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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"People with good intentions make promises. People with good character keep them."
Bucharest, Romania March, 2016
LUCY AWOKE WITH HER HEAD on James's chest, her arm wrapped around his torso with her legs twisted around his. She could tell he was awake, reading a book from the sound of a page fluttering above her. Their next door neighbor, Andrei, was an old, frail man, and repaid James for fixing his faucet with books and old Romanian literature. She was glad he seemed to care about him.
She was vaguely aware of the fact she needed to take a plane to New York, visit the compound like she'd promised Natasha. But, god, she was so tired and it was comfortable here, laying with James on their bed, listening to the faint turning of papers, hearing the thudding heartbeat behind his chest.
He hummed softly as she shifted, curling around him closer, snuggling into him.
"Mornin', Sunshine." He said softly. "Feeling better?"
Lucy chuckled, lifting her head to gaze up at him. She hadn't realized how exhausted her body must've been the other night—the last thing she remembered was falling asleep, or passing out, perhaps, in James's arms. Her confusion settled without any panic; James was here and the scent of their apartment seeped into her nose.
She reached her hand upwards, poking his cheek.
"Yes." She said softly. "What about you?"
He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, those sincere eyes of his softening.
"Better." He admitted, closing his book and placing it beside him. "You're probably hungry, right? Klause said he could make some french omelets for us, if you want."
That erased the bleary tiredness in her eyes as she moved to sit up. She grimaced as her body seemed to click and ache with every movement she made. Panic attacks always drew so much energy from her limbs, and she could never tell how she'd feel afterward since they varied in intensity so often.
"Klause?" She questioned. "He stayed?"
James nodded.
"I told him he could go, but. . .he said his duty included being your chauffeur and, well, you need to go to New York, don't you?"
Lucy opened her mouth, then shut it. She gave James a tiny nod of reluctance.
She wouldn't ask him to come with her. It would be too suspicious if their apartment remained empty for so long. Besides, she felt James needed a break. Being confronted by Steve or anyone else would only exhaust him mentally.
