Un-Shattering Lucy (The Lucy & Harris Novella Series) (Volume 4) (21 page)

“But she didn’t say she was going anywhere.” Luca pushed his plate of half-eaten pizza away. “I talked to her yesterday and she didn’t say anything.”

“Maybe she didn’t know,” Lucy offered as an explanation as she scooted into the booth with him. “I’m sure she would’ve told you if she’d known.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Marcus waited until we were all settled before taking the end of the large booth. Jesse and Layla always made sure he felt like he was part of the family when they ate out. I knew for Lucy he was like another uncle and he loved her like she was his own. His role in her life wasn’t going to change, I’d make sure of that. He was the only one I trusted with her safety when I wasn’t around and I knew Jesse felt the same.

After dinner, Jesse took the boys to play in the arcade at the back of the pizza place and Layla turned to Lucy. “How’s studying going, baby?”

“I think I’ll pass tomorrow.” She picked up an extra straw that was lying on the table and started to tear off the paper wrapper on one end.

“That’s great.” Layla glanced over her shoulder to make sure the twins were out of sight, then turned back around. “Emmie has two doctors’ appointments set up for Monday morning. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

Surprised by her question, I glanced at Lucy. “I thought we were all going together?” If she thought I wasn’t going to be with her, she had lost her damn mind. I wasn’t going to let her do this on her own. I needed to be a part of it.

Lucy put the bare straw end into her mouth and turned her head to look at me. Blowing into the straw, the rest of the straw paper hit me on my cheek. With a grin she put the straw back on the table. “Don’t worry. You’re still coming. I just asked Mom and Dad to let me do this with just you.”

I instantly relaxed but saw that Layla was having trouble with this decision. “I know I reacted badly when you first told us, Lucy. I’m so sorry for that.”

“It’s okay, Mom. You reacted like any mother would.” Her smile was gone now and she gave Layla’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I just want to do this on my own.” Her eyes shot to mine and she gave me a smile. “Well, not completely alone. But Harris and I are a team. I just…” She grimaced. “I’m not explaining this right.”

Some of Layla’s tension started to fade and she turned her hand over to entwine her fingers with Lucy’s before reaching for my hand. “No. I get it.” Her fingers tightened around mine and for once I really got that Layla was happy Lucy and I were together.

She’d always been good to me, and had treated me like one of her own children, but I knew she hadn’t been happy about Lucy changing schools in the beginning. I knew she’d thought that it was my fault and she wasn’t far off the mark, but now she was relieved that Lucy was going to be closer to home.

“That’s how it is with me and your dad. I’ve always hoped you would find someone to share your life with like that, baby.” The smile she gave us right then was watery, but heartfelt. “I’m so glad you found him, Lucy, and that it’s Harris.”

She released Lucy’s hand and turned her full attention on me. “And if you hurt her, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born.”

I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, ma’am.”

Layla Thornton didn’t have anything to worry about, but fuck, she scared me almost more than Jesse did.

Chapter 23

Lucy

The doorbell ringing pulled me out of an exhausted sleep. Jerking awake, I sat up in bed, disoriented for a minute because I wasn’t sure where I was until my eyes focused on the bedroom. I was home, in my own room, with all the things that normally brought me comfort.

They hadn’t helped me sleep the night before, nor the night before that. Not any night since we’d all gotten back. I hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep since the last night I’d slept in my dorm room with Harris’s heat surrounding me. For the past week I’d sat up, playing with apps on my phone, writing a little, but mostly walking the floors until I fell into a restless sleep on the couch.

Each morning I’d woken up in my own bed, knowing my dad had put me there. He was worried about me; they all were. I was a little worried about me too. The urge to cut was growing stronger with each passing night. That need hadn’t stopped with telling everyone what was going on. If anything, it had only gotten worse. So far, I’d fought it.

I wasn’t sure how long I could continue fighting, though.

Harris was spending all his available time with me and I hated that I was taking him away from work. First Bass was his dream, one he’d made a reality, and I was keeping him away from that more often than not. I hated even more that he looked more exhausted than I did. He spent the daytime hours with me, then went in to work for a few hours and didn’t get to sleep until nearly three. That didn’t stop him from being in Malibu at nine to either pick me up for an appointment or just to spend the day with me.

