Pierced(38)

Rose is in the middle of nodding when her eyes widen. “Whoa, what about court papers; what the hell are you talking about?” Had it really just been hours since I was served papers by my absent mother? I haven’t even had a chance to tell my best friend.

“When I came home to change clothes today, some guy knocked on the door and served me papers. I called Debra in a panic and found out my stepfather beat my mother up, and she is pressing charges against him this time. I would have been impressed with that if she wasn’t dragging me into it. I have to go to court to testify about what a monster he is. I’m not sure how that is possible without admitting she is, as well.”

Rose puts her hand over mine, gently stopping my fingers from digging into my palm. “Honey, I’m so sorry. That fucking blows. I can’t believe that bitch is doing this to you. Even a dog takes care of their puppies better than that wacko took care of you. I’m so going to go to court with you and kick her ass!” This is one of those moments when I realize how lucky I am to have Rose in my life. She is crude and irreverent, but she would defend and protect me until the end. After a lifetime of being loved by no one, it is still hard for me to accept that someone could care for me. I am so used to handling everything on my own.

“Luc said he would have his lawyer find out what was going on. He promised he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” I wait for Rose to jump on this statement, but she simply smiles.

“Well, Lucian…or Luc sounds okay in my book. When can I meet him?” She holds up her hand as if she is taking the witness stand and says, “I pledge to ogle him discreetly. He will never notice when I stare at his ass and his crotch. This will be a total covert mission. I’m just doing this for you.”

“Yeah, right,” I smirk. “He’s going out of town for a few days, so I’m not sure when he will be back. Besides, it’s not really normal between us. I don’t see him doing a double-date.”

“The man is only twenty-nine, Lia; it’s not like he is a senior citizen or something. He has to have fun sometime.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised that she knows his age, but I have to ask. “How do you know how old he is?”

She raises a brow as if to say ‘come on’. “I googled him, of course. The man is seriously loaded, and there are like a bazillion hits on him. He’s not much for the dog-and-pony show, though. I guess Asheville isn’t exactly the hub of socializing, but you would think there would be more pictures of him in a tux with some stick-figure woman on his arm. But there really aren’t. There is mostly stuff about his charities and what a walking brainiac he is. If he is a man-whore, he does it out of the spotlight.”

Thinking of Lucian with other women makes me want to throw something. Not a good sign when you’re just in a ‘fuckionship’, as Rose calls it. For all I know, he may have rushed me out the door tonight because he had other plans. I know next to nothing about him… well, other than the fact that he fucked Monique. Some part of me understands how she must feel seeing me with him. Wouldn’t I turn into a Class –A bitch if that happened to me? He treats her as if she means less than nothing to him. I have to accept the fact that I could be her in the possibly-near future.





Chapter Nine



Lia



Lucian has been gone for a week, and I have heard nothing from him. I continue to go to his apartment each day, disappointed when there is no sign he has returned. I have been tempted to make up an excuse to text him but manage to talk myself out of it. Since there is really nothing to clean, I have rearranged his entire CD and DVD collection into alphabetical order. I am just putting the last DVD in place when I hear keys in the door. My body starts tingling, knowing he is near. I reach the foyer just as Lucian walks in. The welcoming smile slides from my lips as I take him in; he looks like walking death. He staggers on his feet as he crosses the threshold, and I rush forward to grab his arm. He seems startled to see me standing there. “Lia…baby, not feeling so good.” Before I can reply, Sam steps out from behind him carrying a suitcase and briefcase.

“Hey, Lia. Our man here has the flu. He spent yesterday in the bed at his hotel before losing his mind and flying home today. I pretty much carried him through the airport and to the car.” By this time, Lucian has put an arm around my shoulders and is leaning heavily against me. Sam sets the luggage down and takes his other arm. “Let’s see if we can get him in the bedroom.”

Between both of us, we were able to easily guide him down the hall. Sam braces him against the wall while I turn the bed down. I stand there uncertainly, wondering if I should undress him. Luckily, Lucian seems to recover enough to sit on the bed and take his shoes and shirt off. I quickly find a freshly-laundered pair of lounge pants and t-shirt and put them on the bed beside him.