Sweet Spot by Stella Rhys
31
LUKAS
Before I even opened myeyes, I knew she was gone.
There were plenty of other rooms in the house for her to disappear into, but I knew she wasn’t in any of them. She wasn’t anywhere in my apartment, and for some reason, I knew that as a fact. In the fog of my sleep, I vaguely remembered the void she left against my chest after breaking free from my arms. I had a faint memory of her kissing the back of my hand before climbing out of bed.
But there was no memory of her getting back in, or making any sound around my house.
“Shit.”
The second my eyes opened, I climbed out of bed, getting dressed fast as I looked around the room for signs of her things. Her panties were on my nightstand but her bra was nowhere to be seen and when I rushed downstairs, I found my floor clean of her dress. The purse she brought – a brown, leather tote of some sort – was nowhere to be found.
“Fuck me,” I growled as I paced the floor of the living room, trying again after the first call she didn’t pick up.
I heard her last night.
I was half-asleep but I’d heard her say “I love you” – I just didn’t say it back.
Fucking asshole, I cursed myself as I yanked some shoes on in a hurry. I couldn’t explain my inaction last night. I couldn’t explain it as it happened and I still couldn’t now. I just knew that I’d made a mistake and that Lia wasn’t just up early and starting her day. She was gone.
“Hey, Sam,” I was breathless by the time I caught the doorman of the building on the sidewalk. “I’m sorry to ask this but you know the woman I had here the past few nights?”
“Certainly do. She’s hard to forget.”
“Were you here when she left? Did she look upset or angry or…” I trailed off, feeling like a fucking idiot and hoping Sam would bail me out.
“I did see her, Mr. Hendricks, and she was smiling when she said goodbye to me. But your other friend was here this morning. She tried to convince me to let her up.”
I frowned hard. “My other friend?”
“The blonde one who used to come here sometimes?”
I slapped my hand against my face. “Noelle.”
“Yes, Noelle. I called your apartment, there was no answer, and I told her I couldn’t let her up unless you were expecting her, so she waited in the lobby. And when she saw your girlfriend, she approached her,” Sam said with a face of regret. “She followed her out and I wish I could have asked her not to but I couldn’t overstep my boundaries, Mr. Hendricks. I apologize.”
“Please don’t apologize,” I shook my head, my mind racing. “I appreciate everything you did. Thank you, Sam,” I said calmly despite the fact that inside I was losing composure. I wanted to find Noelle and lay into her for whatever bullshit she had subjected Lia to, barely twenty-four hours after Cam threatened her. I was tempted to take the cab I flagged down straight to her apartment and ask what the hell she even said but I refused to indulge my anger.
Lia was the priority. She had been since I met her.
So after giving directions to the driver, the car sped off for 18th Street.
* * *
“Lukas, calm down. If she’s in there, she’s not going to appreciate you practically knocking down her door!” Tess hissed, at my side as I knocked on Lia’s door in the hallway. “What even happened last night? Tell me!”
I clenched my teeth, knocking hard for another ten seconds before I gave up and cursed under my breath, leaning my head back against the door.
“Cam threatened her yesterday.”
“Motherfucker,” Tess breathed out right away. “What did he say to her?”
“He threatened her business. Said he could easily kill it before it even started.”
Tess swallowed. “Shit. Can he?” she asked, looking especially small in her oversized hoodie. She twisted the drawstrings nervously as I shrugged.
“I don’t know. Probably. I can blacklist him from real estate but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s from a family with money and respect. Considering he doesn’t have shit else going on in his life, I’m sure he’d actually take the time to terrorize Lia.”
Tess crossed her arms, leaning on the opposite side of the hall. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself.”
“Of course I am. You know what kind of life she had before she met me – she knew exactly what was going to happen every day. She was fine. Then I came along and turned her world upside down because I couldn’t stop myself from seeing her,” I grumbled, jerking my hand through my hair. “She was just… fucking hard to quit. And trust me, I tried. I told myself night after night that this would be the last one I cared and the next morning, I’d wake up dreaming about her.” When I dropped my hands from my face, I glared at Tess. “Why are you smiling?”
