Fragile (23 page)

“I know, but I’m not the one who...”

“Tray,” Dad’s firm voice came through our arguing. Tray looked to Dad, “Go take a walk.”

He thought about it before he did anything.

“Don’t let him near her.” Tray pointed a finger at me as he walked out the front door.

“He hates me.”

“He’s your younger brother. He’s supposed to hate you.”

Tray stayed with Lu for a few more days, and Dad and I came and went. She was getting better every day and was back at work in no time at all and Tray was back at Dad’s. He still kept close to Lu, visiting her at work and after school when Lu was home.

“Is Tray at Lu’s?” I asked Dad after having a look around the immediate apartment for any sign of him.

“No, he’s in his room.” Dad pointed down the hallway to where Tray had been set up. Needing to speak to him, I went off toward his room. I didn’t bother knocking before I entered his room. When I did, he had his back to me and was talking on the phone.

“You’ve been resting?” His voice was full of concern, “Good. And you’ve been eating and drinking?” He tapped his fingers on the side of his arm, then stopped and his voice changed from concern to frustration, “Lulu, you have to eat and drink properly. The babies need the nutrients.”

“Babies?” Tray turned around fast, his phone still to his ear.

“I’ll call you later,” he said quickly into the phone before he hung it up. He tossed it on the bed and tried to walk past me and out the room. I put my hand out, stopping him. He kept his focus on the door behind me, but mine were on him.

“How far along is she?” Tray ignored me and tried to move past my arm, but I held it up
firmly. He wasn’t going anywhere. “Tell me, or I will call Lu.” He looked over at me, anger clear in his eyes. “You know what?” I put my arm down and grabbed my phone out of my pocket.

Tray lunged at it, getting it out of my hand. He was fast, managing to spin our positions around so he was now by the door. “You don’t get to call her!” He snapped, pocketing my phone in his jeans.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Tray,” I grated out, making a grab to get my phone back. He backed up and ran into Dad’s chest.

“What are you two fighting about over here?” He asked, eyeing the both of us.

“Tray thinks he can tell me who I can and can’t call, and to prove his point he took my phone.” I held my hand out, silently asking for it back.

“You can call whoever you want, just not Lulu,”

“Give Rick his phone, Tray.” Tray looked up at Dad about to argue. “Now, Tray.” Tray brought the phone up and started to touch the screen. He stepped backwards and away from Dad when I tried to make a grab for it again.

“Tray,” I warned. His back hit a wall and I got my phone in my hand, having to play tug-a-war with it to get it out of Tray’s hands. “You tried to delete her number?” I yelled when I saw the message, ‘
Are you sure you want to delete LU from your contacts?
’ displayed on the screen.

“She doesn’t want anything to do with you!”

“She’s pregnant with my child!”

“Why don’t you just tell that shit to the world?” Tray lunged at me, punching me in my nose.

“Tray!” Dad stepped between us. I pulled my hand back from under my nose, to see it covered in blood. Tray actually punched me, and I didn’t blame him. “Rick, go clean yourself up and meet us in the kitchen.”

I left the room for the bathroom, to clean myself up. He had a good right hook. Fuck, it hurt. After cleaning myself up, I entered the kitchen on my way to the front door. “Sit down, Rick.” Dad instructed. It was quiet, and Tray sat at the table staring death at the wood.

“I need to go...” I pointed in the direction of the front door. I wanted, no I needed to get to Lu and take everything back. I needed to make things right with us. We were going to be a family and I would protect her from the people who were out to hurt her. I needed her to need me.

“Sit,” Dad demanded as he pushed a chair out from under the table with his foot. I pulled the chair out and sat down. “We need to let tempers cool before phone calls are made, and before either of you go and see Lucy.”

My vision was on Tray as Dad spoke calmly. I didn’t want to listen to Dad tell me to calm down, but I had a question for Tray, “Why didn’t you tell me Tray?”

His gaze immediately shot to me. “Why do you think?”

“No matter the circumstances, you should have told me.” I leaned forward on the table, clasping my hands together and trying to distract myself from the anger I had inside.

“Lucy doesn’t want you to know,” There was no pity or mercy in his eyes. It was obvious that I was not his favourite person in the world.

“Why?” I asked, feeling like I had a weight on my chest.

“Seriously, Derrick?” He stood up with such force that his chair slammed into the wall behind him.

“Yes, seriously!”

“Do you know what Ireland will do if she finds out? What she will think and say? She’ll think that Lucy did it on purpose, and she’ll have no problem telling everyone her thoughts either. Lucy is sick enough as it is. She doesn’t need Ireland dragging up shit that has nothing to do with her. And then there’s the fact that you broke up with her!”

LUCY

My feet hurt and my back was sore. The first thing I did after entering the apartment was head to the bathroom and pour a bath. Aiden didn’t leave my side. It was like he knew what was going on with me. In the bath, I relaxed in the warm water, closing my eyes as I concentrated on the water surrounding my body. I heard Aiden growl through my haze, which forced me to open my eyes and saw Rick standing in the doorway. I sat up, bringing my thighs up to cover my chest, and curled my arms around my legs. I turned my eyes to the tap at the end of the bath instead of on him.

“Have you eaten?”

I closed my eyes, answering his question silently. He walked away and I sank back into my bath, listening to the movement that was now happening out in the main area. I no longer felt relaxed so I got out, got dressed and walked into the main part of the apartment to see what Rick was up to.

He was in the kitchen, doing what he does best, cook. I went to sit on the couch and watched him work. “What happened to your nose?” I whispered, wanting to break the awkward silence that occupied the room.

