BOOK 3 of the ORPHIC Series
CHURLISH
/ˈCHərliSH/
marked by a lack of civility.
~~~~~
Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker finds herself in the 21 century sporting the title of Aunt while lugging along h...
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"How lucky I am having something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
Washington D.C, America September, 2015
JAMES HAD LEFT WITHOUT SAYING goodbye. She'd fallen asleep on the couch with her head in his lap, a bone-deep tiredness having taken over her body. He'd left as if he'd never been there in the first place.
Like a ghost.
The containers of food were gone, the bottle of whiskey was gone; although he did leave the champagne. He'd taken her keys—with her permission, of course—so the office was rather bare. She was the only source of warmth in the area, apart from the A/C that circulated throughout the entire building.
She was glad he'd left her sleeping, after all, she was the one who'd asked him to. She was sure the moment she watched James exit the bank vault, Lucy would change her mind. She wouldn't be able to leave him without a heart-wrenching pain, and she didn't want James to see her cry.
She would only hurt him.
When she awoke, she found herself unable to move from the couch. The tears formed faster than she thought they would and all she could do was curl in on herself and sob. It was a cry that hurt far more than she understood. The pain in her heart burned, and she knew her body was trying to find why she was hurting so much, alerting her mind as if she was being physically injured.
It took great effort for her to silence her aching sobs, wiping her eyes with a shaking hand. She would miss James so much, even if she knew it would be healthier for them to be separate.
HYDRA had ruined them far more than Lucy had ever wanted to admit.
And she hated them for it. Despised them for every pain they ever inflicted on them—but what could she do about that? She'd think that only because she thought the circumstances were unfair.
But she knew the moment she stood in front of the Commander, Henry, even Karpov, those thoughts would be dulled—muted, because she wanted approval. Her mind would always want approval, subconsciously or consciously. It didn't matter, and Lucy was exhausted by the disposition she carried towards herself. There was only so much hatred she could pile before she would crumble.
That was why Lucy wasn't fervently searching whatever remnants of HYDRA were left. It was why she hadn't hunted down the agents regrouping in the safe houses across the world. She wasn't out for blood or revenge, she just wanted to live.
