Since I sprained my ankle, I have been cooked up in my room for a good week. I spent my time resting my foot on a pillow. Ankle neatly wrapped in a stretched bandage. The doctor told me it was a minor sprain and that I should just stay off my ankle for about two weeks.
Doctor Kim gave me crutches but I don't want to seem like "that girl" who seeks attention on purpose, so instead, I lock myself in my bedroom sketching relentlessly, I can't stop thinking about that place Jace took me to… I sketched the violent waves from that night and Jace's face blurred out using my drawing cloth and eraser. I also sketch Andrew's tensed hands clenching on the steering wheel. I can't shake this ominous feeling that there is more to this story than two people just hating each other.
I put the sketch pad down, "I'm just bored." I sigh as I look over to Jace's house, trying to spot his figure lurking in his room.
"Then it's a good thing I came." I jolt at his voice, I'm taken aback to see who it is.
"You're here." I stare.
"And I brought food." he smiles.
He walks over to my bedside.
"That bad, huh?" he shakes his head as he looks over to my foot, "Sorry I came unannounced, Melody didn't want to give me your number, and I kinda feel guilty that you have a sprain, I should have helped you out." Andrew apologizes.
I stare at him for a while… contemplating if involving myself with Andrew is a good idea after hearing that Melody didn't want Andrew to have my number. Over the past week, Melody came over and we binged rom-coms and talked for hours on end. I completely understand why she doesn't want me to date her brother, I would be a horrible friend if I did that. So it's a good thing that Andrew is here out of guilt and not anything else.
"I should be the one apologizing." I finally respond after a short pause. "You were so nice and I– I wasn't."I stammer.
Andrew shrugs, "You didn't do anything too crazy." he looks down at his feet, "Water under the bridge I guess." he offers me a small smile.
He drops the fast food bag on my bed, "Well I'm going to head out, I have a baseball game to catch with the old man." Andrew says in a mannerism I haven't seen on him before, is he stressed or possibly nervous?
With a swift move, he takes his phone out of his pocket. "Could you give me your number?" he asks so naturally as if he has done this countless times before.
I hesitate at first and then take the phone from his hand. And save my number as Lucy Stone.
I then hand his phone back to him, and he smiles at me. "Enjoy lunch." With that being said he makes his way out of my room.
I stare at the door, I find myself wishing that he had stayed longer. I shake my head. I need to stop this, Melody is my only friend right now.
Max follows shortly in the room, "So we like this guy now?" he questions. "What happened to the hot neighbor?"
"Yeah, well there wasn't anything there, to begin with," I explain. "But Andrew is just a friend."
Max scans my facial expression, "Friend zone why? This guy is hot too, he looks kinda like young Johnny Depp." he throws me eyebrows and then sits down. He looks in the bag. "And he brought food unfriend zone him right now, young lady."
"I can't– he's the one who friend-zoned me. Besides his Melody's brother." I fold my arms.
He looks in the bag, "Well screw Melody" Max makes a face.
But I shake my head at him dying to change the topic.
"How's your girlfriend?" I squint at him.
"Ex-girlfriend." He makes a face.
I sigh, "Sorry we had to move." I apologize.
"Don't apologize, I know what I got myself into… Dad always moves. If anyone is to be blamed it's her, for being so perfect." Max pronounces dully.
I lean over to hug him without hesitation, he squeezes me back.
"Sometimes you're the only one that makes me feel better," Max confesses chokingly in my ear.
"Maybe because we get each other." I offer him a smile.
"Hey I don't know if this is going to sound crazy but do you think that sometimes Mom and Dad love me too much… you know for making up for the fact that they are not my real parents," Max asks.
I shrug and take his hand, "I don't know– but I think they love you just as much as they love the rest of us."
Max nods thoughtfully.
"But for what it's worth, I sometimes feel the same, sometimes I don't feel like I belong." confess.
Max looks at me, "I'm sorry to hear Lucy." he says sincerely.
"Do you ever think about taking therapy?" Max asks me. "I know it's not ideal but it helped me process all my unresolved emotions."
I stare at him for a while, I have thought about it. Dad has brought it up more than once but I hate the idea of having my brain picked and sorted out, but the way Max describes it, makes me believe that maybe it is as that bad as I think.
"Okay." I nod.
***
I sigh, "And that's how my brother got me to go to therapy." I nod my head at the doctor.
"Thank you, Lucy, but I was hoping to hear more about you." She smiles.
I swallow a lump in my throat. "I'm fine." I chuckle nervously.
"I would like to remind you Lucy that everything you say now is completely confidential." She gives me an encouraging smile.
I nod. "I know."
"So do you feel like you need to share something with me today,?" She asks.
But I Shrug.
"I recall in the story you were telling me, you sometimes feel like you don't have a sense of belonging, is that correct?" she asks.
I nod again,
"Could you elaborate?" the therapist asks.
I take a deep breath in and out, "Well my Dad was never present in my life." I tell her. "Maybe that's why." I shrug, I pause and she writes down something on her notepad. Analyzing me…
"That's a good start, Lucy, do you mind painting a clearer picture for me?" she asks in a calm voice, her voice is soothing. I wonder if they are just taught that or if that's the voice she's just born with.
"Well, my mom and dad had me at seventeen. My dad had a scholarship for swimming and he wanted to turn it down but for the long-term goal he thought it would be better for everyone if he studied, but he told me that he did work part-time and sent money to my mom to help with me. I just think that it's a shame that my Dad met my mother." I ramble.
"What makes you feel that about your mom?" She asks, trying to pick my brain again.
I huff, "Well you would just have to meet the woman to get the full picture, she's just plain outright horrible, I mean at first it wasn't all bad when we lived in Chicago, but when we moved to West Virginia after that it just went downhill from there. That's when she met Pete." I with pent-up rage.
"Who is Pete?" The therapist asks and I just can't help but jolt up to grab my crutches and start walking off.
"Lucy, you still have twenty minutes left." She calls after me.
"Yeah, whatever." I mummer.
When I walk out I'm confused to find that my cheeks are wet with tears. Great.
I go over to the exit, to look for my dad and I come to a halt at someone calling my name. A familiar voice. A voice that sounds sweet to my ears and soul.
"Lucy," he calls. "Are you okay?" he asks me, I look over to Jace.
"What are you doing here?" I burst out into frustrated tears, "We do we keep on running into each other like this, it's making it hard for me to stay away from you." I accuse.
Without a word being said he walks over to me and hugs me.
"It's going to be okay, everything is going to be alright." I don't argue or do or say anything. I just allow myself to melt into his arms.