LUCY

I was surprised when Jeanie invited me over today to hang out.

We haven't hung out in many years.

And I didn't even know she continued using that term.

Apparently, her mom was cooking, and Franny was also invited. That brought chills down my spine, just thinking about having to converse with her.

She might attack as soon as I step foot inside the house.

I knock on the front door.

It opens after I hear some quick footsteps move from inside the house, and sure enough, there stood... Jeanie's mom?

She smiles, and welcomes me inside.

I had expected Franny to open the door, but I was glad she didn't. She might have just locked me out, telling everyone that I wasn't coming.

Franny hadn't been much of a schemer, that much I knew from the short amount of time I spent with her, but something told me this was something she would plan and scheme to get me out of Jeanie's life forever.

Surprisingly, Franny isn't there.

Maybe she's hiding.

I chuckle to myself as Jeanie stands up from her spot on the couch and gives me a quick hug. I embrace her, tensing a little at the thought of Franny coming at me from behind with a knife.

Curse my hyperactive imagination.

"Franny should be here soon," Jeanie states, taking back her seat. I join her on the couch on the other end.

"Okay," I chirp, not knowing what else to say. Surely Jeanie knows how nervous I am for this meeting. I expect Franny to walk in with nothing less than an ax and a shotgun.

Maybe some war paint.

Jeanie's mom walks over to us. "How are you Lucy?" She asks.

I swallow. "I'm just peachy. How are you?" I ask, genuinely meaning the question. I couldn't even imagine what she must think of me, her husband being the one who approached me two years ago to steal Travis from Jeanie.

She probably hates me more than Franny.

Luckily I don't see any axes or shotguns, so we're good.

"I'm okay, I guess." her smile is as sweet as honey. That's what I always liked about Jeanie's mom. She could hide her real feelings behind a cute smile.

I wish I could do that.

There's a knock on the door.

I immediately tense.

"Come in!" Jeanie yells before her mom can even more toward the door.

Franny walks in.

I took in her appearance. She wore a nice t-shirt, with jeans. Her hair is pulled in a ponytail, and her face is free of makeup. There is no war paint, or axe or shotgun.

She even has a smile on her face.

But when she turns to Jeanie, she notices me as if she didn't know I would be here.

Suddenly I doubt she didn't know I was coming.

I look at Jeanie, who has a sheepish expression as she watches Franny, who has smoke coming out of her ears, her eyes full of fire, matching her hair. I want to curl up in a ball and pretend I wasn't here.

I hate conflict.

And there is unfortunately going to be a long time of conflict starting in a few seconds.

"What is she doing here?" Franny growls, setting her bag down on the couch.

As she takes a step closer, I can't help but notice her slightly protruding stomach.

My eyes widen.

She's pregnant.

Jeanie stands. "Fran, calm down. I didn't want to tell you Lucy was here because I knew you wouldn't have come."

"Dang right I wouldn't have." Her voice is ice cold.

Her eyes meet mine.

I swallow, squeezing my hands together.

"Congrats," is all I can say.

She narrows her eyes, then subconsciously places a hand over her stomach. "Who told you?" She demands.

"You did," I say.

Franny crosses her arms over her chest.

"Sit down, Franny," Jeanie says and she herself takes her seat.

Franny takes a seat on another couch, closest to Jeanie. She keeps looking at me, her eyes full of hate.

I expected this to happen, but not this extreme. Although, to be fair, I expected a weapon of some sort, but all Franny needs is her accusatory voice and her eyes. I feel very threatened with just those two things.

But I must have hurt her somehow. Because as deep as her loyalty lies with Jeanie, I think this anger is coming from something more.

Something deeper. More personal.

What was it?

I learned two things about Franny when I knew her. One was, she didn't like me. And the second thing was, she held onto things. She had a hard time letting things go, especially when she was angry.

So I knew this was something more. I know I angered her by getting Jeanie shot, but it had to be something else. If anyone would be upset about that, it would be Jeanie, but she didn't blame me for that.

