“Lu, that’s not how it works,” she said. She reached over to stroke Lucia’s hair, but her younger sister flinched away. Retracting her hand, she said, “He’s an adult. You’re a child. He made you think he cared, even when he was doing awful things. You’re not a bad person because you bought into it.” She took a shaking breath before asking, “When…when did he hit you?”
“The first time? We got in an argument over…” She sighed. “He wanted me to go to this rager at a school his friend went to. I knew it’d be full of drunk frat boys and drug dealers and all kinds of shit, so I said I didn’t want to go. He said I was being stupid. A kid. He said I was being a kid, and I called him a jackass…and that’s when he punched me. See, a smart person would’ve left right then and there, but no. I stayed, because he was oh-so-sorry. That he’d just been caught up in the moment.” She let out a raw, bitter laugh. “God, I even went to the fucking party. I’m like every other dumbass that lets her boyfriend walk all over her because he’s cute. What’s wrong with me?”
“Lucia, stop putting yourself down,” Elisa said, voice firm. “You’re not stupid, or less of a victim. Don’t ever try and downplay what you’ve been through because you feel bad about yourself. Okay?”
Lucia didn’t respond right away, but finally mumbled something that sounded like, “Okay.” Slowly, she leaned her head against Elisa’s shoulder.
She wrapped an arm around her. “I’m so glad you’re taking him to trial. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Lucia tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Finally, she turned her gaze away from her.
“I was thinking about what you said, about not keeping secrets,” she said. “I know you said it was mostly for when it was a matter of someone’s safety… But what about a matter of someone’s happiness?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Elisa, Darcy is the one that found me.”
Elisa swore her heart froze for just a moment. It took nearly a full minute for her to find her voice again.
“What?”
“Darcy found me. Found us. She found us, and she got me to come home. She had someone drive me here, too. The reason I’m back home, it’s… It’s all her.”
“But—but how—?”
“We talked a little bit while her driver took us back to Steventon. She told me about how she’d run into you at Pemberley while you were in Columbus, how she was there when you got the call that I… That I…”
Lucia trailed off, guilt stealing her voice away. When she found it again, it was quiet, but calm.
“Apparently, the only thing Darcy’s done since you left Columbus was call every hotel, club, and bar in the area to find out if Wick had been in,” she said. “She told me what he’d done to her sister, and that Gianna had told her all the places they’d gone together. She figured sooner or later, Wick would have to come back up here, if only to get his extra credit cards. She was right, too. He was running out of money, fast.”
She was digging her nails into one of her arms, dragging them down, leaving tracks behind. On instinct, Elisa reached out to stop her.
“Anyway, we—we made it to Parkersburg, and Wick said it should be fine so long as I didn’t go back into Steventon and stayed in the hotel. He’d been posting stuff online the entire time, he said people would notice if he went silent right when I ran away. He said as long as he didn’t let it tag his location, it’d be fine. Stupid asshole…” She sighed, licking her lips.
“Darcy was checking his social media, too, of course, but couldn’t find anything that nailed down where he was. One night, when he went out to get a drink, he bumped into a friend, and posted a picture with them online. And, wouldn’t you know it, Darcy saw, and showed it to Gianna. Gianna recognized the bar—I guess they’d been there together. So Darcy knew he was in Parkersburg and had someone drive her out. After that, it was only a matter of time before she found the hotel, since it’s a pretty small place… She drove by and saw Wick outside our hotel room getting ice. I told him he wasn’t careful enough…”
“What’d Darcy do?” Elisa asked.
“Well, she told me on the way back that she’d wanted to call the cops, but he saw her. She knew he’d run before the cops got there, so she had to deal with him herself. She kind of…forced her way into our hotel room. Wick kept telling her to get the hell out, but she stood her ground. She told me he’d done this before, that I was just the latest naive, vulnerable girl he was taking advantage of. I didn’t want to believe her. I said he loved me. I think I even believed it.”
