A deep, rich chuckle shakes Lucky’s shoulders as he’s obviously reading the chat. “Pearl, my dear, if I asked Shawna to come in here, I would definitely get banned from every social media platform.”
PearlBeckett: LOL! LOL! You just might!
A smile pulls across my face, and I really shouldn’t do this, but what’s Lucky going to do? Call me a whore again and tell me he hopes I diein front of the fifteen hundred people watching? He’ll probably just ignore me, and at least I’ll be able to say hi to Pearl.
AvaHerald: Hi Pearl. Miss you.
PearlBeckett: Ava! Hi sweet girl! I miss you too! How are you?
AvaHerald: I’m good. Back home now. Did your daughter get you home safely?
PearlBeckett: She did! I’ve been back for a couple of days now. Things are definitely a bit more dull than what we got used to, huh?
The melody of the song abruptly and uncharacteristically falters in a brief cacophony of jarring notes before they pause completely. “Oh, hey, Ava,” Lucky says, in an odd-sounding voice. He sounds extremely caught off guard, and then he clears his throat before picking back up with the song. “How ya doin’? Good to see you in the chat.”
Oh,is it? Is itgoodto see me in the chat, Lucky?
Go fuck yourself.
I don’t actually type any of that, but I also can’t help throwing in a little jab.
AvaHerald: Well, I’m still not dead from that virus, so I guess I’d call that a win.
PearlBeckett: Ha! Ha! Oh Ava, you are so funny.
AvaHerald: I know, I’m laughing SO HARD right now, Pearl. I crack myself up.
Lucky continues to play, staring at the screen of the laptop on top of the piano, and his throat pulses with a swallow. “Glad to hear you’re doing good.”
AvaHerald: Yeah, glad to see you’re doing good too. You actually look like you’re doing better than EVER.
You fucking dick.
“Yeah, so, Ava, Pearl, and Stephen were my contest winners from a few months back,” Lucky goes on casually as he speaks to the whole audience. “And Ava and Pearl ended up staying with me and the band for something like four months because of the lockdown. That whole thing was pretty wild and unexpected, but I like to think we managed to have some fun while we were all trapped here.”
PearlBeckett: We sure did! I’ll never forget it as long as I live! I love you guys!
AvaHerald: Oh yes, it was definitely the most fun ever. Five stars. Would 100% recommend. Especially the send-off committee. I don’t think I’ve ever felt SO special and loved.
I probably need to just log off of this thing before I cause a spectacle and make myself look like a crazy person.
“Yeah, it was...um...really, uh…” Lucky starts to say absently before pulling his lips between his teeth and dropping his gaze to the keys. He turns his head to look directly at the camera; directly at me. “I gotta be honest, I thought the send-off committee coulda done a better job.”
Oh. Is that supposed to be anapologyfor calling me a whore and saying he hopes Idie?
Indignation surges through me, and I’mthis closeto typing in the words, FUCK YOU VERY MUCH, LUCKY DE LUCA, but I force myself to just say goodbye to Pearl instead.
AvaHerald: Anyway, Pearl, I just wanted to say hi. My allergies are giving me a headache, so I’m going to log off now. Find me on Facebook later. Miss you.
PearlBeckett: Okay! I hope you feel better, sweet girl.
AvaHerald: Thanks, Pearl. xoxo
I immediately swipe the app off my screen and toss the phone on the nightstand.
My throat is aching again, and right now, I know it’s from angry tears rather than the pollen. I flip over onto my side, facing away from where my phone is on the nightstand and let myself cry. I have yet to just let myself cry, and right now, everything justsucks, and I’m alone anyway, so I just cry.
And cry.
