Keeping Her (The Lexington Series Book 2) (5 page)

He looked back at Landon then me.
“Then why does he look like he’s about to kill me?” he asked pointing a finger
in Landon’s direction.

I shrugged again, “I have no clue,
but who cares? I don’t. And I really want some company tonight.” I told him
with a smile. Okay so I know I was pushing it but I was fucking angry.

“Lucy…” This was Nick.

I spun to face him and pointed an
accusing finger at him. “No! No you don’t Nick. You don’t get to talk to me.”
His jaw ticked and I knew I was pissing him off and well I don’t care. They
need to feel pissed. They need to feel a portion of what I’ve been feeling this
whole time.

“OK, this is getting a little tense.
I’ll come with you. Cool?” Dylan said seeming like he was trying to defuse the
situation.

I nodded and a chair scraped. I
looked over to see that Jasmine had moved her chair a little further away from
Landon at some point and he was standing up with his palms on the table. He was
giving me his death glare and I threw it right back. When he didn’t speak I
grabbed Dylan’s book and closed it to put it in his bag. He needed to come on
already because I really wanted out of here.

“Lucy, you walk away from this table
with him and somebody is going to need an ambulance.” He said so cold I
would’ve gotten a chill had I not been so angry. I flipped him off because he
wasn’t going to do shit. Then I looked at Dylan and sighed internally because I
couldn’t make the same guarantee for him.

“Lucy not right now.” Landon warned.

I still ignored him until he was
suddenly in my line of vision. He’d walked around the table over to where I was
standing. “This is what you want Lucy? You want to do this now?” he asked.

“Fuck you Landon.” I practically spat
at him. He nodded as if he made up his mind and the next thing I knew he had me
by the throat. He wasn’t squeezing and he wasn’t interfering with my air supply
but the position was just threatening. He walked me backwards until I felt the
table behind my legs. “Landon get off of me and leave me alone you ass.” I told
him.

“No.” he said simply then pushed me
back so that my back was on the table. Some of the people that were sitting at
his table had already moved to make space. I guess they weren’t sure what was
about to happen and truth be told neither did I. “You think this is fucking
funny Lucy? This is fucking cool to you huh?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not about you
mind your business.” I told him.

He bared his teeth. “It
is
my
fucking business Lucy. I don’t know how many times I have to go through this
shit with you. I’m giving you space letting you work up the nerve to come and
fucking talk but this shit you’ve been doing… it stops now. Do you understand
me?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No because you
don’t get to dictate shit. Now get the fuck off of me and
we’re
going to
my room to study. Just who the fuck do you think you are?” I spit back.

I heard one of the guys in the
background ask, “Aren’t you going to get him or something? He might hurt her
dude he looks pissed.”

I heard a sigh then Nick’s voice.
“Nope I tried to stop it
before
it happened but they’re both damn
stubborn. This is their shit and he’s not going to hurt her, at least not physically.”

“You want to fucking study with
somebody? Then come on let’s go fucking study Lucy.” He said letting me go and
backing up off me. I sat up and turned to leave. He caught up to me a few steps
after and tugged my arm. “Where are you running to now Lucy?” he asked.

I spun around and punched him in the
chest. When he didn’t flinch I punched him again until I reached up and slapped
him in the face hard. My chest was heaving and I was flushed. He bent down and
grabbed me throwing me over his shoulder. I fought with him for a few minutes
but it was no use so I just let everything relax. I’m going to need all the
fight I have soon enough. He carried me all the way to my door then put me down
so I could open it. I tried to open it a bit and slip in and lock him out but
he stuck his hand out and shoved the door so it opened all the way. I stomped
into my room and closed and locked the door. He didn’t knock or come in or make
any noise. After about 30 minutes I opened my door to check if he left because
I would need to lock up. He was sitting at the counter eating the leftover food
I made yesterday.

I sighed in frustration. “Are you
fucking kidding me right now?” I asked him.

He didn’t respond and just kept
eating. I stomped over to him. “Answer me. Why are you here?” I asked him.

He took another spoonful of rice and
took his time chewed slowly. I watched him expectantly. He took a large slow
drink of water and put the glass down. When he finished he met my eyes. “Are
you ready to talk?” he asked.

I sighed, “Talk about what?” I asked
him.

