“I don’t think this is a good idea. We should probably head back to school,” Abby said as soon as Lucas stopped the car in front of a forest. It was filled with long eucalyptus trees. She felt like it was a bad idea to just follow him around like a lost sheep, not knowing what his plan was.
“Oh, don’t be a mood spoiler, this place is a good place. I have never brought anyone here, this is a special place to me.”
“What place is this?” Abby asked as she got out, her backpack in her hands like her life depended on it.
“It is a special place, relax; I am not k********g you. This is my family’s beach house, it is a nice place, and don’t worry, I won’t do anything to you, you are like a friend to me.” He said as he led the way through the opening, revealing a lovely glass house sandwiched between two trees and a beautiful ocean down the hill.
Abby gasped softly as soon as she saw the sandy coast, she dropped her backpack, and ran to the coast while smiling and laughing.
“I love this. I wish I had my swimsuit. I should have gone swimming, it is morning and hot like this?” She exclaimed, getting rid of her shoes. She stepped on the sand and closed her eyes in satisfaction.
“We didn’t come to swim, Abby, so you will have to get out of there. I have something else I want to show you,” Lucas said as he ran right behind her.
“This sand is all I can ask for; I mean how come you don’t come here more often?” She queried as she dangled her feet in the water, enjoying the feeling of the warm water on her feet.
“That is because no one lives up here, and everyone is busy. I will bring you here next time, for swimming specifically, and remind you to carry along your swimsuits. How about that?”
“I think that is a good idea. Anyway, let me not waste a lot of time,” she asked as she stood up ready to leave. “Do you think the teachers are looking for us now?”
“When you skip school, you don’t think about the teachers, no one notices when a student is not in class. So, they won’t even recognize that we are gone. I just want to show you the house and we can head back to school. I don’t want you to freak out and feel like I am leading you on the wrong path.” He said apologetically and Abby chuckled nervously.
“I don’t feel like you are leading me on the wrong path, it is just that it is my first time skipping school, and I am just nervous.”
“You will be okay. We are friends now, and despite my misleading ways, I am good at school. I can teach you a lot of good things as well.” He said as he stopped in front of the house and fished a keycard out of his pocket, swiped through, and opened the door. “Welcome to my humble board,” he ushered her in, and Abby smiled as she walked into the house. It was equipped with the most topical and luxurious electronics, and the décor was on point.
“This house screams money. How does it feel being rich?” She asked as she plopped herself on the posh couch.
“Normally, I guess, I have never been poor so I can’t differentiate, but I would like to offer you something to drink. Would you like anything? Perhaps a cold beer? Some juice or a glass of water?” he asked jokingly.
“You are fun, a glass of water would be fine.” She replied in a calm voice.
A few minutes later, Lucas emerged with two glasses and a bottle of expensive wine. He poured some in both glasses and sat next to her.
Abby was hesitant at first but with little convincing from Lucas, she agreed to get some wine. It was still early in the morning but the two were enjoying a movie that he chose specifically for that day. It was like he had it planned in his head before he took her to his beach house.
By the time they finished binge-watching the two-hour movie, Abby was drunk and drowsy.
“Wow, this place looks like heaven, with the fluffy pillows and flowers.” She said as she lay on his lap and sighed deeply.
“You are drunk, you should have some sleep,” Lucas replied, carefully placing her head on the pillow so she wouldn’t be tired when she woke up.
He looked at her for a few seconds, then picked up the glasses and left her in the living room. All he wanted was to get her drunk, and record her while she was drunk, but when he looked at her that mid-morning, he changed his mind. She slept peacefully like she didn’t know what was going on around her.
Despite his earlier plan, Lucas just stayed there, watching her sleep. She was beautiful, and he could tell from the way she occasionally moved in her sleep, twitching and biting her lips.
The only thing that turned him off about her was her body. It was like she could barely walk on her own.
He took a warm flannel from the drawer and carefully covered her before he walked out of the house, closed the door behind him, walked to the outdoor wicker hanging egg chair, and kept scrolling on his phone. A call came through and it was from Ryan, his best friend, and a friend from his group circle.
“Why did you cancel the meeting? I was prepping our friends to come over and have fun.” He said, sounding disappointed.
“I changed my mind, that is what happened. You can go on with your classes, Ryan, but I am not doing it.”
“Okay, are you growing soft? Lucas Wyatt, what made you change your mind? When you agreed to this, you had only one mission, and it feels like you are doing the opposite of what we agreed.”
“Okay, Ryan. Why didn’t you take the bet yourself? I am tired of your ass pressuring me now and then, stay in school and let me deal with this the best way I know how. I don’t want you pressuring me about something you can’t do yourself, leave me the f**k alone.” He said pissed, and Ryan smacked his lips.
“Okay, are you coming to school or what? We have two lessons left, and I think you shouldn’t miss this part.”
“No, Abby and I are skipping school today, tell the couch I am sick, and I won’t make it to today’s practice.”
“Okay will do so. Are we meeting up at your house then? You know we had agreed?”
“No, tell the boys I am held up and I won’t be at home today, I am spending the night here. There is a lot of cleanup here to do.”
“Okay, at least tell me your plan is not to sleep with that fat girl. Are you choosing her over us?”
“This is not a matter of choosing, I am busy, Ryan. Why are you throwing a hassle like a b***h? I am hanging up now.” Lucas said, and hung up immediately.
“Dickhead!” he cursed and walked back into the house. Abby was snoring peacefully on the couch, her lips partially parted.
Lucas smacked his lips and walked upstairs. He was feeling tired and drowsy, so he slumped on his bed, closing his eyes as sleep caught up with him.
A few hours later, Abby woke up with a throbbing headache. She felt light-headed and dizzy so she had to support her head on the armrest of the chair.
After regaining composure, she managed to stand on her feet, touching herself to make sure that everything was intact.
“What happened?” she asked absent-mindedly, as the earlier events started surging through her mind.
She quickly reached for her backpack, retrieving her phone to check the time, and behold! It was almost three in the evening.
She had a few missed calls from her Mom and two from Jake. He wanted to know if she was okay. She quickly texted to tell him he was okay but would meet with him the following day since it was too late to go back to school.
She called her Mom and she picked up the first ring. “Where the hell have you been? Your teacher called to say you had skipped school. I dropped you at school this morning and you decided to skip school. You are just a few days at your new school and you are already skipping school, you have some explanation to do, young lady. Now I don’t care how you are going to get home, but I want to find you there as soon as I get home, otherwise; you will know my true colors today.” She threatened, and Abby hummed a yes silently.
“Lucas! I need you to take me home. My mom knows I skipped school and she is not having it.” She shouted as she opened dozens of rooms looking for Lucas.
“What is going on, are you okay?” Lucas asked as he lazily rubbed his eyes.
“I might have passed out. I am sorry, but my Mom wants me home right now. Could you please drop me at home? I am a dead person!” she explained as she walked around the room, fidgeting and breaking her knuckles.
“Okay, relax. I will take you home, but I need to freshen up first.”
“We don’t have that kind of time at our disposal, you don’t know my Mother.” She warned, and Lucas sighed.
“Okay, I will take you home. Just go and wait for me in the car. Give me five minutes.”
“Thank you.” She replied, a glimpse of hope on her face.
Ten minutes later, Lucas emerged, he asked for her address, keyed in his Google Maps before he started the car, and drove off to the main road. No one said a word to each other, and Abby felt like the whole car was a burning furnace, even her seat felt hot and uncomfortable. Her only wish was to get home before her Mom did, but that didn’t go as planned because as soon as Lucas stopped the car in front of her house, her Mom walked over to the car, wearing a cold serious face.