Crash Into Me

She spent a few hours talking with John’s co-workers. All that time, John was always interrupted by fans who wanted to take pictures with him. He was used to it, and he was nice about it. She scanned the room once in a while to check on Lucas. He was drinking, and sulked at the bar. Sometimes she caught him looking at her while in John’s arms. She wasn’t intentionally parading John in front of him, but it was hurting him nonetheless.

Her awkwardness didn’t escape John, he saw her smile fade in between conversations. When he went to the bar and saw Lucas flat on his face on the counter, he went to get Sandy. “I think we need to take Lucas home, he passed out on the bar.”

“What? You mean, now?”

John insisted on driving him home since Lucas’s car was parked outside. He found the car keys in Lucas’s pocket and carried him all the way to the car. He ended the night early with his crew, and asked his management to take care of the bills. It was a very thoughtful gesture that no one can fake, Sandy was sure she made the right choice to be with this man.

She put on the seat belt, looked at Lucas who was unconscious in the back seat. John studied the car for a minute and drove the car back to his home. Sandy showed him the way to Lucas’s luxurious villa, it was a 20 minute drive from the bar.

Lucas had shared his security code with Sandy, it was her birthday. John single handedly carried Lucas into the villa and laid him on the sofa. They left a note, locked the door behind them.

The ride home was quiet. Lucas’s villa was a mess, she pretended it was nothing out of the ordinary but she knew how organized and meticulous he was. The place looked like it had held parties for days and nobody came to clean it. Empty bottles everywhere, dirty glasses on the sink, clothes on the floor. She didn’t realize how hard it was on Lucas to find out about John.

John wasn’t saying anything about it either, she didn’t dare to ask. But he knew, after all, he was a man who had fallen in love and got broken in places many times before. He knew what he saw, and kept it to himself.

They got back to the cottage by cab, Sandy was totally swooned by him, she couldn’t find words for it.

“Thank you,” she said when they got home.

“Oh, it’s the least we can do, right? He was pretty out of it.”

“It was the nicest thing,” she added.

He shrugged, “So what’s his story, anyway?”

“Lucas?”

John nodded.

“He was married for five years, I think … and then he caught his wife cheating on him, and they got a divorce,” she took off her shoes and tried to relax on the sofa. “He came here for a vacation after the divorce and fell in love with the island … he decided to start a new life here … that’s when he first got acquainted with Andrea, she helped him find the villa and then a property to start his business … which is La Lune.” She stretched on the couch.

“When did you first got acquainted with him?” John sat by her side.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“I think it was about the second year he moved here … I was recovering from my ‘thing’ when Andrea introduced us … we’re friends ever since, not long after I had Kevin.”

“It was love at first sight for him huh?” John commented.

“I don’t know about that.”

“What did he say to you at the bar?”

She shrugged, “He was drunk … he was talking nonsense.”

“Like what?”

“Nothing … it was drunken nonsense,” she refused to tell him.

John looked at her in distrust.

She sat up, “John?”

“Well … can’t you at least tell me his exact words and then I’ll decide whether it’s nonsense?” he wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.

“John??” she really didn’t want to pursue it any longer.

“I just don’t want you to keep him like a secret … you know what I mean? Every time I asked you about him, the answer was always ‘nothing’ … there’s gotta be something?” He tried to reason with her.

She didn’t see a point of sharing what Lucas said to her, “He found out about you, I guess he was upset,” she finally told him.

“Was he drunk because of that?”

She lifted her shoulders, “I don’t know … I wouldn’t assume.”

John paused for a moment, “Was he being mean to you?”

“No … he was just drunk and upset.”

“You’re still not going to tell me what he said to you?”

“John? I don’t see why it matters so much?”

“It matters to me … like I said, I don’t want you to keep him like a secret from me,” he really meant it.

“Okay …” she drew a breath, “He said he’s been dating some women.”

John was listening intently, “And?”

“And it’s not working,” she finally told him the very mild version of it and saw his expression didn’t change.

“Okay … thank you for telling me,” he was tense.

Sandy tried to lean towards him, but he excused himself instead, “So we go to the suburbs tomorrow?”

“Are you upset?” she was confused by his sudden eagerness to go back to his cottage.

“No … I’m just tired … I’ll see you first thing in the morning,” he said and gave her a kiss.

She watched him walk away to his cottage and not look back.