Lucy POV
“These cookies are the best I’ve ever had.” Ezra said.
It came out all muffled because his mouth was full. I chuckled and shook my head. It’s hard to believe he is a grown man right now. He’s been eating the batter and checking if the cookies were baked every two minutes. He’s like a little kid on Christmas morning.
“You should swallow before talking.” Liam grunted, staring at his phone.
Ezra rolled his eyes and stuffed another cookie in his mouth.
“I can’t believe I have to tell that to a grown-up man.” Liam mumbled quietly.
“I heard that.” Ezra said, with his mouth full.
“Good.” Liam mumbled, looking up at him and rolling his eyes.
I took one cookie from the tray and tried it. It was amazing.
“This is so good.” I gasped, surprised at my own skill.
Liam and Ezra looked up at me, confused.
“You’ve never tried your own cookies?” Liam asked me.
I gulped and placed the half-eaten cookie on the counter. I shouldn’t have said that.
“Lucy?” Ezra called me, swallowing the last piece of cookie in his mouth.
I looked at him and shook my head. “I baked them, but he never let me try them.”
Liam’s fist clenched, and Ezra let out a small sob.
“Oh, my baby.” Ezra whined as he wrapped his arms around me. “Here, have all of them.”
He pushed the tray toward me, and I chuckled. As if I could eat the whole tray of cookies.
“It’s okay, Ezra.” I said, letting him go. “I will have so many more opportunities to eat cookies from now on. Besides, I should leave some for the guys so I can brag about my baking skills.”
I wanted to take the cookies upstairs to Noah’s room, but I didn’t want to disturb them. Theo hadn’t been downstairs to see me yet, and I didn’t want to disrupt his progress.
“You are the best.” Ezra smiled at me, kissing my forehead.
“Oh, I know.” I grinned.
Liam and Ezra laughed, and I grabbed the rest of the cookie from the counter. Ezra let me go to grab another cookie from the tray.
“Liam?” I called my brother.
“Yes, love?” he said, looking up from his phone and smiling at me.
“Would it be okay if I called Mike?” I asked. “I would really like to talk to him.”
Liam bought me a phone as soon as I was discharged from the hospital, but I didn’t have an opportunity to call Mike. I promised him I would, and I really missed him. It would be good to hear his voice.
Liam’s smile disappeared, but he nodded. “Okay, love.”
“Thank you!” I smiled brightly, hopped off of the bar stool and left the kitchen.
As soon as I sat down on the couch, I dialed Mike’s number. It rang a few times before I finally heard Mike’s voice.
“Hello?” he said and I could hear wariness in his voice.
“Hi, Mike.” I said happily. “It’s Lucy.”
“Oh, my God, Lulu!” he said so loudly that I had to move the phone away from my ear. “Are you okay? Where are you?”
“I’m great.” I said, bringing the phone back to my ear. “I’m in Chicago with my brothers.”
“I’m so happy to hear that, Lucy.” Mike sighed. “I was so worried.”
“Why?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.
Mike sighed and cleared his throat. “Jack is gone. The police were at your house, looking for him. They even came to the diner and took our statements. They talked to everyone who knew him or you.”
My heart started beating impossibly fast and my palms started sweating. I was afraid I was going to drop my phone.
“Oh.” I managed to mumble, my voice trembling.
“Lucy?” Mike called me. “What is going on? Why did the police come to look for Jack?”
I couldn’t speak. What could I even tell him? Words were stuck in my throat, and I couldn’t force them out.
“Please tell me he didn’t do anything to you, Lulu.” Mike said quietly.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. “He wasn’t a good stepfather, Mike.”
Mike was silent for a second. I knew it wasn’t a good explanation, but it was all I could tell him.
“Did he hit you?” Mike asked, his voice raspy and cold.
“Mike…” I started speaking, but he interrupted me.
“Did he hit you, Lucy?” he asked again.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “Yes.”
It was silent for a second before I heard something break.
“FUCK!” Mike screamed, making me move the phone away from my ear again.
“Mike…” I tried talking to him, but he interrupted me again.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Lucy?” he asked, his voice breaking. “I would have done something. I would have protected you.”
