Lost of love- Completed

Chapter 14

The next few hours were surreal. Lucy had made straight for her room and locked herself in before collapsing on the bed to sleep off the alcohol. She had clearly not been in her right mind with Richard. It had to be that for the alternative was too hard to consider. When she came to, the house was a buzzed with chaos and with someone hammering on her door. She opened the door and blinked sleepily to find her mum summoning her downstairs.

Lucy immediately followed her wading through the heaped boxes of clothing that Richard had arranged to have dropped off. She hadn't realised just how many purchases there were but seeing them littering the path to the stairs had her cringing in renewed anxiety. Lucy jogged down closely on the heels of her mum. Admiring her mother's ability to refrain from questioning her on the obvious – What the hell? and How in the hell?- had all these boxes arrive from the most exclusive store in town. But the fact that those questions remained unvoiced said a lot for the state of mind her mum was in.

As she neared the dining room, she could decipher her dad's disappointed tones, "...you bring disgrace to our family"

Suspecting the worst, Lucy sped up her pace to intervene and save Cat's ass. But what she saw pulled her up short.

It was not Cat who was getting chastised but Emily. As soon as Cat saw Lucy, she rushed over sobbing hard. Lucy wrapped her arms about her then looked in askance at Emily. What the hell was going on?

"Ah there you are, Lucy. Perhaps you have the answers I seek? Why did Emily go off and punch her friend's brother in the face?" Dad put forward the enigmatic question to Lucy.

Lucy stared back uncomprehendingly. What the hell happened? Then the bulb clicked in her fuzzy mind and she rounded on a cringing Emily, to cry out unwittingly," You didn't!"

Emily hit Lisa's brother Mark. What the hell good would that do? Unless of course he knew exactly which of his friends made use of his bed and her sister, that night.

"So, you do know what all this is about. I'm glad someone has an idea. Care to share my dear?" Her dad stared down at her expectantly. Lucy could only stare back stumped. She had backed herself into a corner with that one. But then she clearly wasn't the brightest when it came to think on her feet.

Lucy turned to Emily imploringly and heard her sigh in frustration before rolling her eyes in annoyance. Just then the doorbell pealed out a lifesaving tune. Lucy sighed with relief. Saved by the bell she turned to scuttle off and answer the door but her Dad beat her to it.

"Mary? Answer the damn door will you." Dad passed the privilege on to mum. Lucy stared on disappointed at having her escape route so effectively blocked. Time was ticking, and she drew up a continual blank over how to address this without igniting matters further.

"I would like to see Emily," a deep markedly male voice rang over the softer tones of her mum's initial greeting. There was a muffled conversation that followed and then the footsteps could be heard leading up to the kitchen where they were all gathered. She looked in horror at Emily wondering what new development this was and watched her turn a paler shade of herself when a tall good looking young man appeared behind her mum. Mark!

"Sir, I am Mark, Lisa's brother. I'd like a word with Emily please," he said with considerable congeniality considering the bruised chin he was sporting was from Emily's impressive efforts.

Lucy hid the grin that threatened to emerge before throwing a congratulatory wink at Emily. As luck would have it, the wink was not missed by Mark who barely contained his ire to inflect only the slightest narrowing of his gaze.

Dad gave up about then and sent Emily off to have a word with her guest telling her implicitly that she must apologise. They watched Mark and Emily step out of the house to discuss in private. Cat and Lucy used the opportunity to grab up their plates of food from the kitchen and dash upstairs to eat in Lucy's room.