LUCY

It's my day off.

Which meant it gave me time to speak to my Mother about my new plans that involved me moving out of her house temporarily to go to my boss' house because he doesn't want me around my Dad.

I slurp on my smoothie I made for myself as I sit down at the bar, leaning on the counter, watching Mom make her omelet. She flips it onto her plate and leans on the counter across from me as she blows on her food.

She smiles, taking a bite. "Want one?" She asks.

I shake my head. "I'm okay, thanks." I watch as she pulls up a chair and takes a seat, still across from me. She keeps eating her food, not noticing I am watching her.

I note her hair is down today. She usually has it up all the time and only keeps it down when it's a special occasion. She claims having it down all the time gives her a headache.

The bags under her eyes were a lot darker today.

I swallow. She must have had a bad nightmare last night.

"How did you sleep last night?" I ask her, and she swallows her bite to answer.

"Fine. What about you?"

"What time, Mom?"

Her eyes are hard, and I know she is hiding the truth from me.

I woke her up in the morning with the house alarm, so she just came right in and started to make breakfast. She usually wakes up to her alarm and does her thing in the morning, but I guess she didn't do any of that.

Which includes makeup.

Has the bags under her eyes always been this bad and she's always just covered them up?

Except for today.

"They've gotten worse," I state, knowing the truth. She can't hide this from me. "Ever since we saw him, and I went to the hospital. They've been bad, huh?"

She looks down and nods. "Yes." Her voice is barely audible.

I push myself off the counter, leaning back in my chair, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands. "Mom, why do you do this to yourself? Have you been taking your medicine to help you sleep?"

Her eyes meet mine, and I see the truth in them.

She hasn't.

I clench my jaw. "Why?" I ask, my voice hard.

She shrugs. "I didn't think I'd need it anymore. It's been so long, I thought-"

"Mom, the doctor said to take it every night!" I interrupt. "He said that even though you haven't seen him, you should be taking them. Yet the time you don't take them is when he actually shows up." I shake my head, letting out a groan. "Mom, he said if they got so bad because you weren't taking them, they could cause you to have a heart attack."

My eyes widen as the words come out of my mouth. She could have a heart attack.

All for love.

Mom is quiet still. I don't blame her.

I push my smoothie away. I don't feel thirsty anymore.

"Is he really worth it?" I whisper, closing my eyes.

"Yes." I hear her answer.

I look up.

"Look, honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought that once I saw him in person, as a free person, as a changed person, my perception of him would change. That my dreams would change. They haven't so far, but I'm experimenting, to see if it could work." The smile on her face is so big I feel my heart ache.

She looks so hopeful.

Yet all she is doing is causing herself more heartbreak and more pain.

"Last night was just a bad one, is all. I'm fine." She reaches across the counter, taking my hand and squeezing it.

I pull away. "I'm moving out," I say suddenly, out of the blue,

Her whole body jerks away from me. "W-what?"

I fold my hand over each other on the counter. I wanted to tell her slowly, cautiously, but I guess that didn't work. "I'm taking some of my stuff, and I'm leaving."

She frowns. "Why? Honey, I'm in no danger. Please don't leave because of this."

I let a small smile show on my face. "I'm not. I'm leaving because of dad. He knows where I am, he knows he can visit me, and I don't want him to. For my own safety, I'm leaving. I'll be back every day for breakfast, but I won't be here after work."

Mom is still in shock but she is able to ask, "Can I ask where you're going?"

I shake my head. "Not until I know you won't tell dad."

She nods. "I won't, I won't, I promise. All I want to know is where I can find you. I'll sleep better knowing you aren't in some horrible hotel."

I let out a dry chuckle. "I'm not in a hotel. Elias offered to let me stay at his house, in one of his many guest rooms. I'll stay there, then I'll be here in the morning, then I will obviously be at work in the afternoon."

Her face relaxes. "Okay. That's fine."

I frown. Oh boy.

There's a hint of a smile on her face.

I shake my head. "It's not like that Mom, and you know it! He offered first, and he's the one who said he didn't like me being around my dad anyway after last time."

