Chapter 155 - Perfect Picture

Was it a dream or did she really have sex with Tom? That was the first question on Lucy's mind when she opened her eyes. Lucy's heart skipped a beat when she opened her eyes and saw the unfamiliar environment. Her brows pulled together in a frown when she perceived the familiar smell of antiseptic, and she quickly sat up to look around her. 

A hospital? What was she doing in a hospital? Why did Tom bring her here? Perhaps he thought she was crazy after hearing all she had told him? Oh, shit! She had actually opened up to him about Jamie, she thought in alarm, as the events of the last couple of hours returned to her, and she remembered how she had frozen while talking to Tom. 

Why did she really tell Tom about Jamie? That was mighty bold of her to revisit her past that way, Lucy thought with a sigh. So where was Tom? And what time was it? She still needed to get to work.

She felt a weight in her pocket and reached into it to find her house key in her pocket. Where was Tom? She wondered.

Lucy looked up when the door opened, expecting to see Tom, but to her disappointment, her secretary walked in, "Good morning, Amy. What are you doing here?" She asked with polite curiosity.

"Good morning, Miss Perry. Mr. Harry asked me to see if you are okay and to take you home. He also said I should inform you that you don't need to be at the office today," Amy said as she walked inside the room, dressed in her office wears. 

"What's the time?" Lucy asked Amy curiously, and Amy checked her wristwatch.

"It's just five minutes past ten," Amy said, and Lucy gave her a nod. That meant she had been sleeping for almost four hours. 

"You don't happen to know where Tom is, do you?" Lucy asked, and Amy shook her head.

The doctor opened the door at that moment, "I see you are awake," He said with a polite smile as he walked in, "How do you feel?" He asked when he stopped by her bed and took her hand to check her pulse. 

"I'm okay. I guess I was just very exhausted," Lucy said with a smile, wondering if Tom might have told the doctor anything, "Where is the person that brought me here?"

"You mean your driver? He said something came up, so he had to quickly leave. If you don't mind, I would like to have a word with her in private," the doctor said to Amy, who gave him a nod as she excused herself to go wait outside. 

Lucy looked at the doctor curiously, wondering what it was he wanted to talk to her about, "I'm in perfect health condition. My twin brother is a medical doctor and did all the necessary checks before I moved down here," Lucy rushed to assure him before he could say anything, and the doctor gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure he did. However, Tom told me you froze while talking to him about a past traumatic experience... Although he didn't give me the details," the doctor added when he noticed how Lucy visibly stiffened.

"It is nothing," Lucy said with a stiff smile as she looked away from the doctor, not wanting to maintain eye contact with him.

"You are still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and you need to see a psychotherapist. I could arrange for you to meet a very good psychotherapist," he offered.

Lucy shook her head, "I'm okay. I just need to rest that's all," she assured him with a forced smile.

The doctor looked at her curiously before giving her a nod, "If you say so. But if you happen to change your mind, you can stop by. The company will take care of the charges, so you have nothing to worry about," he assured her, and Lucy gave him a small smile, relieved that he had dropped the subject.

"So can I leave now?" She asked, and stood up when the doctor gave her a nod. Thankfully she was still dressed in her sweatpant and sweatshirt, but she was barefooted. 

"I will ask someone to bring you something for your feet," the doctor said when he noticed how she glanced at her feet and looked around the room as though she was looking for her footwear.

"That will be very much appreciated. Thank you," Lucy said with a small smile as she watched him leave. 

Amy returned some minutes later with a pair of white crocs, "I hope this fits," she said, looking at Lucy's feet.

"It's better than nothing. Thanks," Lucy said with a faint smile as she took the footwear from Amy and slipped it on before walking out of the room. 

Once they got outside the hospital, Amy led her to the parking lot where Tom had parked the car, and Lucy was surprised to see her car there. She had thought Tom left with the car. Without saying a word she got in and gave Amy directions to her home. 

As Amy drove, Lucy couldn't help wondering what had come up that had made Tom leave. Perhaps he had a job to attend to? But he hadn't mentioned that when they were talking earlier. She sighed as she let her head rest on the headrest of the car, and shut her eyes. 

