April Fools(9)

I couldn't stop the tears from falling, "I'm so sorry, I should have answered your phone calls, I should have told you that I wasn't at home."

"Stop it right now. What did I say about not blaming yourself? Look, I'm okay."

"How did you know about the fire?"

"I was walking home when I got a phone call from a friend. As soon as they told me about the fire, I ran. I ran and didn't stop until I got there. You weren't answering your phone so I went in. I have no regrets." He paused and looked down at his hands, "There's something that I need to ask you. It's okay if you don't want to answer but I would really appreciate it if you did." I nodded. "Are you in love with Isaac?"

My heart leapt at the mention of his name. Even though I knew that it was going to hurt him, I owed him the truth. "Yes."

"That's what I thought but I needed to hear it. The night before the fire, I saw the way that you looked at each other. I didn't want to believe it, it was easier for me to think that he must have taken advantage of you because you were upset. But I've had a lot of time to think recently and I want us to go back to being friends. I want to start over and earn your trust back. Above everything, I want you to be happy."

I let his words sink in as I remembered why I liked being around Lukas so much. He was a genuinely good person. Sometimes good people make bad choices but that doesn't make them bad people, it just proves that they're human. "Thank you."

"If Isaac makes you happy, then I'm happy. If Isaac makes you upset, then I'll be upset...and I'll kick his ass."

I laughed before he pulled me into one of his signature bear hugs. When I pulled away, I glanced down at my watch. "I think Lucy's been kidnapped."

"Well we'd better call Liam Neeson."

I smirked, "I deleted his number, his constant texts were starting to annoy me." I stood up and walked over to the front door before looking outside. Lucy was nowhere to be seen. I dialled her number and could hear music in the background when she answered. "Hey, where are you?"

"I'm at the pub with Dan."

"Oh, how did that happen?"

"I was sitting on the wall outside when I saw him walking down the street. I wanted to give you and Lukas some time alone so I persuaded him to come to the pub with me."

"I bet he didn't take much persuading."

"Nope, I told him that I'd buy him a drink and he was sold."

"When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure, I might stay here for a while. They're actually playing music that I like tonight. Why don't you come and join us?"

"No thanks, I'm just going to head back and have an early night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait...are you and Lukas okay?"

"Yeah, we're good."

I walked back over to Lukas. "Do we need to go on a rescue mission?" he asked.

"Yes, we need to rescue her from Dan."

"Why is she with Dan?"

"They're at the pub."

He nodded in understanding, "Lucy took one for the team."

"We definitely owe her one. I think I'm going to head home, let you get some rest."

"You don't have to, you can stay if you want."

"I'm really tired." I grinned, "Some of us actually went to class today."

He laughed, "Some of us are too busy running into burning buildings. You know, saving people's lives."

I held my hands up as I began to back out of the room, "You win this time. I'll see you soon."

***

I spent the rest of the night debating whether I should call Isaac. When I was lying in bed at ten thirty with no phone call, I began to question why he still wasn't home. It was sometime around midnight when I finally fell asleep. I felt better after my conversation with Lukas but I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with Isaac.





Chapter Seven

The next morning, I was watching crappy morning TV when Lucy sat down next to me. "Hey, did you have a good night?"

"Don't ask" she replied.

"So that's a no then, are you okay?"

"I haven't decided."

"What has he done now?"

She blushed, "Who?"

"Dan, was he being a douche last night?"

"When is he not being a douche?"

"True. So what did he do to upset you?"

"I don't even want to waste my breath on him."

"Do you need me to kick him in the balls for you?"

"I already did."

I laughed, "Good. What did you end up doing in the end? You were out pretty late."

"Um, we just had a few drinks and then I stayed to watch some band play." She stood up, "Do you want a coffee?"

"No thanks, I'm leaving for class in a minute."