"Is that where you went last night?"

I nod. "We had to talk about some stuff. It was nothing. I mentioned what happened last night with dad, and he offered. I was thinking about it anyway, and I would have suggested Jeanie's house but she barely has enough space as it is, with her mom living with her."

She frowns. "Well, as much as I don't think this is necessary, I guess it's fine."

Why does it sound like I needed her approval?

"I was doing this whether or not you wanted me to, Mom. I know how you feel about me and Dad working it out, but it will never work."

Her eyes narrow. "It won't work if you don't try."

My gut clenches. "It won't work because it's impossible, not because I'm not trying. I can, in no way, speak to him or touch him or see him. It doesn't work. I went to the hospital because I saw him and he touched me."

She sighs. "He just surprised you, is all."

I let my jaw drop. Why is she defending the situation? I am her daughter, yet she is defending the very man who beat us up!

"Don't even, Mom. You obviously aren't thinking correctly. I'm going to go pack a bag, and then I'll be out of your hair." I stand and walk out of the room.

She says nothing as I slam my door shut.

I begin to pack my suitcase, grabbing all my work clothes, my toiletries and makeup bag, along with my pillow and some pjs. That's all I need, right?

I grab a few t-shirts and my sweatpants for extra measure. Who knows, maybe he'll ask me to play basketball with him again.

So I grab my workout clothes.

There. All packed.

I peek my head out of my door and mom isn't there. I sigh in relief and grab my bag and pillow and walk out of the house. I throw my stuff into my car, then grab my purse, keys, and a few pairs of shoes.

It feels like I am going on vacation or something.

Which it could be described like that. I am going to a pretty sweet house.

I glance back into my room, trying to figure out if there is anything else I desperately need before I go. Nothing seems to scream at me, so I close my bedroom door.

Mom is probably in her room, getting ready for work. I decide it was better for us not to have another conversation or else one of us might say something we both regret.

"Bye, Mom!" I yell, just to let her know I am leaving.

I get no answer in return.

Trying not to concern myself with her silence, I go right out to my car and turn it on. I back out of the driveway and head to Elias' house. Half way there I realize he is probably at work, so I won't be able to get in.

I have to call him.

Dialing his number, I realize maybe I should call the office phone. I let the call go, waiting for him to pick up and when he doesn't, I call the office.

Elaine picks up. "Castle Tech Inc, this is Elaine."

"Hi, Elaine."

There's a pause. "Lucy?"

I smile into the phone. "Yeah, it's me. Can you connect me to El- Mr. Castle please?" I ask, turning onto his road.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Give me a second." I hear her press some buttons, then I hear a beeping sound.

Elias' manly voice comes through. "Hello?"

"Elias, it's Lucy."

"Hey!" He greets eagerly.

I can't help but let my smile grow. "Yeah, hey, um I'm basically at your house. Do you want me to come back later or...?"

"Oh, what time is it?"

I glance at the clock in my car. "Ten-thirty."

"Okay, I'll be right there. I'll just take my lunch break early, and help you grab your bags. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Bye," I say and he hangs up.

I pull into his driveway, feeling a little giddy. Which is a feeling I shouldn't be feeling, but I can't help it. I am glad I am here, even if it was with Elias, but more about the fact that I won't have to see my dad for a very long time, except for hopefully in court.

That sent my smile to the moon.

True to his word, ten minutes later I see Elias pulling into the driveway. I am already out of my car, leaning up against it. I push myself off as he parks and jogs over to me. His smile matches mine.

"Hey, where's your stuff?" He asks.

I point to my backseat. "In here."

He opens the door and grabs the suitcase. "You pack light."

"Compared to what?" I ask, helping him bring it to the ground.

"Compared to most females." He smiles, wagging his eyebrows at me. Oh, he's a teaser alright.

I shrug. "I'm bare essentials. And it's not like I won't be over there." I say, grabbing my pillow and purse, following him into the house. He takes a little while, lugging the suitcase behind him as he tries his best to get it quickly into the house.

My laugh can't help but escape. I cover my mouth, but it's too late. He's heard it.

