Lex and Lu(41)

She could see his curious look as he raised his eyebrow as if to say, “What do you want, Will?”

Before anyone knew her intention, she drew her hand back and smacked him across the face. “What the fuck is the matter with you?” she seethed.

At first there was stunned silence. Only the sound of Willa’s agitated breathing could be heard. Then, all at once, everyone moved. Jo jumped to her feet, Lex stood up from the desk, and Pete wrapped his arms around her so that she couldn’t move hers. Backing her away, he whispered to her, “What are you doing?”

But she didn’t hear him. “What the fuck is the matter with you? How could you hurt her like that?” she screamed, fighting against Pete. Willa was so mad at Lex that she couldn’t calm down, even though she could hear Pete murmuring soothingly to her.

“This isn’t our fight, Will,” he whispered, moving her slowly toward the front of the room, out of Lex’s reach.

But Lex kept moving toward them, and Pete could feel panic rising in his chest. All he could hope for was not to be put in the middle. Don’t make me choose, he thought to himself, pleading in his eyes as he held on to the struggling Willa and watched Lex move toward them.

Suddenly, Lex stopped, as if Pete’s silent pleas had reached his ears. He took a tentative step toward them. “Will,” he said in a voice surprisingly soft, “how am I the bad guy here?”

Willa froze in Pete’s arms. Glaring at him with residual adrenaline rushing through her, she said, “When you pulled your little sexual power play.”

He nodded. “Point taken.”

Pete glared at him. “What the hell did you do?” “That’s enough!” The three of them stopped as Jo walked into the middle, between Lex and Pete, who was still holding on to Willa, even though she had stopped struggling. “Just stop it. This isn’t the time nor the place for this discussion.” Looking at Willa she said, “It’s not your place to get in the middle of this mess with Lex and Lu. They’ve got to figure this out without any interference from the rest of us.”

Willa, still livid, couldn’t hold her tongue. “Like you’ve been so good staying out of it?”

Jo, caught off guard by Willa’s blast of anger, glared back at her. “That’s quite enough, Willa.” At the same time, Pete tightened his hold on Willa, begging her to stop, and whispered “please” in her ear.

Willa pulled out of Pete’s arms, needing distance from him. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she couldn’t put him in this impossible situation, today of all days, but she couldn’t help sticking up for Lu. He felt her pull away but knew he couldn’t do anything about it. Lex, already regretting his encounter with Lu, was flooded with guilt, and Jo, who was trying desperately to do the right thing for Lex, wanted to smack Willa. Pete, the only one in the room with diplomatic skills, knew he needed to do something to save the situation, but his mind was blank. When a tentative knock sounded at the door, they all grabbed on to it as if they were drowning and the knock were a life preserver.

“Come in,” came the chorus, as all of them answered.

The pocket door slid open and standing just outside were Lu and Nina.

Pete, Willa, and Jo all shouted at once, “Little Bit!” “Nee!” “Nina!”

A big smile broke over her face. She was the perfect blend of Lu and Lex, but didn’t really look like either one of them. She had gotten Lu’s black hair, Lex’s green eyes, Lu’s full lips, Lex’s height but Lu’s slender stature. The whole room was enchanted.

Nina bounded forward, as was normal for her. She greeted her grandmother, her aunt, and her uncle. Lu, who could tell that the atmosphere in the room was heated, entered the room gingerly, and closed the doors behind her. Although she would have preferred to be anywhere else, this was the inevitable conclusion to the turmoil of the day. Without trying to, she found herself watching Lex. He was struck still.

After Nina finished hugging Pete, she stopped in front of Lex. Lu was about to make an introduction, but Nina stared up and him and said, “Hello.”

Lex, still dumbfounded by her presence, managed a “Hello.”

“I’m Nina,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“I guessed that,” he said as that smile of his lit his face.

“Are you Lex Pellitteri?” she asked.

He nodded. “I am.”

Willa, Pete, Jo, and Lu all watched, fascinated with the exchange, each holding hope in their hearts that somehow this could reach a happy resolution.

“Grampa Mike told me all about you,” she continued.