Knightly in Shining Armor

Lourdes

"Hello?" I asked, answering the phone.

"Hi, honey," Emelia spoke from the other end. "Lukas took off about three hours ago. He'll be there sometime around 8."

"Oh, okay, great." I glanced around my messy apartment. No way was I ready for company. I'd forgotten he was coming today at all.

"Thanks again for taking him. Sorry in advance for any trouble he may cause you."

"I'll manage okay," I smiled.

"Call us if he gives you any difficulty. Have a good night. Would you mind texting me when you pick him up?"

"Of course, it's no trouble," I assured her. "Talk to you later."

"Bye, honey."

I sprung up from the small love-seat I'd been sitting on and swept around the apartment. I dialled an all too familiar number on my phone.

"Lourdes, hey," my best friend, Bennett, spoke. "What's up? Haven't heard from you in ages."

"I'm deep-cleaning my apartment right now. I completely forgot I have someone coming to stay with me for an indefinite amount of time. And my apartment's a mess." I plugged in my earbuds and stuck my cell in my pocket. "So that's how my life's going."

"Wait, you got a roommate?" Bennett asked. "When?"

"It's more like I'm being paid to watch a 19-year-old," I sighed, beginning to put away the dishes that had piled up in the rack.

"Wait, run me through that again because I don't understand what you mean there." I could hear Bennett shuffling around into a more comfortable position.

"Well, Lukas Emrys is staying with me since his parents cut him off, and they're paying me to keep tabs on him." I wiped down the counters as I talked.

"Wait, Emrys as in the billionaire?" I could hear Bennett's shock over the phone. "Since when do you know Lukas Emrys?"

"I mean, technically I don't," I explained. "His mom is my mom's boss and they're close friends I guess."

"That's actually fucking crazy," Bennett laughed. "Haven't you seen his social media feeds? The dude pulls hoes."

I rolled my eyes. "Then he's in for a rude awakening. Plus, he's under the legal drinking age here. So he's definitely gonna have to get used to that one."

"I mean, so are you," Bennett chided, knowing of my flawed decision making.

"Hey, my liquor is all gifts from my parents. Plus, I'm almost 21 anyway." I opened the door to the guest bedroom that was usually occupied by my painting or Bennett. "Oh fuck. Houston, we have a problem."

I had spent an hour cleaning the spare bedroom and trying to find the other set of sheets. I swept around the rest of the apartment trying to manage the mess.

"Yeah, so that's where I've been at the past couple weeks." Bennett finished up telling me every detail of his personal life.

"Better than me, I suppose." I opened one of the cabinets and sighed. "Meanwhile, I have no idea how the fuck I've been living because I have like no food at all."

"So, you said he's coming at 8, right?" Bennett asked. "Because isn't it almost 7:15 your time?"

My eyes widened as I glanced at the clock. 7:08. Without traffic, it would take me 45 minutes to get to the private airport.

"Fuck, shit, okay Bennett I'll call you later. I love you." I hung up after his response and grabbed my keys. Eating would have to wait.

With soft lo-fi playing through the aux, I headed upstate to the airport. I looked an utter mess. I had on a baggy yellow sweater, paint-stained, baggy coveralls, and clear-framed glasses. I couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. I was already late as is. The drive was peaceful though. Little did I know it would be the last peace I'd be having for months.