Tess shook her head. “I’m not.”
“This isn’t arguable, Tess. I don’t know how the hell to fix things right now and there’s a fucking smile on your face.”
She threw her arms out. “I’m sorry!” she said, bursting out laughing. “I’ve just known you my whole life and I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing you in love, so sorry for being at least somewhat amused.”
“I’m glad my torment amuses you.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t correct me just now. So you are in love with her?”
I stared at her. “You’re not that clever, Tess, so don’t give me that smug-ass face.”
“Say the words. You love her.”
I ignored her. “What do I do now? You’re a woman. Tell me.”
“Well, for starters, I think you should breathe in and breathe out. I’m sure she’s staying with Sara but she’s going to have to come back here at some point to get her work stuff.”
“And you’ll tell me the second you hear her?”
“No, I’m not going to violate her privacy like that.”
“What the fuck, Tess?”
“Hey, you fucked up by not saying ‘I love you’ back to her when you know you felt it. Also, you fucked up by letting Noelle so much as lay her eyes on her,” Tess argued to my irritation. “With work and Cam and now Noelle, can you imagine how overwhelmed Lia is right now? She needs some time. And if her career is getting as busy as you say, she might wind up needing even more time. And you’re just going to have to give that to her.”
“I don’t want to be without her. I don’t think I can.”
I could see Tess itching to fire back with some attitude but she softened.
”I know she helped you get through this month, Lukas. Honestly, she helped me, too,” she said, pulling her sleeves up over her hands. “Every time I heard you on the phone, you were so calm and happy and in a way, it calmed me down, too. It’s not like I didn’t spend nights crying over Wyatt, thinking about him, but it helped a lot to know we weren’t both spiraling,” she whispered, laughing softly to herself. “You’re gonna get mad at me but at one point, I texted Julian asking if you were really as okay as you sounded. If you were hiding anything from me.” She glanced up at my unchanged expression, her eyes glinting as she smiled. “He said you really were happy – that you weren’t doing anything crazy, you weren’t blacking out or getting into trouble with Emmett. He said all you were doing was spending time with ‘the girl’ and to me, it felt like a miracle. I was so happy you found love that it gave me something else to think about. Besides Wyatt, besides Cam. And honestly, it healed me, too.” When I looked away, she laughed. “Don’t hide your tears from me, asshole. I’ve cried in front of you enough times.”
“Yeah, but you’re my little sister, so you’re supposed to,” I said, putting Tess in hug-slash-headlock I reserved only for her. I kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad we both did okay this month.”
“We did better than okay. Especially you.” Wrestling out of my grip, she looked up at me. “You’ll find her and make it up to her. I believe in you.”
“Thanks, kid.” I laughed because she looked like a little squirrel brushing away all the hair I hugged into her face. With a sigh, she blew the last lock out of her eyes.
“It’s gonna take time is all. I’ve known Lia for two-and-a-half years and she’s spent every day I’ve known her busting her ass to get to exactly where she is now. She’s got a lot on her plate right now.”
“You’re right.” I tugged on my lip. “Shit. Do you remember the name of her investor? Elaine? Elaine something?”
“Dude, I didn’t give you that speech so you’d try to track her down through her investor.”
“Yes or no – do you remember the name?”
“No,” Tess answered, tugging on my sleeve when I started off. “Where are you going?”
“Somewhere. Don’t exhaust yourself trying to stop me,” I snorted, watching her heels drag like she was jet skiing across the floor.
“Stop it, Lukas. Give her time!”
“I don’t have time. I can’t fucking breathe without her.”
Tess let go of me. I heard her stumble back a few steps and glanced over my shoulder at her. When I glanced back at her, she was shaking her head and laughing at me.
“Fuck in love, you’re head over heels – kid.”
“You might be right about that,” I called back to her as I headed down the stairs.
