LUCY

Grabbing my purse, I string it across my shoulder. I don't lift my head until I get into the elevator and the first person I see is Elias as he walks toward the elevator, looking distracted.

He gets in, stands next to me, staring at his phone.

I stand in silence, watching the doors close. I realize there is only us two in here, which makes things slightly uncomfortable. Luckily, he seems too distracted to even speak to me, so I do my utmost to keep my presence on the down low.

The elevator doors open and he steps out first, still on his phone.

I follow him, walking straight to my vehicle which is right next to his. As soon as I unlock my car, he looks up and spots me. The smile that dashes to his face in the next moment should have made me smile back.

But it doesn't.

"Hey," he says, his tone sounding defeated. I guess he could read me more than I wanted him to, but at this moment I was glad he knew how I felt.

I told him he shouldn't have told Elaine he liked me, and his reasoning didn't help him. Now, Elaine probably hates me for stealing her man, which, to be fair, I don't even like him back, so she can totally shoot her shot.

But maybe she knows that after someone is in love with someone else, they should quit, and move on.

Right, Elias?

He's stubborn.

"Race you home?" He asks after a long pause of silence.

I shake my head. "I'm gonna go see my Mom."

He swallows, then nods. "I'm coming too." He slides into his seat, starting up the engine. I frown, leaning over my car, shaking my head. No, he is not coming. There are words I need to ask my Mother, and if he is there, those words will be swallowed.

"Why?" I say, not sure what else to do.

He shuts his door, rolling down his windows to talk to me. "If your dad is there, you're gonna need a quick escape." His smirk at the end gives me butterflies.

If only he didn't care so much... life would be so much easier.

"You don't need to protect me!" I yell at him as he pulls out of his parking spot.

His eyes twinkle. "I want to," he says as he drives away.

I grind my teeth as I yank open my door and throw my purse into the passenger seat. I sit down with force, knocking my head on the doorframe. I hold back my groan and shut the door, getting comfortable as I start the engine and pull out of here.

This may not be a race, but I sure as heck am treating it like one.

I pull up right behind him and beep my horn. I see through his windows that he looks behind at me and waves. I grip the steering wheel, leaning forward.

The light turns green and he floors it.

I try to catch up to him, but then I realize I don't care.

When I pull into the driveway, I see Elias out of his car, leaning up against it. He salutes me, a huge grin on his face. I just shake my head at him as I park. I hop out of the car and walk next to him up to the front door.

I am just about to knock, but Elias just opens the door. I look at him in surprise, but he's already inside. I walk behind him until we reach the kitchen where he seems to be peeking his head into every room, as if he is searching for something.

Or someone.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He looks back at me. "Looking to see if your dad is here," he answers, walking past me back to the front door, distracted.

I let my arms fall to my side.

I watch him, a weird feeling coming over me.

He's really watching out for me.

I continue to stare at him, trying to piece together what this means to me. I mean, it makes me safe, the way he's here, and the way he is making sure I'm okay, but that surely doesn't mean anything, right? He's just a really good friend, and that's all he is to me.

But the feeling won't shake.

After he searches throughout the entire house, he comes back into the kitchen, my Mother in tow. She looks tired as she walks up to me, enveloping me into her arms.

I hug her back, then pull away.

"How are you?" I ask her, seeing tears in her eyes.

She shrugs. "Tired. How are you?"

I swallow. "About the same," I answer, showing her a smile, which seems to brighten her mood. She didn't look as if she was letting her tiredness show, but I'm sure that was difficult. The bags under her eyes are very dark.

If I wasn't so blatantly mean to her, maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty about coming here.

Elias stands next to me. "I can go," he says. Dad isn't here, so there is no reason for him to stay here, since I need to speak to Mom.

But I shake my head, grabbing his arm, turning to him. "Don't go," I say, staring into his eyes. He nods, hiding his smile.

Ignoring him, I look back to Mom, who smiles, looking between the two of us.

I glare. I don't need her getting any more ideas about us.

"What did you need, sweetie?" Mom asks, taking a seat on the couch. I join her, Elias sitting next to me. I look at him, and he scoots away from me until he is at the other end of the couch. I smile, and he shrugs.

