“I don’t understand it, either,” Lucas agrees. “Though I do know people are willing to overlook a lot of shit when it comes to their family.”
“Right, and as far as I know, Nancy and William have always treated their two normal children all right. Hell, Scott got everything he wanted and then some.”
“Abby turned out pretty well considering,” Lucas says. “She could be hateful like the rest of the family. It looks like having you as her sister helped steer her in the right direction.”
“I’ll happily take credit for that,” I laugh. “And I know it’s wrong of me to expect Abby to just give up her whole family. I don’t think Phil’s family lives here.” I look at the next photo on the wall, which is a black-and-white still from Abby’s wedding. “I wasn’t invited. I didn’t even know she was engaged. I was in Europe doing my university studies when I found out she was married. It was weird. Part of me didn’t even care, and another part was angry.” I let out a sigh. “That was years ago, though.”
Lucas puts his lips to my neck. “It was. Are you done?”
“Yeah, I am.” I turn and take his hand, and we leave the house together. I lock it back up with magic, and then we slowly start walking down the sidewalk.
“Do you want to get something to eat?” Lucas asks.
I feel a little nauseous, probably from stress paired with an empty stomach. I’m sure I’ll be better once I eat. “Yeah, pizza sounds really good right now.” Lucas wraps his arm around my shoulder. “It’s a nice night. I love warm fall nights like this. It’s October,” I say suddenly.
Lucas laughs. “You just now realized that?”
“I knew the days were passing. I just kind of lost track of them. I didn’t put up any of my Halloween decorations yet.” We walk a few more paces toward Lucas’s house on Orchard Street. “We should be leaving for Florida soon.”
“We can still go,” Lucas tells me.
“Can we, though?” I let out a breath. “I feel like I’m endangering my friends just by being here.” I tip my head up and look at Lucas, knowing he’s going to counter. “It would be one thing if Ruth was going after me, but trying to get to me through my friends…” I trail off, shaking my head. “I want to find the bitch and end this.”
“You will. But until then, enjoy some downtime. It will be a day or two before she attacks again.” He takes his hand from mine so he can wrap his arm around my waist. “Let’s start with dinner and then have sex on the rooftop patio.”
I smile. “I do like the sound of that.”“Oh my god, this is so good.” I close my eyes and stuff another bite of pizza in my mouth. “I almost feel sorry for you,” I tell Lucas. “You’ll never know how fucking amazing pizza is.”
Lucas laughs and leans back in his chair, watching me eat. I’m on my third piece of Giordano’s pizza.
“Maybe if the sauce had blood in it.”
“Eww,” I laugh, wrinkling my nose. “I know food isn’t appetizing to you, but are you ever curious about how it tastes?”
“No, though ice cream is an interesting concept.”
“And now I want ice cream.” I wipe my hands and reach for my water. “Mind if I grab some on the way back?”
“Not at all.”
“Good, because I’m way too full to eat it now, but it’ll make a good midnight snack after you’ve exhausted me.”
Lucas grins. “You will need to keep your strength up.”
“Ice cream isn’t exactly nutritious, though.” I look at the pizza, debating eating another piece or not. I’m right at that point where I’m comfortably full but still want more. “And I was thinking tomorrow you should hang out with Eliza during the day and I’ll go walk around the Field Museum.”
“By yourself?”
“Yeah, it sounds really relaxing, actually. And I haven’t been there in years.” I think back, trying to remember the last time I went. Abby and I recently went to the Science and Industry Museum, and that was the first time in quite a while I’d been to any of the Chicago museums. “I could call Abby, but it’s not really a good place for a one-year-old. Though I wouldn’t mind going to the Children’s Museum with Penny, either.”
Giving in, I put another slice of pizza on my plate. Just as I’m about to dig in, my phone rings.
“I’m not going to answer that,” I tell Lucas, who just gives me a look. “Fine. It’ll drive me crazy until I do.” I wipe my fingers on a napkin and pick my phone up off the table. “It’s Betty.” I quickly answer, heart skipping a beat in fear.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Callie,” she says, sounding rather calm. “Are you busy?”