“I’m okay,” Tom grumbled, and Lucy knew he was embarrassed.
“I know you are,” Tucker replied with a smile. “But taking it easy for a day or two never hurt anyone.” Then he leaned closer to Tom and added in a hushed voice. “Besides, you play this right; you will get Lucy to stay here a little bit longer.”
“Thanks, Son,” Tom said as he patted Tucker’s hand and gave him a grateful nod. “And thanks for coming by to see me.”
“Of course, I was going to come,” Tucker replied. “We’re family.”
Lucy was surprised how close these two men seemed to be, but she was glad her dad had someone like Tucker.
Still, she was surprised her dad had never mentioned him to her before today. She knew her dad didn’t like talking about anything to do with River Springs, but Tucker was obviously important to him, and her dad was clearly important to Tucker.
She sat quietly in the chair next to her father’s bed and listened to the conversation going on between her father and Tucker.
As she sat there, her mind wandered back nine years, to the morning after the party.
Lucy had woken up and found her father asleep on a chair next to her bed. The moment she moved, he bolted up straight in the chair, looking at her, protectively.
“Hey, Peanut,” he whispered with a sad smile, as he reached for her hand but she pulled it back. “You are okay; you’re safe. I’m right here.”
“Daddy,” she said as the tears instantly trickled down her face. “I’m so sorry.”
“Lucy,” Tom said quickly. “You have done nothing to be sorry for, Sweetheart. This is not your fault.”
“I should have never gone upstairs,” she whispered, closing her eyes as flashes of the night before filled her mind, but she couldn’t look at the sadness etched on her father’s face anymore. “I was just trying to find Riley.”
“Lucy,” Tom said, as he took his daughter by the hand. “What happened was not your fault. This was all that animal’s fault, and I’m going to make him pay for what he has done to you.”
Lucy pulled her hand free, turned her head into her pillow and silently sobbed.
“Everything is going to be okay,” her father reassured her, but she could hear the doubt in his voice. “I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
Lucy lay in the bed curled in a ball and cried until there were no more tears left. She lay there in silence, staring into space, lost in her thoughts. She wondered where Riley was? If he would come by to see her. Would he ever want to see her again?
There was a soft tap on the door, and Lucy held her breath. She wasn’t sure she was ready to see anyone, not even Riley.
When the door opened, a nurse put her head around the door and smiled. Then looked at Tom.
“Chief,” the nurse said, and Lucy wondered if she knew her father. “That boy is back again, and is asking to see Lucy.”
“Okay Maggie,” Tom nodded and smiled before he looked at Lucy. He reached for her hand again but once again, Lucy pulled it back.
“I DON’T WANT TO SEE ANYONE!” She cried out, and she pulled herself up in bed. “Not even Riley.”
“It’s not Riley,” Tom replied, and Lucy could hear an edge in his voice. “It’s a boy called Tucker. The boy that was here when I got here last night. He said he was the one who brought you here. He sat outside for hours before the nurses made him go home.”
“Tucker?” Lucy asked in surprise. She thought back to the night before, some of it was foggy, but she remembered his eyes.
She remembered how he held her and protected her. He was the only one that did.
“He said he promised that he would stay and keep you safe,” her dad continued. “I haven’t seen Riley though; he was gone by the time I reached here last night.”
“He…he left?” Lucy asked as her eyes glazed over with tears again and she couldn’t hold them back. “I don’t want to see anyone.”
“Lucy,” Tom began to protest. “He just wants to…”
“NO!” She snapped angrily through her tears. “I don’t want to talk to anyone.” She curled up into a ball in the bed once again, then closed her eyes, covering her ears with her hands, as once again she tried to shut the world out.
“Lucy!” Tom called weakly, pulling her from her thoughts. “Sweetheart, you look tired. Maybe you should go home and try to get some rest.”
“I’m okay Dad,” Lucy replied and reached out to take his hand.
“Please, Sweetheart,” Tom pushed giving her a pleading look. “I don’t want you getting sick from exhaustion.”
“Okay,” Lucy said with a sigh as she reached for her bag, then stood up. She bent down and kissed her dad on the forehead.
“Tucker,” Tom said, turning his attention from Lucy to him. “Would you do me a huge favour, and make sure Lucy gets home for…”
“Dad!” Lucy exclaimed, cutting him off mid-sentence. “I can get myself home.”
“I don’t mind at all, Lucy,” Tucker quickly said as he stood up and looked at Lucy.
“But there is no need,” Lucy replied, giving him a grateful smile. She didn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful, but she didn’t want to have to spend more time with Tucker than she had to.
“Lucy,” Tom said, wincing as he tried to sit up. “I don’t want you on your own. Not here, and you know why.”
“Dad,” she sighed again. “He doesn’t scare me. What happened was a long time ago. I have moved on.”
Even as she said the words, she knew in her heart she was lying. She hadn’t moved on. If she was honest, she wasn’t sure if she ever would. She couldn’t bear to be touched, couldn’t bear to let anyone close to her, and being back in River Springs just made her feel weak and vulnerable again.
Yes, she had dated over the years, but every time her date tried to get close to her, she would back off, keeping them at a safe distance. On the couple of occasions that she really liked someone, she would push herself to try and let her walls down. She would let the guy kiss her and touch her, but every time it would end the same, with her having a panic attack and the evening would come to an abrupt end.
Lucy had really liked Steve. She had even got used to him holding her hand and kissing her. She thought he would be the one she could let her guard down for.
The night they had tried to take the next step in their relationship, Lucy fought against every urge she had to run, to allow him to do more than kiss her.
Her heart was almost beating out of her chest as he reached for her blouse and slowly began to unfasten her buttons. She could barely breathe as he slowly pushed her blouse down off her shoulder, but then he stopped.
She could still remember the look on his face when he saw the scars on her body from where Trent had bitten her. There were three in total, one on her shoulder, one on the top of her arm and finally, one on the curve of her breast.
Steve tried to mask his reaction, but it was too late. Lucy could feel the same old feeling, building in the pit of her stomach. As she gasped for air, Steve reached out and touched her. It was what finally sent her over the edge.
Steve tried to calm her down, but it was no good, she just lost it and screamed at him to leave.