He shrugged and my anger grew to a
whole new level. “There’s nothing for us to talk about Landon! What do you want
from me?” I whined.

He threw the fork down angrily and it
bounced off the plate landing on the floor. He stood up and grabbed his bag and
left my room without another word. I stood there staring at the door for a few
minutes before locking it and going back to my room. We’re just getting worse
by the day. I was losing any hope that I had left in us.

Landon

We were heading back home today for
thanksgiving. It was in two days and we would get to stay until Sunday. Nick
and I decided to ride together. I haven’t seen or spoken to Lucy since I left
her room that night. Was she serious in thinking that we don’t have unresolved
issues that need to be discussed? That pissed me off so fucking much. I grabbed
my bag to head out to meet up with Nick, thank god he was driving. I walked out
my room and down the hall when I saw Dylan. I gave him a head nod in
acknowledgement and kept it moving. That dude is rubbing me in all the wrong
fucking ways. Something about him is setting off red flags and warning bells.
When I first got here he was a cool enough dude, which was until we earned our
spots on the team and I took his. He was a year ahead of me. He wasn’t happy
about it but he played it off like it was fine. I noticed he’s been watching me
a little too much for my liking ever since. I have a feeling he knows that I
have a thing for Lucy. He was there at the party and I saw him watching me when
she pissed me off. Then he asks her out and shit. He’s trying hard to be buddy
buddy with Nick. A lot of these guys don’t know that Nick and I are actually
related. We try to keep our private lives private. Most people think we know
each other because we used to play together like how we knew Ted. Until the
night when we were getting food I don’t think any of them even knew that we
knew Lucy. I tried to contain myself that day in the library but she pushed me
too fucking far. I didn’t want them to know that Lucy meant anything to me.
It’s always been a habit of mine to try to keep the people I care about
separate. I’m sure Dylan’s curiosity was peaked from that night. He was paying
close attention to both of our reactions and he tried to prod Lucy with
questions. Thankfully she was too pissed off at me to really give him anything;
either way there’s no hiding it now. I couldn’t wait to get home and get some
semblance of normal again.

Lucy’s and James cars were there when
we arrived. I was surprised she didn’t opt to stay with him. But then again
knowing her she probably is just going to avoid us. We went into the house and
Max charged us. I missed my little man. I’m not used to being away from him
like this and I know it’s different for him just being him and dad. His
enthusiasm showed how much he missed us. We went to say hi to James, dad, and
Samantha then went up to play with Max. He told us Lucy was there but asleep. I
don’t blame her. I was fucking beat from that long ass drive myself and I
wasn’t even behind the wheel. Erica and Mel arrived soon after Mel’s parents.
Lucy came downstairs about an hour after the girls arrived. She went off to
play with Max and ignored us completely. Whatever.

That night I was in my room going
fucking crazy. Knowing she was right there down the hall in a bed we slept in
together so many nights was fucking torture. I wanted so bad just to walk down
the hall and let myself in but something told me even if I tried the door would
be locked. Sure I could still get the other key and open it but I wouldn’t. I
was up all night watching TV because I couldn’t sleep. Eventually I turned off
the TV and imagined that first night I took her virginity and I jacked off to
the images. I fell out after that.

I got up the next day and went
downstairs. Everyone was already awake but Lucy and Max was gone. I looked at
the time and realized I slept through the whole morning. It was after 1 in the
afternoon. I walked to the stove and found a plate of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and
bacon there covered.

Erica walked into the kitchen.
“That’s yours everyone else already ate.” She told me walking to the fridge to
grab a soda.

I raised my brows, “what do you mean
this is mine?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes, “don’t play
stupid. You know what I mean. Since when did she ever cook and not feed
everyone?” she asked.

She had a point. Even when Lucy hates
my guts she still feeds me. I heated up the food and sat down to eat. “Where’s
Max?” I asked her.

She rolled her eyes. “Lucy is cooking
tomorrow so she needed to go buy stuff. Max wanted to go with her, you can
guess the rest.” She said.

I nodded. She was right Max gets
whatever he asks her for. She spoils him to death and he’s crazy about her. My seven
almost eight year old little brother looks at Lucy like a mother and a Disney
princess. But truth be told she treats him like a son. It frustrated me though
that she read through me. I knew if Max was gone he’d only be with one of us. I
knew he was with Lucy and I was fishing.

