I step inside and take up most of the space, but she doesn’t seem to mind. I reach for the soap, lather it on my hands, and start washing her body. She watches me closely, letting me rub my hands all over her body.
I think about what my sister said this morning. About Mara moving in to replace Lucy. The thought doesn’t sit right with me that my sister is willing to kick her out if Lucy decides to date me. Or maybe sleeping with me already sealed it. It’s starting to make me pissed, so I stand under the water and let it roll off my body. I turn the water freezing cold. Lucy yelps, but I hold her close to me.
“You’re welcome to stay at my place, Lucy.”
She giggles, squirming under the cold stream. “What?” she asks, getting out of my arms.
I wash my dick, and then I step out of the shower. I can’t keep a straight face, so I get out to cool off. “My sister said something stupid this morning. I don’t know if she said it to piss me off, but if anything happens, you can stay with me.”
The water shuts off, and the curtains don’t open right away.
“Can you pass me a clean towel from the closet?”
I open the closet and grab the folded towel at the top. She takes it and then opens the curtain with her body wrapped in the towel.
“What did she say?” she asks.
I dry my legs off and shake my head. “She’s my sister, so she can say some pretty stupid things to piss me off. I’ll let you talk to her.”
She steps out of the tub and opens the bathroom door. We walk back to her bedroom and get our clothes on. She takes the three towels and throws them in the washer. When she walks back to her room, she says, “I think you should go. We don’t know when she’ll be back.”
I nod, feeling like I’m too much in my head right now. The thought of my sister kicking her out pisses me off. I kiss her forehead and say, “Call me.” Then I realize I don’t have her fucking number. I take two steps back and hold out my phone. “May I have your number, Lucy?”
She takes my phone with a smirk and taps away at the screen.
“We can hang later if you’re free.”
She inhales. “I have homework.”
I shrug. “So do I.”
That makes her smile. I peck her lips once, twice, and then both her cheeks. I kiss her forehead four times. “Okay. Call or text me, okay?”
She nods.
“I’ll see you later.” My nerves as I leave her apartment are high. I expect to see Gianna around every corner, but she’s never there.
At the Hawthorne House, I walk into the house and greet Rowan drawing a penis on Stanley’s cheek. I chuckle and shake my head. Blue’s filming the whole thing. I walk over and stare down at him. I ask for the Sharpie. I draw jizz drops down his chin. Rowan covers the Sharpie and then silently tells Blue totake a photo. I lean in and smile. Blue puts on the selfie mode to get himself in it. It’s the three of us smiling, and Stanley’s mouth is open while he’s dead asleep.
I leave them to it and walk up to my bedroom. I sit at my desk and stare at nothing for a few minutes. Lucy has consumed all of my thoughts. I pull out my phone and type out a text. I question if that’s too clingy. Is it too much? Fuck, I close the app. I peel open my laptop and start doing some homework. Five minutes later, I grab my phone again and look at her contact. I type out a message and send it this time.
Me:Hi.
I stare at it. Simple enough.
Lucy:She just came home.Lucy:She walked right past me and slammed her bedroom door shut.
Shit.
Chapter 26
Lucy
Gianna’sbedroomdoorslams.The slam makes the kitchen cabinet near her door rattle, the picture frame on the hallway wall tremble, and the air in the living room shift into a bitter taste.
I sit on the couch with my phone in my hand. Through the wall, I can hear her in her bedroom. The sound of her closet door opening. The slide of hangers along the rod. A drawer being yanked out of the dresser harder than it needs to be, and then the same drawer being shoved back in. Another drawer. Another. A duffel bag unzipping.
I freeze. The anxiety is not climbing up my throat the way it does when I’m about to be late or when I haven’t finished a problem set. This anxiety is sitting low. It’s acidic in my stomach. It’s the same feeling I have when Mom’s in a mood, thehouse is too quiet, and in any second, she’s going to barge out and snap at me. It’s that anxiety of the unknown. Except, I’ve never experienced it with anyone but my mom. Right now, I’m terrified of Gianna.