“So why’d you come home?”
Lucia stared down at her lap, eyes watery.
“Darcy turned to Wick,” she said. “And she said—she said, ‘Okay, George. If you two are so in love, then I take it you told her all about Gianna.’ And she told me the whole story. About how Wick had done the exact same thing to Gianna as he’d done to me. Found a girl that was too young for him, and told her she was so grown-up, that she was special.” A couple biting laughs escaped her. “He even used the same lines on her. Darcy was standing there, reciting all the compliments and put-downs Wick had fed me, word-for-word. Like it was all just part of a script. And she said that he had hit her sister, too, and forced her into situations she didn’t want. Everything he’d pulled on me—everything—he’d done to her.”
“Did Wick try and deny it?”
“No. That was the worst part. He just told me that Gianna was a bitch, that’s why he’d dropped her. But Darcy said, ‘No, she dropped you. Because she realized she deserved better.’ And she looked at me and said, ‘Lucia, you deserve better, too.’ I… I didn’t know what to think. I asked him, if I told him to wait two years, until I was old enough to date him for real, would he? He said we didn’t need to worry about some stupid law, but I said that…that if he loved me, if I wasn’t just another Gianna to him, he’d be willing to wait.”
“And he wasn’t,” she finished.
Lucia sighed. “And he wasn’t. He said, ‘I like you. But I’m only human, I’m not gonna wait around for some kid to grow up.’ I told him to go to hell, and he just… He looked at Darcy and asked if she was gonna call the cops. And she said, ‘Not if you get your ass out of here in the next minute.’ So he did. He didn’t even say goodbye to me.”
“Oh, Lulu…” Elisa murmured. “Lulu, I’m so… I’m so sorry.”
“I just stood there. I was too shocked to even cry at first. And Darcy… It was like she wasn’t even the same girl I’d met before. She was quiet. Kind. She told me what happened wasn’t my fault, and that it wasn’t too late to come home. That I had people back home who really, really loved me.”
“And she was right. You did. You do.”
Lucia tried to smile. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Lucia trying to collect herself, before Elisa said, “Darcy really came through. I… I can’t believe it. I’m so glad she managed to get through to you.”
“Me, too. I’m not sure anyone else could have gotten through like she did,” she admitted. “She also said she can act as a witness at the trial, if she has to. She said she can’t make any promises for Gianna, but she’ll talk to her and see if she’s willing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before? Hell, why didn’t Darcy tell me?”
Lucia hugged her knees to her chest. “She asked me not to tell you. I don’t know how she expected to keep it from you forever—I mean, if nothing else, it was bound to come out during the trial.”
“But why wouldn’t Darcy want me to know?”
“She didn’t say. I think she didn’t want you to feel indebted to her.”
“But I am,” Elisa said. “I’m so, so grateful, and I owe her so much for this—”
“I think that’s what she wanted to avoid,” Lucia said carefully. “That she didn’t want you to think she did this so you’d be grateful. Elisa, Darcy did this for… Well, I’m pretty sure Darcy did this just for you.”
Elisa stared at
her. Lucia kept talking.
“Whenever one of us mentioned you, Darcy’s eyes just…lit up. I’d say she was lovesick if it wasn’t Darcy. She obviously cares about you, more than you think. Elisa…I think she might love you.”
Elisa laughed nervously. “Don’t be dumb,” she said. “I mean—I mean, Darcy asked me out a few months ago, but I shot her down. We’re friends now, but… Just friends. She would’ve done this for any of her friends.”
“Yeah, because clearly, vigilantism in the name of friendship is totally a thing that happens every day.”
“Look, Darcy had feelings for me at one point, but…”
“Do you have feelings for her now?”
Elisa tried to respond, but all of her wit and words seemed to have deserted her when she needed them most, and she was left with inarticulate stammering.
Lucia grinned, a shadow of her old self.