"I wanted you both here because I have some news. And I wanted you guys to talk some stuff out, and hopefully get on the same page."

Franny rolls her eyes. "You know I don't talk stuff out," she says, raising a brow at me.

I know Jared was a boxer, but I don't even think about her using her fist as a weapon against me. He might have taught her.

Oh boy.

"No, you're right," Jeanie says and I can hardly believe her. "You yell stuff out." She passes a pair of earplugs to each of us. "So, we're all gonna put our earplugs in, and Franny you're gonna tell us how you feel."

Franny takes the earplugs belligerently from Jeanie and stuffs them in her ears. I do the same and Jeanie copies us.

"Okay," Jeanie says loudly. "Go Franny."

She looks at me, and opens her mouth. All I hear is sound as her lips move, no doubt her cursing my name or saying she's currently digging my grave. But all I see is the fire in her eyes and I am glad I have these earplugs in.

I look at Jeanie, who is sitting quietly, her hands cupped together on her lap. She has a smile on her face as she watches Franny.

Franny's lips stop moving.

We all take our earplugs out.

I turn to Jeanie, who smiles at Franny. "Did you get it all out?" She asks, although she must have known I didn't hear a word of it.

Franny nods, then looks at me. "Most of it."

Jeanie sighs. "Well, what else do you have to say?"

"I blame you for all of it," she says immediately.

I swallow.

I expected it to be much worse. I hoped for it. Maybe it would make reconciling with her alot harder, but all she is doing is blaming me for what I already blame myself for.

"I do too," I reply.

Franny's eyes narrow and I think I see a hint of triumph.

Well good. I can tell I've hurt her so bad and if this is one step toward her forgiving me, then I will take it. She can be triumphant in this.

Jeanie sighs again. "Thank you Franny," she says to her friend.

Before Jeanie can continue, I want to say something. I have to, "Franny, even though you won't believe me when I say this, I am sorry. For everything. For stealing Travis, not only from Jeanie, but from you. I know he was your good friend too. And I blame myself for all of it, and I'm not asking to be friends. But just your forgiveness."

Franny's eyes hold mine. "I can't."

I nod. "Okay."

The girls share a look.

Jeanie clears her throat. "I also have something else I have to say. And I think both of you deserve to know."

I frown.

Franny's eyes widened.

Something tells me she already knows or expects it.

"I found Travis," Jeanie says, looking at me.

I feel my stomach drop.

She found him.

I look at Franny, and see that she already knows this.

So what was the news?

Jeanie smiles. "And I'm going out to where he is to bring him home."

Franny stands immediately.

She startles both of us and walks out of the room. I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around Franny's reaction and what Jeanie just said. But before I can do anything, Jeanie stands too and follows Franny, who walked out of the front door.

He's coming back.

Maybe I am much too in love to be happy about this fact. Maybe, since Jeanie and I are made up, I can see him. Talk to him.

Although, he also must hate me.

I need to stop. I need to get over my feelings for him and move on. Because it was almost expected that he and Jeanie will get married again, because they still love each other. I would go through that loss again if I can't get over him.

And soon.

The first person I think of Elias.

I could get over Travis with him. I believe that if I eventually move on, I could love him.

But I can't even think about him right now or my head will explode. I can't think of loving someone else when I love Travis. Even if Travis and I can never be, I could still hold onto him forever. And that wouldn't be fair to Elias, or to anything who I think I could love.

Because right now, I do not love Elias.

It isn't possible.

Especially right now.

I notice Jeanie's mom is standing in the kitchen still, and I wonder her reaction to all of this, to what Franny said, and me being here.

Then I see she has ear plugs also in her ears.

I walk into the kitchen, standing across the island counter to face her. She notices me, and takes out her ear plugs.

"Is all the yelling over?" She asks playfully, sending me a smile.

I clear my throat. "Mrs. Reynolds?" I ask when she focuses on wiping the counter.

She slowly lifts her head to me. "Yes?"

