65. Lucy
Lucy
“Where did Leo go?” Alessia asks.
“I think he went to check on Zoey and Jeff,” I say. “They should be here somewhere.”
Alessia leaves to grab a drink from the bartender. I set my empty champagne glass on the standing table, then look around the restaurant. It’s been a while since Leo left. At least ten minutes.
Just then, I see Zoey walk in from the back of the restaurant. I smile as she makes her way over to us, but then I notice the pained look on her face.
Her mascara is smudged, and her face is red. She’s been crying.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Something happened.”
When I grab her hand, I notice how hard she’s shaking. “Zoey, what’s wrong?”
Her lips tremble. “Leo and Jeff got into a fight.” She sniffles. “Because of me.”
“What? Zoey, what do you mean?”
She closes her eyes, then looks around before pulling me to the back of the restaurant. We’re in a quiet hallway near where the restrooms are.
She blinks, and tears fall down her cheeks. She quickly wipes them away.
“What happened?” I ask again.
“Jeff and I had an argument in the alley behind the restaurant. Leo overheard us.”
“Oh…” I’m confused. “Wait, Leo and Jeff got into a fight about that?”
Her shoulders are hunched over like she’s embarrassed. “No, it was more than that. I…” She trails off as her voice starts to tremble. “Jeff puts his hands on me.”
“Oh my god.”
More tears fall down her face. “That’s when Leo hit him. He was defending me.”
My head spins as I process everything she just told me.
“Leo told me to go inside,” Zoey says.
I pull her into a hug. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Despite what she says, I don’t believe her. She seems really shaken up. But I don’t want to push her. I just want to support her and make her feel safe.
I lean back, holding her by her arms. “What did Jeff do to you?”
She swallows. “He grabbed my face and shoved me against the wall, but only for a second.”
My stomach churns.
“That’s when Leo pulled him off of me.”
I’m quiet for a second.
“Zoey, is this…Is this the first time Jeff hurt you?”
Her big, brown eyes go watery and her mouth quivers. She shakes her head.
I hug her again. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
“He’s grabbed me a few times. He’s never hit me though.”
I lean back to look at her. “That’s still wrong, Zoey. If he puts his hands on you in an aggressive way, it’s abuse. No matter what.”
She looks down at the floor and nods.
My chest aches seeing her like this. I don’t know Zoey well, but the times I’ve seen her before this, she’s been happy and confident and funny. But she looks so frail and scared right now.
She lets out a breath. “I should go check on Leo.”
“No, you stay here. I’ll go find your mom.”
I start to walk off, but she grabs my hand. “Lucy, no, please. I don’t want her to know about this. It’s Christmas, and our whole family’s here…I don’t want to upset them. Tonight is supposed to be fun and happy…” She trails off as her voice breaks. “I don’t want to ruin it.”
My heart shatters hearing the pain in her voice—seeing how bad she feels about something that’s not her fault.
I grab her hand in both of mine and look her in the eyes.
“Zoey, listen to me,” I say gently. “None of this is your fault. Not one bit of it. Your family loves you and wants you to be safe. They wouldn’t want you to pretend to be happy or hide your feelings.
They want to help you. More than anything. ”
Her mouth wobbles, and she starts to cry harder. She nods.
“Will you please let me get your mom? She’d want to be here for you.”
She sniffles. “Yeah, okay.”
I leave Zoey in the hallway and head back out to the main part of the restaurant. Everyone is still chatting and laughing as they drink and eat appetizers. I spot Cora talking to one of the servers.
“Cora, can I speak to you for a sec?”
She smiles at me. “Of course. What’s up?”
“Something happened, and Zoey really needs you.”
Cora’s smile fades. Her brow wrinkles in worry. “Is she alright?”
“Yeah, she’s fine now, but she really needs to see you.”
I lead her to where Zoey is. When Zoey sees her mom, she bursts into tears.
“Oh, honey.” Cora wraps her arms around her daughter. “What happened?”