"We are here," Amy announced as she parked the car in front of Lucy's apartment.

As Lucy hit out of the car, her eyes flew to Tom's apartment which was next to hers. Was he in? Or had he truly gone out for a job? Somehow she felt bad that he hadn't waited by her bedside to take her home. 

"Is everything okay?" Amy asked when she noticed how Lucy was looking at the apartment next to hers with a slight frown on her face. 

"Yeah. Thanks for bringing me home, you can leave," Lucy said with a small smile as she held out her hand for Amy to hand her the car key.

"Not so soon. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I should fix you something to eat while you freshen up," Amy suggested as she led the way to Lucy's apartment while Lucy followed her. Once they got to the door, Lucy took out the key from her pocket and unlocked the door before walking into the house with Amy. 

"You can freshen up while I fix you something to eat," Amy said as she dropped the car key on the table, and picked up the bottle of wine and wineglass which was still half-filled before heading for the kitchen. 

Lucy looked around her apartment before heading for her bedroom. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on her rumpled bedspread, bringing flashes of the events of the last evening.

Lucy lowered herself on the seat opposite her dressing table and stared at her reflection in the mirror as though she was in a daze. Her face flushed a bright red and her breath quickened when she remembered all that had happened the previous night. Her eyes drifted to the reflection of the bed in the mirror, and she raised a hand to her cheeks and shut her eyes as she tried to steady her breath. This was supposed to be the least of her worry at the moment, but she couldn't help it. 

She opened her eyes once again, and this time her eyes fell on her phone which was on the nightstand. She stood up and walked over to the nightstand to pick it up, hoping to at least see a text from Tom explaining the reason for his absence. When she picked it up, she saw several missed calls from Sonia, her parents, and Lucas, but none from Tom. 

It seemed like everyone always tried to reach her whenever she was spending the night with Tom, Lucy thought as she checked the time of the call. Her parents and Lucas had called her the previous evening, and then called again this morning, and so had Sonia.

Lucy sighed as she sat down on her bed and dialed her mother's line. She knew her mother had probably asked everyone else to call her when she couldn't reach her. So her mother was the best person to call first.

"Why haven't you been taking your call?" Her mother asked in a worried tone once she received Lucy's call. 

"I'm sorry, the phone was on silent and I overslept," Lucy lied.

"Overslept? You never oversleep. Are you okay? Is something wrong? Are you ill?" Her mother asked, sounding very worried now.

"I'm okay. I guess I just needed the rest. How are you?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.

"Are you sure you are okay? Do you need me and your father to come..."

"No! I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me."

"If you say so. Your brother's wedding is coming up soon, you're not coming alone, are you?" Her mother asked, and Lucy rolled her eyes. 

"Mom..."

"Why can't she come alone?" She heard her father's voice in the background before she could speak, and she smiled.

"Good morning, dad."

"Hey, Princess! What have you been up to?" Her father asked, taking the phone from his wife.

"Nothing much. Just working and... dating," Lucy said with a small smile and laughed out loud when she heard both her parents squeal happily.

"I thought you were okay with her being single, why are you so happy now?" She heard her mother ask her father.

"Is that what is important right now?" Her father responded.

"So, tell us about your boyfriend. Who is he?" Her mother asked curiously.

Lucy pursed her lips thoughtfully. Although this wasn't how she had planned to break the news to them, she just wanted to get it out of the way. Tom was her temporary boyfriend after all, and she was sure he wouldn't mind stepping in to help her get her family off her back. 

"Yes. Who is he? How did you both meet? What does he do?" Her father asked, making Lucy's brows pull together. 

She couldn't possibly tell them how she had met Tom, or that he was her driver. Although she knew that her parents weren't going to look down on him simply because he was a driver, still she felt that she needed to come up with something better. It was her first time being in a relationship, and she needed to make sure she gave them a perfect picture so that when she tells them of the breakup, they won't need to pressure her anymore about getting into a relationship. 

So without thinking it through Lucy blurted out, "His name is Thomas Hank."