Becoming Lucy

Chapter 2

"Seven!"

The drizzling of water in the shower stopped as Seven poked out her head out of the curtains.

"Yup!"

"Where did I put my phone, last night? I can't find it!"

Seven sighed at the woman's forgetfulness. Couldn't she have waited till I got out of my peaceful shower?

"It's on the fridge, I think!" She replied. Assuming it was found when no reply was heard, Seven resumed showering.

Steam filled the room as she bathed her skin lightly, taking careful notice not to touch the bruises that scattered her body. Soon after, Seven stepped out with a towel wrapped around her body and stood in front of the misty mirror. She raised her hand to wipe, reflecting a clear image of her worn out face.

Sleep didn't come to her heed the previous night. Sun already rose from the clouds when she reached home. The only good thing happened was Lucy was fast asleep in her room. Considering the bruises on her back, tossing and turning around was hard too. Seven relived the horrible moment as she laid on her stomach silently.

After living a dangerous life with a gangster for three years, one would think they would get used to the malice. But that was not the case. Especially, not when you are forced into it. Seven was thirteen when her parents were brutally murdered. She was still thirteen when she was kidnapped by the same demons.

Ever since she was a child, Seven had only wished for very few things in life; a happy family, to become a doctor and to find her prince charming. As cliché as that sounded, she wanted to lead a life like every other girl. Normal. However, fate had completely different plans for her. Cruel ones. When she was supposed to be happily graduating and applying to Ivy leagues, Seven was struggling to forget her past and hide away from her enemies. She never got to feel how it was like to be a teenager or a person with the least worries.

Putting on some full clothes to hide any visible bruises, Seven stepped into the kitchen where she found her roommate-best friend twirling around in a bright white sundress while cooking breakfast. A smile popped on her lips.

"Someone's strangely happy today."

"Since, when is it a crime to be happy?"

"Since you have been scaring me with your crazy mood swings. The baby in your stomach is turning you into a lunatic, I swear."

"That's just part of pregnancy, you Numbskull." Lucy scolded and continued. "I'm going crazy, indeed but for a whole different reason."

Seven raised her eyebrow, watching Lucy bring two plates of scrambled eggs and took a seat beside Seven.

"Now before you start digging in, answer me. Where were you last night? And don't even try to lie because I heard the front door when you came in." Lucy asked, sternness evident in her voice. Seven sighed knowing there was no dodging the question. She blurted out the excuse she had come up with while showering.

"Alright. I was held back at the café. The manager had a few foreign clients come in for a meeting. They were supposed to arrive at 8 pm but apparently, their plane was delayed." Seven pushed the guilt towards the back of her mind.

"I can't wait to meet the mooncalf and drill some cells into his brain. He needs to stop being narcissistic for once!" Lucy continued cursing the innocent café and the boss.

"Do you have the umbrella I gave you or have you donated it too?" Lucy asked her accusingly because the woman knew, the young girl sitting beside her was a sucker for those in need of help. Seven's eyes widened when she realized she forgot it that place the previous night. When Seven just quietly stared down at her food, Lucy sighed.

"Twentieth one! Seriously Seven, What are you? Three? I'm not going to buy you anymore. How about the pepper spray?"

"I still have it! Come on, stop interrogating me like an elementary kid who just got home from school! It's still morning."

"I would stop if you stop behaving like one! Look, I know how much you love helping people, but sometimes you need to think about yourselves too. Those people are not going to come to your heed when you need them. That's how the world is."

Trust me, Lucy. I know.

Seven nodded absentmindedly and spoke, "So, what is it that's driving you crazy?"

Lucy's frustrated expression dropped as her face fell. She nervously cleared her throat.

"Remember when I told you about my parents? How I ran away from home when I was twelve?" Lucy asked carefully.

"You mean when you told me how f*****g stupid you were? Yeah, I remember." Seven smirked as she sipped her orange juice but it turned into a hiss when Lucy hit her on the head.

"I was a little kid! Anyway, I have been thinking about it lately. I have decided to go back and meet them." Just as the words slipped out, Seven spit out her drink and held a face of shock with eyes wide as saucers.

"I know it sounds unreasonable but it's been ten years and I miss them, Lucy. I'm sure they have been missing me too. Plus, I was a kid and made a stupid decision out of impulse and look where it landed me? I got r***d and almost got killed." Seven flinched at her raw description but nodded in understanding.

"But can you even fly at this stage?"

"I had a talk with Emma, this morning. She said it's fine to fly in the second trimester. Just not too much."

"Oh, so you have been making plans behind me all this time." Seven mumbled as she stared at her drink.

"Come on, don't be like that. I was scared of how you would react. You have no idea how important you are to me, oddie." Lucy side hugged Seven.

"Ugh! Stop with that god-awful nickname!"