As Zoey starts to talk to her mom, I head out the back door of the restaurant to give them some privacy and to look for Leo.
I don’t see him in the alley. It’s just a small group of people gathered on the street talking to each other and looking at their phones.
I walk over to the street and look around for Leo, but he’s nowhere around.
I turn to them. “Hey, did you see a tall guy with dark hair in a gray suit?”
“Yeah, he walked off like ten minutes ago,” some older guy says. “Right after he beat the crap out of some other guy.”
They must be talking about Jeff.
“Where did that guy go?” I ask. I don’t see him around either.
“He left in a rideshare,” a woman says.
I huff out a breath, my head spinning. I’m glad Jeff is gone, but I need to find Leo.
I walk back down the alley toward the restaurant and grab my phone to call him, but then I see a bunch of texts from the group chat I’m in with Poppy, Anna, and Briar.
I stop walking and skim the messages.
Poppy: Lucy, is everything okay with Leo? Nick just said he saw a video online of Leo beating up some guy.
Anna: Wait, what?
Briar: No way. That can’t be true.
Briar: Crap, wait, maybe it’s true. Blake just showed me the video.
Anna: We just saw it too.
Anna: Wait, is he beating up Jeff? His sister’s boyfriend?
Poppy: Oh my god…what is going on?
My head spins. I pull up social media on my phone and search for the video. So many people are posting it and sharing it.
I skim the comments.
WTF why is the Hollis U star defenseman kicking the shit out of some random guy?
Dude needs to go to anger management lol
Holy shit, Rocco Peretti’s son is a loose cannon
Guy’s a violent psychopath
My stomach drops. None of this is true. Leo isn’t a violent psycho. He was defending his sister from her abusive boyfriend.
My head spins when I think about just how many people are watching and sharing this video, posting comments, making assumptions and accusations.
I reply to the group text.
Me: Hey, so we just found out that Leo’s sister’s boyfriend has been abusing her. That’s why Leo beat him up, he walked in on Jeff putting his hands on her.
Poppy: What? Oh my god, what a monster.
Briar: Holy crap. Is she okay?
Anna: I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was going through that…but good on Leo for defending his sister.
Me: She’s safe now. She’s with her family.
Anna: If there’s anything she needs, let us know.
Poppy: Yeah, we’re here to support her in whatever way we can.
Briar: Absolutely. Don’t hesitate to ask.
Me: Thanks, you guys. I’ll let her know.
I head back into the restaurant, still thinking about those awful comments people are posting online about Leo. I want to reply to all of them and tell them off, but I stop myself. There’s no way to defend him without exposing Zoey’s abuse to a bunch of strangers, and I know she wouldn’t want that.
I head back over to Zoey, who’s still with her mom. When I see that they’re both crying, I tear up too. Zoey probably just told her what happened.
I walk away to give them a moment alone, then try to find a quiet corner of the restaurant to call Leo. I need to find him. I need to make sure he’s okay.
I’m about to dial him when my phone rings. It’s Leo.
My hands are shaking so hard, I almost drop the phone when I answer.
“Leo, where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.”
I let out a breath of sheer relief when I hear his voice.
He’s quiet for a long moment. I lean against the wall and don’t say anything. After what he’s been through, I don’t want to push him.
“Luce, something happened.” He trails off, his voice strained. “I need to see you, but…”
My heart hammers in my chest. Need pulses through me.
He needs to feel safe. He needs to know I’m here for him, no matter what.
These past few months, Leo has been my rock. Even when he barely knew me, he helped me. He was the best friend I could ask for, supporting me through so much. He defended me when no one else would. When it felt like I was alone in the world, he stepped up. He cared.
And now I’m going to do the same for him.
“Leo, listen to me. It’s okay. I’m here for you. Always. No matter what.”
He’s quiet for a long second. “You mean that?”
“Of course I mean that,” I say. “Where are you?”
“I’m headed home. Will you meet me there?”
“I’m on my way.”