"I just wanted to apologize for last time I was over here. I didn't mean to make things so difficult, and I know what Dad means to you," I say, regretting every word. But the happiness on my Mother's face is worth it. Even if I am telling her lies.

I am not regretful of what I said last night. But this needs to be said if I am going to have a relationship with my Mother.

So when we are back on good ground, I can try again and see if she can listen to reason about Dad, and then maybe break the news to her about trying to get Dad back in jail.

"Oh, honey, it's okay. But does this mean you'll try to be a family again, and speak to your dad?" She asks, the hope dripping from her lips. I try to read her eyes, trying to know if my next words will crush her soul.

I shake my head. "No, Mom, I can't. Not yet."

She looks disappointed, but she grows hopeful again when I say "yet".

I just gave her false hope.

I look over my shoulder to Elias, and he just nods.

"Okay," Mom says. "I can respect that. Just let me know when you're ready." She stands, and I do the same. I don't look, but I know Elias is standing as well.

"Alright," I say, and move toward the front door. Elias follows me, and mom is right behind him. I open the front door and step out, but when I look back, I see Mom whispering into Elias' ear.

I frown.

Elias smiles down at my Mom, and nods.

Then he turns to me and follows me out the door after we say our goodbyes.

I walk behind him until we get to the cars.

"What were you guys talking about?" I ask, trying not to let the curiosity get a hold of me.

He just smiles. "I don't know."

I place my hands on my hips. "You are a really bad liar."

He just shakes his head, opening his car door, getting inside. I do the same and pull out faster than he does. It's not a race, but I step on it to get to his house.

Elias pulls up a minute after I do.

I lean up against my car, then salute him.

He smiles.

Since tonight is the best time to spill my plans, I figure I might as well make dinner.

Lu, as soon as we got to my house, went to her room and got dressed into some more comfy clothes, which turned out to be sweats and a t-shirt. I look at her outfit and straighten in my suit, wanting to change as well.

The pile of meat on the counter could wait. I want to get dressed.

I tell Lu I'm heading upstairs, and she just nods at me.

Running upstairs, I loosen my tie and toss it on my bed, as well as my shirt, I slide off my pants and search through my closet until I find a plain black shirt, then dig around in my drawers for some sweatpants. I find some gray ones and slide them on.

I glance at myself in the mirror.

Then I shake my head, ruffle my hair, and head back downstairs.

Lu's expression when she sees me just became my entire world.

"I'm such a good role model," she states, looking smug.

I stand over the counter where I was when Lu first walked in and start to brown the meat. She takes a seat on the bar, scooting herself closer to the counter. She flips her hair from one shoulder to the other, her eyes on the meat.

"You wanna help?" I ask, gesturing to the pound of meat sitting in front of me.

She shakes her head. "You look like you've got it handled." She smiles, resting her face in her palms.

"Thanks," I pause. "But I just thought my role model would want me to keep following in her footsteps. Since you're such a good role model, and all."

Her eyes have a certain sparkle in them, which puts a smile on my face.

That got her moving.

"Okay, since you asked so nicely." She stands, rolls up her sleeves, and washes her hands in the sink. I swallow as I watch, just realizing I didn't even do that. She looks over her shoulder at me, frazzled when she finds me looking at her.

I turn back to the meat.

Lu joins me, standing close to me, her arm touching mine.

I ignore the shivers that go down my spine.

"What are you making?" She asks, staring up at me.

"Shepherd's Pie," I reply, moving around the meat in the bowl, the sizzling the only sound I can hear at the moment. The pound of meat in the pan was still so frozen, this might take a while.

"We need mashed potatoes," Lu says with enunciation, and disappears into the pantry. She comes out a second later with the bag of potatoes, which she sets on the counter, ripping the bag straight open.

My eyes widen as she grabs about ten of them and begins to wash them in the sink.

I continue to brown the meat.

Lu cuts the potatoes, boils them, then mashes them all in the span of time it takes me to brown the meat. She is like a whiz in the kitchen, and she's twice as fast as I am. She's already started on the corn, which she throws into the microwave to get warm.

