Chapter Six
Nolan
I’m actually in shock the previously gentle kid said what he did.
I mean, I don’tblamehim one single bit for it.
Damn.
Just goes to show that a narcissist can wear down the best of us.
On the other hand, it gives me hope Lucas truly is done with his father’s shit and won’t go back to him.
Or give up our secrets.
I’ve never been inside Bill’s house before. It’s boring but tidy. Though I can’t help but immediately spot a couple of places in the walls where it looks like the drywall was repaired.
At about the height someone Bill’s size would put a fist through the wall.
Then we reach Lucas’ room, which looks like a bomb went off. Clothes piled on the bed and on the floor, the closet door standing open and exposing a disaster inside, stuff all over the place, obviously in disorder. Which is totally out of character for the usually tidy kid.
“It’s not usually like this,” he says as me and Arlo join them.
“Did he do this?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No. This is what it looked like when I left yesterday. I grabbed what I knew I’d need immediately, and the stuff I didn’t want to lose if he did burn everything.”
I start helping Zoey empty the closet and dresser while Arlo and Caine help Lucas pack the rest of his collectibles from his shelves. That’s something else me and him have in common—we both love anime. He picked that up from me, actually.
Then Mary appears in the bedroom doorway, a phone in her hand. “Here,” she tells Lucas, handing it to him. “In case there’s anything you need off it.”
He hesitates before taking it from her. “Thanks.” He quickly powers it up and logs in.
Mary focuses on Zoey. “Is that true? Did Bill hit you?”
Zoey straightens and nods. “Yep. I have pictures, signed witness statements, and a statement Bill himself signed admitting it. It’s all locked in my safe deposit box. I told him either he gave me a divorce and paid for my attorney, or I’d have him arrested. I tried to leave him several times before that, and he always lied to me and manipulated me to make me change my mind. Plus, he cheated on me multiple times.”
Mary slowly nods. “Okay.” Her weighty sigh makes mewantto feel sorry for her, but surely she’s witnessed the asshole in action enough times by now to know who and what he really is. Her next words are addressed to Lucas. “How do you know he’s cheating on me?”
“Because they’ve talked on the phone a couple of times while I was with him, and he told me not to say anything to you about it. Then Caine and I came home early one day after school last month, because our math club meeting was cancelled, and there was a strange car in the driveway. We saw him inside with a woman, doing way worse than Caine and I were doing yesterday.”
He shows her two pictures on his phone, one taken through a front window of Bill obviously getting head from a blonde who isn’t Mary, and one of a car parked in the driveway, next to Bill’s truck. “There’s her tag number, if you want to have a private eye look it up or something.”
The poor woman looks like she’s numb. “Can you please text those pictures to me?”
He does.
Arlo, Zoey, and I exchange stunned looks.Damn, the kid’s still waters run Mariana Trench-deep.
Lucas apparently saves a few more things off his phone, to Dropbox, I’m guessing, then shuts it off and returns it to her. “Mom and Arlo are getting me a new phone today,” he tells her. “I don’t want this one, anyway. He told me what he thinks of me yesterday. The new lock code for it is 6969. I deleted everything off it except those pictures I just showed you.”
She stares at the phone in her hand. “I want to say something to make you feel better,” she softly says. “But I don’t know what to say except that you’re a good kid, and I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you fricking apologize for that jackass,” Zoey practically growls. “Don’t youdare. I’ve always liked you for the simple reason that I knew Lucas liked you, and that you cared about him. But I’m going to give you a piece of advice I hope you’ll take to heart:Run.Now. While Bill’s still at work. Pack everything and leave. If you want to go rent a moving truck, we’ll help you pack everything right now and you can get out of here.”
She slowly shakes her head. “I don’t have anywhere to go right now, and I can’t afford to live on my own.”
“Has he ever hit you?” Zoey asks.