“Next time just come out and ask
about her you don’t need to use Max. When are you two going to stop being
assholes and patch shit up?” she asked bluntly.

I scoffed. “She’s the one that’s
given up. She’s done. She told me there wasn’t anything left for us to talk
about. If you ask me, I think there is nothing left to patch Erica.” I told
her.

She rolled her eyes. “You two make me
sick and get on my damn nerves. I should cut you both off until you come to
your senses.” She said with her words trailing behind her as she left the
kitchen. I finished my food and I was full. It’s rare that I’m full these days
but Lucy knows how to feed me. That pissed me off some. So what if I’m being
bitter I get to do that.

LUCY

We got back from shopping and we had
a ton of things with us. As usual I was going to be making a ton of food
tomorrow for thanksgiving. It was dark and dreary outside. There has been
warnings of a bad storm coming in so I made sure to get extra snacks and stuff
just in case we’re all stuck in the house for the entire visit. James and
Samantha won’t be here this year. Samantha’s parents are older and well their
time is limited. I told them that it would be ok with me if they spent
thanksgiving with them so they can ensure to have Christmas with us.

Me and Erica hung out in her room
watching a bunch of chick flicks doing anything but talking about boys. She
painted my nails and tried out different styles on my hair. This is just what I
needed. I ended up falling asleep in her room that night. I woke up super early
to start cooking because the menu was large and I was a one man army. I spent
the entire day in the kitchen cooking and everyone stayed mostly out of my way.
When dinner was ready I sent Max to spread the word and get everyone seated. Me
and Erica transferred all the food into bowls and things and took it to the
table. When everyone was seated we all made our plates and then we began to say
our thanks.

Max began. “I’m thankful for everyone
coming back home. It’s so quiet now that it’s just me and dad and now I have
more people to play with again. I’m thankful for my brothers Nick, Landon, and
my sister Erica, and my aunt and uncle James and Sammy, and sweet cheeks, and
my daddy, and my mom. I missed Lucy’s cooking it’s so good and my dad can’t
cook like this.” He said. I smiled. He first called me his mother our first
thanksgiving together two years ago. This would be my third being in this
family. It shocked the shit out of everyone but after a while everyone gave up
arguing with him. I noticed that he also referenced my biological dad and his
wife as his aunt and uncle. They became permanent fixtures in all of our lives
once he found out about me.

Nick went next, “I’m thankful for
family and being able to have this together. This is something that I can look
forward to every year. The holidays always seem to bring out the best in us and
well, some of our important moments happen at these times. I’m hoping that this
year proves the same. I’m thankful for having Lucy’s cooking again.” Dean
frowned in confusion and I arched my eyebrows. He actually fucking acknowledged
me. I laughed in my head, no he acknowledged the food. I’m sure they were
living off of takeout these days.

Landon followed. “I’m thankful to
being here and knowing that the people I love the most are always here. I’m
thankful for my family no matter how annoying.” He said shooting a look to
Erica who shrugged sheepishly. “I’m thankful for my dad keeping us altogether.”

It was Dean’s turn. “I’m thankful for
every one of you kids. This is a real family what we have and no matter what
you have to remember that. No matter how much you fight and argue, know at the
end of the day the people you love are the people you can depend on. Each one
of you brings something different and special to our family and not one of
those should ever be taken for granted. Appreciate each other and what you
have.” He said. I’m sure he’s addressing all of the tension he’s noticed
between us. Between the calls and us not knowing how each other were or how
we’ve been avoiding each other and not talking. It’s hard not to notice when
the normal dynamic in the house is us all loud and bantering with each other.
Dean is an observant guy. He watches and learns and says something only when
necessary.

I was next. “I’m thankful for James finding
me and bringing Sam with him. I’m thankful that he looked at my family as his
own without question. I’m thankful to Dean every day for choosing to take me in
even though there wasn’t a reason for him to do it. I’m thankful for actually
being able to look forward to having a real thanksgiving.” I didn’t meet anyone’s
eyes. I kept my head down. Erica went next but I tuned out until I saw Max lift
his fork and I began eating. I spent the entire dinner silent keeping my eyes
on my food. Once in a while I would look up at Max when he was speaking to me
but I avoided everyone else. When Dinner was done I took out the deserts I made
and went up to my room. Dean mentioned one of the clients he was trying to get
finally had an opening in their schedule to meet tomorrow. He was taking off
now and getting a room at a hotel close by the place so he could make it with
the storm. It was already raining cats and dogs outside.