"What do you need for the meat?" She asks, placing her hands on her hips.

"Uh, onions and some spices I guess."

She disappears into the pantry.

"What spices?" She yells.

I name off a few spices I know it needs, and she comes out of the pantry soon with them all in hand. She places them on the counter before me, then pours the correct amount of each into the pan after I hand her the recipe. I stir it all in as she grabs a pan for us to put it all in. I pour the meat in the pan, and she puts the corn on.

I bring the pan of mashed potatoes and she spoons in on top. She flings some cheese on top and sticks it into the oven, shutting the door and putting on the timer.

We take the next fifteen minutes cleaning up the kitchen.

When it is all cleaned, we both take a seat on the stools on the bar. We sit in silence, but it isn't awkward or uncomfortable. It feels good, instead. Lu just scrolls through her phone, while I just stare at her.

She doesn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Lu?"

Her eyes meet mine. She sets her phone face down on the counter.

"Yeah?"

"I think I want to try to get my brother out of prison."

She frowns. "How?"

I swallow, wiggling in my seat to get more comfortable. I lick my lips. "I'm gonna try to get his case reopened. In order to do that, I think I have to find evidence of his innocence. Then I can try to get the judge to change the order, and get him released."

Lu stays silent.

I await her answer or her thoughts on the matter.

"Isn't it too late?"

Those words stab my heart more than I thought they would.

I shrug. "I don't know. All I know is that I want to try. I can't believe he tried to kill us, when I know that he didn't. I want him out here with me, to live, to be my brother."

She nods, but says nothing.

I dip my head. "I don't want to spend that much time without him."

Her eyes meet mine, and I feel her grasp my hand with hers, and I squeeze it, feeling strength. She let's go after a few seconds and puts her hand on her lap.

"What evidence?" She asks.

"I was going to try to go to the medical person who examined him after the accident, who was the person who put my brother under suspicion in the first place. He was the one who found out he was on drugs. I need to talk to him first."

"Then?" She asks, her eyes penetrating.

I sigh. "Then I need to talk to Rich, get his side. I never really fully asked him all what happened. I think it was because I was too overwhelmed with my Dad's death at the time, I didn't even think to ask. But it wasn't a question that even crossed my mind because he was so heartbroken when he found out Dad was dead. How could I even have questioned his motives then?"

Lu shifts in her seat. "Why now? What changed?"

I lean onto the counter, looking forward. "He didn't seem guilty, the last I saw him when he left the hospital. But it was almost like he accepted it, even when he was charged, he had the same exact attitude. As if he deserved his sentence. Which angered me greatly, because I knew there was no way he could have possibly done it. He would have died in the crash too, and he wasn't suicidal."

"But you're doubting now?" Lu's voice brings me to face her, where my first instinct is to gather her in my arms.

It wouldn't have been appreciated though.

This is probably hurting her too, facing a situation similar to this. Except she wants to put her dad back in jail. This may seem as if I am pushing her problem away to make space for my problem, but she has to know she is my first priority.

Even though I so desperately want to get Rich out.

I also desperately want to keep Lu safe.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter, Lu, because right now, we need to figure out a game plan for your dad. Rich can wait."

Her brows furrow. "But-"

I shake my head, placing my hand on her knee, cutting her off. "Lu, this is far more important. My brother isn't going anywhere, obviously." I grin, bringing out her smile. "So, we need to come up with a case against your dad."

Lu nods. "Thank you. I've been thinking about it actually."

"Good."

She says nothing, while I wait for her to share what she's been thinking about it. She looks deep in thought, but those thoughts don't quite reach her tongue.

Instead, she leans forward and whispers, "You're a good man, Elias."

I can't help my smile.

I never thought those words, coming from Lu, would make me so happy.

Still smiling, I lean forward until our faces are so close to each other, I can feel her breath on my cheek. "I like to think you had something to do with that," I whisper.

She doesn't shy away this time. She stays put, and puts on her brilliant smile for me.

Her head shakes in disagreement.

I frown.

"No. You already were."