Lovesick

Chapter VII

Lucas went back to his old bad habits, using girls he didn't care about as temporary distractions and treating them like garbage as soon as he got bored of them. He tried to act like he had already moved on by being the same bastard he always had been, but it was obvious the sting of his breakup with Megan still lingered. After reflecting on it for days, he should have come to the realisation that he had messed up, but he was far too conceited for that. He just ended up even more convinced that Megan was the one who had overreacted. And once he had reached that conclusion, nothing could make him second-guess himself.

At least, I suppose it was better to see him angry than wallowing in guilt. I could deal with his bad moods, and I knew exactly how to avoid becoming an outlet for his frustration. It's simple, I just didn't say a word about it. No asking him how he was doing, no trying to empathise with him, and if by any chance he brought up the subject, just agreeing with everything he said was a safe bet. It was good riddance, right? She was starting to become a bitch, anyway. I would nod without hesitation. It wasn't long before he stopped talking about Megan entirely, though that didn't mean he had let the matter go.

One day, in the late afternoon, he called me out of the blue while I was at home.

"Come to my house," he said as soon as I picked up.

"What, right now?"

"Yeah. Right now."

"Okay, I'm on way," I said, already grabbing my keys and jacket. "Hey, is everything—"

He hung up before I could ask him what was going on. Typical. He had made it sound like there was an emergency, but, knowing him, whatever the problem was, it was likely not a big deal. He was such a drama queen, after all. He would sometimes call me with the same kind of urgency in his voice and I would show up in a panic only to find out he needed help beating a boss in a video game, or something.

I wasn't too worried when I arrived at the mansion, but that changed the moment I saw the look on his face when he opened the front gate to let me in. He never liked to stay confined when he had the time to go out on a weekend, but, judging by his dishevelled appearance, he hadn't left the comfort of his home for even a minute that day. His hair was a mess, he was wearing his most unflattering sweatshirt, and his droopy eyes lacked focus. But somehow, that bed-hazy version of him was still unbelievably attractive. He just looked... a little more human, in an endearing way.

"Hey," he said, deadpan.

I didn't even bother returning the greeting. After making me come all that way without any prior notice, an explanation was the least he could offer. "So? What's the emergency, this time?"

He shrugged. "I never said it was an emergency. I just told you to come and..." He swept his eyes up and down my body, as though he was just now taking note of my presence. "...you did."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe I won't, next time."

"Yeah," he snorted, "you always say that."

I always did, didn't I? But we both knew those were empty words. I rubbed a hand against my neck and looked away as I felt the heat creep up my back. "Well, of course I'll come if you want me to..."

I dared throw a glance in his direction, just long enough to see a genuine smile form on his lips. "You're too good to me, you know that?"

Oh, I sure as hell knew that. I sucked in a breath. "Yeah..."

His smile turned into a teasing smirk. "Let's keep it that way."

Before I could respond, he motioned for me to follow him inside. I closed the gate behind me and hurried after him. From the looks of it, his parents weren't home, since one of their cars was missing from the driveway. Knowing them, they were probably having a night out.