Chapter 37

Lucy shakes her head as I finish recalling the events of the night.

"I am calling that construction company tonight and getting that asshole fired immediately! His name was Ray, was it?" She asks, tapping on her phone.

"Fired!" She yells as she gets up from the coffee table and exits the living room.

"I'm so sorry, Sunny." Fatima rubs my arm comfortingly.

My tears finally dried up halfway through telling them about what happened. It helped because I was able to process everything.

Lucy says Leo's probably just mad and that's why he took off but she didn't see what I saw. He looked so lost and I just stood there useless as always.

"So how bloody was it?" Fatima asks me and I look up at her quizzically.

"Sorry." She shakes her head, "I love UFC so this shit gets my blood pumping but I get that was bad timing. Maybe later?"

I let out a shocked chuckle and a smile forms on her lips.

"Finally." She releases a sigh, "Comfort isn't my forte but I'm great at jokes."

"Well thank you." I laugh at the odd girl with thick brows.

"I'm glad you and Luce are getting along. I keep telling her you'd be fast friends." I say and she smiles shyly.

"I was actually looking for you tonight." She confesses, "My life was also kinda falling apart earlier and I've never really had friends who weren't my sisters but since they all got married and moved away I was alone for a while until I met you... and I mighta sorta came up to your apartment sobbing pathetically." She rolls her eyes as the words leave her mouth.

"What? Are you okay? What happ-"

"It's okay." She holds up a hand, "Your friend was pretty frightened at first but she talked me through it. Russel's being an asshole again." She shrugs.

"You wanna reopen that wound?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"Okay next time." I rub her shoulder.

"So that's sorted. And I got the building manager to agree to daytime construction." Lucy announces as she enters the room again.

Fatima looks at me with wide eyes and I shrug in response, "She could rule the world if she wanted to."

Lucy orders three unnecessarily large boxes of pizza and I sets it down next to the half eaten cake from a few days ago.

I am worried for Fatima when I see her finish off her second slice of cake after having just finished her entire box of pizza and a third of mine but I don't say anything because she looks to be enjoying herself.

"Of course! I knew it! Didn't I tell you it would be a Coldplay song they'd reunite to." Lucy laughs.

"You were right." I shrug.

I've done great work by leaving my phone in my room so I won't bombard Leo with calls. This movie has also done an okay job at distracting me.

Fatima lays her head down on the armrest of the sofa and tucks her feet underneath her.

"When she wakes up tell her I have an extra pair of pajamas set out on my bed." I tell Lucy as I start clearing the empty boxes and dirty plates from the coffee table.

While loading the dishwasher my mind replays the somber look of Leo's face and the sound of bones crunching. It's awful and I nearly drop one of the plates getting lost in the memory.

The image of a little Neoma shooting off a gun was about the most violence I've seen in my life and it's about the only amount I care to. I know Leo wouldn't intentionally want to frighten me but I couldn't bear seeing him hurt somebody like that again.

I make my way to my bedroom and rush towards the phone on my bed when I see the screen light up but my hope dwindles when I see it's just a text from my Eric.

When I see the still folded silk pajamas on my bed I walk back into the living room to wake Fatima but she's not there. I go in search of her throughout the apartment and when I walk into Lucy's room to question her I see the both of them sound asleep under her white blanket.

I smile at how peaceful they look before closing the door softly. They're faster friends than I expected.

I make one last call to Leo and this one goes straight to voicemail.

Leo

I make a right at the stop sign and see Luther outside watering the lawn.

"What are you doing here it's your day off?" His voice calls out as I hop out my car.

I shrug and continue inside.

I'd rather spend the day working on the same problems our clients bring us than think about Sunniva. I lost it last night, I know I did. I saw it on her face, she looked at me like she was staring at a ghost and it shook me to the core. Sunniva's the one person I've met in my life who's never seen the monster in me.

It's about fucking time.

It is. This was bound to fucking happen, my temper's as bad as my brother's. Last night when I heard the panic in her voice and I saw that fucker lunging at her I fucking lost it. It's like my body took over and I didn't even notice anything until I heard her screaming my name. I would've fucking blinded him too had she not stopped me.

"Mr. Phillips is coming in soon, he's the only appointment of the day and we'll wait and see what other clueless fools pop in as the day goes by." Luther announces, reading the board.

