Lucas ✔️

Thirty-One

"What happened to your face?" Amy asked, pointing at my cheek as I slithered into the seat next to her, wishing I could disappear.

All day people had been looking at me, whispering about me, making up ridiculous stories about what was under my bandage and how I got it. Obviously, the most common one was 'suicide gone wrong'. Not sure how I was supposed to be killing myself if all that I managed to get was a bandage on a cheek. Still, it hurt hearing it.

It's your fault they think that, Dad.

"Nothing, really. Just a scratch from an accident," I muttered, waving it off quickly.

"An accident?" Shax looked intrigued as he leaned forward, lifting his hand lightly as though he was going to touch the bandage. I flinched away slightly, and he stopped, dropping his hand back by his side. "What happened?"

"Honestly, it was just an accident. Someone just dropped a knife."

"They dropped a knife?" It was Amy's turned to look intrigued. "That's some accident. How do you drop a knife on someone's face?"

"I don't know! She was just walking past, and it fell off the tray she was carrying. I was sitting down, so it just fell on me," I explained, looking to Janie for help. She nodded her head.

"It's true, I was there. She had to go to the hospital. It was horrible," she said sombrely.

"Gee, thanks, Janie," I muttered sarcastically at her, stabbing my fork into the mystery meat on my plate.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly, holding up her hands as her eyes went wide.

Did I? I mean, it was pretty obvious she had been horrified at the idea of my face ending up scarred. I shook the thought from my head and tried to remind myself that she had been upset because she had been blaming herself for my injury. Janie wasn't someone who was conniving, nor had she ever had ill-intentions towards me, I was simply a judgemental and cynical bitch taking it out on her.

"I know," I said with a sigh. "It just feels like everyone has been staring at it all day and it's getting on my nerves. I mean, you'd think I had a gunshot wound, not simple stitches."

"Wait, you needed stitches?" Cole asked, looking oddly upset as he placed his bottle of water down.

"Yeah, I told you she did," Janie said, sending him a glare.

"Oh, I forgot."

"Stitches are pretty big for a simple accident," Shax mused, holding his head up with his palm. "Must have been some cut." 

I shrugged and looked away, not wanting to read into what he was insinuating. Why would some girl I had never seen before try to cut my face with a knife accidentally on-purpose? It didn't make any logical sense.

"Anyway," I said slowly, turning to an oddly silent Amy. "How was your weekend?"

"The same as usual."

"What's your usual?" Cole inquired leaning past me to grin at her. "I mean, we don't really know." Janie nodded her head and I joined in, gladly keeping the conversation away from me and my face. Amy shared a look with Shax, one that said 'they wouldn't understand' – something I was getting used to from them. It irritated me even more, but I ground my teeth and didn't grumble about it.

"The usual for me is not that exciting. Work, mainly."

"You know, you always mention this work," I said quickly, using it as an opportunity to, hopefully, gain some information. "But you haven't exactly told us what it is you guys do."