CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I’d been working late to close a deal so when I got off I was extremely happy and more than ready to crack into a beer. I never expected to see Lauren standing beside my car. I slowed in my stride and looked around for the hidden cameras. I hadn’t bothered to contact her since she told me we were over.
I didn’t like the way she looked at Lucy.
Even though I wasn’t fucking her anymore, she was still my little sister.
“What are you doing here?” I unlocked the door and tossed my briefcase in.
“Can we talk, Abel? Please?” Her brown eyes already looked ripe with tears.
“About what? You hate my sister. You think I want to fuck her.” I did but I was moving away from that. “You said we were through. Does that about sum it up, Lauren?”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?”
“But I’m sorry. I was hasty. Help me understand you and Lucy. I want to understand. I don’t want to lose you.” The tears were rolling and they were fat and fast.
“Lauren, I’ve been in that fucking office for eleven hours working on a media package complete with video. I don’t feel like dealing with bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. Can we go to dinner? My treat?” She sniffled and smiled through the tears. I looked down at my watch to see Lucy calling me and I tapped decline. I had to.
“I’m tired,” I said.
“I know. It won’t take long.” I nodded, reluctantly and told her I’d follow her in my car. I didn’t want to be held captive by her crying. We drove a short distance to a quiet restaurant that didn’t have many people inside but they did have an imported beer menu.
“Abel, I want to give us a shot. A real one,” I looked at Lauren and clasped my hands together.
“Okay, then how are we going to rectify this Lucy situation? She’s not going anywhere and I’m not going to stop being around her. She’s a part of my life.” I lowered my brows on my forehead and waited for her answer.
“I can steer clear of her. It seems like that’s the only solution.”
“Can you try to be nice to her? She feels like you judge her around every corner and I’d have to agree.”
“I can’t be nice to someone who doesn’t like me. How does that work? She’s physically assaulted me twice, Abel. You act like that means nothing. She hit me in the face with a glass, she hit me in the face repeatedly, and she dragged me across the room by my hair! I had two clumps of hair come out after that,” she hissed.
Damn. Luce fucked her up.
“Then maybe that’s a sign that we shouldn’t be together, Lauren. I don’t know what else to do. I’m not going to cut my sister off.”
“All I hear you saying is that you won’t protect me. You won’t do anything to stop Lucy because you’re blind when it comes to her.”
“Maybe I am a little blind when it comes to her but I can’t control her. She’s a grown woman. So are you. I’m not going to police two grown women. If you two can’t get along then…”
“Then you’ll just throw your hands up and say fuck it, huh?” There were the tears again. I was tired of hearing and seeing them, honestly.
“You did that for me, Lauren. You said we were through so I’m agreeing. The only way through this is for you and Luce to magically be okay with each other. Besides that, it’s too sticky of a situation for me to lend my energy to at this point. Maybe I’ll find someone who gets along with Lucy.” I took a drink of beer and set the glass on the table with a thud.
“Do you hear yourself, Abel? You’re structuring your entire life around your sister. You don’t see how unhealthy that is?”
“Yes. I do. I’m trying to step away from it,” I gritted out.
“Well, start by giving our relationship a chance. If you’re making your own decisions then what Lucy thinks shouldn’t matter. All I want to know is…do you love me, Abel?” I had to think long and hard about her question. It wasn’t light. Finally, I looked at her and nodded.
“I love you, Lauren.” It wasn’t passionate but it was love. It wasn’t Lucy but it was love.
“Then we can make it work. See how simple things are when you take Lucy out of the equation? We’re two people that love each other. The end. We should be able to be together without a bunch of drama in the middle.” She was right but something about her words felt wrong. Lucy never acted viciously without reason but she also didn’t think straight when it came to me.
The more beer I drank, the more visions of her tight little body pumped through my mind. I had to stop. I looked at Lauren, desperate for a way to get Lucy off my mind and nodded. “Let’s give it another shot. The last shot though, Lauren. If things don’t work out this time then we’re done.”
“Okay. I can work with that. I’ll try to work with Lucy whenever she’s around but I’m going to keep my distance from her.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” I glanced at my wrist and saw Lucy’s face pop up. She was calling again. “Thank you for the dinner, Lauren. I’m gonna go home and go to sleep. Tomorrow…you wanna stay the night at my place?”
“Absolutely,” she grinned. She stood when I did and I gave her a kiss before slipping a hundred dollar bill in her palm to pay for dinner. “Abel, I would have covered it.”
“You know I’d never let you.” I winked and walked out. By the time I got to my car, Nora was calling. I finally answered the phone.
“Luce is wondering where you are. She’s being crazy,” Nora sighed. “She thinks you’re ignoring her for Lauren.” How the fuck did she do that? I had to look over my shoulder to make sure Lucy wasn’t stalking me.
“I’m gonna call her when I get in the house.”
“Abel, you weren’t with Lauren, were you?” Nora’s breath hitched in her throat as she waited for my answer.
“Yeah, I was.” I pulled off and headed home.
“Jesus. You know Lucy has a sixth sense about shit like that. Why were you with her? I thought she said you two were done.”
“She did. Then when I got off work today she was waiting at my car. She wanted to talk, so I heard her out.”
“Abel,” Nora groaned. “Come on now. Lauren’s rubbing me the wrong way at this point. Not to say that you and Luce are in the clear because…you’re not.” I could tell by the tone of her voice she knew something was going on with me and Lucy. “I think Lauren is…she’s…” Nora fought to find her words.
“I know she’s not a perfect fit for me but who’s a perfect fit for anyone these days?”
“You’re grasping at straws.”
“Maybe. I am,” I shrugged, pulling into my driveway.
