Catfished - COMPLETED

CHAPTER TEN

             Morning alarms blared in several different rooms at once. Nev was wide awake already, quickly dismissed his alarm, and began his morning routine without hesitation. Max berated his alarm-his arguments muffled by the pillow his face was buried in- and slowly got out of bed. Lucy couldn't sleep all night, so her alarm went off while she was already in the shower.
           An hour later, everyone met in the hotel lobby. The cameramen and producers huddled together to discuss the plan for this segment of the episode. Meanwhile, Nev, Max, and Lucy were in a huddle of their own.
           "How did the project last night go, Nev?" Lucy asked.
           "Really well. It only took a couple minutes. So I got to go to bed early last night," Nev told her. "How about you guys? Good night?" Nev couldn't control his smirk. He pretended to wipe at his mouth to cover it.
          Lucy blushed slightly, remembering Max holding her and the feel of him lightly kissing her head.
          "Yeah. We didn't do much after you left. Just hung out at the Hill a little longer," Max related. He would have to fill Nev in on the details he had just omitted. He was sure Lucy would appreciate his discretion for now.
          They recieved the okay to get going. Everyone piled into their respective vehicles and headed back to Jeff's house.
          From the backseat, Max studied Lucy. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. Her long legs were crossed tightly together. Her face was scrunched in concentration. Max saw her nod to herself, coming to some type of conclusion. Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath. Almost immediately, her posture completely changed- her shoulders relaxed, her legs uncrossed. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and a tiny smile shined through. Max wondered at what had suddenly come into her mind to make that drastic of a change in her demeanor.
         Lucy knew she should be freaking out. She had been yesterday. But the night before had her completely at ease. Confidence in Max being there for her relieved any anxiety she had. She mentally went through her plan for today. Listen to Jeff's side of the story. See it from his point of view. Relate to his feelings, but don't let him make her feel guilty. Simple enough.
       