"But why?! Seven is an odd number, you are seven and I like it." Lucy reasoned and attempted to kiss her cheek.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Now stop kissing me. You know I don't swing that way." Seven laughed as Lucy glared.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow and today, we are going to make as many memories as possible. Eat up and get ready, we got the day for ourselves!"

Driving around the endless streets of the city, cracking utter lame jokes and singing out songs loud along with the radio in their horrible voices was how they spent the next two hours. They were indeed making memories, just how Lucy wished. Seven, on the other hand, couldn't help but get irritated by the nagging at the back of her head. Her radar had been going off for the past thirty minutes, forcing her to get out of her carefree zone and become alert again. She couldn't get a break.

"Here!" Lucy's cheerful voice interrupted Seven's thoughts.

Lucy handed her a brand new umbrella. This time it was rainbow colored. Seven scoffed.

" You really did it this time. This looks like something kids would use. Not adults like me."

"That's what you think. This is the last time I'm going to buy you an umbrella. Lose it and you'll face my wrath. Let's go now. We have a lot of shopping left to do." Lucy scolded.

"Yes, mom." Seven rolled her eyes.

In all honesty, Seven was experiencing a teeny weeny bit of jealousy as she followed Lucy to the next store and she felt awful for feeling so. Seven couldn't help it. Something she had always craved ever since that deadly night, Lucy had it. Seven felt a pang in her chest when she realized she wouldn't have someone to go home to anymore. Her only family was Lucy. With her gone, too, she was going to be much more lonely.

As selfish as Seven wished she could be, she knew how it felt to have a lonely life. The very reason, she didn't want Lucy to experience that any more than she did. Seven was cheering for her. She would always. An hour later, both the girls stuffed up the back seat of the car with hundreds of bags and Lucy began to drive unaware of the two pairs of eyes following them closely.

-----------

"Why are you glaring at me like that?"

"I was hoping you'd spontaneously combust."

"What did I do?!" Lucas yelled making Seven punch his arm.

"Keep it low. I almost died because of you, dimwit." Seven glared at him as he held his arm in pain.

"You didn't, though. Where's the stuff?"

"Have I ever told you how much of a duck head you are?" Seven gritted out in anger and annoyance.

"Yeah, you remind me every day. Now, give it to me before Lucy comes."

Seven pulled out the packet from her pocket and threw it at him. Lucas caught it perfectly.

"Money's already in your acc- Wait, why does this have dried red patches all over?" Lucas frowned as he examined the substance of white powder.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The guy's dead and that's his blood."

Lucas went silent when he realized how much serious the situation was.

"I killed him." Seven answered his questioning eyes.

His face turned into mixed emotions of shock and frantic when he understood the whole situation. He seriously thought Seven was joking when she said she was almost killed. Seven had promised to stay from that side and she was never the one to break promises. It didn't take him much time for him to realize what had happened. Before he could recover and respond, Lucy came back from the kitchen.

"Is anyone even living in this house? Why are the cabinets empty? There's nothing except for spider webs and their s**t!" Lucy, exasperated.

"Uh-uh," Lucas stuttered at her sudden outburst as his cheeks tinted red. "I eat out."

"Everyday?! No wonder Seven eats junk all the time. You really should stop being friends with such people, Seven. They are not healthy." Lucy grumbled as she walked back to the kitchen. Lucas was embarrassed, his face expressed disbelief.

"Did she just diss me in my own house?" Lucas scoffed, wide-eyed yet there was a look of adoration. "She is something else."

Seven was aware of his little crush on Lucy since the time she introduced them. She did not like it one bit. Lucas wasn't to blame. Lucy's beauty was beyond this world. Though they had the same pale skin, same silver eyes and the same brunette hair, Lucy had an unattainable glow.

Lucas was dangerous. Maybe, not as dangerous as her, but still enough to push Lucy into the fire again. Facing it once was hard as it was. Seven wasn't going to stop them but she wouldn't be happy either.

"Hurt her and you'll find yourself bruised on mars before you could blink." Seven threatened.

"Are you secretly lesbian? Why do you have a fit about me liking her?"

"You know, why."

Lucas sighed.

"I would never intentionally hurt her. You know that, right?" Seven nodded in response.

"But she would be hurt someday. Intentionally or unintentionally. I'm scared it would destroy her completely. Our world is dangerous, Lucas. Not everyone can survive it."

"But you did." His words caught Seven's attention. "You are as breakable as you claim Lucy is, Seven. You used to be fragile. No matter how much of a strong mask you keep on, you still are fragile to me. You fought this world with a smile on your face." Lucas spoke with a look that Seven failed to comprehend.

"She's leaving tomorrow." She gulped. Lucas' face fell.

"Why?" He whispered out with a broken voice.

"To reunite with her family. And don't worry about the guy. He's dead so there's no way he could pass on the information to anyone."

Lucas nodded as silence filled the room before the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it. It's probably the pizza boy." Lucy came out of the kitchen and walked to the front door.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Seven sprawled on Lucy's bed as she dug her closet and packed her bags. The way Lucy's face lit up every time she threw a piece of clothing in the suitcase, convinced Seven.