He stops, his forehead glistening with his sweat, which I find hilarious. "Whatcha laughing at, Lu?" He asks, placing his hands on his hips, pursing his lips.

I smile, shrugging, "I don't know, you tell me," I pause, kicking the suitcase, "Is it too heavy? Do you want to trade? I mean, I got it into my car, by myself, so..." I raise my hands in the air.

He looks threatened, but he just laughs. "You always seemed a lot stronger than me anyway, Lu, so I'm not surprised." He rejects my offer to help and continues to pull the suitcase into the house.

We make it inside.

Finally.

We reach the kitchen when Elias asks. "So, upstairs or downstairs?" He asks, glancing around.

I look up at him, a sly smile on my face. "Definitely downstairs. I don't know if I could bear to watch you struggle to get my suitcase up the stairs."

He looks down at me, eyes narrowed, but there is a smile on his face.

"Touché," he eventually says, then pulls the suitcase out of the kitchen. He then leaves it, and grabs my hand. He pulls me into two guest bedrooms, asking for which one I want.

How many guest bedrooms does he have?

"Which one?" He asks, pointing to both of them side by side.

There is one that was dark blue and grey, and the other was yellow and light blue. I chose the one that was yellow.

"I thought so," he says, grinning at me. I roll my eyes.

Elias drags the suitcase into the yellow room, very much struggling to get it into the room and by my bed. That's when I decide to be evil.

"Actually, I want the other room," I declare.

He just looks at me as he pants, placing his hands on his knees. His expression is incredulous as if he can't believe he has to move the suitcase all the way to the other room. He begins to drag it again, basically out of the doorway of this room and into the other one when I begin to laugh.

"No, no, I like the yellow one. Nevermind," I say, tapping my chin.

When he looks at me, I can tell by his expression he gets the joke. But he doesn't look happy about it as he drags the suitcase back into the yellow room, huffing and puffing.

He walks over to me, his face red. "That was cruel, Lu. Very cruel."

Now I feel bad. I reach up and pat his arm. "Sorry. I got lost in the moment."

He smiles. "You're forgiven." He walks past me. "Go get settled, I'm going to go take a shower," he calls and I hear his footsteps travel up the steps. I turn to my room and throw my pillow on the bed.

I lay on it, feeling the comforter underneath me, the smoothness of it going to put me to bed. I glance around the rest of the room; it is way fancier than my room is.

Even though I took the tour of this place, I don't remember the rooms except his and Rich's. Everything else was a blur because there were so many of them.

I don't want to fully unpack so I just hang up all my work clothes in the closet, but leave everything else in my suitcase. I hang my purse on the bottom of the bed then continue to lay on the bed.

Footsteps transcend the staircase.

I sit up, leaning on the edge of the bed.

Elias appears in the doorway. "Hey. Question, do you want to go out to lunch with me? I'm technically still on my break, and I'm kind of hungry."

I nod, feeling a little hungry myself. "Sure. Why not. Where to?" I grab my purse and follow him out to his car.

"My favorite," he replies and I smile.

We both get into the car at the same time and Elias turns the engine on. We pull out of the driveway and I remember as he drives how to reach this restaurant, even though I only went once. It was good.

Except for the conversation. That is a little awkward.

We park and walk side by side into the restaurant. The hostess leads us to our table, and I am very surprised Elias didn't know her name, or if he did, he didn't use it.

I frown. He seems so different to me than the last time we were here, although last time we were here I barely knew him and he barely knew me.

Now, I should probably not know all I know about him and vice versa, but that's alright.

We take a seat at the table, and this time we are sitting beside each other.

We aren't sitting at his special table he always sits at.

What's different about this time than every other time he's been here?

I don't know the answer and I don't want to ask.

"Why are we sitting here?" I can't help but ask, and Elias shrugs.

"Mixing it up, I guess."

I nod.

We are quiet until the waitress comes over to us and we order our drinks. We get our menus from her, and I take a look at its contents.

As I look at my menu I feel someone standing next to me. I look up.

Deke.

"Hey buddy!" Deke greets Elias, patting him on the shoulders. He jostles him around a little, laughing. Elias is just smiling.

