Never Too Late

Lucy's Point of View

After I got home, I spent the night finishing up some homework while I tried to keep myself from thinking about Nathan. I’d almost managed to mostly push him out of my mind, but he texted me around the time I was going to bed. I thought about ignoring the text, but decided to read it anyway.

“Hey, we’re still good, right?” it read.

“Yeah, we’re good!” I replied, adding a smiley face for good measure. I didn’t wait for a response that I wasn’t even sure was coming, instead setting my phone back on the bedside table and turning over the other way. I managed to fall asleep fairly quickly, thankful that I was off the next day and wouldn’t have to face him again right away. My pride needed a little bit longer to heal.

I drove Lacey to school the next morning and she spent most of the ride texting Nick, so we didn’t talk a whole lot. We went our separate ways once we got to school and she met up with Nick while I headed off to my homeroom class. I prayed for the school day to go by quickly, and luckily it did. When we got home, Lacey went up to her room to work on some homework and I went to mine to finish up an essay and work on some college applications. Around six-thirty, Mikey came to knock on my door just as I was submitting another application.

“Hey, dinner’s just about done if you want to come downstairs,” he said, glancing around my room. “Lacey’s finishing up a take-home test I guess, so she said she’ll be down soon but that we can start without her.”

“Okay, I’ll be right down,” I told him. “What’s for dinner?”

“Just some chicken nuggets that Gerard heated up in the oven,” Mikey replied. “We didn’t really think anyone would be opposed to that.”

“You thought right,” I said, and then got up to follow Mikey downstairs to the kitchen. I got my plate and joined Gerard at the table, Mikey not far behind.

“So how’s life?” Gerard asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. Even after all the time we’d lived at their house, I’d never been able to reach the point of casual conversation with Gerard or Mikey. “I feel like you girls are always holed up in your rooms, or you’re at work.”

I shrugged and finished chewing before I answered him. “I mean, there’s not a whole lot to say.”

“Well, how’s school?” Gerard asked. “How’s work? Are you thinking about college or anything, and have you been applying, and where?” Jesus Christ, that was so much to think about all at once.

“But the most important question,” Mikey interjected, “is what are we doing for your birthday next week? Eighteen’s a pretty big deal.”

I chose to ignore all of Gerard’s questions, focusing on Mikey for now. I’d been thinking about college, Lacey coming home, and all the guy drama so much lately that I’d actually forgotten about my birthday. “I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about what I want to do.”

“Well, decide soon, it’s literally only a week away,” Mikey pointed out, and then took another bite out of a chicken nugget. “But seriously though, whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want, huh?” I smiled to myself a little, deciding to have a little fun with that one. “I mean, you could always get the band back together…”

“Ha-ha,” Gerard deadpanned, playfully swatting my arm with his napkin. “Nice try.”

“It was worth a shot,” I said, turning my attention back to my food and hoping that Gerard would let go of his line of questioning. “But I’ll think about what I want to do for my birthday and let you know.”

“Please do,” Gerard said, and then changed the subject. “In all seriousness though, have you thought about college at all? Are you applying anywhere?”

“Yeah, I’ve been applying,” I admitted. That was something I hadn’t really mentioned to anyone, except in passing to Nathan and when I was assuring my guidance counselors that I was focusing on my future. “SCAD, RISD, a bunch of places.”

Lacey came down the steps and rounded the corner into the kitchen. We all acknowledged her without breaking the conversation as she got her food and came to sit down.

“Have you maybe thought about something a little closer to home?” Gerard asked. “That’s what I did. I went to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and it was cool. It was a really short commute for me, so I saved money on housing and shit, and it was a great experience.”

“Okay, that’s cool and all,” Mikey jumped in. “But you said SCAD and RISD, so you want to go for art or something obviously, right? If you want to be an artist, who says you even need to go to school?”

“No one says you have to,” Gerard answered for me, shifting his attention to Mikey. “But it’s an opportunity to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and explore other options. Plus you meet people, and connections can really help you down the line.”

“Wait, SCAD and RISD?” Lacey jumped in, sounding concerned and maybe even a little annoyed. “That’s the first I’m hearing about them. How far away are they?”

“I looked it up, and the Savannah College of Art and Design is like twelve hours away,” I replied as Gerard and Mikey continued arguing about the benefits of going to school versus getting a real world education. “And then the Rhode Island School of Design is like five hours away, I believe.”

“They’re pretty far,” Gerard said, shifting his attention away from Mikey. “Wouldn’t you rather go somewhere closer to home? Like I said, I had an awesome experience at SVA, and I’m sure you’d you really enjoy it there. And then you can come home on weekends if you want, or whenever, really. And-”

“Holy shit, stop trying to sell her on your alma mater.” Mikey rolled his eyes dramatically. “Let her go where she wants to go. Or not go anywhere.” He leaned against the table facing me. “Listen, life is a great teacher. You shouldn’t feel pressured to go to school.”

“Or not go,” Gerard argued, kicking Mikey under the table.

“Is anyone going to ask me what I actually want, or no?” I asked, not able to keep my mouth shut any longer. The bickering was getting annoying and I found myself wishing that I’d just taken my food upstairs and ate in my room.

“Well, what do you want?” Lacey asked (or more accurately, demanded), her voice sharp.

“Honestly…” I hesitated before continuing. “I’m kinda leaning towards RISD. Not that your school doesn’t sound awesome, Gerard, but I don’t know too much about it yet. And I know Rhode Island’s far, but their painting program is amazing, and-”

I was cut off by Lacey pushing away from the table abruptly, turning and stomping back up the stairs and slamming the door to her room. We all stared after her for a few moments, confused. What was her problem? No one was hounding her about school or her future or anything.

“What’s up with Lacey?” Mikey asked finally, his eyebrows furrowed together.

“I should go talk to her,” I said and stood up, still unable to figure out why she was suddenly so upset. Was it another John thing? Or maybe Nick? If it was Nick, I’d make good on my promise to kick his ass.

“Just give her a little bit to calm down,” Gerard told me, waving for me to sit back down. “I’m sure she wants a little space right now.”

I nodded, taking my place at the table. Lacey needed time to sort out her feelings, and I needed some time to figure out what the hell I was going to say when I went to check on her. But there was only so long the conversation could be put off; I helped Gerard clean up after we finished eating, but that only bought me about ten extra minutes. Finally I decided to just suck it up and climbed up the stairs to Lacey’s room. I took a deep breath and then knocked on her door, waiting for a response.