Page 33 of Lucy
CHAPTER TEN
Lucy was like a ghost in the house. She came in late, woke up late and I didn’t see her for the first three days she was there. The only reason I knew she was still around was because she left a trail of mess behind everywhere she went. My poor cleaning lady cursed in Spanish and complained about it and all I could offer her in return was a shrug.
I caught my sister coming in one Friday night. I was still up and Eric was sleeping. She crept in so quietly I would have missed her again if it weren’t for the fact that I was sitting up in the den.
“Oh, hey stranger,” I smirked. I let a full glass of wine hang on my fingertips while my eyes tracked her.
“Hey, Nora. She tossed her bag in a chair then flopped down beside me, plucking the glass from my hand. “How the fuck do you drink this?”
“You’re asking me that as you drink my wine though?”
“I’m out of Jack,” she reasoned, handing back an empty glass.
“You need a twelve-step program.”
“You needed to mind your business twelve minutes ago.”
“Whatever, Lucy.” I fluttered my lashes and went back to looking through my phone.
“Where’s your not-husband?” She asked.
“Eric is upstairs. You should learn how to address people by their names. I heard how you treated Lauren,” I told her. Lauren was livid when she called and told me about Lucy’s blow up. I didn’t know how to tell her that if she wanted to be anywhere near Abel that she needed to get used to Lucy’s blowups. It was par for the course.
“Fuck Lauren. She’s a bitch,” Lucy sneered. She poured me another glass of wine and I thought it was considerate of her until she drank the rest of the bottle in one gulp.
“Why have you not sought help for the amount of alcohol you can drink in one sitting?”
“I don’t need help. Besides, wine isn’t real alcohol anyway. It’s liquor lite. Wine is like theGreat Valueversion of actual liquor. You can’t get fucked up on it.” I watched her pink tongue circle the rim of the bottle and I shut my eyes. She was giving me a headache.
“Not everyone wants to get fucked up though. Sometimes people want a nice little buzz and that’s it,” I explained.
“And that’s stupid.”
“You’re stupid,” I countered. It felt like we were kids again. Lucy walked over to me and I peered up at her. She was the extroverted version of me. Her hair was wild and wavy. Mine was pulled back in a low ponytail. Her eyes were blazing. Mine were subdued. She was ready to pounce but I was still surveying.
Lucy pounced.
She straddled me. Her lips were so close to mine I could almost taste the wine on them. I reached up and nipped her lip, making her laugh. “You still haven’t told Eric, have you, Nora?”
“No, he doesn’t need to know.” Nobody needed to know. Lucy and I left that lifestyle behind us.
“Don’t you miss how we used to fool around in school though, Nora?” She tugged on my ponytail and my head snapped back, exposing my throat. Lucy licked my neck and I sighed.
Maybe a part of me did miss it.
“It was fun. I’m grown now with a fiancé and a house and I want to start a family. We can’t do things like we used to.” I was a hypocrite. I was squeezing Lucy’s ass.
“You’re a stick in the goddamn mud just like Abel’s hawk-nosed girlfriend.” A cackle escaped my mouth before I could control myself.
“Luce…”
“What? We used to have fun, Nora. I can understand outgrowing it, I guess…but you’re a totally different person. You’re not my twin.” Her words were a blow to my chest.
“Is that how you really feel? Like we’re not twins anymore?” She stared down at me and gave a sad nod. I knew she thought I was prissy and acted like I was better than her but to hear her say I wasn’t her twin…that cut deep.
“Lucy, I love you more than anything. You drive me insane but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You’re here in my house, aren’t you?” She tried to climb off of me but I wouldn’t let her. Having her on top of me reminded me of high school and college.
“You took pity on me. Thanks, Nora.”
