Page 78 of Lucy and Her Wicked Three

Another concern over my weight and how I looked on camera, guised as good health. I don't need to eat pasta and bread everyday. But I'm going to enjoy the shit out of anything my men cook for me.

My life is too good to worry about what other people think of me.

I'm healthy. I'm happy. Correction, I'm so fucking happy, my heart feels like it could burst with emotion.

I love them. All of them.

Maybe my love for Noah and Silas is still growing, taking root, but it's just as real as what I feel for Mateo.

This here, this is my family. My life. My happy place.

Chapter 26

Silas

We almost had to draw straws to see who got to go with Lucy to meet up with the deranged psychopath who's been harassing my family. Mateo wanted to go, but all three of us vetoed him out, knowing he'd probably just get pissed off, start threatening right off the bat, and maybe make shit worse.

Then it was between me and Noah, but my guy's too sweet. I love him with every breath, but his kindness and tendency toward diplomacy is a little too much like Lucy, and we don't need two of them at this meeting letting the girl talk her way out of trouble.

So, Lucy and I, hand in hand, follow her friend Portia down the street to the bar Delaney agreed to meet us at. Tension waves off of Lucy as we walk, but as time has passed over the last few weeks, she's seemed more stable, calmer. I'm not saying sex is solving her problems, though I'd love to take credit for it. But she's changing, finding ways to let out some of that stress—some of it through sex, yes—but in other ways too. She's more open about the little things, and she doesn't feel the need to perform in front of us like she did with Matty all those months.

He feels like shit knowing more about what she was putting herself through. Not that she did all that for him, a lot of her obsession with perfection had to do with her videos and online persona, but he never got a chance to meet just Lucy, notinfluencer Lucy. I think she's finally coming around, realizing how high those walls were, when we first came into each other's lives.

Portia slows in front of a bar with no sign, but with large windows and a warm yellow glow emanating from within. I reach ahead of the women and hold open the door, following after Lucy, placing a hand on her lower back, to remind her I'm here, and I've got her, though we don't keep holding hands.

I recognize Delaney instantly. She's the same woman who stopped me outside Lucy's apartment all those weeks ago. She's talking into the camera, chatting away loudly, not giving a shit that there are other people around her trying to enjoy the low-key quiet atmosphere. It seems like a high-end bar, I'm surprised the bartenders aren't giving her shit for it.

Lucy catches my withering stare and smirks. "We had a deal with the owners, they'd hook us up with drinks and we tagged the bar in exchange. Delaney just…"

Lucy shrugs, but Portia pulls no punches. "But Delaney is a user and doesn't give a shit that she's disrupting an entire bar full of people." Then she huffs and strides forward. "Come on, let's get this shit show over with."

Lucy snorts but follows her friend. When Delaney sees us approaching, she smiles wide, saying goodbye to the camera, then turning to face us as we climb into the seats.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you guys came! Lucy-bear, I've missed you so much!"

Lucy gapes at Delaney. I shake my head, not sure what to make of her. Is she actually delusional? Or is she a manipulative asshole?

"Dude, you are a toxic piece of—"

Lucy slaps a hand over Portia's mouth. "What she means is, are you outta your dang mind?" Lucy's accent comes in hard, and I can't help but smile at my girl, loving when she getsfired up, making that southern twang come out just a little bit sharper.

"Okay, fine. I deserve that," Delaney rolls her eyes. Okay, manipulative asshole, then. Good to know. "Look, you wouldn't talk to me, and I figured, we weren't friends anymore anyway. It's not a big deal."

"Are you shitting me? You accused me of being emotionally abusive! You said I stole from you and that I was toxic and manipulative which, news flash, is exactly what you're doing!"

Before we roll too far off the tracks, since we're also supposed to be figuring out why she's sending creepy ass pictures of Matty, I try to interrupt the girls but they're building toward something big.

"Okay, well, fuck you. God! Everything's so easy for you. I shit talked you, and you still have over two million followers! You have the perfect life. I just needed a little help. I'mso sorryI used you to do it."

"You can't use sarcasm in an apology!"

"I wasn't really apologizing!"

"Yeah, obviously."

"Okay, look, I am sorry I used you to do it. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. But, as usual, you're un-fucking-scathed. You drop into a bucket of shit and come out smelling like roses. I don't get it."

Lucy rubs her temples, takes a deep inhale, but we're interrupted by the server. Delaney still has a drink, so Portia orders a martini. Lucy gets the same, and I ask for a beer.

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