She is happy. Maybe I should accept it too.

"Why don't you help me instead of daydreaming?"

"Its night." Seven received a glare in return. "Alright! Alright! I'll help."

Seven began grabbing the remaining items from Lucy's closet, folded them as well as she could with her poor folding skills and stuffed them in the suitcase.

It was then she realized most of the closet was empty. Seven frowned immediately. The reality, then, sunk in. Lucy was going to be gone forever. Tears formed in her eyes. Seven couldn't believe this was happening again. Another small family she had created, fell apart right in front of her eyes.

Seven was scared of living alone. She didn't want to come to an empty house every day. She would miss the warmth from Lucy. There would be no one to care for her as Lucy did. Lucy would be kind enough to comply if it made Seven happy, but Seven felt it was unfair to do so. After everything Lucy had gone through, she deserved this much happiness and Seven wasn't going to hold her back from it. Seven felt arms wrapped around her as she stood like a statue.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry, Seven. This place holds so many good memories but bad as well. I just want to start new for my baby, away from all my past. I wish it didn't have to come to this." Lucy began with her voice hoarse. Seven melted and sighed.

"It's okay. I understand. Just remember I'll always be there for you. I'll miss you." Seven hugged back, tightly.

"I'll miss you too, sugar cube." After a few minutes, Lucy pulled away and reached around her neck and held a locket in her palm.

"My grandmother gave this to me. It was as if she knew I was going to have a hard life." She gave a distant smile.

"You see the little butterfly in the middle? It represents joy and change. When she gave this to me, she said, "Life is as cruel as it is. The only way to defeat it is not letting it change the way you view great little things." Lucy grabbed Seven's hand and placed the locket in her palm.

"This might sound cheesy." Lucy chuckled. "But You need it, now. Don't forget, Seven. Darkness is just an illusion and there's always a choice."

"Have you been secretly taking philosophy classes?" Seven chuckled staring at the locket.

"No, noodle loaf. That's what living with you taught me. I'd be forever in debt to you."

"You can clear it all by staying safe and happy."

"That still wouldn't clear the debt. Sometimes, I feel like you are my hope sent from God. If you hadn't found me that night and have the golden heart to take me in, I would have been dead by now. All I am today is because of you."

The night passed by with stars shining bright with the moon. None of the girls slept. While the whole street fell quiet, their laughs were the only source of the noise. Two passed by. Three arrived. That too had passed by but the chattering didn't stop at all. And just when it was going to strike four, Seven began dozing off only to be woken up an hour later by Lucy.

"Come on. You gotta drop me at the airport. Don't you want to bid me goodbye?"

"Yeah, coming."

Roads were deserted. The sun hasn't come out yet, clouds sheltering sky like a dark, heavy blanket was the reason. Seven wasn't in a good mood. Lack of sleep and her best friend moving away forever had taken a toll on her. But she plastered a smile on her face because she didn't want Lucy to leave with unpleasant memories.

"Seven. You know, you can visit me anytime. You are family to me."

But family means nobody gets left behind. Why are we going separate ways? Seven wanted to say, instead, she kept her mouth shut and nodded with a smile.

"Take care of the little munchkin. I'll hopefully have a chance to meet him in the future."

"I will. I'm thinking of naming him Four. What do you think?" Seven scrunched her face in disgust as the scene from the previous day replayed in her head.

"And call him what? Even? I think not. Why would you want to give him such an awful name, anyway? Everyone's going to make fun of him when he grows up."

"But your name is Seven and you are doing just fine." Lucy reasoned.

"But that's diff-" Seven was cut off by the view on the rear mirror. Two black SUV's were following behind. It could have been just another traveler but Seven's instincts screamed they were not. Panic set in but she tried as hard as possible not to show it. She began taking turns and cuts but it wasn't helping much because of empty roads. Lucy resumed talking as Seven reached her waistband to pull out her gun but her heart stopped when she found nothing.

"Shit." Seven muttered under her breath and before she knew it, a loud screeching metal was heard as the car tumbled down the road. There was a moment of silence, extreme silence like a piercing sound in ear silence. The crash itself was very disorienting. It was loud. Everything became still and quiet right after the impact.

The moment Seven opened her eyes, she nearly fell unconscious and dizzy. Her head hurt and there were no people around to help. The smell of fuel leaking from the car didn’t help the situation much. Liquid dripped down her head. The sight in front sent her into a mode of frenzy. Everything was upside down. Her legs felt like they were being crushed. Her arms felt weak to even move.

Seven painfully turned her head to the side and met with the sight of unconscious Lucy bleeding profusely. Seven was now terrified out of her wits. She wanted to at least save Lucy and the baby who had yet to see the world. But nothing seemed to be in her favor as Seven rapidly began to lose control over her body. The last thing she heard was thudding footsteps nearing before darkness sucked her in.