He lifted his head to look at me briefly before he walked to the fridge and then over to where I was sitting. “Tray punched me yesterday,” he said just as softly as he handed over the bottle of water in his hands.

I took it tentatively, “Tray punched you?” I had to repeat it, not quiet believing that Tray would, or could, punch someone.

“Yeah.” He walked back to the kitchen and continued to cook. We stayed silent; the only source of noise the sizzling of the stove.

Sick of the silence, I asked, “What are you doing here, Rick?”

He served up the food and came across to me on the couch. “I’m here to look after you, to make sure that you eat and drink. I overheard Tray on the phone. You’re not eating or drinking and you need to.”

“I don’t need you here,” I said with more confidence in my voice then I had.

Rick sat down and leaned forward with his elbows in his knees, his eyes on me and his muscles stretching under his shirt. “Lu,” he started.

“Don’t Lu me. It’s Lucy,” I corrected him, needing anger to take over the current hormones that were running though my body.

“I know you’re angry at me, but you are my Lu, and I will continue to call you that. Now, back to you not needing me, I don’t care what you say, I’m not going anywhere...”

I stood up, needing to get away from him, away from the whole situation. “No, you’re not. I don’t need you. You need to leave.” I pointed to the door, willing him to leave.

Rick stood up and faced me, “I made a mistake with you, Lu.” He came toward me.

“Oh, now I’m a mistake!” I yelled, stepping back. “I was never going to ask you for anything! There is no reason for you to be here!” Too angry to do anything else, I turned and stormed off, slamming the bedroom door behind me.

RICK

I followed Lu to her bedroom. The door was closed and Aiden was scratching and whining at it. “Lu, you didn’t let me finish what I was trying to say.” I slid down the door frame and put my hand on Aiden, who was still whining about being left out of the room. “I made a mistake leaving you. I thought I was protecting you, from my family…and from me.” I listened for any sound coming from the other side of the door. “Please believe me.”

Lu still hadn’t made a sound, but Aiden was still whining and getting louder. The door opened and Aiden ran in. I pushed the door open from my position on the floor and watched Lu and Aiden sitting on the bed.

“You were protecting me?” She asked, more pissed at me than she was before.

“Yes,” I answered honestly.

“Do you know what your protection has done to me?”

“Probably the same as what it has done to me,” I admitted.

There was a knock at the door, and without looking at me, she walked past me on her way to the front door. I got up and followed her and Aiden, and watched from the threshold of the hallway as she opened the door.

An all too familiar voice reached my ears, “I brought you some soup from the cafe down at the hospital.” Dr. Douche bag walked into the apartment. He saw me and smiled as he continued to the kitchen, like he owned the place. “I don’t mean to interrupt, Lucy. I didn’t know you had company.”

Lu closed the door, sat on one of the chairs under the bench as she watched Douche bag work around the kitchen. It was becoming obvious that he had been here before. “Just ignore him.”

He smiled and put the soup in a bowl and into the microwave. “How are you feeling this afternoon?” Dr. Douche Bag asked as they waited for the microwave to finish heating up Lu’s soup.

“Better, thanks.” The microwave beeped and he took the bowl out and placed it in front of Lu before he went to sit beside her. I sat on the couch, watching them interact, and hating every moment that he was here with her.

She was eating, which was good. They talked, which wasn’t good. A noise came from the front door before it opened and Tray walked in. He stopped when he saw me, than got distracted when Douche Bag called his name, “Hey Tray.”

“Hey Will.” He went over to shake his hand before kissing Lu on the top of her head. They whispered to each other for a moment before Tray took a step back and looked over at me, clearly not happy that I was here. He came across and sat next to me on the couch. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for Lu,” I informed him. I watched them move around the kitchen, washing up the bowl and throwing the rubbish out. Douche bag threw a few looks my way. His phone rang and he excused himself when he had to leave to go to the hospital. As soon as the door was closed behind him, I spoke for the first time since he entered the place, “Dr Douche Bag come over regularly?”

“Don’t talk to her that way.”

“Stay out of this, Tray. It has nothing to do with you.”

“You cannot...”

“Enough!” We both stopped and turned to see Lu standing by the front door, her arms crossed across her chest. “Tray, you have homework to be doing. Rick, I have nothing more to say to you.” She stepped away and opened the door, an unwanted invitation for me to leave.

“I still have things to say to you.” I stood my ground; I wasn’t ready to leave, not after that. Plus I haven’t told Lu what I came over here to tell her.

“Lulu told you to leave, Derrick.”

“Tray, it’s awesome that you care for Lu this much, but you are a seventeen year old boy, and this has nothing to do with you.”

Tray walked over to where Lu was standing, his arm around her shoulders. “It concerns me when my sister needs me.” It became clear that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with Tray playing the white knight, but I wasn’t going to give up.

“Are you and William a couple now? Is he going to raise my child?”

“No, and I’m going to raise my children.” Lu walked past me and I watched her back disappear behind her bedroom door once more.

“She’s having twins.” Tray stepped back and held the door open. Knowing a lost fight when I saw one, I walked through the door, hearing it close behind me.

I got into the car and pulled my phone out. “Dad,” I got in before he even said hello. “I need your help.”

LUCY

“We could go in through the nose.” Dr Matthews ran a finger along the scan, mapping out the path he would take given he had the opportunity to perform this surgery.

“No, we could cause more damage than good, going in that way,” Dr. Mills pointed out.

My pager started going off. “Let’s take some time to clear our heads and return later. I’m needed for a consult.” The interns and I separated as I walked down to the emergency room.