Chapter 404: Date

Chapter 404: DateLucas looked at Lucy incredulously, "Are you seriously asking me that right now, Lu? Do you honestly think I'm in the state of mind to be in any way attached to any lady after I just walked out of such a toxic relationship with Rachel?"         

Lucy sighed as she picked up her cup of chocolate. She sipped from it before meeting his gaze, "I understand what you mean. But I think she really likes you," Lucy said, but Lucas shook his head.     

"It doesn't matter, Lu. I don't have to be friends with everyone that likes me, do I? I'm just trying to look out for myself right now. My mental health is at stake here. She is ill. You may not fully understand the extent of her illness yet, but as a medical doctor I know how bad her condition is and just how worse it's going to get overtime if she doesn't start receiving treatments. Being friends with her or getting involved with her in anyway is going to mess with me. I'm not there yet. I'm not ready for it," Lucas said, as he took a bite from his sandwich before sipping from his cup of coffee.    

Seeing the turmoil in his eyes, Lucy could tell that he was genuinely worried about Miley even though he didn't want to be, "You care about her," Lucy stated, knowingly.     

"I'm a medical doctor. Caring about sick people comes naturally to me," Lucas stated, sounding more defensive than he had intended.    

"I know you, Luc. Your eyes don't lie. You care about her even though you don't want to. Care to tell me how you met her? Amy said you both didn't part on very friendly terms," Lucy said, and Lucas looked away from her for a moment as he contemplated if he should tell her or not.    

"I will appreciate it if you don't lie to me," Lucy said, and Lucas sighed as he picked up his cup of coffee which had become cool and gulped down its content.    

Deep down he wanted to talk about Miley. He wanted to tell someone else about his encounter with her and know if he was crazy for caring about her the way he did in such a short duration of time. And right now it seemed like Lucy was the only available person he could talk to. It wasn't like he had any other close friends who he could speak with about this right now apart from Tyler, who was thousands of miles away, and who he hadn't seen since for some years now.     

Lucas took a deep breath before telling Lucy all about his meeting with Miley, how he had woken up at her house and how he had left her, he only left out her plan to get married and have a kid before dying.     

By the time he was done, Lucy had a sad smile on her face, and a tear drop on her cheek which she brushed away with her thumb, "She sounds like a really sweet person," Lucy said, and Lucas smiled.     

"She actually is," Lucas admitted.    

"Are you sure you won't regret this? I understand that you are not ready for any sort of emotional attachment, and you need time to recover from Rachel. But if her condition is as bad as you have said, then she doesn't have the luxury of time to wait, so you can't blame her for coming on so strongly," Lucy said, and Lucas raised a brow.     

"I didn't say I am romantically interested in her. It's just friendship. You don't expect me to just jump from Rachel into another lady's arms in such a short notice do you? I'm not interested in rebounding with Miley," Lucas said, and Lucy smiled as she sipped from her cup of chocolate.    

"I didn't say you should do that, did I? Listen, what I'm just trying to say, is this; At least Miley has a couple of months left to live, so if you care about her why not help make that time more memorable for her? Haven't you seen healthy people die in the twinkle of an eye? I mean, there's no guarantee in life. One minute a person is alive, and the next a person is dead. Do you have any idea how many healthy persons without terminal illnesses have died since Miley was diagnosed? She has outlived them all," Lucy said making Lucas sigh.    

"What are you trying to say Lu?"    

"I know you are scared that when you get close to her and she dies you're going to be devastated by the loss, but you can't always shield yourself from being hurt, Luc. Life doesn't work that way. Pain is a part of life. At least when you feel pain you know you're still alive. If anything happens to Tom right now, I might go crazy with grief, but you know one thing I know? I won't have any regrets. I think the hurt I'd feel over losing him is worth having him in my life for even only a couple of months. I'd rather have spent that time with him, than not spent it at all," Lucy said, and Lucas looked at her with interest.    

"You have changed a lot," Lucas observed.    

"I know, right?" Lucy asked with a soft laughter, "You have no idea all the crazy things I've experienced and done since I met Tom. It feels like I'm a different person," Lucy said, and Lucas smiled.     

"You are obviously a different person from Lucy that called me a few weeks ago asking me about her colleague's friend's driver," Lucas said, and Lucy giggled.    

