“I’m not? How? What did I do wrong?” Benne asked innocently.
“I have your back. I always have your back, but you don’t have mine,” he said accusingly.
“I’m sure you know that’s not true. It’s not like Jade was going to eat you up, and you needed protection. It was a simple phone conversation, yet you looked like you were going to pass out. When you talk to me, you sound like a tiger, but when it’s Jade, you sound like a sick cat,” Benne said in amusement, and Harry glared at him.
“How did you know it was her anyway?” Harry asked since he hadn’t mentioned Jade’s name, and the speaker hadn’t been loud enough for Benne to hear her voice.
Benne shrugged, “In all the years I’ve known you, I’m not sure I’ve seen you react to anyone else this way before. The look on your face when you received the call was similar to the look on your face when she was holding your arm yesterday,” Benne said with a chuckle, and Harry scowled.
“I’m NOT going to have anything to do with her!”
“I never said you were or you should. I thought we both already established that she is our sister?” Benne reminded him, and Harry cussed under his breath.
“I hate you, Benne!”
Benne chuckled, “You should maintain this energy when next you talk to Jade instead of shaking like a leaf.”
**********
Lucas had a wary look in his eyes as he walked out of a phone shop. He couldn’t believe that he had been right and Rachel had been tracking his phone this whole time.
Just what did he really know about this woman? Everything Miley had said came back to him, and he paused to draw in a deep breath when he started feeling sick.
He was sick to his stomach. Frightened, and disgusted that he had thought she was the love of his life.
How? Just how had he ended up with such a scary person? If all of this had not happened with Celsie, he would never have found out the kind of woman he was getting married to.
He was lost in thoughts as he walked down the road aimlessly, unsure where he was headed. He still didn’t want to go home yet… Speaking of home, he recalled that he was yet to give his parents a call, and his phone had been turned off once again while the guys in the phone shop were working on it, so he reached into his pocket and took it out.
He turned it on and then dialed his mother’s line. Almost immediately, Janet received the call, “Oh, Lucas! Thank goodness you finally called. I’ve been worried sick about you. How are you? Where are you?” She asked in a rush.
“I’m fine, mom. And I’m sorry I made you worry,” Lucas said apologetically.
“Are you sure you are fine?” Andrew asked from beside Janet.
“Yes, I’m fine. I just need to be alone for the time being…”
“Why don’t you tell me where you are? And then I can bring you something to eat? Did you take your clothes? I could help you get some clothes too,” Janet pleaded.
“Mom, thanks. But I can buy whatever I need. I’m fine, so don’t worry yourself about me. I will leave my line on so you can reach me whenever you want. That way, you don’t have to be so worried,” Lucas said, and Janet let out a resigned sigh.
“Just make sure you call us whenever you need to talk or see us, okay? And come home when you’re ready,” Andrew said to Lucas’ relief.
“Sure, dad. I have to go now.” He hesitated, “Mom? Can you help me get my personal effects out of my apartment?” Lucas asked, not wanting to step foot in that apartment.
“Sure, we can. By the way, we called Rachel earlier when we couldn’t reach you,” Andrew said, causing Lucas’ eyes to harden.
“You didn’t have to. Please do not call her next time. She showed up here uninvited,” Lucas said, and his parents exchanged a surprised look.
“Where? How did she get to know your location?” Janet asked since she doubted that Lucas could have gone somewhere he used to visit with Rachel when he was avoiding her.
“She installed a tracking device in my phone this whole time. I had no idea. She is dangerous and…” While Lucas was still speaking, the doorbell rang, and Andrew went to the door to see who was there.
“A tracking device?” Janet asked in shocked annoyance even as Andrew opened the door.
He was surprised to see Rachel standing there, “What are you doing here?” He asked without letting her in, and hearing his cold tone, Janet rose.
“I think Rachel is here,” she informed Lucas quietly as she went to the door to see for herself.
“Mom, throw her out. Do not listen to anything she says. She is a liar, and she is very dangerous,” Lucas said, but his mother was no longer listening.
Seeing the hostile expression on their faces, Rachel fell to her knees, “Please help me. Save my relationship with Lucas, please! I love him. I don’t want to lose him. I can’t live without him,” she cried, making Janet’s hand ball into a fist as she fought the urge to hit Rachel for all the pain she had caused her children.
“The only reason we had anything to do with you was because of Lucas. Now that he no longer wants to be involved with you, we have no reason to tolerate you anymore either. Leave!” Andrew ordered harshly.
“Andrew, please! Don’t do this to me. I love Lucas! Please help me! Please help me save my relationship with him! Please!” She cried, reaching out to grab his calf, but Andrew sidestepped her, and she fell forward through the door.
Immediately, Janet dropped her phone and roughly pushed Rachel back, not wanting any part of her body inside their home.
“Save yourself this embarrassment and leave quietly. Make sure you don’t show yourself around here or around my family again. Else I won’t be blamed for what I do to a trespasser,” Janet warned through clenched teeth as she shut the door in Rachel’s crying face.
On the other end of the phone, Lucas gritted his teeth as he disconnected the call. Now he needed to just find somewhere he could stay for a while and try to figure out what he wanted for his life now.
He turned abruptly when a car honked loudly behind him, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Miley seated gracefully in a red Ford mustang.
Miley waved at Lucas as she flashed him a smile, but the surprise at seeing her again had worn off, and now he was just pissed that she was following him.
He walked over to where the car was parked, “What the heck is wrong with all of you? Why can’t you just leave me the fuck alone? Why do you keep following me around and monitoring my life?” Lucas yelled at her, not concerned that he was causing a scene.
Miley just stared at him calmly as he yelled, and she waited until he had run out of everything he had to say before letting out a sigh, “I understand how you feel, and you’ve got every reason to be mad, but I’m too dying to care. Why not get into the car, and I will drop you off wherever you are headed?” She asked reasonably, making Lucas all the more angry.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.