Page 80 of Under My Skin
Chapter Forty-Three
LUCY
Where the hellis that cat? I kneel to search under my bed the second time, thinking I must have missed him somehow, but there’s no Pudge in sight. An exasperated groan leaves me as I get to my feet. I don’t have time for this. Last night, I checked every flight search engine I could think to use, but nothing came up unless I want to drive across the state to another airport. There must be a flight to Denver today. Chances are it’s just full, and if there are any cancellations, I want to be first in line for a ticket out of here.
Using my phone’s flashlight, I check every corner of my closet. It’s not even like there’s a lot of stuff in here after cleaning it out, but I have no doubt he’d be able to still find somewhere to hide.
My phone lights up in my hand with a text from Allison.
Allison:
Did you book your flight?
I’m surprised the phone doesn’t scream out with how tightly my fingers wrap around the screen. Too much is going on at once, and I feel like the smallest push could set me off.
Like not being able to find my fuckingcat.
I close the closet, and there’s a light knock on my bedroom door. “Yes?” I say, already sounding out of breath.
The door cracks open, and my mother pokes her head in. “Hey, honey. Do you want some breakfast?”
“I can’t.” I gesture to the empty cat carrier on my bed. “I need to go, but I can’t find Pudge.”
My mom offers a faint smile. “Oh, your father has him on the couch. I guess he was scratching at the door this morning while you were asleep.” Her face falls. “Wait, you’re leaving? When?”
Since when does Pudge love other people? “Right now,” I say as I gather my things. “I need to go to the airport and see if I can catch a flight.”
Her eyebrows pinch, and she’s already covered in paint this morning. Or maybe they’re old paint stains. It’s hard to tell at this point. I’m sure everything she owns has the mark of an artist somewhere. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” I answer without thinking. Then my shoulders sag, and I shake my head. “No.” I might be angry with her, but she’s still my mom, and something about her asking if I’m okay has my eyes burning. I bite the inside of my cheek to try to keep the tears at bay, but there’s no use, especially when she rushes forward and wraps her arms around me.
“What is it? You can tell me.”
Her voice floods me with comfort, and as much as I want to keep our secrets tit for tat, I cave. “My roommate accidentally set my apartment on fire, and I have to go home to see how bad it is. Allison and Dina shouldn’t have to deal with it. I still haven’t found a new apartment. Simon is pissed at me, and Everett—” I pull away from her and look down at my phone. “Shit, I forgot to text him.” Unlocking my phone, I go to his message from last night and quickly respond.
Everett:
Are you okay?
Lucy:
Not exactly. Just overwhelmed. I have to go back to CO.
As soon as I look back at my mother, she takes a deep breath for me. “Okay. That’s a lot.” She takes my bag and the empty cat carrier out of my hands and sets them gently on my bed. “Let’s get you something to eat, and we’ll figure this out.”
But I don’t want to eat. I want to take action. I need to dosomethingto check off one box of chaos at a time, and getting to the airport feels like the most important thing right now. “I really need to get home,” I protest, but she grabs me by the hand and guides me toward the hall.
“Family first,” she says simply, but I don’t understand why. My only issue involving family is Simon, and I don’t think he’s ready to talk to me.
As we head downstairs, I see that she was right about one thing. Pudge is literally curled up under my father’s arm on the couch as he gets some work done on his laptop. At the sound of our footsteps, they both look up at us, my father smiles, and the cat doesn’t even have the sense to look sorry.
“We need to call Simon,” my mother says to my father, and his face falls slightly.
“What? Why?” He shuts his computer and scratches Pudge behind the ears like it’s a nervous tick.
“Lucy needs something to eat, and then she’s going to the airport. She has to get back to her apartment to take care of something.”
“Oh.” My dad swallows. “Well, okay. I’ll give him a call. He’s working, though. Isn’t he?”
