Chapter 231 - Lean On Me

"Are you sure you don't want me to be here with you when your family arrives?" Tom asked Lucy when she kept trying to convince him to leave before the arrival of her parents and Lucas. 

"Yes. I'm very sure," Lucy assured him with a smile. 

Lucas had called to say their mother would be the only one staying with her in her apartment since it would be too small to accommodate them all. So her father and Lucas had decided to find a hotel closest to her apartment where they could lodge before coming down to meet her. 

Tom had tried to convince her that they could use his apartment which was next to hers, instead of lodging in a hotel, but Lucy had politely turned down the offer. 

"C'mon, Tom! They are my family, and I don't need protection from them. It's not like they're going to eat me or something," Lucy said in a lighter tone when Tom just kept staring at her as if he was searching for something on her face.

Tom let out a long breath, "I know. I'm just worried about you that's all. You promise to call me if anything comes up?"

"Nothing is going to come up. I need to go grocery shopping. My parents would nag me to death if they see how empty my refrigerator is," Lucy said thoughtfully when she opened her refrigerator and there was nothing much in it apart from snacks.

"If you give me a list of what you need, I could get them for you and have it delivered to your doorstep," Tom offered, wanting to at least do something for her. 

"There is no way you can leave the house right now until things have been resolved," Tom reminded her when she looked at him as though she was going to turn down his offer. They both knew that if the people who worked in the same company with her had reacted that way to what they had read on the internet, then strangers would likely react in a worse manner if they saw her.

"I guess you're right," Lucy said with a sigh.

"Good. So I will have someone deliver it to you. Be alright, okay?" Tom said as he moved close to her and embraced her.

"I will. And thanks for today. I appreciate you standing up for me the way you did today, but let's try not to meet until all of this is resolved," Lucy told him with a small smile that didn't hide the sadness in her eyes as she broke the hug and pulled away from him.

Even if he wasn't saying it, she knew that he was under a lot of pressure because of her, and his action at the lobby of the company earlier on was only going to complicate things even more for him. 

"Lucy..."

"I'm not asking us to break up or anything. We are in this relationship together, and I'm not selfish enough to want you to stand by me when I know it's going to end up causing problems for you too. Just until everything is resolved, let's not meet. Let's just focus on clearing this," Lucy pleaded.

"If Anita is behind this as we suspect, don't you think you are doing exactly what she wants you to do?" Tom asked with a slight frown as he watched her. 

"Then what else can I do?" Lucy asked wearily.

"Lean on me, and don't push me away. Or are you doing this because Sonia broke up with Bryan?" Tom asked, making Lucy's brows pull together in a frown.

"Sonia broke up with Bryan?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Yes. I didn't want to mention it. She broke up with him after she heard about all this. If you're worried about my reputation, don't worry. I can handle whatever comes," Tom promised as he took both her hands in his. 

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I'll hear from Sonia when she gets here. Let's continue this conversation over the phone when you get home," Lucy said, as she gently prodded him towards the door.

Tom stuck out his lower lip, giving her a sad face when they got to the door and Lucy smiled at him, "You don't have to feel bad. Besides, do you want my family to meet you for the first time with your disguise costume on?" Lucy asked with a touch of humor, and Tom narrowed his eyes.

"Are you ashamed of my beards?" He asked rubbing his fake beards in a way that made her laugh softly.

"If only they were real. You can always meet them later. I just need to first talk to them and calm them," Lucy assured him.

"Fine. I'll call you when I get home. Don't forget to text me your grocery list," Tom said as he kissed her lightly on the lips before opening the door and walking away.

He took in a deep breath once he stepped outside, and let it out slowly. He could tell that she was forcing all the smiles and laughter just so that he wouldn't worry about her. 

Once he got into his car, the substitute driver turned to look at him, "Where am I taking you to?"

"Take me back to the company," Tom said distractedly as he took out his phone to give Harry a call.

***********

Lucy hurried to the door when she heard the sound of the doorbell, and once she opened the door she was surprised to see Alicia standing there with Jasmine instead of Sonia who she was expecting.

Sonia had called her less than five minutes earlier to ask for directions since she seemed to have missed her way. 

"Hi!" both ladies greeted in unison.

"Hi!" Lucy greeted as she looked from one to the other, wondering what they were doing at her door since she was sure they had likely seen the news on the internet.

"Can we come in?" Jasmine asked politely, and Lucy looked behind them, wondering why Sonia was yet to arrive, before stepping aside for them to get in.

"We saw the stuff about you all over social media. We would have come earlier but we noticed that you were with someone," Alicia announced as they walked in, and Jasmine sent Alicia a sharp look before clearing her throat. 

"Uhm, we noticed that the only friend you seem to have is Tom, and since we didn't see him around we thought to come to check on you and spend some time with you," Jasmine explained.

"Oh, thank you!" Lucy said, at a loss for what to say as she hadn't been expecting this.

"You didn't do it, right?" Alicia asked before Jasmine could stop her, "You didn't kill that boy, right?" Alicia asked, looking at Lucy as though she was hoping everything she had read was false.

Lucy looked at Alicia, but couldn't find it in her to offer them any explanation. Although she thought they deserved an explanation seeing how they had come to her instead of just believing what they had read like everyone else.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Jasmine assured her quietly.

Lucy sighed, "I'm sorry I can't explain to you right now. I appreciate your coming over, but I'm kind of expecting my family right now and..." Lucy let the rest of her words trail off hoping they would pick the hint.

"Oh, Sure! I'm glad you have people coming over to stay with you. We just wanted to be sure you're alright," Jasmine said as she took Alicia's hand and headed for the door. 

"Thanks for coming. And once again I'm sorry," Lucy said apologetically as the couple stepped outside.

"It's not a problem. We understand," Jasmine assured her with a wave as they both walked away. 

"I have a YouTube channel with lots of followers, just in case you want to share your side of the story," Alicia offered as Jasmine dragged her away.

Just then a cab pulled to a stop in front of the house, and Sonia stepped out of the cab with her luggage box and handbag, causing Jasmine and Alicia to stop and stare at her curiously.

"Hey, Lu!" Sonia called out to Lucy before she could shut the door.

"Isn't that Sonia Smith? The writer who just dumped Bryan Hank? What is she doing here?" Alicia whispered to Jasmine as they both looked from Sonia to Lucy.

Seeing Sonia standing out there, Lucy ran out of her apartment barefooted and ran straight into Sonia's outstretched arm. Both friends held on to each other tightly, not caring that they were standing out there in the open. 

"I'm sorry I arrived late," Sonia said as she pulled away from the hug to look at Lucy.

"It's not late. Let's go in," Lucy suggested when she noticed that people were staring at them. She picked up Sonia's luggage and led her to her apartment.

"What about Lucas and your parents? Are they inside?" Sonia asked curiously as she followed Lucy.

"They're not here yet. They didn't leave on time, and they're coming by road because of my mom who hates to fly," Lucy explained as she led Sonia inside her apartment.

Once Lucy shut the door behind them, Sonia dropped her handbag on the floor and pulled Lucy into a hug, and just held her there. 

They stood there without saying a word. No words were needed. They both understood what the other was going through, so they held on to each other tightly, both offering and taking comfort from each other.. Before they knew it they were both sobbing.