"I caught this Julia Roberts flick last night that I hadn't seen yet and it's about her traveling the world and what not in search of self. It's was one of her best."

Luther and Mr. Phillips are background noise to me as I work under his hood.

"Hey Leo your phone's buzzing off the table." Luther says and I turn around to see him catch it. "It's that pretty girl." He smiles as he hands it over to me.

"Oh you met a nice lady, Leo?" Mr. Phillips asks and I ignore him as I press the red button on my phone before shoving it in my back pocket.

"Uh Jacob why don't you grab us 2 from the icebox inside." Luther says and I hear Mr. Phillips grunt in response and his shoes scrapping against the gravel floor.

"You been in a fight?" Luther asks.

I shake my head in response.

"Well you got no new bruising but your knuckles are busted so you been in a fight or what?" He speaks again and losing my patient I turn around.

"So what, Luther? Can I do my fucking job?" I press.

"Was it on the way here? No, the blood looks dry. Was it last night? They try to rob you or something?" He continues unfazed by my evident agitation.

"Or something?"

"Leo... did you hurt that girl?" The second the words leave his mouth I whirl back around.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I spit.

His wide eyes watch my every move.

"No, Luther I didn't lay a finger on her."

"Then what happened to your hands and why are you ignoring that poor girl?"

"Luther what's it to you? Get off my fucking back."

"What's it to me? It been my business what you do since you were a 17 years fucking old!" His deep voice booms and I know he's real pissed now because he'd never go off like this in front of 'customers'.

"Nothing happened. I lost my shit, okay?" I shrug giving into the old man, "We came back from the movie theatre and this guy was fucking with her on her way up to her apartment and I went in on him. Broke his fucking nose and now she's probably just calling me to tell me that the police are looking for me or some shit." I finish.

"You took her to the movie house? Like a date?"

Of all the fucking things...

"Yes Luther like a date." I roll my eyes and turn back towards the open hood.

"So is she your girlfriend now?" He smirks.

"No." I grit out.

"Well did you ask her? You should ask her out on another date and ask her then but if she's not feeling you too much maybe wait until the 3rd to ask."

"There's not going to be another date old man. What are you not getting?" I shoot over my shoulder and he grips my shoulder, turning me back around .

"I'm not getting why you'd waste your time playing games instead of getting the girl right now. Life's not guaranteed boy, call her."

"Playing games? Luther I just told you I beat the shit out of some fuck in front of her and right after that I took off. She'd run in the other direction if I asked her out again." I say, trying to get it through his head.

"She knows you. She must. Nobody looking at you considers you a gentle creature no offense." He holds up his hands, "Call her. Apologize for causing a brawl and ask for a chance to make it right." He shrugs.

I shake my head at the greying man and run my hand down my face.

"You'd be wise to listen to the old fart." Phillips announces, entering the back.

"I was a lot like you before I found Christ." He stops when Luther chuckles at his words, "What? I ain't lying. I was all brooding eyes and chiseled chest but Shelby wasn't having me getting into all those fights so I had to beg outside her bedroom window on my knees for her to let me take her out again." Luther points at him as he finishes his statement.

"That's true women just want to see you suffer a bit." Luther adds.

"Sunny's not like that."

"Sunny? That's your lady's name?" Phillips asks but averts his eyes when I glare at him and slowly sips his beer.

Somehow I give into the life advice of two men who are standing on the last leg of theirs and I'm sitting in my car as I dial Sunniva's number.

"Leo?" She answers after the first ring.

My words get stuck in my mouth.

"Leo, where did you go last night?" I can practically see the frown on her face.

"Home." Is all I say.

"Oh."

"Are you busy later?" The volume of my voice surprises me and I guess it does the same for her because she pauses before answering.

"No, not at all."

"I'll pick you up later after 4."

"Where are we going?" She asks.

"After 4." I repeat.

I have no clue where we're going. I guess I'll ask the old wise men to come up with ideas.

"Okay... I'll see you later then." She says before ending the call.

I sit in my car stunned for a while. I can't believe she agreed to see me again after last night, after the way I lost it.

I'm sure you'll make it up to her by ruining this date as well. Probably lose your shit again because you've got the same short fuse as your fucking brother and it's in your nature to ruin everything.