Lex and Lu(40)

Instantly alarmed by the look of her, Willa practically ran to her and dropped down in front of her. Grabbing her hands, Willa rubbed them vigorously, attempting to infuse some warmth into her ice-cold fingers. Willa was shocked by Lu’s appearance. Her face was tear-stained, her eyes and nose red from what looked like a serious bout of crying, her hair mussed as if she had repeatedly run her hands through it. “What happened, Lu?”

Lu flinched, almost as if she didn’t realize that it was Willa sitting in front of her.

“Where’s Lex?” Lu asked.

“He’s back at the house. When you didn’t come back with him, Sky and I came to find you.”

“Has he seen Nina?” she asked impatiently, suddenly alert.

“No, Lu. When Pete saw Lex walk up to the house, he knew something was off. He took Nina to our house. He didn’t want their meeting to take place without you.” Willa stopped when she heard the door creak open again. Turning, she met Sky’s look with a worried one of her own.

“Sky’s here,” she said soothingly to Lu.

Lu looked at Sky and Willa and tried to offer up a smile, but it was one that didn’t work, and they both became more alarmed.

“Lu,” Willa said, “What happened? Maybe if you tell me, you’ll feel better.”

Lu laughed a maniacal laugh and said, “I don’t think I’ll ever feel better.”

“Yes, you will. It will take time, but you will.”

Shaking her head and looking sadly at the ground, she started to ramble about what happened. “He was so angry, Will. But he knew before I told him, so when I walked in here, he already knew. Who would tell him? I mean I know who told him but I wanted to be the one to tell him. I’m not saying he wouldn’t have been angry, but I don’t think he would have been so ruthless.”

Suddenly on edge, Willa asked a question she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to. “Lu, what did he do to you. Did he hurt you?”

Again, the maniacal laugh before she answered. “We fucked.” Laughter. “I wish I could say it was something more meaningful than that, but he wanted to hurt me, and I let him.”

Willa stood up, pissed. “I will rip his fucking dick off!”

Lu reached up and grabbed her hand. “I wanted him. One last time. I needed him. It was as much my doing as his.”

“Stop it!” Willa shouted. “You don’t deserve that.”

“Willa, I kept his child from him for eight years. Then when he comes back, I don’t tell him. And to top it off, I sleep with him while holding all of it away from him. And he asked me. He knew I was lying to him and I still didn’t tell him. Somehow, I thought that I could lessen the blow. I’m wrong here, Will, not him.”

“He’s going to pay for that.”

“Willa, think back for me. I’ve been sitting here trying to think about this. Do you ever remember seeing Lex mad about anything? Have you ever seen him angry? I haven’t until today. I brought out this completely foreign emotion in him. To look at him and not see his laughter in his eyes, it was like a stake to the heart. And I did that.”

Willa allowed herself to appear calm and collected. “We have to get you cleaned up and back to the house. You look like hell.”

“I don’t want Nina to see me like this, OK?”

Willa and Sky exchanged a look. “Yes. Come on. We’ve got to get back.”

Willa and Sky helped her out of the little chair. They left the Sunday-school room behind.



When they returned to the house, Willa sent Lu with Sky to get cleaned up. Willa made her way over to the Pellitteris’. Not finding Lex or Pete in the kitchen mingling with the guests, she headed to the office. The office had been Mike’s sanctuary. The dark-paneled walls and plantation shutters blocked most of the light, giving the room a serious mood. The places that were painted were a dark wine color. It was one of the few rooms in the house with carpet, but it was plush and made you feel like you were bouncing when you walked. The built-in cabinetry flanked the back wall. Directly in front sat Mr. P.’s massive desk. When they were little, this room seemed to be forbidden. Part of that came from the fact that they rarely entered as children unless they were in trouble. Pulling open the pocket doors, Willa barged in to find Lex, Pete, and Jo huddled, talking quietly. Lex was leaning against the desk, his arms crossed in front of him. Jo and Pete were sitting in the chairs.

Sliding the doors closed so that they banged and reverberated around the room, Lex looked up, while Jo and Pete turned to see who felt compelled to intrude. Watching their expressions, Willa took note of Lex’s weary gaze, Pete’s shy smile, and Jo’s quick flare of annoyance. Stalking through the room, Willa walked between the chairs to stand directly in front of Lex.