Page 42 of Lucy and Her Wicked Three

Noah

Silas and I do our best to focus on work, but it's a challenge. My laptop sits on the coffee table while I lean forward, staring at lines of code, unable to get my brain to concentrate on any one thing. Despite having a home office, we spend a good amount of each day on the couch. Not the best body mechanics, but it is what it is.

The only reason I'm not more stressed is because Mateo texted us last night to let us know Lucy was okay. But Silas said the same thing the night before, and he was dead wrong.

This persistent sinking feeling has been with me all day, gnawing a pit in my stomach. Mateo's in love and met the perfect girl and the two of them are going to ride off into the sunset together and leave me and Silas behind.

Which is fine. It's totally fine. I'm happy for him.

Silas is less stressed than me, still munching on whatever red-dye-number-40 snack he can stuff his face with. It blows my mind he's so skinny; the man has the metabolism of an eighteen-year-old.

Frustrated and annoyed, I growl and slam the laptop screen shut.

"What?" Silas asks, looking up from his tablet, one hand covered in orange Cheeto dust, the other holding a stylus pen.

"I need to get the fuck out of here for a while."

"Happy hour?" He perks up.

"Sure."

"Gimme ten," he says, licking his fingers, then shifts his focus to his tablet.

Since I'm not getting any more work done this afternoon, I slouch on the couch and look around the apartment. It's home. A safe space. But it's been lonely since Mateo moved out. I don't know what I'll do if he leaves us completely.

When Silas wraps up what he's working on, he washes his hands, grabs his keys and follows me out the door. We make it to the lobby and then come face to face with Lucy, who's talking to the doorman.

"Lulu!" Silas yells, hurrying past me.

I watch him approach her with confidence, while my steps slow. He leans in and kisses her cheek, which she returns with a warm hug and he whispers something in her ear, making her giggle. I stand back and watch, feeling the earlier worry about her and Mateo intensify. Because, what if it's the three of them running off into the sunset? What then?

But then she turns to face me and it's like the fucking clouds part and I'm hit with bright sunshine.

Lucy holds a plastic bag in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Her white-blonde hair is tied in a messy knot, stray pieces falling and framing her beautiful face and big, sweet grin.

I join them, as Silas asks, "What's all this?"

"I owe you both a huge apology. I'm so sorry I didn't show up last night."

"It's okay, Lu, we know you've had a lot going on."

"No, I should have texted or called. It's not an excuse, but I had a bad day… this friend showed up and kind of fucked with my head." If it's the same friend Mateo's been talking about, I'm joining his parade to tear this asshole down for fucking withLucy. But she waves it off. "Anyway, it's fine. Everything's fine. But I got really upset and I kind of forgot… I'm really sorry."

And… "Flowers?" I ask, taking the bouquet from her hands.

"It's stupid, but I wanted to say I'm sorry. I love flowers, so I thought…" She bites her lip self-consciously.

"That was really sweet of you," I say sincerely.

She smiles at me, and it's surreal. It feels like I'm in the presence of a celebrity. I really only know her from her videos, where more than a million people claim a piece of her. I'm still trying to convince my brain that the other night with her at Atrium was real.

"We forgive you. Are you okay, though? Really?"

She turns back to Silas. "Yes, I'm good. Did Mateo tell you I was coming over? He gave me the address. Obviously. And I brought lunch since we missed dinner last night." She rambles.

"He didn't, but the surprise is great," I assure her.

"We were just about to head out for a beer, but we can take this with us." Silas moans at the smell of grilled gyros, when he digs through the contents of the bag. "Baby, you brought us lunch! I fucking love gyros. There's a dive bar up the street, they won't mind if we bring this in." He kisses her again and takes the plastic bag from her.

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