“No,” she said, too loudly. “Darcy and I are friends now, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh. That’s totally how I react to one of my platonic gal pals.”
Lucia got to her feet.
“I just thought you should know.”
She headed back into the building, leaving Elisa sitting on the roof.
Elisa may not have ever felt sparkly inside or seen fireworks in her head over someone before, but she definitely did now. She also felt a bit dizzy, but she told herself that was because she didn’t eat breakfast.
Her mind was instantly flooded with all the things she wanted to say to Darcy. Mostly, “Thank you.” But also, “You’re officially my favorite person,” “Can I please hug you and never let go?” and, “Did you really do this for me?”
This was just the romantic in Lucia getting the best of her, right? She would’ve loved it if this had all been some big, grand romantic gesture for Elisa’s sake, but…
No. No. Darcy didn’t feel that way about Elisa anymore. Any feelings Darcy once had were gone by now. She’d made sure of it.
And then, there it was.
The feeling of regret.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
In Which Catherine Burger Tries to Sink Yet Another Ship
Bobby had come over almost every day since Lucia had returned home. He and Julieta had been hanging out a lot, going to the movies or for meals, insisting that it was “just as friends.” No one really bought it, but they didn’t call them on it for Julieta’s sake. Elisa half hoped she’d forgive him soon so she could just date the idiot and be happy and half hoped she’d make him grovel a little more. It was clear that Bobby was sincerely sorry—even their mother had forgiven him—but Julieta was keeping her guard up high. It was difficult to blame her.
Elisa spent as much time with Lucia as she could, but still give her space, a balancing act that was anything but easy. When she wasn’t with her sister, she was trying to ride out the rest of the semester in peace. She’d returned to school and was relieved to find out that her professors completely understood why she’d been ditching and were all fine with letting her make up assignments. Spring break had only been over for about two and a half weeks, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
She sat on Charlene’s living room floor with her overdue chemistry assignments spread out in front of her. While it was nice to have something to think about that wasn’t connected to the utter chaos Wick had caused, chemistry was enough to give Elisa a headache. It wasn’t her strong suit at the best of times, and she hadn’t done herself any favors by skipping class.
Not helping matters was the fact that she’d told Charlene and Colin what Darcy had done, mainly to get it off her chest. Now, after listening to their rambling on the matter for the last half hour, she wished she hadn’t said anything.
“Darcy—she’s like a superhero,” Charlene said. “I mean, what she did was amazing, wasn’t it?”
“Since when were you such a fan of hers?” Elisa asked, tearing her gaze away from the notes her lab partner had leant her—which was, admittedly, not that difficult.
“Since I found out she basically rescued your sister,” she said.
“Have you called her?” Colin asked, perched on the couch behind Elisa. Charlene, meanwhile, was pacing. “I mean, you pretty much have to call her.”
“He’s right,” she said. “I mean, you can’t not call.”
“I’ve been doing a splendid job at it for the past week,” Elisa said dryly.
“Really, Elisa? You’re seriously not gonna say anything?” she asked, incredulous.
“I didn’t say that. I just… I need time to think about what I’m gonna say.”
“I’ve found it helps to write up a draft,” Colin said.
“What is there to think about?” Charlene asked. “Just say what you mean. ‘OMG, thank you so much for finding and rescuing my baby sister.’ Boom. Done.”
“It’s not that easy,” she said, exasperated. “I mean—she obviously didn’t want me to know. She asked Lulu not to tell me.”
“But now the cat’s out of the bag. So you may as well call.”
“Why wouldn’t she want you to know?” Colin asked.
She sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Lulu has this ridiculous idea that it was so I wouldn’t feel ‘indebted’ to Darcy. That Darcy did this for me, specifically.”
“Is that really so ridiculous?”
“Yes,” she said. “Look, we’ve become friends, and I’m really, really glad, but… But I’m not the sort of person you just drop everything to help.”
“I think to Darcy, you are,” Colin said.
