Found

Chapter 5

"Luce was opposed with everything being prefect." Jen tells me after dinner. "She had an idea that our group would be.... prefect for each other. Vince would be with me, Tofu with Sky, Jafaris with Casey, his girlfriend, and then she would be with Liam."
"Liam did date her for a while but, he ended it. She wasn't the girl for him. Luce was furious."
" Why is Luce like that?" I ask her. "We don't know." Jen sighs, "I think that she's just messed up. She would mumble to herself at night and she had so many secrets, and yet... Somehow she knew all our secrets we never knew any of hers."
     Nobody talked to me for the rest of the day. I walked. I figured out how to we all. I can't do stairs, though. So I take the elevator.
* * *
      Liam didn't come into my room till around 22:00. He looked surprised to see me awake. I was pacing when he came in. Liam chuckles, "You learn how to walk and then it's all you do."
"Ha ha." I say sarcastically.
    I don't dream tonight. When I wake Liam is smiling from his chair. "Look I can walk now. You can stop being my guardian angle." I say. He smiles, "What if you have a nightmare?" He asks. "I'll come and get  you,"  I say. "By walking to your room." I empathize.
   Breakfast goes fine and we start an Old Maid game when Jafaris canes running toward us. "She is unbearable." He says. "Casey or the monster?" Tofu asks. "The monster." He clarifies. "Why is she even here?" I ask.
    "When she became an honorary descendant she got the party planner job and once a year the three buildings throw a 'we never get to see each other but tonight we can' party and Found is hosting it this year. So Luce, Lucas and I have to work together. And I'm sorry Clove, this party messes up your birthday party."
   "It's fine," I tell Jafaris. Sky draws from my hand. "What could go wrong if        
Sky just drew the Old Maid from me?" I laugh. Sky sticks out her young.
     Liam and Jafaris had to go to talk to Lucas, the wanderer party man, about the food and then Jen had to go because if something about Kitty. Sky saw someone come from across the room and for some reason got up and left and then Tofu followed her.
    Just me and Vince. "So has anybody told you about Luce's obesity with Liam?" He asks. "Jen mentioned it but didn't go into details." I tell him.
    "Well, I know why." He smiles. "Because Liam wouldn't want you to know."
I raise an eyebrow. "Oh. Is that so?"
Vince gets a devilish grin. "You see Liam did date Luce. And they were involved. But when he broke it off, Luce went haywire. Not only had she not got her way she also had been dumped.
"Luce went around telling people that he uses girls. She lied and lied and all those lies only built her lie tower taller and taller. Like a stack of books that just keep on growing.
"Luce told people that Liam found girls got involved then left them. And as long as it was Luce talking everyone believed her."
I look at him, "Do people still think that..?" I ask. "No, when Luce left people got over her lies. That's why she said 'Just another one of Liam's girls' when she met you. She's trying to keep her and her lies around the Found building."
"She's awful," I whisper. Vince chuckles quietly, "She's not awful, she's Luce." I just look at him.
"Simon Lee?" I ask "Is that really what you want to be Called-"
"And this much be Liam's pet." Says a voice from behind me. Luce. Luce is wearing a dark blue lace dress that comes up to her knees and cherry red lipstick. She has a pair if sunglasses pushed up on her forehead. Her blonde-Carmel color hair is drown to her shoulders.
She smiles and puts out her hand, "I'm Luce Grace, and you are?"
    I don't shake her hand. "Clover." I say, ice cold. "If you talk in that tone he must have already over with you that twisted  boy."
    I just look at her. "Liam is not twisted." I mumble. "So your still being brainwashed, I see." She says with a wicked grin. "You'll get over it eventually, dear." She says.
     "Joseph!" She cries, seeing Vince. She goes over to hug him. "Don't touch me." Vince warns. "Joseph, I haven't seen the cat since I got here. Have you seen her?"