After the appointment I’d had the day before—one with a doctor I actually liked and felt comfortable talking to—I’d asked him to sleep all day today. He needed the rest. Harris hadn’t liked it, but after I told him I would come in to the club to see him tonight, he’d relaxed and finally given in.

The doorbell rang again, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure it wasn’t Harris. He wouldn’t use the doorbell, though. Mom had given him his own key when we’d gotten home last Friday, and he’d been using it to let himself in all week.

Even from my room I could hear the pounding on the front door followed by whoever laying on the bell. It echoed through the house and I groaned, realizing that my parents and the twins must have been out of the house. A glance at the clock on my nightstand said it was just after eleven. Shit.

Tossing the covers back, I grabbed my robe and pulled it on over my T-shirt and boy-shorts as I hurried downstairs.

“Who is it?” I called as I got closer to the door.

They released the doorbell. “It’s Drake,” his deep voice assured me.

Frowning, I unlocked the door and pulled it open. Drake stood on the front step with a warm smile on his face and his arms open for a hug. I didn’t hesitate to give it to him. I hadn’t seen him in weeks. Months, really. He hadn’t come with Lana when she’d gone to D.C. with my parents and he hadn’t been with her when she’d stopped by to check on me the last few days. I knew that he knew about what was going on. Lana didn’t keep anything from him and I wouldn’t want her to.

Drake’s hug was warm and tight, making me feel safe and loved. When he pulled back, however, there was a glint of tears in his eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” I assured him. Even with the urge to cut, I really was okay. Mostly. I wanted to reassure him, though. Those tears were not something I liked seeing in his blue-gray eyes. Drake was one of my favorite people on the planet and I only wanted him to smile—not have that haunted look in his eyes that I could see trying to break through the peace I knew he’d fought so hard to find.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I started to step back and let him in. “Is Lana okay?”

“Angel is fine,” he said as he stepped inside and I closed the door. “Go get dressed. I want you to go somewhere with me. Okay?”

“But…”

He hugged me again. “Please? No questions. You’ll see when we get there.”

Curious, but trusting him nonetheless, I went back upstairs and quickly got dressed. Fifteen minutes later we were in Drake’s car and headed into the city. Because I was with Drake, I didn’t have to take Marcus with me, but I’d called him and asked him to meet me at First Bass later since I knew I’d probably be out with Drake all day.

It was nice to have some alone time with my brother-in-law. We rarely had time for just the two of us, so this was a special treat for me that I was going to savor.

I was surprised when he pulled into the garage at the apartment building. “What are we doing here? Is this the surprise?”

He shook his head. “This is a short pick-up.” He got out of the car and came around to open my door. I wasn’t sure if it was Lana who had taught him such good manners or Aunt Emmie over the years she’d taken care of all the Demon’s Wings guys, but it was adorable and I gladly took his hand when he offered it to me.

I knew where we were going as soon as we stepped into the elevator and he pressed the button. I’d only been to Harris and Jenna’s apartment a few times before in the past, but I still remembered which floor it was on. I also knew that Harris had moved out of their apartment into one on the same floor as Jace St. Charles.

Some of my pleasure at being with Drake evaporated. I didn’t know how to handle seeing his sister right now. We hadn’t talked in months and I still didn’t know where I stood on the whole Tessa-Harris-Jenna nightmare. I wanted to blame her, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t really her fault. She’d gotten clean and broken things off with Tessa. How could she have known what would happen afterward?

Still, I tensed as the elevator lifted. It paused in the lobby for a moment to let on a blonde in a baseball cap and an outfit that looked both expensive and trashy. I shot Drake a look and rolled my eyes at him, causing him to grin. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me against his side. The blonde didn’t even spare us a second glance as she stabbed the button for the floor she was getting off on.

