Chapter 392 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

Lucas opened his eyes slowly and shut them almost immediately because of the bright light in the room that flooded his vision. He waited for some seconds before opening his eyes again. This time he opened them one at a time.

His gaze swept across the room slowly, and he wondered why the place felt so unfamiliar. He tried to sit up when he realized that he wasn’t at home, but his movement was too sudden, and it made his head spin, so he fell back and shut his eyes.

His head was aching so much that he could have sworn that there were a group of drummers doing a live performance in his brain. But then again, that was what he deserved for consuming so much alcohol until he was knocked out by it.

The alcohol had been a temporary solution to help him forget about his problems and sleep. But now that he was awake, it felt pointless. He was feeling even more lost and anxious now than before. His heart kept beating fast even though it also felt empty. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

Slowly he tried to sit up again, and he raised both hands to the back of his stiff neck. He had been knocked off on the couch, and as a result of how he had positioned his head, his neck was feeling stiff.

When he finally managed to sit, he reached for his phone, which was on top of an ashtray on the table beside him, and he scowled at the empty bottle of whiskey he had consumed the previous night.

As he took a closer look around, he decided that this had to be a hotel room. Although he couldn’t remember exactly how he ended up here, he remembered going to a bar.

He had left the house because there were too many memories of Rachel there, and the more he thought about what Celsie and Sonia had said about her, the more tempted he was to go over to her place and do something crazy. Hence the last place he wanted to be right now was anywhere that reminded him of her.

He shook his head, not wanting to think about it, and he groaned when pain shot through his back. Damn alcohol! Lucas decided that getting drunk was stupid since he not only had to deal with the ache in his chest now, but he also had to deal with the physical pain in his head and general body discomfort.

Once he turned on his phone, several text message notifications came in, but he clicked on Celsie’s text first.

‘Lucas, cut the crap and give me a call, will you? I’m worried sick about you. You are not the only one in this, you know? CALL ME, or I’m going to drop everything I’m doing over here and find you!’ he sighed as he read her text.

It wasn’t fair that he was adding to her worries. He had done enough harm to her already by dating someone as despicable as Rachel. Making Celsie worry was the last thing he should be doing. With that thought, he dialed her line.

“Lucas! Where have you been? Are you okay?” Celsie asked in concern the moment she received the call, and Lucas winced because she was speaking loudly and his head was aching.

“Can you lower your voice a little? Please? My head aches,” He added wearily.

“Oh, dear! What did you do? Are you fine? Where are you?” Celsie asked as quietly as she could.

“I’m sorry, Celsie. I’m sorry for everything. And I’m also sorry I made you worry. I just wanted to have some time to myself,” Lucas confessed apologetically.

“It’s fine. What have you been up to? How are you feeling now? Where are you? Mom and dad are very worried,” Celsie said as she took off her glasses and placed them on her desk.

“I will give them a call when I’m done speaking with you. I think I’m in a hotel. I will be here for some time,” Lucas said, and Celsie frowned.

“You think?” Celsie asked, not missing the uncertainty she could hear in his tone.

Knowing that if he told her he didn’t know exactly where he was, she would freak out, he decided not to, “I’m in a hotel.”

“What is the name of the hotel? Why are you in a hotel?”

“I don’t want to be home right now. Everything there reminds me of her. I’ve never considered myself a violent person, but I think I might explode if I see Ra…” Unable to call her name, Lucas sighed.

“I don’t want to see her, so I’ll rather avoid her,” Lucas explained.

“Mom and dad are back home now. Please go home to them. That way, I will worry less about your well-being. If what you want is a change of environment, then come back here. You can just live with me,” Celsie pleaded.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t do anything stupid. What can I do anyway? Just let me stay here for some days more. I can’t face any of you yet…”

“Why not? You didn’t commit any crime. Lucas, I hope you don’t blame yourself for any of it. If you are wise, you would know that none of this was your fault,” Celsie pointed out, and Lucas sighed.

“We both know you wouldn’t have had any of those horrible experiences if I wasn’t dating her…”

“Says who? I’m sure he would have easily found another way to get to me if she wasn’t in the picture. It has nothing to do with you.”

“We don’t know that for sure. The girl I almost got married to did that to you,” Lucas said in a shaky voice.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just forget about it and put that behind us. Besides, if the table was turned, and you suffered hardship because of a guy I love, would you want me to behave the way you are doing right now? You are putting me in a difficult position?” Celsie said, and Lucas sighed.

“Celsie, we all deal with things differently. Trust me when I say I need to be alone right now. If it’s any consolation, I will leave my phone on so that you can reach me any time you want,” Lucas pleaded, and then he almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a door open behind him.

“Let me call you back, Celsie. I have to go now,” Lucas said and quickly hung up when he heard footsteps heading towards him.

“Good morning, handsome! I see you are awake now,” a beautiful bright-eyed brunette with tousled long curly hair greeted as she joined him, and Lucas followed her elegant movement with his eyes as she sat on the couch adjacent to his and stretched out her legs before crossing them at the ankle.

“Who are you?” Lucas asked as he took another look around the room, which he had assumed to be a hotel room.

She watched him for a moment without saying a word as she raised a cigarette to her lips which he hadn’t noticed she was holding before.

She lit it and took a puff before speaking, “You don’t have to concern yourself about who I am. You were drunk and knocked out at the bar. The barman was going to throw you out, so I had to step in. You can call me your savior,” she said with an easy smile.

“And where is this place?” Lucas asked as he watched her, wondering why she looked so comfortable when her robe was almost slipping off her shoulder.

“This is where I live. You have never gotten this drunk before, have you?” She asked as she eyed him with interest while letting out a ring of smoke through her pouty lips.

“Why do you ask?” Lucas asked as he tried to stand up slowly.

“Because you don’t just strike me like the type that makes it a habit to get drunk and knocked out that way. Also, I listened in on some parts of your phone call,” she said, unashamed to admit that she had been eavesdropping on his conversation.

Before Lucas could respond to that, she stood up and returned in the direction she had come from, while Lucas wondered where she was going. A moment later, she returned with a bottle of water and aspirin, “Here. This should help you feel better,” she said as she placed it on the table in front of him.

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