    "Would you like to answer that question?" Vince asks her. "What is that supposed to mean?" Asks Luce. Vince just glares at her. "Jose-"
   "I'm called Vince now." Says Vince, cutting Luce off.
     I stand up and walk to the elevator. I push the red glass up button and wait as Luce and Vince babble on.
    When the elevator door opens Tofu is on the other side. He looks past me and goes white when he sees Luce. He pulls me inside the elevator and pushes the 'close door' button.
She sighs and wipes his forehead with his shirt. "That was close." He sighs. "You see, I'm trying, unlike the others, not to run into Luce. Age is not a person I feel like standing up too."
"What happened between you and Luce Grace?" I ask. Somethings happened between everyone and Luce.
He smiles "I was going through a hard time. Everybody hated me and I hadn't met Vince yet. Well, Luce took advantage of my desperation and kissed me. And then when I was telling everyone she actually kissed me she denied it and nothing gets Found more angry at you then being a lair.
"Of,course now she'll make sly comments about it. I really don't need that right now."
We reach floor three and I head to my room. Just as I was walking past Liam's room he walks out and bumps us to the floor. He jumps right up and I just sit there, "Crap." I mutter. I can't get up.
He chuckles softly and picks me up. "It's not funny," I tell him, "I'm really trying." He just shakes his head.
"I know you are." He tells me, "it's still funny, though."
He stops in front of my door. I unlocked it and go in. He comes in right behind me.
"Okay, this is not allowed," I say, "You were not invited." He smiles. "What if you fall over?" He asks. "Ha ha." I mumble.
"You know, " he says. "I miss carting you around." I roll my eyes. He just smiles.
"Luce had a conversation with me today." I tell him. He stares up and at the ceiling and closes his eyes. I hear him take a deep breath.
"What did she say?" He asks. "She just acted like I was a little child and called you twisted." He shakes his head, "That sounds just like Luce."
Liam leaves and I take a shower. The cool water feels amazing on my skin. I come out and put on my olive green cargo pants and a gray t-shirt that galled off my shoulders to show the lion and gazelle. I put my dripping hair up in a very messy bun.
I take the elevator to lunch. It stops on the second floor on its way down. Jafaris walks on. "Luce is driving me crazy!" He says. I sigh. She's driving everyone crazy.
"Where are you going?" I ask. I thought Jafaris always ate lunch in his office.
"I need a coffee and a reason to get out of my office." He says. I smile, "Nice." I tell him. "Well you can sit at our table." I say.
When we land Jafaris gets a coffee and goes back up and I get a bowl of Potato Soup. Liam is dealing out some cards for what looks like his second favorite game Uno.
Jen sits across from me with circles under her eyes and the color drained from her skin. She smiles slightly when she catches me looking at her. Even her smile is short and weak.
Vince is wearing a shirt that shows his huge muscles and tofu is in a gray t-shirt.
The sound of heels comes from behind me. I turn around and see Luce coming to the table. Vince sighs, Sky rolls her eyes, Jen chuckles a little with Liam and Tofu gets up and heads to the bathroom.
"Where is the kitten?" She asks, confused. That's when I realize Kitty wasn't in any Luce stories.
Luce wares a blue dress today and matting blue heels. Her lipstick is bright red.
Liam smiles. "Liam!" She cries. "I haven't seen you much and I think Tofer is trying to avoid me."
"Aren't we all?" I ask. Liam laughs and tries to cover it with a cough. And Jen actually smiles.
"Ahh.. So I see that Liam's pet has a opinion." She says.
"Well, guess what?" I ask her. "Liam and I aren't a couple." I couldn't help but be smug when I say it.
That threw her off for a minute. "So, she's a new addition to your pack?" Luce asks.
"That's sure right." Smiles Sky, speaking for the first time. "Look where she's sitting." Vince adds.
Luce's face goes red with anger. "Well then." She mumbles and stalks away.
I look at Vince. "Where am I sitting?" Liam smiles, her old spot.