictures of my hand and send it to Nora and Abel.

  Me: Look what I did at work today.

  Twin: OMG Luce, are you okay?

  Me: I’m good now. Chase took me to get stitches.

  Nora texted back a picture of her hand. It was mottled and red in the same spot I had stitches.

  Me: Shit. Sorry, Sissy.

  Twin: It’s cool. Now I know why my hand was hurting out of nowhere. Be careful with our body, Luce LOL

  Abel: WTF? Do I need to beat someone’s ass again?

  Me: No, calm down. I cut my hand on some glass.

  Abel: Come home. Let me take care of you, Hell Raiser.

  My stomach knotted up and I glanced at Chase in the kitchen. He was busy heating up our food and getting us something to drink. Normally when Abel called, I came running but I couldn’t keep doing that.

  Me: I’m gonna stay with Hush.

  Abel: Oh…yeah. Okay, sis.

  Twin: Have fun, Luce. See you in the morning.

  I dropped the phone on the couch and shut my eyes. I was doing the right thing. The first step to falling out of love with Abel was to put distance between us. I went into the kitchen with Chase and sat on the counter.

  “You know I have perfectly good chairs you can sit on, right Lucy?”

  “I want to sit closer to you,” I confessed, swinging my legs. Even sitting on the counter, I wasn’t as tall as him. I reached out and rubbed the top of his head. His waves were so deep and shiny. I had to touch his hair. He looked up at me and smiled a little.

  I dragged my finger down his sideburn and then pulled my hand away quickly. “Sorry.” I let a sheepish grin creep across my face.

  “It’s cool, Lucy.” He handed me a plate and I took it, heading to his room instead of the couch. “Where are you headed, Crazy?”

  “I’m tired. Can we watch TV in here? Please, Weirdo?”

  “You sure the couch won’t work? You can stretch your legs out on me.”

  “Tempting, but no. I want to lie down.”

  “Okay but don’t hog my bed,” he warned.

  “When have you ever known me to hog anything?” I kicked off my shoes and went straight to his dresser for a shirt.

  “Um, Lucy…you’re hogging my space right now.”

  “I’m not. Hey, can I wear this blue shirt?”

  “Sure,” Chase chuckled.

  “Thanks, Weirdo.” I disappeared into the bathroom, took a shower, and got dressed in Chase’s shirt. It smelled like his laundry detergent and for some reason that meant everything to me.

  It was simple and mundane but it made me feel closer to him. I was a part of his mundane. I held the collar to my nose and inhaled before walking into the bedroom.

  Chase’s long legs were sprawled out on the bed and he’d taken off his shirt. It was sinful how good he looked in a tank top. Thick strokes of ink covered his shoulders and arms. I never got to see his tattoos at work because he usually wore long sleeves. I loved staring at them when I got the chance though.

  I liked staring at Chase.

  He was sexy.

  I hated thinking about him that way because we were friends but I couldn’t help it. His skin was reddish brown, like a gingersnap. Like clay soil. His cheekbones were high and chiseled and his lips…Jesus, those lips.

  “Are you gonna eat?” His voice snapped me out of my creepy staring trance and I nodded, climbing on the bed with him. “Let’s watch this Kevin Hart stand up,” he said clicking the remote.

  “Cool.” I snuggled up close to him and devoured my food.

  “Thank you for sticking up for me, Lucy.” His words were quiet but sincere and they tugged at my core.

  “With Treasure? No problem. I don’t like anyone talking shit about people I care about.”

  “You care about me?” He looked touc
hed.

  “Of course. Oh, and speaking of people I care about…” I slid my feet up and down his strong calves and toyed with the drawstring on his shorts while his fingers found their way deep into my hair. “Abel wants you to come to dinner. He wants to meet you.”

  “Me? Your brother wants to meet me? Why?”

  “Because you saved my life and he probably wants to scare you a little,” I laughed.

  “He knows we’re just friends, right?” It felt like someone sucked the air from me every time I had to admit we were only friends. Why though? I didn’t want a boyfriend. I did want a friend and that’s what Chase was. He was my friend. He happened to be sexy and funny and sweet. He happened to always open doors for me and let me wear his clothes when I didn’t have any.

  He was my friend.

  “Yeah. I told him,” I shrugged.

  “He must be possessive.” The word possessive in the same sentence with Abel when it came to me was too small. It didn’t encompass all that he was when it came to me.

  “Something like that.”

  “Should I go, or will I be walking into a trap?” Chase asked, twirling a lock of my hair around his finger.

  “He’ll behave. You’re a genuine guy, Chase.”

  “Okay. I’ll go for you, Crazy.” He touched the tip of my nose. The credits rolled on the stand up we were watching, turning the room darker, making it harder to avoid the fact that Chase was making my heart speed up.

  “Thank you, Chase.” I swallowed.

  “You’re welcome.” His eyes caressed my face and mine did the same to his. “You’re fucking beautiful, Lucy. I’m sorry, I know we’re friends but I can mention the fact that you’re gorgeous, right?” I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off my face. My stomach tensed and some feeling I couldn’t put my finger on, swelled in my chest. It swelled until it took over both of us.

  “Yeah. You’re gorgeous too, Chase,” I said, my voice feather soft.

  “Friends can say that.” He said, trying to convince himself more than me.