Deke meets my eyes. "How are you?" He asks, a sly smile on his face as he turns back to Elias.

"I'm good. How are you?" I ask, crossing my arms, leaning back on my chair.

"I'm good now." He elbows Elias. "So, are you two official now?" He asks, still smiling. He looks as if he wants to pull up a chair and chat away the day with us.

He might.

I feel my shoulders tense up.

That wouldn't be good.

"Oh, no, Deke, absolutely not," Elias states to Deke's question, which produces Deke's face to transform into a deep scowl. I only hope he didn't really think we were going to go anywhere because we aren't.

Elias meets my eye.

I can't smile. It would catch Deke's attention, and I don't need that right now.

There are more pressing problems present.

"Oh well, I was hoping. You two would be a great pair." Deke shakes his head. "I gotta head out, it was nice to see you two!" And he's off, not bother waiting for our goodbyes.

As soon as he disappears around a corner, I can't help my laugh.

Elias is startled, but he joins in after a few seconds. Soon we are wiping away our tears that are gathered in our eyes as we calm down from our giggling. It feels nice to let that out, since I've had nothing good to laugh about.

"Why were we laughing?" Elias asks, taking the drink from the waitress as she returns.

I stare at Elias, a little confused. He didn't even know what I was laughing about, but he decided to join in. Normally I wouldn't condone this, but his laugh and his joy felt evident as if he truly understood why I laughed.

Maybe that's why I like him so much. He's a giver. And he's not necessarily looking for much in return.

Some could say that's a little dangerous in a relationship, but this one has to be better than mine and Travis', where it was all me giving and Travis receiving but giving me nothing in return.

Any relationship could be better than that one.

It actually hurt me to think that.

When all I want is that relationship with Travis to flourish.

"Oh, just at the fact that he hoped we would get together. It's pretty ridiculous." I take a sip of my water after I finally answer his question.

Elias' face remains stoic, but I see it fall for a moment, that facade. I see the hurt that is displayed for all of two seconds before it becomes hidden again.

What I said might have hurt him, but it is something that needs to remain clear between us. He needs to know that the theory or the hope of us was never going to be a reality and he needed to only think of me as a friend.

I would have thought that is how he thought of me, as a friend, but our kiss told me something completely different.

"Yeah, so ridiculous," Elias mutters, taking a sip of his beverage.

We are quiet now.

Then Elias puts his hand down on the table and it makes me jump. He didn't even do it that hard.

"Why is it ridiculous?" He asks, staring at me, his eyes focused, determined.

I swallow. "You mean us?"

He nods.

So maybe he didn't get the fact about us right at all.

"Elias, it can't happen. It won't happen. You're my boss."

He shrugs. "So? People date their bosses all the time."

I frown. This whole scenario must be completely normal to him because he's dated many of his employees before and it forced me to not run with that crowd even harder. My whole world was surrounded by Travis when I was in high school, and almost every girl in high school had a huge crush on the guy.

For once, I'd like not to run with everyone else.

I want to be different.

For Elias, I am his secretary. I am his employee. This whole dating scenario is so completely real for him that me saying something different must be throwing him through a loop.

"They get in trouble for it," I say, and he rolls his eyes.

"Not the people I've known," he states, his eyes penetrating.

I shake my head. "You would know more than I would, I agree, but what you also know, and what you can't argue with is... I am already in love," I say the last five words with such enunciation I startle myself.

Elias blinks. "Yeah, I know. With a guy who is in love with another woman, or was, and who dumped you. Why do you still care about him like that? You must know it can never happen."

I feel tears gather in my eyes but he will not be another reason I cry. "I know. I know that it can never happen, but my heart won't let go." I point to my chest with force. "It may be stupid to you Elias, who has probably never loved anyone like I love Travis, but this is real for me. Don't you think I would know that he and I can never be? And how much I wish that I didn't love him this much?"

He dips his head, not meeting my eyes.

"But I do. I can't stop. Not even for you." I stand up, startling Elias as I grab my purse and storm out of the restaurant.

As soon as I walk out of the building, I hear the doors open again behind me.