"That seems like such a long time ago," she said, and Lucas nodded when he remembered how he had been cuddled up on the couch with Rachel when that call came in. Who knew that so much could happen or change in such a short time?    

"So? Am I allowed I text your number to her?" Lucy asked, and Lucas' brows pulled together.    

"Do you honestly think it is a good idea? If you were in my shoes would you be friends with her at this point?" He asked, and Lucy shrugged.     

"You care about her and being away from her won't make you care about her less. She likes you, and apart from the fact that she seems like a good distraction for you, you are not working right now so you have some time to spare. You can spend what little time you can with her. Who knows? Maybe she might agree to receive treatment for your sake. What is the worst that can happen? A couple of months or a year from now she probably dies and you are devastated..."    

"Lu..."    

"I know. I know it's not as easy as I'm making it sound, but if you think about it, that is actually the worst that can happen, isn't it? And as I said before, that loss is not something you can avoid or have control over, it can happen to anyone. Whether you live with a person for a year, ten years, or thirty years, loss is loss. In this case, it's something you're expecting so one way or the other you are partially prepared for it. It's not a brutal or happening suddenly and catching you unaware," Lucy said as she reached across the table and pat his hand.    

Lucas rubbed his eyes wearily as he considered everything she had said, "Alright. You can give her my number," Lucas said, and raised a brow when Lucy suddenly started giggling as she picked up her phone which was ringing.        

"Amy is calling," Lucy said as she showed Lucas her phone's screen before receiving the call.     

"Good morning, Amy or is it Miley? Or both?" Lucy greeted cheerfully, and smiled when both Amy and Miley giggled into the phone.     

"Good morning, Lucy. It's Miley. Have you heard from your brother?" Miley asked, and Lucy extended the phone to Lucas.    

"It's Miley," she mouthed to him silently, and Lucas' heart skipped a beat as he took the phone from her.     

"Good morning, Miley," he said, and cleared his throat which was tight.     

"Oh, it's Lucas!" Miley said excitedly, and Amy who was listening in on the call with the other pair of Bluetooth airpod, rolled her eyes.     

"Hello, Lucas. Good morning!" Miley greeted cheerfully, and Lucas felt a pit growing in his stomach once again.     

"Hi! I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have said..."    

Miley cut in before he could apologize, "It's fine. I'm over it. I don't think I have the luxury of time to hold grudges right now. Your twin said you're in Ludus. We just arrived here. Can I see you?" Miley asked, and Lucas raised a brow.     

"You are in Ludus?"    

"Yes. And I'd like to meet with you if you don't mind," Miley said, Lucas gaze shifted to look at Lucy, who was watching him very closely.    

"What?" Lucy mouthed.    

"She's in Ludus," Lucas mouthed back, and Lucy giggled as she gestured to him to carry on with his phone call.    

Lucas cleared his throat, "When did you arrive? And why are you here?" Lucas asked curiously, wondering if she was in Ludus because of him or if she had business to attend to.    

"We just arrived. We are on our way to Amy's apartment," Miley informed him, ignoring his other question.    

"So? When can we meet?" She asked once again.    

"Uhm... Maybe we can do lunch or dinner," Lucas suggested, and Miley smiled happily.    

"Please say dinner. I need to sleep," Amy mouthed to her.    

"Dinner is perfect. Please text me your number right now. I will book a reservation and let you know where to meet us," Miley said, and Lucas raised a brow.    

"Us?"    

"Yeah. Amy will be coming with me. I can't wait to see you Lucas. I've missed you so much. I've been so lonely since you left," she said, and Amy sat up to look at her in disbelief.    

"Seriously? You have been lonely?" Amy asked incredulously, and Lucas' lips twitched with amusement as he listened to their little argument.    

"I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy your company..."    

"But you are saying you prefer Dr. Hottie's company to mine? Seriously? Someone who you met barely seventy-two hours ago? Someone who left you while I stayed with you?" Amy asked with mild annoyance as Miley tried to kiss her cheeks.    

Dr. Hottie? Where did that name come from? Lucas mused as he listened to them.        

"There is no basis for comparison, and definitely no need for you to feel jealous of Dr. Hottie. You sound like a jealous lesbian partn.."    

Lucas cleared his throat when it seemed like they had forgotten he was still on the line, and immediately they looked at each other feeling embarrassed.    