I gulped and tears started forming in my eyes. “I was scared, Mike. I was scared he would hurt you. I didn’t want anybody to know. The only reason my brothers found out is because I got an infection from a cut on my stomach. I got a high fever and I had to go to the hospital.”
“A cut?” Mike asked quietly.
Shit. I should have kept that to myself. But I knew he wouldn’t let it go, and I had to tell him.
“He used knives sometimes.” I said quietly, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
I could hear Mike’s ragged breathing. “I am going to kill him.”
“The police will catch him.” I said quietly. “It will be okay, Mike.”
I could hear Mike taking a deep breath. “Are your brothers watching over you? He could be anywhere, Lulu. It’s not safe for you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that part.” I chuckled. “Noah and I had to have an intervention for Theo to take some time for himself. They are taking very good care of me.”
“They better be.” Mike said sternly. “My hit list would only grow if they didn’t.”
I chuckled and leaned my head on the couch. “How are you, Mike?”
“I’m good.” he said. “I miss you, though.”
“I miss you too.” I said with a small smile. “I hope we will see each other soon.”
“I’m actually looking at culinary schools in Chicago.” Mike said. “I want to be close to you, Lucy.”
A huge smile spread across my face. “Really?”
“Really.” Mike chuckled. “You are my best friend. We can’t be apart.”
“We sure can’t.” I laughed. “What will we do until then? You still have one more year of high school.”
“We will think of something.” Mike said. “Don’t worry. I hear Chicago is a great place to visit.”
“It is.” I chuckled.
I heard the door to Noah’s room open and several footsteps coming down the stairs toward the kitchen.
“Mike, I have to go.” I said. “Can we talk later?”
“Of course, Lulu.” Mike said softly. “I have your number now. We can text and talk all the time.”
“I can’t wait.” I said happily.
“I love you, Lucy.” Mike said quietly.
A warm feeling spread from my heart to the rest of my body. “I love you too, Mike.”
“Bye, Lulu.” Mike said.
“Goodbye, Mike.” I smiled. “Talk to you later.”
I hung up the phone just as Theo started yelling.
“Where is she?!” he yelled, panicking. “She was supposed to be here!”
I jumped up and ran toward the kitchen. Theo’s eyes fell on me as soon as I opened the door. He sighed in relief and ran toward me, pulling me in his arms.
“Where the hell were you?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Living room.” I said. “I’m sorry.”
I could feel his heartbeat. It was fast. His breaths were short. It made my heart hurt.
“I’m okay, Theo.” I said softly, running my hand through his hair. “I’m okay.”
He started to relax slowly, and I heard Ethan and Aiden chuckle.
“If Riley ever hugged me like that, I would think something was seriously wrong with her.” Aiden said, grabbing a cookie from the tray.
“Definitely.” Ethan nodded. “I could see her pulling your hair, not running her hand through it to calm you down.”
Noah, Ezra, and Liam laughed.
“It’s not funny.” Aiden said, nibbling on a cookie. “I’m considering cutting my hair. It’s her favorite way to torture me.”
“Who is Riley?” I asked, while others laughed.
“My twin.” Aiden said.
“She is a little devil.” Ethan sighed. “But she has the biggest heart ever. She would love to meet you.”
I smiled and nodded. “I would love to meet her too.”
“Really?” Aiden asked, surprised.
I nodded. “Of course. It would be nice to have backup with all of these boys around.”
Theo finally let me go, and I motioned for him to grab a cookie.
“Don’t let her teach you anything.” Ezra said, placing a hand around my shoulders. “You are our little angel.”
“She won’t be when Riley gets her hands on her.” Aiden smirked.
Ethan and I laughed while my brothers frowned.
“Who baked the cookies?” Aiden asked, changing the subject.
“Lucy.” Liam said proudly.
“Will you come live with me?” Aiden asked, making my brothers glare at him.
“Of course not.” Theo grunted, sitting down on the bar stool and making me stand between his legs.
I leaned my head on Theo’s shoulder and smiled at the rest of my brothers.
Aiden rolled his eyes and chuckled. “It was a joke. But I wouldn’t mind if you baked more of these.”
“Deal.” I smiled brightly.