Locklyle - The Story after The Empty Grave

Part 25: Bad Memories

Lucy's POV:

Rain pattered on the glass, creating a soundtrack for me and Mary's lunch. We were sat at the window table, munching away at our meals, and commenting on people's outfits that walked by. Now, we weren't being mean with our comments, only conplimenting or describing how we would style them ourselves. We also delved deeper into the details of the different cases I had been on over the years. I had always glossed over the details, some of them being very important, and now Mary wanted answers. She was shocked and horrified to say the least about some of them.

As we set our knives and forks down on our plates, our bellies full, we discussed who was going to pay. I wanted to because she was the guest, but she insisted because she felt guilty about Eleanor. After a short argument thst ended in myself winning, I stood up and made my way to the counter to pay.

As I waited in line, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Confused, I turned around and found myself facing a familiar face. I had seen this person somewhere, but I couldn't remember where.
'Hi, it's Lucy right?' They asked.
'Yeah?' I wasn't great at hiding my emotions, and the newcomer picked up on my confusion.
'I'm Riley. You meet me at the opening of Lockwood's gallery.' They smiled at me, not caring I hadn't remembered them.
'Oh! Of course! Sorry, my bad. Hi.' I smiled back at them.
'No, it's all good, didn't expect you to remember. What brings you here? I don't see Lockwood or George. Unless I'm blind?' They laughed as they glanced around the small cafe.
'Oh, I'm here with my sister. She's visiting us for a week so we just went out for lunch.' I replied. 'How about you?'
'Oh, that's lovely. I'm just grabbing a snack before I head home.'

I smiled at them before turning back to the counter. The person in front of me had finished paying and it was now my turn. I quickly handed my cash over, thanked the server. As I was about to walk back to Mary who was waiting by the door, I had a thought.
'Hey, Riley.' I paused and waited for them to look at me. 'If you're not doing anything, would you like to walk around the shops with me and my sister?'
'Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude on anything.' They said shyly.
'No, no you wouldn't be. We aren't doing anything special. You are completely welcome to come.'
'Oh, thanks Lucy. I might actually if that's okay.'
'Great!' I gave them a big smile and walked to Mary to tell her.

We spend the next three hours going in and out of various stores, buying the occasional knick-knack. We tried on ridiculous outfits and laughed so hard that at one point, Mary started crying. We discovered that Riley was a real fashionista, making us try on the cutest outfits that were way out of our budget. They bonded extremely well with Mary, the two of them becoming fast friends.

I envied Mary for how quickly she could become friends with someone. It was the one thing that we never had in common. Everyone gravitated towards her and ignored me, not wanting to interact with someone who had a sour face. Sometimes people would talk to me once they figured out I was actually okay, but I did have my fair share of haters. Of course, I didn't mind too much as I only needed my own company. And having those problems back in my childhood only meant my friendships now were a lot more special.

By the time we were too exhausted to shop anymore and our feet were screaming at us to stop walking, the rain had stopped completely. However dark grey clouds still hung in the air. We walked Riley back to their small apartment where we said our goodbyes. Mary and them exchanged addresses for sending letters to each other, before hugging goodbye. After only a few hours together I could tell they were pretty much best friends.

As we got a cab back to 35 Portland Row, the rain started up again.
'Riley's really cool.' Mary started. 'How come you never mentioned them before in your letters?'
'Oh, I only meet them like a month ago.'
'Oh, okay. Well I'm glad you invited them to.come shopping with us.' She smiled at me. I smiled back. The rest of the cab ride we talked about what we would do the rest of the week, and once home, we split ways. She went up to her guestroom to put her bags away, while I went into the kitchen to make some tea.