Chapter 20 Knox
KNOX
Lucy had been a nervous wreck when I saw him this morning, but it had been silent since then. It was just Jackson and me, staring at each other and snuggling on the couch while sitcoms played on the TV and I fed Jackson way too many cat treats.
But he liked me now, so it was worth it. He came to greet me at the door when I came home for the night, and he was in my lap on the couch right now as we both pathetically waited for Lucy to come home from the Valentine’s exhibit.
Eventually, keys jingled at the door, and Jackson and I leapt to our feet.
“Hey, how did it–” I stuttered to a stop.
Lucy looked miserable. His gaze was low, only looking at the floor; his shoulders were drawn tight; his hands were empty except for his keys, so he must have left his painting at the exhibit for the weekend—or maybe someone had bought it, and Lucy could be happy that he never had to see it again.
Lucy didn’t speak as he hung up his jacket with trembling fingers.
When Jackson meowed and approached him, Lucy just gave him a sad smile before sweeping past him, trying to slip past me toward the hallway.
“Hey, Lucy!” I reached for his arm, and he froze when I grabbed him. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I’m fine.”
The sniffle I heard then clearly told me he was anything but fine.
“Just talk to me. Was it the gallery guy? Your dad?”
“Will you just leave it!” Lucy snapped, jerking out of my grip.
I frowned, feeling myself already drawing back. “Just leave it? You come in here looking like you’ve just been to a funeral, but you were supposed to be at some rich guy party.” That I wasn’t invited to, by the way.
Lucy scoffed. “Whatever. I’m going to bed.”
He tried again to stomp down the hallway, but I stepped in front of him. “Lucy, you can’t just shut down like this—and snap at me, by the way.”
“Well, I just did, so apparently I can.” Lucy’s voice was sharp, but wobbly. “Leave me alone. I don’t need this right now.”
“This?” I seethed. “You mean me? Asking you if you’re fucking okay! What, you spend one night with your dad and his friends, and suddenly you’re like them, just shoving me off!”
Lucy shook his head. “I’m not–it’s just–”
“Tell me, Lucy.”
Clearly, I should have calmed my tone down, because Lucy clammed right back up and shoved past me. He slammed the door to his bedroom closed, and I heard his lock click, like I was going to just stomp my way in there.
Really, anger was coursing through my veins, so he wasn’t wrong, but it was still offensive. Like I didn’t have enough decency to knock before I stormed in there.
“If this is how you’re going to be,” I heard myself shout, “then I might as well just leave you alone here to sulk!”
“Go then! See if I care!”
I clenched my jaw and stormed to my guest bedroom. I threw my clothes in my backpack, cleared out my things from the bathroom, and escaped the air in the apartment that was now suffocating me. With each step, I felt a crack form in my heart. The heart that I was leaving behind in Lucy’s apartment.
Before I even hit the sidewalk, my phone was to my ear.
“Knox,” Duke called, sounding jovial, “What’s up, man? Still holed up with your boyfriend?”
“I’m coming over.”