“You are. There’s no maybe. Be careful, Abel. You know how it goes when Luce doesn’t like someone.”
“I know…my little hell raiser.”
“Yeah, she’s gonna raise hell alright. You better talk to her if you’re planning to really move forward with Lauren. I’ll support your decision but I don’t like it. It ruffles my feathers.”
“I hear you, sis. I’ll be careful,” I assured her.
“Okay. Love you, Abel.”
“I love you too.”
“Call Lucy, please.”
“I will.” I hung up and went into the house. I was beat. I trudged up the steps and came out of my work clothes then I sat on the bed and called Lucy. I heard a faint ringing in the guest room and I followed the sound until I was standing face to face with a pair of copper eyes.
“What. The. Fuck.” I hung up and folded my arms.
“You wouldn’t answer me,” she shrugged and then hugged me.
“So you break into my house? Fucking nut job.” I sat on the bed and she sat beside me but I could tell she wanted to sit on my lap. I wanted her there.
“Whatever. How was your date with Lauren?”
“It wasn’t a date. Wait…” I looked at her and scowled. Maybe she was stalking me. “Lucy, how did you know I was with Lauren?” She held out a second phone. Nora’s phone. I may have been able to pick the girls apart when I was looking at them but they also sounded identical and that was impossible to tell apart.
Shit.
I’d been talking to Lucy the entire time I drove home, thinking it was Nora.
“Why do you have Nora’s phone?” I snatched it from her and looked it over to make sure it really was our sister’s phone.
It was.
“Don’t worry about it. She knows I have it.”
“Well, you already know I’m making it work with Lauren then.”
“It’s stupid, but okay. Like I said, I’ll support you but don’t ever think for a minute that I’ll like her or respect her. She’s a fucking bird, Abel. She doesn’t love you. She loves what you represent.
She looks like she can spot a good man from a mile away. Mark my words; she’s going to attach herself to you. She knows you’re going places and she wants to go too. If she can’t ride your coattails then she’s stuck being a fucking secretary.”
“Lucy, if not her, then who?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Just not her. You’re so handsome and brilliant, Abel. Any girl in the world, besides Lauren, would be lucky to have you.” She touched my face then pulled her hand away quickly. It was still dangerous for us to touch or be alone.
“Maybe I’m comfortable with her.”
“Maybe she’s trash.”
“Lucy…”
“I’m sorry. Comfort zones are pretty but nothing ever grows inside them. That wasn’t a euphemism for Lauren being pretty by the way. She looks like a fucking cockatoo.” I shut my eyes and massaged the bridge of my nose.
“Lucy…stop. You have to be in my corner if this is going to work.”
“Okay, okay. Keep her away from me though.”
“So, don’t invite you over?” I smirked.
“Oh…invite me over. I won’t come but invite me anyway. I want the opportunity to turn you down.” She stood up and walked out of the room like the conversation had long since ended.
“Where are you going? You wanna hang around and watch some movies?” I grabbed her hand and she looked down with sad eyes and a smile. She dropped my grip and shook her head.
“You know I can’t, Abel. We’d end up making love. I’d end up spilling my soul to you and we’d start the cycle all over again.”
“You’re right,” I cleared my throat and nodded.
“Besides, I promised a friend I’d hang out with him tonight.” Him? Did she say…him?
“Who’s this friend?” I quizzed, my hackles rising.
“A guy from work. The one that saved me.” Her face lit up when she talked about him and I felt it like a gut punch. She was happy. Maybe that’s what she meant when she said I wasn’t happy and if I were then she’d never interfere.
The look in her eyes told me she was happy.
“He’s just a friend?” I asked, clarifying.
“Yeah, absolutely. He doesn’t even look at me like that. He’s…different.” She shrugged with a smile that threatened to split her cute face in two.
“Is he gay?” I asked her.
“No, Abel.”
“Then how do you know he only wants to be your friend?”
“Because I know. He’s not thinking about having a girlfriend and I’m not thinking about a man right now so stop prodding.”
“He makes you happy though?” I leaned against the wall and studied her face for truth even though I didn’t need to. The answer was clear as a bell and it was written all over her. This guy made her happy.
“Yeah. Hanging out with him is fun and I promised him I wouldn’t drink all week and he promised me we could hang out. He doesn’t have any friends and he barely speaks at work but when we hang out…he comes alive.” The dreamy tone of her voice was bittersweet.
“Wait…did you say you’re not drinking for an entire week?” I laughed in disbelief.
“That’s what I said,” Lucy grumbled.
“Okay, well it’s settled, invite him over for dinner. I want to meet him.”
“Abel, why? He’s just a friend.”
“I can’t remember the last time you had a friend. Plus if he saved you from that prick at your job I want to thank him. What’s his name?”
“Hush,” she said blushing slightly.
“Hush? Are you telling me to shut up or is that the dude’s name?”
“It’s his nickname. That’s what everyone calls him.”
“What’s his real name? I’m not calling him Hush.”
“He’ll have to tell you. I can’t. He doesn’t tell many people his real name. Oh and trust me, when you see him, you’ll call him whatever he tells you to. He shoots over your head by a good four inches…and you’re tall, Abel.” I was six-four easily so this guy had to be six-eight. Shit. Maybe playing the bully big brother role wouldn’t go over well if she was friends with a goddamn mountain.
“Invite him over, Hell Raiser. I’d like to thank him.”
“Okay, I’ll see what he says.” Before she left, Lucy turned to me and hopped into my arms. “I love you so much,” she said in my ear.
“I love you too, Luce.”
“Still hate Carmen the bird though.”
“Bye, Hell Raiser.” I shoved her out and closed the door. I watched to see where she parked and saw her walk around the corner and out of my line of sight. Sneaky ass.
**