It might’ve been an hour later when
someone opened my door without knocking. I looked up to see Nick. He came inside
and looked at me warily. I sat up and held his eyes. “Lucy?” was all he said in
question like he was asking if it was ok to be in here with me.

I nodded and some of the tension left
his body. He walked over to my bed and started to sit but hesitated and stood
back up. I sighed and moved over then patted the empty spot next to me. He took
the invitation and sat next to me leaning against the headboard. He just sat
there for a while and didn’t say anything. All you could hear was the angry
rain against the house and the howling of the wind, so I focused my attention
back to the TV.

After about thirty minutes I heard
Nick say, “why are you both so damn stubborn?” under his breath.

I turned to him startled. “What?” I
asked.

He sighed, “You and Landon. Why can’t
you two just put on your big boy pants and work this out. I can’t stand seeing
you both so damn miserable.” He told me.

I raised an eyebrow, “hey you weren’t
talking to me either.” I pointed out.

He glared at me. “Lucy yes I was mad
at you. But what did you do? You fucking ran away from me. You didn’t come talk
to me or anything. You know I’m here for you but you shut me the fuck out. How
am I supposed to feel about that? That shit hurt me. I thought we were more
than that Lu. We’re supposed to be family and family doesn’t do that shit. You
work it out. You didn’t even come seek me out when enough time has passed to
cool off. I was fucking hurting but watching you two like this hurts more. So
I’m man enough to put my pride away and reach out.”

I sighed and grabbed his hand. “You’re
right Nick but I couldn’t stand you being angry at me like that. I didn’t think
you would ever forgive me, either of you and I couldn’t face it so I didn’t. I
did what I could to avoid it. Nick, you know I love you no matter what but
sometimes I don’t know. I’m not good with confrontation. I know you see me and
Landon going to war but that’s because I’m angry and I can’t control it. I get
you guys were mad at me for what I did but you didn’t think I was hurting too
from the decision I made. That shit gutted me I didn’t
want
to do it. I
did what was necessary.” I explained.

“So why didn’t you just say that to
me? Am I that much of an asshole you felt that you couldn’t tell me your side
and I wouldn’t understand? That’s all I ever wanted Lucy, just to understand.
I’m not going to lie because regardless of your reasons it was still fucked up
to make that decision alone but it’s not like I wouldn’t rationalize. I was
hurt that I was kept out of the loop too. You knew I would make you talk to
Landon didn’t you? That’s why you didn’t want me to know? You do realize that
was the
right
thing to do don’t you?”

I nodded. “I know and I regret it
every day. But I knew he wouldn’t agree with me. He would fight me tooth and
nail. We can want anything but we have to be reasonable and I knew he wouldn’t
see reason. I thought that it wouldn’t hurt anyone else if it were just me. I
didn’t intend to hurt him and that’s another reason I didn’t want him to know.”

He reached out and grabbed me pulling
me into him. I fell into his embrace and wrapped my arms around him. “Nick I
miss this. I miss you. You have no idea how lonely I’ve been. Not just missing
Landon but you too. My life is dull and well even cooking for your greedy asses
made me happy. I thought I’d never have this again. Thank you.” I told him
honestly.

He sighed and kissed my hair. “Babe you’ll
always
have me. Remember that. Even if I’m mad at you you should never
feel lonely. You call me and I’ll come, always.” He reached down and put his
finger under my chin tipping my head up. “You’re my family and I’ll do anything
for you. Don’t ever do that shit again. If you need someone you don’t hesitate
to call me. I’ll come spoon you and grope you whenever you need me to ok?” he
asked. I giggled and nodded. “Now give me a big smooch for old time’s sake. I
haven’t had my hands on you in a while.” He said and waggled his eyebrows. I
smiled and sat up. I grabbed his face with both hands and placed a big sloppy
peck on his lips. He held me for a few more hours while we watched TV. When I
started dozing he got up and turned off the TV and the light. He placed a kiss
on my forehead and whispered, “Goodnight sleeping beauty,” before he left my
room.

