Lucy: Please come over. Something’s happened. I need you.
Me: I’ll be over in 15.
Lucy’s response tightens the knot in my stomach. What just happened?
But even while I think that, my mind clears for the first time today. Lucy’s in trouble, and I’m going to be there for her.
And I’m not going to be late this time.
When I arrive ten minutes later to Lucy’s apartment (possibly sliding through a couple of stop signs), she flings the door open and buries herself in my arms.
“What happened?” I ask immediately.
Lucy grabs my hand and leads me to her couch. “I’m thinking about getting a restraining order against Weston. Do you know anything about them?”
Anger fills me. “What did he do this time?”
“He showed up here a little while ago.” Over the next few minutes, Lucy details her terrifying encounter with Weston.
I tug her close to me, feeling her pounding heart against my chest. “Thank God you got away. I am so goddamned proud of you for standing up to that asshole.”
I move her to arm’s length to see her eyes again. “I swear the more I hear about fucking Weston, the more I think he should be put away forever.”
“I’d definitely feel safer if he were locked up.” Lucy’s bottom lip is quivering.
“I did a deep dive into Reddit hell the other day, researching restraining orders, just in case,” I continue, grabbing her hand and holding on tight. “Apparently, you require a clear, documented history of continued threats to your wellbeing, which most people don’t have—stuff like dates and times, police reports, hospital records. Proof. Do you have anything like that?”
Lucy immediately tears up. “No. Nothing’s documented. I have no proof any of this happened. It’s my word against his, and the Ashcroft name carries way more weight than mine. Jake, what am I going to do? I just feel so drained by all of this. Why won’t he just leave me alone?”
I take a beat and think. How can I help Lucy? It’s clear she doesn’t have enough for a restraining order. Is there anything else I can do?
And then a thought occurs to me.Idon’t have any particular skills that can help Lucy, but I know someone who does.
“Do I have your permission to talk to Trix about this? She’s an expert at finding dirt on people. Maybe she can find something on Weston that we can use for a restraining order.”
“Yes, ask her,” Lucy urges. “I need to get my life back. Right now, I never know when Weston is going to show up, and I’m terrified.”
“I promise to do what I can,” I vow, squeezing her tightly. “Just leave it to me.”
I’m going to do my best to fix this, but maybe Lucy and I are already broken.
But it doesn’t matter. Only she matters.
Chapter thirty-five
Lucy
In the morning, I hear a pinging sound coming from my laptop. I rub my eyes and move to the living area, flipping the top of my computer open. My mom is requesting a zoom call.
Sitting down heavily, I contemplate ignoring it. Because I’m feeling so distressed, the last thing I want to do is talk to my mom about all the ways I’ve let her down. But I guess I can’t evade her forever. Against my betterjudgment, I tap “accept.”
“Why did you take so long to answer?” my mom launches in immediately, her face looking pinched. I lower the volume on the computer so I don’t wake up Jake.
“I’m sorry,” I say, clenching my fists off screen. “I’m dealing with a lot. Weston ambushed me outside my apartment yesterday, and I’m thinking of getting a restraining order.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you agreed to work things out the last time we talked.”
Once again, I realize that while I might have a voice, my mom refuses to hear it.