"Sorry," Miley apologized with an awkward giggle.    

"It's fine. See you later then," Lucas said, but before he could hang up she quickly stopped him.    

"Don't forget to text me your number. And follow me back on Instagram. Why did you unfollow me anyway?" She asked, and Lucas sighed.     

"I'm in the middle of a conversation with my sister and you're interrupting us," Lucas reminded her, and she gasped softly.    

"Oh, that's true! Please return the phone to your kind-hearted sister," Miley said, and Lucas raised a brow as he handed the phone to Lucy.    

"Amy or Miley?" Lucy asked, and once again they both giggled.    

"Thank you so much for everything, Lucy. You're such an angel. It is thanks to you that I can see him today," Miley said happily, and Lucy smiled when she heard the excitement in her voice.     

"You're welcome."    

"Is it possible that I see you? Perhaps I could drop by your office and see you briefly? I'd really love to meet Lucas' twin sister in person, at least once," she pleaded.    

"Why?" Lucy asked curiously. Although she was curious to see her too, especially after she heard from Lucas that she had an unpleasant history with Rachel. Any enemy of Rachel was her friend.     

"Because I like Lucas, and I'm also curious him. I'm sort of curious about you too. There are a lot of questions I'd love to ask you, and I believe I can learn more about him from you," Miley said, and Lucy smiled, while she looked back at Lucas who was watching her with questioning eyes.     

"That's fine. Unfortunately I have other plans for today and I'm not going to the office, so that would have to be tomorrow. I will answer whatever questions you have about my kid brother. I could even bring a photo album along if you want," Lucy said, and Lucas glared at her making her giggle.    

"Really? That would be sooo awesome! I will really love that," Miley said happily.     

"It is settled then. I look forward to meeting you. I have to go now."    

"Before you go, please don't forget to text me his number. I'll text you mine so you have it too," Miley rushed to say before Lucy hung up.     

"What was that about?" Lucas asked when Lucy flashed him a bright smile.     

"She is a such sweetheart. Make sure you capture some nice photos during your outing with her and post them on your Instagram page. There is no reason not to get upset Rachel while you're having fun. Make sure you tag me to the posts. I'd love to leave some cute comments for her to see," Lucy said as she drank the remaining chocolate on her cup.     

"Between you and mom I don't know who's worse," Lucas said as he told her what their mother had done to Rachel's clothes.    

Lucy howled with laughter, "I can't believe she did that. I would have loved to be there. Rachel deserves nothing less than that!" She said with a satisfied smile as she glanced at her wristwatch.    

"You have become so petty," Lucas observed, and Lucy giggled as she returned her attention to him.    

"Proudly so too," Lucy said as she took out her apartment keys from her handbag.     

"I have to leave now, Luc. Since you are not sure when you're leaving yet, why not move to my apartment instead of paying for a room at the hotel? I will ask Adolf to drop off my car at the apartment so you can move around easily, and he can bring you some food too," Lucy suggested as she stood to leave, and Lucas did the same.    

"Please don't say no. I will feel more comfortable knowing you are at my apartment," she pleaded when it seemed like he was going to argue, and Lucas sighed as he took the key from her.        

"Alright," Lucas said as they both walked outside and headed for the parking lot.     

"Let me know how your date with Miley goes, okay?" Lucy said as Tom got out of the car.    

"It's not a date," Lucas corrected as he held out the passenger door for Lucy.    

"Sure. Still, let me know," she said as she embraced him.    

"I'm serious. Besides, Amy will be there too," Lucas said, and Lucy flashed him a smile.     

"Let me know how your hangout with them goes. Satisfied?"    

"Yes. Lu? Make sure you don't take any photo albums to her. And don't tell her any embarassing details," Lucas warned Lucy who was smiling at him mischievously, while Tom looked from one to the other wondering who and what they were talking about.    

"You are still around, right?" Tom asked curiously.    

"Yea. For the time being. I will let you guys know before I leave," Lucas said, and Tom gave him a nod before getting into the car.     

Lucas stepped away from the car once Tom turned on the ignition and he waved at them as they drove off.     

He took a deep breath to calm himself once the car disappeared from view, and tried not to worry whether or not he had made the right decision by listening to Lucy and speaking with Miley.     

The only way he could overcome the feeling of unease in his stomach, was by trying his best not to think too much about the meeting with Miley.