One Night ✔

17. Complications

"Missy" I blurt out, unsure of what else to say. I was sure that as soon as Lucas had told her he wanted a divorce that she had packed up her stuff and went back upstate to their home yet here she was on my porch, demanding to know Lucas' whereabouts.

She scoffs. "Glad you remember my name" she snips. "Now let's see if that memory of yours is as sharp when I ask you again. Where is my husband?" she demands, leaving me at a loss for words as I see all the progress from the last two days circling the drain. "And don't think about lying either, I saw his car out front." I glance behind me and expect to see Lucas walking towards her, walking towards a reconciliation but instead I notice him ducking back behind the wall when I catch his eye and my heart swells. He wasn't running.

"He's-." I begin but I'm quickly cut off by my daughter who had seemingly walked in without me noticing.

"Who is this?" she asks as she stops beside me, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks towards Missy, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm Missy Friar" the woman snips causing me to suppress a laugh. She'd be Missy Bradford soon enough. "And you are?" she asks, looking at my daughter judgementally.

I hold my breath in terror. If Avery introduced herself as mine and Lucas' daughter all hell would break loose.

Avery's lips quirk into a smirk and I'm immediately comforted because I knew that smirk. It was the smirk she learned from her aunt, that was her hell raising smirk. "I'm Avery Matthews, Riley's niece visiting from California" she lies, stunningly convincing. "My parents are her uncle and her best friend. Perhaps you remember them, Josh Matthews and Maya Hunter?"

Missy groans. "I do not have time to relive that atrocious high school reunion right now. I'm looking for Lucas and I know you both know where I can find him so let's just cut the bullshit, shall we?"

I shake my head, stepping towards the woman who I spent most of my life envying. I was done being the sad, pathetic girl who gets left. Lucas belonged with me and I wasn't going to let this bleach blonde bitch take him from me. "Even if I did know where he was, which I don't, I would never tell you. He clearly doesn't want anything to do with you so perhaps you should just give up and accept the loss."

"But his car-."

"Was sold to me" Avery interjects. "Well, my father. I'm learning to drive so Lucas sold it to my dad a few days ago after saying something about needing a fresh start. But I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" she asks with a fake smile and I have to press my lips in a fine line to keep from bursting into laughter. My daughter was certainly Maya's niece.

"Fine but you know what, when you find him please tell him he'll be hearing from my attorney" she snips.

"I'm sure he's looking forward to it" I reply snippily. "Now please get the hell off my property."

She looks between me and Avery once more before finally leaving in a huff, her heels clicking against the pavement. Avery shuts the door and I laugh. "She's gone" I shout.

Lucas slowly comes out of hiding and a smile tugs at my lips. "You get all that?"

He chuckles. "I think so" he replies, walking towards us. "You know, I didn't know she was coming" he adds, his voice shaky but I nod. I may not have been certain when I opened the door but after seeing the way he reacted I was positive that there was no way he could've known she would show up here.

"You don't have to convince me that she's really just crazy enough to show up at my house" I reply honestly. "She literally lied about me kissing someone else in order to break us up. There is nothing Missy could do that would shock me."