I was in a deep sleep when I was woken
up by a noise. I tightened my eyes trying to bring the sleep back but it
wouldn’t come. I groaned when I realized it was my phone. It stopped ringing
and I smiled and tried to settle back into sleep when it went off again. I
growled and reached out to the nightstand feeling around for it. I refused to
open my eyes and be woken up fully. I found it just as it stopped ringing and
thought about forgetting it when it started right back up and I answered. I
moved my finger around the screen until I heard wind in the background.

“Hello” I answered.

“Lucy? Get up now it’s important.” My
eyes popped open it was James and his voice sounded weird. I turned my head to
the side to see that the clock said 3:29am.

“James? What’s wrong? It’s 3 in the
morning.” I asked him now fully awake. I sat up and my hands immediately
started to sweat from the anxiety taking over my entire body instantly.

“I need you all to get up and go to
Lexington General Hospital as soon as possible. I will meet you there, I’m
already driving.” He said.

My body began to shake, “James, what
happened? What’s going on?” I asked.

“I will see you when you get there.
You kids drive slow and safe. I can’t talk I’m driving and the weather is
horrible. I’ll see you shortly.” He said then disconnected.

I looked at the screen indicating the
call ended and I freaked out. I jumped out of my bed and ran down the hall and
into Landon’s room. “Landon? Landon wake up.”

I heard a groan and I ran over to his
bed. “Landon.” I said a little louder. He stirred but didn’t get up.

I got down on my knees on the edge of
the bed and began shaking him, “Landon wake up. I need you to wake up.” The
terror had fully taken hold and my body was shaking.

“Lucy?” he said still half asleep.

“Landon come on get up. I need you to
get up.” I almost cried.

His eyes opened and he looked at me.
He put his hand on my arm to stop me from shaking him and then frowned. He sat
up quickly almost knocking me off the bed. “What the hell happened? Why are you
shaking like that? What’s wrong Lucy?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know. James
just called me and said we all need to get to Lexington hospital now.” I told
him.

He frowned. “What happened?” he
asked.

“I don’t know Landon.” I admitted as
the first tear fell. “I don’t know but it’s important and I’m scared. I don’t
know what to do. But he said for us all to go he couldn’t talk because he was
driving and said it’s pretty crazy out there in this weather so he needed to
pay attention. He just said for us to come and drive safe.”

He pushed the covers back and got up.
“Go get dressed, wake up Erica and I’ll wake up Nick. I’m going to need you to
calm down some. We’re going to have to take Max with us and I don’t want to
scare him. He’s going to get scared if he sees you freaking out. Ok?” he asked.

I nodded and he shook his head. “No
Lucy, answer me. You’re going to calm down?” he asked.

“Yes Landon I will.” I told him.

He hugged me and whispered “It’s
going to be ok. Now let’s get there.”

We woke up Nick and Erica and
everyone was ready within 15 minutes. We decided not to wake Max and put his
shoes on him. I grabbed a small comforter you would use for a kids camping bed
and his jacket to make sure he’s warm. Landon carried him out and we made our
way to the hospital. The weather was horrible and Landon had to drive slowly
since you could barely see anything. You could feel the wind pushing the car
and I was shaking. Erica was sitting next to me and she had a death grip on my
hand. I was the only one visibly scared but you could see the wariness on
everyone. When we got there it took us a few minutes to find James in the ER.
He was pacing and he looked disheveled. Sam was there are her face was red and
her eyes bloodshot. I was confused as to why we were here.

Landon went up to him. “Hey James,
what’s going on?” he asked.

James shoulders dropped in defeat. He
nodded to Max, “let Sam take him and I’ll talk to the rest of you.” He said.
Landon was holding Max who was still out cold. I’m happy I grabbed the blanket
because it kept him from getting drenched like the rest of us. Landon walked
over and handed Max off. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and she gave him a
watery smile. She looked like a fucking train wreck if I’m being honest. When
he came back my dad asked around for an empty room for us to talk. When one of
the nurses began to say no he shot her a look that clearly said don’t fuck with
me and she immediately showed us to a room. When the door closed he turned to
us.