My doorbell rang, and I didn’t feel like dealing with anyone. I let it ring, but whoever it was didn’t seem to want to leave. When I heard pounding, I finally got up to open the door. There was Daina, shaking her head at me.
“You look lousy, doll. Can I come in?” Lucas must have called her right after I left. I was too weak to fight, so I opened the door for her to come in.
She took my hand and led me over to the couch. She wrinkled her nose at the pathetic mess I was sure I looked like.
“I want to take your heads and knock them together. You love each other so much and look at you. All because you’re both so damn insecure.”
“Daina, he cheated on me! He got pissed at me last night when I asked him to leave so I could talk to Marc, and I found him with Nicole this morning. I can’t do this again. Bad enough Marc finally confirmed he slept around for years. I won’t be that woman again.Ever.”
“Samantha, do you really think I would be here if I thought Lucas cheated on you? Cousin or not, anyone who hurt my best friend would have their balls in a vise. The only thing he’s guilty of is letting Marc get under his skin. When he left your house last night, he stopped at a bar near his apartment and got shit-faced. He couldn’t make it home by himself because he was so drunk. As luck would have it, Nicole saw him in the bar and took him home. Her story was it was late, so she slept on the couch, but who the hell knows if she was planning something or not.”
“You believe that bullshit, Daina? She was naked in a towel in his kitchen.”
“She asked him if she could shower before she left, and he felt bad since she took him home. He told her she had to make it quick because he was leaving.”
I shook my head and turned away from her. Some best friend she was; blood reallywasthicker than water.
She grabbed my shoulder and forced me to turn around.
“IknowLucas. And you do, too. Think about all these months you’ve spent together. Do you really think he’d do something like that to you? I admit, it probably looked awful, and most people would have thought the same thing you did. But think about how he’s treated you—from the beginning. He was never that type of guy. He’s not Marc.”
The worst part of all of it was this wasn’t Lucasat all. Was I really surprised to discover Marc was cheating? Not in the least. But Lucas always made me feel loved and protected—even back when we were pretending to be friends. Could he have been telling the truth?
“Lucas’s only fault is he turns into this alpha moron when it comes to you. He was a broken man when I spoke to him this morning. I haven’t heard my cousin cry since my uncle died, and he was bawling to me today. He loves you and Bella so much—why do you think Jessica went after you that day? She knew you had the power to gut him if you went back to Marc. Don’t throw him away, Samantha. At least give him the chance to explain. I think if you really listen, you’ll know he’s telling the truth. I’m going to leave you alone now. Please, give him a chance.”
We stood up from the couch, and she gave me a big hug. Daina was the sister I never had, and she never would have come here to speak to me if she thought Lucas was lying.
I changed into an old T-shirt and jeans—I could wallow in Lucas’s clothes later—and went for a drive to think. I drove to the park I usually take Bella to and sat on one of the benches.
I took out my phone and decided to listen to Lucas’s voice mails. I wanted to see if Daina was right. I would know if he was lying or not.
“Sam, please let me explain.Nothinghappened. I went to Shamrocks to drown my sorrows in Jack because I was scared to death Marc was going to convince you to take him back. I should have trusted you, and I’m so sorry I didn’t. Nicole was there and took me home since I was too drunk to walk home myself. I slept on my couch—alone. I didn’t know she was here until this morning. She asked if she could take a shower before she left, and I should have told her to leave. I could never be with anyone else. You have to know that. Please, Sam. Talk to me.”
“Sam, I wish you would call me back. A text, anything. It killed me to see you like that today. I’m your Superman, remember? I’m supposed to be the one to save you. And you wouldn’t let me. I was the bad guy today instead of the hero. I’m so sorry, Sam.”
“Ever since you left, I keep thinking about what today would have been like if you hadn’t found Nicole here. I would have kept kissing you, carried you into my bedroom and made love to you for hours. You know what that dress does to me. After we were finally done—for the moment anyway—you would lay your head on my chest, I’d play with your hair and watch your eyes flutter, and we’d talk about the future. Maybe we’d talk about looking for a new house that would have only our memories in it. You would tell me what sappy book character you’d want to name our first baby after. I need you to tell me we still can have all of that. That it’s going to be you, Bella, and me against the world. I love you, Samantha. Always you. For the rest of my life.”
Could someone pass out from crying too much? I was sobbing again, but there were some good tears this time. Lucas was telling the truth. I knew it like Daina said I would. I believed Lucas now, but did I forgive him? Not quite. We loved each other, but last night was a perfect example of how the same issues kept popping up over and over again between us. I wanted us to have a real chance, but we couldn’t move forward if we didn’t deal with the past.
Twenty-Seven
Lucas
Daina toldme to wait until she spoke to Sam before I went after her. As the day went on, I couldn’t take it anymore. When I got to her house, her car wasn’t there. I used my key and let myself in.
The house was eerily quiet. I called her name as I walked from room to room. I got to her bedroom and noticed the side of the bed I slept on had the sheet taken down, and one of my T-shirts was laid across the bed. I smiled to myself, thinking of what I was doing back at my apartment. I spent most of the afternoon with my face buried in one of my old shirts that Sam liked to sleep in. I could still smell her perfume.
Daina was right. We were two fucking idiots.
I sat on the edge of the bed and put my face in my hands, pinching the bridge of my nose. This wasn’t how today was supposed to be.
We promised Bella she could get her ears pierced if she learned how to swim by the end of the summer, and even though she still needed my help, it was a good enough effort. Sam was too much of a worrywart to take her to a store at the mall, so we took her to a small jewelry store not too far from where they lived in Queens. Bella took the piercing like a trooper and couldn’t stop admiring herself and her tiny diamond studs in the mirror. The shy little girl I met all those months ago was becoming a tough little cookie.
I picked Bella up once she was done and started tickling her. She put her hair behind her ears and asked me, “Do I look pretty, Lucas?”
“No, Butterfly, you look beautiful!” I gave her a kiss on her cheek.
Bella looked confused. “That’s better, right?”
