You're Always You

Chapter Thirty-Two

Lydia Petrov

...

Lydia didn't really know what to do with herself.

When it came to her life, there were only a handful of things that she did. If Lydia wasn't working at the club, she was with Richie. If she wasn't with Richie, Lydia was normally sleeping. Somewhere in there was a small sliver of spending time with Sasha or Monica. Now just Sasha, since Richie wasn't a Monica fan anymore.

...But since Lydia was currently at the Minett home, away from Richie and his club.

Lydia didn't know what to do.

Since David suggested getting more sleep, Lydia decided to listen. There always came a point, unfortunately, that she could only sleep so much. When Lydia was staring at the wall, unable to sleep more, she decided to climb out of bed.

The woman re-dressed herself in the outfit she wore yesterday at the museum before stepping out of the bedroom with her purse on her shoulder. From what Lydia could see, the house was vacant.

At least, vacant from her walk from the bedroom to the front door. It wasn't until she unlocked the door that David seemed to hear it from wherever he was and spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

Lydia cleared her throat and turned around somewhat. She gazed over towards where David's voice came from, which she figured out was the kitchen. Though, her response was giving a slight shrug. "...Maybe the bank," Lydia mumbled.

"I'll go with you." David seemed to say, without another heartbeat in his decision. The man leaned over to snatch keys off of the counter, presumably to a car, before walking towards her.

Though Lydia did plan on going to the bank, to open up an account in just her name, she wasn't certain on what else she might do. Not having an obligation, something she was supposed to be doing, was... odd.

...She might've considered going to talk to Richie alone, if David didn't tag along.

It just didn't feel right having David here when she talked to her boyfriend.

"Okay," Lydia said with a slight nod. "Thanks," She mumbled as they began to move out from the home towards the car. Lydia climbed herself inside of the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt while David sat himself down.

Lydia hadn't even told him a bank name before he started to drive towards a bank. She decided to just shut her mouth and let David drive. Lydia wasn't very picky on the bank to begin with, since she was creating a new account.

When they got there, the set up seemed fairly easy. Lydia had her documentation in her purse, thankfully, and was able to get an account registered. Of course, when it came to giving an address, Lydia was a bit... stuck. That is, until David piped up and ended up giving his mother's address.

Lydia bit her tongue and remained silent, merely agreeing.

...She hated mooching off of them.

Once David and Lydia had returned to the vehicle, a bit to David's surprise, Lydia asked to go to a different bank. David seemed to have never used that specific bank before, though his eyebrows furrowed together when Lydia mentioned that it was where she had an account with Richard.

"I take it you're taking your name off?"

...

Lydia shook her head. "...If things work out between us, it will be fine. I just... want to withdraw some money in case, y'know..." Lydia shrugged her shoulders slightly. She didn't want to imply that Richard would dry her out, but... Lydia would rather be safe than sorry.

...And if she wasn't coming home today, Lydia didn't know what was running through his head right now. What he was thinking.

Lord knows he prioritizes saving up money, too.

David merely responded with a sigh and driving towards the given bank.

Where, as planned, Lydia proceeded to pull out a couple hundred dollars for an emergency. She didn't like carrying around that much money, but she wasn't certain what else to do with it. However, on top of the couple hundred, Lydia also requested to see the security box that she shared with Richard. Though Lydia herself never had as many valuable things to put in the box as Richard did, like the deed to the strip club, Lydia still did have a few things.

For example, her birth certificate for one.

Lydia pulled out her valuables inside of the box before getting it put away and returning to David. Once sliding back into his car, Lydia wasn't certain what she was going to do next. She didn't have a plan of action.

She didn't have a next step.

"Anything else, or are we heading home?" David questioned from the wheel, looking over towards Lydia.

Lydia rubbed her elbows softly with her palms and let out a sigh. She decided to not tell him that her home was with her boyfriend who had just hit her last night. That, right now, she didn't really... know where home was. Though, she inferred that David was talking about his home with his mother. "...I've got to be honest," Lydia said softly, squeezing her elbows. "...I don't know what to do."

"Home it is, then." David said.

She nodded her head slowly and leaned back against the seat. The woman remained silent for a few moments as David drove, though she also felt like her words had double meaning. Pointing it out to David, though, Lydia was a bit afraid to do.

...Still, what else was there?

"...I don't know what I should do," Lydia mumbled, leaning forward somewhat to rub at her face. "...I need to talk to Richie, but the things you said..." Lydia trailed off and shook her head somewhat. "...And I can't just mooch off of your home, either. I... I can't do that to you. But I have... nothing."

"Hey," David removed one of his hands from the wheel and reached over to squeeze her hand, which had just been lowered down from her face. "You're not mooching. We want you with us, okay? It's better than where you were." David murmured, running his thumb across the back of her hand soothingly. "Do you know if Dick will be at the club tonight?"

...

"He usually goes more often at night than in the afternoon," Lydia murmured in soft confirmation. "...Why?"

"Because. I'll go tonight, keep an eye on him, while you and Monica head over and grab your things, okay?"

Though it sounded tempting, to get her belongings, Lydia also felt bad. "...But I should talk to him. Just... taking my stuff and leaving... that's mean."

"'That's mean'," David mimicked softly, squeezing her hand again. "He smacked you. In the face." The man pointed out, glancing over to look at Lydia. "There is nothing you could do right now that he wouldn't deserve."

Lydia knew that he was probably right, but... she liked to consider herself a good person. She also knew that going against Monica and David right now, when she needed the support in her life from someone outside of Richard, would be stupid.

Lydia needed someone else to follow aside from him.

"...Okay," Lydia said with soft nod. "I'll... go to the place tonight with Monica," She murmured in agreement to David.

"Okay. Do you have anything at the club you want me to smuggle out?"

Given some of the new female strippers had a tendency to have thieving hands, Lydia was pretty cautious on not leaving her belongings there. "...Maybe some clothes that are fit to me," Lydia said with a shrug. "...But they're also not exactly... clothes I would wear out on the street, either."

David seemed to give a soft, sad chuckle at that. "I'll leave it then."

Lydia nodded her head softly and squeezed David's hand herself. "...Thank you."

"No problem, sweetheart."