Love and Conspiracy

I didn’t have the slightest idea. I wasn’t lying when I said there was nothing to do. Arizona was not the place to go to have fun.

“Want to get something to eat?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Sure!” I replied with a smile.

“Lunch it is then,” he said, finally driving away from the house, “Any requests?”

“Hmm, what are you in the mood for?” I asked.

“I’m actually craving some Chinese food. What about you?” he said.

“Sounds good. There’s a great Chinese place a few minutes from here, too.”

“Sweet,” he smiled, “Well, I need to stop to get gas really quick, if you don’t mind,” he said pulling into a gas station.

“Not at all.” Once he pulled up to one of the pumps and turned the ignition off, he stepped out of the car.

“Need anything from inside?” he asked. I shook my head. “Alright, I’ll be back in a minute, then.” After he shut the door, I found myself sitting there smiling. I felt great actually doing something other than sitting at home crying all day. As I looked down at my hands, I played back everything that happened from the night before, up until then. However, a familiar voice ripped through my mind, ending those thoughts.

“Lucy?” I looked up and was met by the same warm, brown eyes that I thought I would never see again. Scott. A piercing feeling went straight through my body as he stepped closer to the car. “Luce, I- How have you been?” he struggled with his words. I couldn’t even get the voice to say anything back. After I blankly looked at him for a few moments, he said, “Look… I’m sorry,” quietly, so it was barely audible to me. I slowly started shaking my head.

“What do you want? You can’t possibly have anything more to say to me,” I said, hurt evident in every word.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing. I’ve felt like shit ever since I told you. I didn’t think it would hurt you that badly,” he said. By then, Mike was already pumping gas into the car. I laughed airily.

“You felt like shit? Yeah, okay Scott. Would you please go away now? You’ve already said too much,” I said, trying to wave him away. He shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I still want to be friends, though. I don’t want to lose you completely. Can you forgive me?” he said.

“No, it’s too late now. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore,” I said, fighting back tears. Mike got back in the car. I could feel Scott’s eyes travel from me, over to Mike as he continued standing there.

“I’m sorry,” he said again as he started walking away from the car. I shuddered as all the emotions hit me at once. However, Scott turned back around and said, “Luce, just know that I’ll always love you, no matter what happens.”

“Drive,” I demanded Mike in a forceful voice.

“Will do,” he said, quickly pulling away. I contained myself a little more once we pulled out of the gas station and left Scott in the past.

“So, I figured we’d go to Szechwan Palace. They’ve got great food,” I said, trying to avoid talking about what had just happened. To my advantage, Mike was silent as I directed him where to go.

Minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot. Once he turned off the ignition, we continued sitting there quietly. I played with my hands until I got the courage to look over at him without balling. He gave me a concerned look, “Everything alright?” I tried smiling back, but my tears betrayed me as I broke down. He scooted closer and put his arm around me as I continued to sob.

For a good ten minutes he held me as I got all my tears out, not saying a word. Once the tears finally subsided, I sat up a little bit and wiped my face.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile, causing him to sweetly smile back. After a few deep breaths, I regained my composure. “Let’s get some food,” I said, climbing out of the car.

~~~

Up until the time we had finished ordering our food, Mike still remained relatively quiet.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said, looking down at the table.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he paused, “Do you want to talk about it?” I laughed a little.

“I don’t know if you really want to hear about it,” I looked up at him awkwardly, “Its guy stuff.”

“Who else do you have to tell?” he said honestly. I stared at him realizing that he was right; I didn’t have anyone else. So, after a deep breath, I let it all out. I told him everything that had happened, as far as Scott goes, telling not a single lie. Mike simply listened, nodding along the way as I spilled out my guts. Although it took a good amount of time, I felt so relieved once I got it all out. I hadn’t even touched my food—which was already cold—since I was so busy talking.

“So… that’s my story,” I said, laughing nervously.

“And what a story it was,” he said, smiling, “Do you feel better now?” I nodded my head.

“Yeah,” I said, speaking the truth. It was as if getting all of that out of my system caused my feelings for Scott to vanish, as well. Mike didn’t even need to say anything, just the fact that he listened was good enough for me. “Thank you, again, for listening and everything,” I said.

“It’s what I do best,” he said, “Suppose we should eat now?” That’s when I realized that he hadn’t touched his food, either.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blab for so long,” I said sympathetically.

“No big deal. I don’t like my food too hot, anyways,” he smiled.

In a matter of minutes we were finished eating all of our food and we were ready to go. Once the check was dropped off, I pulled out my wallet.

“How much do I owe?” I asked. He shook his head.

“It’s alright, I got this,” he said, getting money out from his pocket.

“Mike, how much is my half?” I asked in a serious tone. He chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I can do,” he said as he handed the waitress the money. I frowned, causing him to laugh more.

“Can I least get the tip?” I asked.

“Be my guest,” he said. Once I left a few dollars on the table, we got up and he put his arm around me as we walked out to the car. Before he let go of me, he stopped and said, “No more tears, alright? It’s in the past now.” I looked up at him and smiled.

“I promise,” I said sincerely. And I kept that promise; I never once cried about Scott again.
After we got back in the car, we realized how much time we had really spent. Luckily, we finished just in time. “We’ve got a kid to go pick up,” Mike said with a smile.