Nick broke Lucille. But someone else came out from that. A wound that refused to heal from its constant reopening now a pure part of her. Lucille Lawes changed after that day. She didn't know it, but she was more like Nick now. Like a virus, he'd left parts of himself with her. Everyone knew it. And her new self was contagious. Absorbing Darin and lacey including Marvin... in a different way, but they didn't know that. The giggling and chuckling coming from her bedroom when she got back home was pleasant to hear, but it didn't make her smile. Walking in, Darin and Lacey were sitting on her bed while Sadey was by her dresser. Dumping pillows, towels and anything her tiny hands could grab in a pulled out dresser. "Darin, Lacey." They turned to her. "I told you to watch her not... watch her. She might hurt herself." She rushed to Sadey's side and picked her up off the ground.
"She's just rearranging mother. It's no big deal."
"It isn't?" She turned to them.
They both nodded their heads. "Hi mommy."
"Hey precious." She kissed Sadey's forehead. "Since it isn't, put everything back the way they were."
"How is it- whoa what happened?" Marvin froze by her door.
"Marvin." Lucille acknowledged. She was about to speak-
"Anyway. I was talking to Sky on the way back right? And I got ticked off." He cleared his throat. "Aunt Nina is an actress, aunt Tabby is... was a model, owns her own modelling agency and aunt Doris manages it."
"After managing Tabby." Lucille added, taking off her earing, Sadey still balanced in her arm.
"Yes exactly. And uncle Kurt is a professional fighter. Meanwhile, you and dad are into business." He squeezed his face. "It's very uninteresting. And we get pushed into it. Sky's busy modelling and calls actors we watch on TV uncle and aunt. Uncle Sammy L, Aunt Deedee."
Darin pulled out the last pillow and dumped it on his mom's bed. "How many more times do we have to listen to you talk about this?"
"Lacey take her." Lucille ordered. Lacey carried her sister from her mother. "You know, Sky will do what you did when you were sixteen. She's going to learn the business."
"Yeah. But she's not going to spend the whole year doing it is she?"
"Hey aunt Luce." Toni said from the door.
"Hi Toni. Come in."
She obeyed. Walking towards Lacey, giving Darin a bright smile that he returned with a smirk. "Nine." She announced.
"Nine?" Lucille asked on her way to her bathroom.
"That's how many times I've come in here and seen everyone in your room aunt Luce."
Lucille chuckled. "Go to him." Lacey nudged Toni. It took her a few seconds before Toni slowly walked to Darin's side.
"And no one knows what aunt Geegee does. She might be a spy for all we know."
"What? Oh this again?" Toni asked.
"Right?" Lacey rolled her eyes. She dropped Sadey and Sadey went right back to moving pillows and anything her hands could grab into another open dresser... That she managed to pull open.
The nineteen year old sighed. "Anyway, high schoolers. I'm leaving. Mother!" He called out.
"Mother." Toni whispered. "I called my mom that once. It felt weird." Darin used the end of the word as his cue to drape his hand over her shoulder.
"I'm taking the jet. And before you say anything, Grandpa Quin said I can. So I will and I am."
"Did I ever tell you that when Marvin was sixteen he had the pilot take him to a party on the jet?" Lacey asked Toni.
"Mother flipped. She yelled at him. And he yelled back and said Grandpa Quin said he could." Darin completed. "It wasn't even true."
"It wasn't just one time by the way." Marvin said proudly. "Dad had to talk to me a few times."
Lucille came back into the room. Dressed in a freeing gown. "Be safe in school."
He waved on his way out. "Let's go to my room." Darin said to Toni. And they left too.
"Sadey." Lucille called out. "Lacey I told you to hold her. Go get Lola."
"Oh but mother, I was going to tell you about Dennis."
"Get Lola." Lacey frowned. "When you get back, you can tell me about it while you put these where they're supposed to be." Lacey groaned and left. Lucille knew she wouldn't come back. Now for some peace. After Lola takes Sadey with her.
Unfortunately, Lacey's own plan worked, staying away long enough to know that Lola had cleared everything up before she took Sadey out of the bedroom. It wasn't up to five minutes before Lacey showed up in the room. Lucille looked up from her cell phone. The little trickster knew what she was doing. But her daughter's very innocent face made what she knew feel wrong. She blinked once when she could have sighed. The only reason Lacey gave her episodic updates on her crush Dennis was because she asked. She liked the distraction. And Lacey told her. Only to keep her heart broken mother from staying heart broken. Except, it wasn't working. But it wasn't a waste of time. "Tell me."
Lacey smiled. "I was talking to Fay and Anita at the lunch bar." The girls Lacey wouldn't bring home because her and Darin had a denial promise going. It made no sense but it was their... game? Denying Lacey was his sister and vice versa, denying the others existence in school. Is that a game? "He was walking nowhere near us." Lacey smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. She remembered how she acted when talking about Johnny or any of her other boyfriends. Except for Nick. She didn't really have that because no one wanted to really hear about him. She always felt a little sad when she spoke of him, like she shouldn't be doing it. But Geegee listened. Especially when she brought Geegee the news that Nick said he loves her. Loved. Damn it Luce enough about him. Focus on Lacey. And the beautiful smile on her face. "Out of nowhere, he's suddenly so close and his shoulder brushes mine. So warm." Lacey's smile vanished. "Maybe it was nothing."
"What makes you say that?"
Lacey shook her head. "He just. He barely talks to me. But there are all these things and-"
Lucille understood perfectly. "You are so smart sweetheart. But that doesn't mean you should lean on the maybe he doesn't."
"You know, yesterday, he looked at me and missed a key while he played the piano. Everyone was talking about it."
"And yesterday, you said maybe he was looking at someone else. And you also said, Toni and Fay and Jody and all the others think he likes you."
"Yeah but-"
"Take a breath sweetie. It'll be okay. Besides, you're a little young to have a boyfriend." Lucille smiled, shrugging.
"Oh come on. Darin's a year older and Toni is my age too. That's not fair."
"Well, you're my daughter. I trust Darin with Toni and so does aunt Geegee. But I don't know this Dennis, besides what you've told me."
Lacey gasped. "Lair."
"It's the truth." It was a lie. "The absolute truth. You know your dad will agree with me." Her smile faded when she realised she'd mentioned him. Nick, look what you've done.
Lacey smiled, masking her anger at her mother's reaction. This was his fault. "He's not my boyfriend. So you don't have to worry." Just like Nick, she was good at pretending. A little too good. "And he probably wouldn't be."
"Good." Lucille said. Only because she didn't want to repeat herself.