"I am very sorry for all the grief I have caused your family," I say, knowing very well that no one else thought I should apologize to her, but I have to. I hurt her almost as much as Jeanie, especially with not telling her about her husband or doing anything about it.

She deserves so much more than an apology, but it is all I could offer.

Jeanie's mom places her hand on mine. "You don't have to apologize for loving someone, my dear. I did the same thing. I loved John so much I was willing to make Jeanie disappear to keep him happy. It wasn't right, but I did it for someone I loved. And it wasn't you who caused me grief, it was John, and will forever rest in his hands."

I didn't expect her speech to make me cry, but I felt a few tears stream down my cheeks.

"Thank you," I say, sniffling.

She cups my cheek. "Francine is a different story, but I believe when Travis comes back, it will be easier to forgive."

I frown. "How come?"

She smiles. "Because all that Franny said to you, was meant toward Travis. Her grief is not with you, but with him."

I dip my head.

I realize that she must have heard every word Franny said.

And she forgave me.

On impulse, I lean across the counter, and hug Mrs. Reynold. She returns the hug, and never have I been so happy to be here.

ELIAS

I glance up from the papers and watch as Lu walks past the office into the small kitchen that is next to my office. I watch as she moves around quickly, probably grabbing everything to make my coffee.

She didn't seem to treat me differently. I thought that after I told her of what happened with dad and Rich, she would look at me differently.

But the only difference I can see in the way she looks at me is that I see sorrow and pain. There's also a bit of understanding, but I wasn't sure how that fit into play.

It hit me hard when I realized I didn't know much about Lucy. I didn't know about her childhood, her family, her dad. I haven't even met any of her friends or even had a long conversation with her.

Doesn't matter. It's not like we're together.

A part of me longs for that to happen.

The part of me that I have to keep shoving to the back of my mind so I don't full out kiss her when she brings in my coffee.

She walks past the office again, but this time she opens the doors and walks in.

Her smile is bright.

"Here you go." She sets the coffee on my desk.

"Thanks, Lu," I say, scooting it over just a little to move my papers.

She walks out before I can say anything else.

The rest of the day goes by quickly, and before I know it, Lu comes back in to grab my empty coffee cup. As she walks out of the room, I spot her mom.

I wave to her.

She smiles and walks into the room.

"Jude!" She exclaims and hugs me. I am surprised at the hug but not disappointed. I spot Lu walking back to the office.

"How are you?" I ask, pulling away.

"Mom?"

We both turn around to see Lu standing in the doorway, a puzzled expression on her face. She walks toward us and hugs her mother.

"Hey honey," she greets.

I smile.

Lu glances at me out of the corner of her eyes. "What are you doing here?" She inquires, the perplexed look still on her face. Her mouth is in a smile and I know even though she acted a little annoyed, she is glad her mom was here.

I would be too.

"I came here to see you and speak with Jude," she explains, giving me a wink. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to smile or not because Lu's face transforms into a scowl.

That she tries to hide and fails.

She's still avoiding me.

Maybe my story really did scare her off.

Oh please no.

"About what?" Lu asks, shifting from one foot to the other, looking anxious to know the answer. I could tell it had to do about her, but her mom keeps her mouth shut.

"I have to talk to Jude first," her mom replies, looking smug.

Lu leaves the room indignantly.

She turns to me. "Are you busy tonight?" She asks.

I shake my head. "No. Why?"

"Because you are coming to dinner. It's already cooking, and while I was making it, I accidentally doubled it, so we will be having a lot of casserole tonight, and I figured you could probably eat."

I smirk. "I could most definitely eat."

And speak with Lu.

She claps her hands together loudly and says at the same time. "Excellent. Be there in half an hour."

I just grin.

Lu peeks her head in. "Mom you ready?"

"Yes," she replies.

I watch as the two of them walk side by side to the elevator.

I gather all my stuff up, including my jacket, wallet, and phone. Everything else on my desk was put away, and I just left. I make my way to my car and jump in.

In half an hour I'll be at the Bleu's house.

I couldn't wait.