I wasn’t surprised at the floor she was going to, but didn’t question it as the doors opened and let her off. Gray Knight was probably expecting company, or any number of other residents on that floor. Part of me wanted to jump off with her and go knock on Harris’s door, but he was probably still asleep and I had promised Drake I’d go with him.

“You can see the boy anytime,” Drake grumbled as the doors shut again.

“You read minds now?” I asked with a smirk.

“Baby-cakes, I’ve known you since you were six years old. I know you just as well as I know my own girls. Yeah, when it comes to Harris Cutter, I can read you loud and clear.” His arm tightened, a dark look passing over his eyes. “At least I thought I could.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip because I knew what he was thinking. “Don’t beat yourself up over that, Dray. Mom and Dad didn’t know. Harris didn’t even know. I hid it really well.”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Yeah.”

Thankfully the elevator came to a stop right then and we exited onto Jenna’s floor. Pulling me with him, Drake went down the hall to Jenna’s apartment and knocked. It opened a few seconds later, but I wasn’t expecting the beautiful little blonde who answered the door.

Seeing me, Angie’s face split into a welcoming smile. “Hey, stranger.”

I stepped forward to hug her. “Hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

She shrugged. “Jenna and I are good friends.” She waved us inside. “Jenna’s just getting ready. She shouldn’t be much longer.”

Drake nodded. “Thanks, Ang. I appreciate you helping me put this together.”

“What exactly is it, by the way? You still haven’t said.” Obviously my surprise was for both me and Jenna, but I couldn’t figure out what it could be. With Drake, it could be almost anything.

He shot me a wink. “And you won’t until we get there.”

I crossed my arms and huffed. “I don’t know why I love you.”

“Yeah you do.” He grinned.

My lips twitching with amusement, I rolled my eyes. “Yeah,” I admitted, “I do.”

One of the bedroom doors opened and Jenna walked out. I tried to keep my surprise at her appearance from showing on my face, but I wasn’t sure I was completely successful. Jenna had lost a lot of weight. More so than when she’d been getting high more often than not. She had dark shadows under her haunted blue-gray eyes, and her hair looked dry and lifeless.

That was all it took. That one look at her, and I knew she had more than paid for her part in what had happened to Harris. Any punishment I could have thought up wouldn’t have come close to how much she had been punishing herself. My anger with her disappeared and was replaced with compassion as I stepped forward without even thinking about it and hugged her.

Jenna’s thin body tensed at first. I knew she was still upset because she thought I was trying to turn Harris against her, but I’d try to fix that. After a long moment I heard her blow out a shuddery breath and her arms wrapped around me too. “It’s good to see you,” she murmured against my ear.

I pulled back enough to look up at her. “You too. I’m so sorry, Jen.”

She gave me a shaky smile. “Me too.”

Drake cleared his throat. “If you ladies are ready? We have an appointment in half an hour.”

Angie, still standing by the door, opened it. “You three have fun.”

Jenna grabbed her purse and keys and followed us out. As she passed Angie, the little blonde grasped her hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Call me later, okay?”

The look that crossed Jenna’s face was so intense I had to look away. Their friendship was closer than I realized and I was glad that Jenna had someone so kind in her life to help her.

The door closed behind us and Drake took each of our hands. “Angie wouldn’t say where we were going,” Jenna told her brother as we stepped into the elevator.

“He wouldn’t tell me either,” I assured her as the elevator started to lower.

“You’ll both have to wait and see. It’s not long now, so you can wait a little longer.”

Back in the car, Drake pulled out of the garage and into traffic. Jenna and I had both taken the back seat because I wanted to talk to her. I hadn’t seen her since January and I wanted to catch up.

There wasn’t much to catch up on, though. She hadn’t left her apartment in weeks. I quickly realized that Angie was her only connection to the outside world other than Shane and Drake, who visited her once a week. My heart hurt for her because I knew she was having such a hard time since her sister had stopped talking to her. When Jenna was younger, she and Natalie had been closer than any sisters I’d ever seen. Closer than even my relationship with Lana. The distance had first started when Natalie had given birth to Trinity, and only gotten worse over the years as Jenna had gone out to explore the world with her art. Since January, their relationship had become completely cut off.