“Not anymore,” she said. “I… I think I blew it back at your cabin on Valentine’s Day.”
Charlene had stopped pacing and was now watching Elisa’s face closely.
“Lisa. Do you…regret turning Darcy down?”
She forced herself to stare at her notes. “No. I mean everything I said back then. Or—or, I mean, I did mean it, at the time.”
“But now?”
She fiddled with a pen. “Now things are different. Darcy and I are friends. Just friends.” She stared at Charlene. “So don’t get any bright ideas about…about locking us into a closet together or sending us each a love note signed by the other, or tricking us into getting engaged, or whatever.”
“Don’t look at me. Look at Colin. He’s been wanting you two to just make out already since you went to Pemberley.”
Colin gave his girlfriend an exasperated look. “Narc.” Even as he said it, he was smiling. “Well, if we’re putting all cards on the table, I guess I should tell you that Darcy was asking about you.”
She felt her face flush. “Really?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice nonchalant. “When?”
“When you were looking for your sister. Literally every single day since you got back. I was kinda surprised, since she hardly ever calls me, but she didn’t want to bother you. She figured you had enough to deal with, she didn’t need to add to everything. So I promised to keep her posted.”
“Oh.”
She wished Darcy had gone ahead and bothered her.
“Of course,” Colin said in a tone that he probably thought sounded casual, “since everything’s getting back to normal, you could probably call her and let her know how you’re doing yourself…”
Charlene met his eye with a grin while Elisa pretended not to notice. “Yeah. I mean, I’m sure she’d be glad to know that you’re feeling better. She’d probably prefer to see you in person, but a call would be better than nothing.”
Elisa lowered her head into her hands. “If I call her, will the two of you shut up?”
“Yes,” they both said.
Elisa got her phone out of her pocket and dialed Darcy’s number. It went right to voicemail.
“You’ve reached the personal cell phone of Darcy Fitzgerald. I am currently attending to family business in London and won’t be back until early June. I prefer to not use my personal phone during family trips if at all possible. If it is urgent, you can reach me via the Wilder Hotel
. If it is not urgent and you are a friend, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I return to the States. If you are my doctor, please contact me via my personal email address. If you are a telemarketer, a politician, or my cousin Colin, I beg you to kindly piss off. Thank you and have a nice day.”
Beeeeeeep.
“Uh—uh, Darcy, hi, it’s—it’s Elisa.” Why was she suddenly so flustered by leaving a voicemail? “Um…look, Lulu told me. What you did for us. For—for her, I mean. And, I, uh, wanted to call to say thank you. I can’t possibly say that enough. Um…enjoy whatever you’re doing with your family—if—if it’s an ‘enjoy’ kinda thing. If not…my condolences? Uh. God. This call was a mistake, just—just call me back, please, thanks, gotta go, bye.”
She hung up and threw her cell phone in front of her like it was a burning coal.
Colin and Charlene stared at her.
“Oh, shut up,” Elisa said.
“We didn’t say a word,” Colin said.
She sighed. “Darcy’s voicemail said she’s in London, some family thing, and that she’d call when she got back. That if it was urgent, I could reach her at the hotel—”
“Okay, so look up the hotel’s number,” Charlene said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
“No,” Elisa said. “This isn’t urgent. She’ll call back when she has time. Now, can we talk about literally anything else? What’d you have for lunch today?”
“Oh, this new sandwich they have down at the sub shop—the Double Decker My Best Friend’s an Idiot Who Needs to Call Darcy’s Hotel Right Now.” Charlene gave her the eyebrow.
Elisa stared at her. “That wasn’t even witty. Love has dampened your sense of humor.”
“I think it’s enhanced it.”
“You were so much more fun when you were single and bitter.”
“Yeah, well, now I’m boring and happy. Suck it.”
…
The day after Elisa’s ill-fated call to Darcy, an unexpected visitor arrived at Longbourn.
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