You're Always You

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Lydia Petrov

Being at the museum was everything Lydia imagined it would be. It was fun, she had plenty of laughs with Monica and David even being there was a pleasure. The only thing that may or may not have made it better was if Sasha came along.

But, at the same time, Sasha would just complain. So... it was for the best.

Lydia quite literally didn't think that anything could've gone wrong. She slipped the money and note into David's pocket without him noticing. He could find that later. And, in Lydia's mind, nothing was going wrong.

Until she got a text from Sasha on their way out of the museum.

He found out.

...

Lydia gazed down at her phone, feeling her jaw lock somewhat while glancing over the three words. Sasha didn't need to use more detail for Lydia to figure out what 'he found out' meant. Richard found out that she wasn't at the club. Which... meant he likely figured out that she was here. With Monica.

Richie didn't know that David was here. If he did, well... it would've been worse.

Still... Lydia didn't know what to expect when she was heading for home. She merely gave David and Monica a wide smile, thanking them for spending time with her, before hopping into an Uber where she spent the entire ride nervous in the back.

As much as Lydia wanted to believe that Richie would brush it off, she didn't know. Richie tended to get... more angry when Lydia did something deliberately against what he said after he said no.

It was why Lydia tentatively unlocked the door to their home and stepped inside, shutting it behind herself. Given it was deathly quiet, Lydia knew she was going to be in for a long night.

...She was also thankful that Sasha warned her, because Richie enjoyed testing Lydia on if she would lie. It was the first thing he did when she walked into the living room.

"How was work?"

...

Lydia knew that lying to Richard would only get her in more trouble. Therefore, she crossed her arms over her torso, defensively, and cleared her throat. "...I didn't go to work."

That seemed to set Richie off. At least she told the truth, but... Richie still wasn't happy. "Did you go to that fucking museum even after I told you no, Lydia?" Richie exclaimed. He pushed himself off of the couch and turned around to face Lydia, his eyes seemingly glaring daggers over the back of the couch.

Giving a dry swallow, Lydia nodded her head though she tried to stand her ground. "...I made plans with Monica and I felt bad about falling through. And... another girl offered to take my shifts." Lydia did not want to put Sasha's name out there. There were a lot of girls that would take shifts for Lydia, not just Sasha.

"God damnit, Lydia!" Richie shouted over the couch. Her boyfriend began to stomp around the couch, removing the barrier between himself and her as he approached her - though he left a foot or so of distance. "I told you that you weren't going. What the hell were you thinking?"

Lydia felt her jaw lock and unlock with a frown. "...I was thinking that I wanted a day off, so I took a day off." She said slowly, watching her boyfriend. Even though Lydia was trying to be confident, she still felt nervous.

"I told you no, Lydia." Richie said, trying to calm his voice though Lydia could see him clenching his jaw.

"I deserve to have days off, too, Richard." Lydia said to him, though she kept her arms wrapped around herself. It made her feel more comfortable than dropping her arms to the side.