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          The house looked the same as it had the previous day. The feeling of the previous day was different though. Gone was the feeling of dread and suspense. It was now replaced with reluctance. Definitely not a good feeling but better than it had been. Rather than going into the unknown, the trio was going to hear the origin story of a character they currently knew very little about.
          Nev swiveled in his seat to face Lucy. "Are you ready?"
          With a confident nod, Lucy replied, "Yeah. I've got this." She rolled her shoulders back. Her eyes met the camera mounted on the dashboard in front of her. She winked and smiled at the camera. "Let's do this."
          Max and Nev followed her lead and got out of the car. In a few strides, Nev was ahead and at the door. Lucy and Max stood casually behind him. The camera crew give them a wide birth. Nev glanced at Max, making sure his camera was ready, and knocked on Jeff's door.
          Much sooner than the last time, Jeff opened the door. He looked the same as the day before- kind of like a homeless, unloved mutt. His shoulders were slumped. His eyes were fixed on the ground. Nev shook hands with him. Max waved with his free hand. Jeff said hello to Lucy and she replied civilly. Jeff didn't invite them in.
        Nev began mediating. "So last time we spoke, we didn't really get a chance to hear how this started. Could you tell us about that, Jeff?"
       "Simple," Jeff spoke to his shoes. "I wanted some female attention. I got it online."
       Taken aback by Jeff's rude response, Nev raised his eyebrows at Max.
        Max stepped up closer to them. "So you are the typical creep in his dark house tricking innocent girls into falling for you?"
        "I'm just the guy taking advantage of an opportunity."
         "Well you are definitely taking advantage of something. Or rather someone," Nev scoffed. He shook his head in disbelief. "Are you sticking to your story you fed us yesterday? Because we saw straight through that."
         Eyes still fixated on the ground, Jeff took a couple steps back as he said, "Whatever you want to believe. I started this online profile and she came onto me. It's not my fault she was too stupid to see through a scam."
       Gesturing at Jeff, Max explained, "This is the guy everyone is afraid they are talking to online. This selfish pr*ck right here. He is the reason anyone is reluctant to have an online relationship. Because it might be this guy on the other end." Looking at Jeff, he continued, "Do you even realize what you have done? What you have done to this incredible woman?" He pointed at Lucy.
         Emotion overwhelmed Lucy. She covered her face in her hands. Max had never spoken like this in front of her. Now here he was defending her so vehemently. He had only known her for a short period of time, yet his feelings were clear.
        Jeff had no reply. He continued to avoid anyone's eyes. Rolling his eyes and clenching his fist, Max paced a couple strides. "I'm done," he announced. "I'm afraid of what I will do to this idiotic creep. Your turn, Nev."
        They watched as Max made his way to the car. His strides were long and hurried. His head shook in incredulity. Once he got in the car, he slammed the door hard. The sound caused everyone to flinch.
        Nev looked at Jeff. "I would apologize for Max's actions if I wasn't seriously tempted to do the same thing... Do you maybe want to try this again?"
        After an awkward silence, Lucy stepped up. Surprised at her audacity, Nev stepped to the side and let her take the lead. She studied Jeff. Breaking the silence, she began, "Hey. I know this is hard for you. I'm sure you had reasons to pretend to be someone else. I think everyone at some point craves to be someone else. I'm not mad at you." Finally, Jeff met her eyes. So much emotion ran across his face- love, pain, regret. "I just want to know why. Can you tell me that please?"
         Lucy's sincere plea must have moved something inside Jeff. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier," he confessed. "I didn't mean it. You are not stupid." He began to tell them his story. A tragedy they had not anticipated. One that Lucy had never heard the like of. He explained how his family split apart when he was young. His step-father had been abusive. They heard of how Jeff had been forgotten and emotionally neglected. His half-siblings claimed the attention and love of their parents. As an adult, Jeff had been unprepared for social encounters. Women scared him. Online Jeff was comfortable, confident. In person Jeff was awkward, and self-conscious.
         "Lucy was funny, cute, fun to talk to. She cared," he told Nev.
         "Wow. Thank you for disclosing all of that with us," Nev said. He clapped Jeff on the shoulder. "You know a lot of people have been through similar experiences. Have you sought any help for it?"
         Jeff shook his head.
          "Well these past few moments with you have shown me that you are a caring guy. You have a lot to offer people. There is nothing to be concerned about," Nev reassured him.
          Lucy contributed, "The man I spoke to was so amazing. I mean, I fell in love with him without even meeting him in person," she chuckled. "And that man was you. It was you behind the smoke screen. If you honestly seek out someone and you show them the same qualities you showed me, they will have no choice but to appreciate you and love you."
          The once sullen, self-conscious man began to stand straight. He made steady eye contact with Lucy. Slowly smile spread across his face. "You really think so?" he inquired.
         "Sure!" Lucy said.
         Nev touched the small of her back and she grinned at him. "Okay. We have one other thing to discuss before we leave," Nev continued. "The matter of some very personal photos you have of Lucy."
          Jeff blushed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I kinda forgot about that."
          "Sure you did," Nev sarcastically said, rolling his eyes. Nev watched as Jeff deleted pictures from his messages. "And now from your saved photos please." Jeff tapped the screen of his phone a few times. "And I saw you have a Google Drive. Erase them from there too." Lucy covered her face in embarrassment. "Alright. I trust that's it." Jeff nodded his head. "Okay. Please don't solicit anymore pictures again." Jeff nodded again. "I think we are done here then." Nev hugged Jeff. "It's been really nice to get to know you. I hope things in the future go well for you."
        "Thanks."
        Lucy made her way to him. "Thank you for meeting me. And making sure there was no What If in my future."
        "What?" Jeff asked in confusion.
        "Nothing. But thank you for telling me your story." Lucy shook Jeff's hand.
        Nev escorted Lucy to the car. He held the door open for her and shut it once she was settled inside. He walked to the driver's side and got in.
         "Can we go back to the hotel now?" Lucy asked. She pressed her fingers to her temples.
         "Absolutely." Nev started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
         As they drove back toward the city, Max apologized for his meltdown. No one held it against him. Jeff had been one of the most difficult Catfishes they had encountered. He asked them what had happened after he left.
         "Lucy worked some serious magic," Nev told him. "She made a dramatic plea for the truth and it broke all of the man's walls down. His asinine front dissolved. We were actually able to have a real conversation with him."
          Amazement was written across Max's face. "It was no big deal. I just talked to him," Lucy humbly explained.
          "I would have loved to see that," Max said regretfully.
         "Seriously. This woman next to me is one of the strongest people I have seen on one of our episodes," Nev gushed.
         The car traveled the rest of the way to the hotel in a comfortable silence. Nev was so proud of Lucy for standing up for herself and for being so strong today. He was sure she would be fine in a short time. He wondered if there was a way he could offer her a regular position on their few. Max was disappointed that he missed the Lucy/Jeff standoff. But he was so glad she was able to face Jeff successfully. Lucy was emotionally drained from the day. Confrontation was never something she enjoyed.
         As soon as the car was parked at the hotel, Lucy hopped out and headed to her room. Max and Nev hung back. They had some things to tell each other. They went straight to Nev's room. Max related everything that had happened after Nev left the night before. Nev told Max everything that Lucy had said to Jeff.
         "So what now? Between you and Lucy?" Nev prodded. He was seated on the floor with his legs folded beneath him.
        Max was sprawled out in the only chair in the room. He thought about Nev's question. "I honestly have no idea," he replied. "I don't want to come onto her too soon. How would that look?"
       They were both quiet. They had discussed this before. But they had never really been seriously interested in any of the women they had helped before. Lucy was the first.
       Finally Nev formulated an opinion he could voice. "I think you should be completely real with her. Just tell her how you feel. And even tell her your objections to telling her. Let her decide what she is ready for."
        Max considered this new option. He could see it working. Lucy was so reasonable and understanding. "That's actually a good idea, Nev."
        A smile broke onto Nev's face. His eyes twinkled in excitement. "I think you should tell her now."
        Standing, Max brushed off his jeans. He straightened his shirt and looked at Nev. "How do I look?" he asked, a bit daunted by his new mission.
        Nev gave him the seal of approval. Then Max was on his way to Lucy's room. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. At least if this didn't work out, he wouldn't have to see her again. This was the last day of shooting the episode. He could even bow out of the Skype chat in a month or two. But on the other hand, if he didn't say something now, he may never see her again. So it was now or never. He had to say something. Nev's idea was actually really straightforward. This was the only way to get a definitive answer from Lucy. And without this conversation, Max would be the one living life with the big What If lurking over his shoulder.
        Max was in front of Lucy's door. He could hear his heart thudding. His chest was pounding.  Taking a calming breath to collect his thoughts, he thought again of the picture of Lucy he saw on her Instagram days ago. It felt like much longer. But he could still clearly see that look of pure happiness on Lucy's face. He wanted to see that face everyday. He wanted to be the reason behind her smile. Max knocked on the door.

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Hey! What do you think will happen?
Is Lucy going to be all for this relationship or nah?
What does the future hold for Max and Lucy?
Don't forget to vote!