Author's Note
Silence.
Driving back through this dreary town was something Lucy thought she would never do again. Well, she wasn't driving, but with the deafening silence and aching memories, it felt like she was the only one in the car. She clutched her purse in her hand, feeling as if it might be snatched at any moment.
She knew that this might be the safest place in the world, but with the many abandoned buildings with boarded up windows surrounded by broken glass, rusting iron front doors, and peeling paint, it felt more like a post-apocalyptic scene from a movie. Stores that Lucy was sure would never close sat lonely in their venues, no cars inhabiting their small parking lots. The sky was dark for a mid-spring afternoon- Lucy couldn't recall a time where the sun truly showed itself except during the blazing summers when it was too hot to step outside.
Her driver, Loke, looked at the car mirror at Lucy. His face was oddly calm, his egotistical smirk gone. His shining cocky eyes were painfully forlorn, too piteous for Lucy. His eyes flickered back to the road, and he softly exhaled the way he always did when he tried to concur a way to cheer Lucy up.
"I'm fine," She murmured, and she was lying, they both knew it, but Loke did not open his mouth until they arrived.
The neighborhood was quiet and quite ugly. One house though, Mrs. Spetto's, crammed between a house that was rumored to be haunted (Lucy believed it when she was little) and a house as old and ugly as the rest was slightly better because of the stylish décor Lucy knew it held. Even the porch was decorated with furniture and pictures of bright colors, making it a spectacle in the gray neighborhood.
Mrs. Spetto's house was painted a pale yellow, with large windows adorning the front of the house. Rose bushes surrounded the small porch, where Mrs. Spetto sat in a rocking chair, and as Loke slowed the car, Mrs. Spetto stood and waved, smoothing her skirt and beginning her slow descent down the stairs. By the time the old woman had reached the stone pathway that led to the sidewalk, Lucy and Loke were already stepping out of the car. Loke had silently moved to the trunk to take out the little baggage Lucy had, and Lucy had head straight towards Mrs. Spetto who enveloped her in a tight hug.
"Lucy, my dear," She exclaimed, and Lucy tentatively wrapped her arms around the portly woman, who smelled of lavender. Mrs. Spetto quickly retracted, chuckling to herself. "So shy, are you? Where's the spunky girl I know from all those years ago?"
Lucy grimaced. The reminder of how much time had passed was a gut-wrenching reminder of what a horrible person she was. Before she could respond, or apologize, Mrs. Spetto was hurrying herself to Loke.
"Loke, my dear!" She said, wrapping him in the same tight embrace she did Lucy. "We're not going to say hello, eh? My, you look as handsome as ever, don't you? How's Aries?"
Loke responded in an uncharacteristically low voice, and Lucy stood awkwardly until Mrs. Spetto chuckled, swatting at Loke's arm. "Lucy, dear! Come get your bags, won't you? Don't make poor Loke here do all the work!"
Loke opened his mouth to protest, but Lucy was already hurrying over with a furious blush, embarrassed. She muttered an apology as she picked up the heaviest of the two suitcases, slowly wheeling it forward to allow Mrs. Spetto to keep up. However, the retired maid seemed in no hurry to get back into the house, and Lucy became slightly impatient.
She felt as if all the neighbors were looking through their windows, staring at her. Her skin burned with the sensation of being watched, of being judged, their nosy eyes dismantling her soul for the world to see and to scorn.
They finally entered the house, and Lucy took a deep breath once the door closed behind her. Mrs. Spetto offered to make some tea, leaving Loke and Lucy alone together in the small living room. There was little room for anything, with a loveseat on the back wall making the space suffocating. A small end table in the corner held a small TV that Lucy doubted Mrs. Spetto ever used with cookbooks scattered on the floor around it. On the left side was a large window that occupied most of the wall space. The archway Mrs. Spetto left through stood in that corner.
Loke grimaced as he noticed the underwhelming size of the room, turning to Lucy. "Looks like I'll be crashing in your room tonight."
Lucy shrugged, wheeled her suitcase through the archway into the kitchen that must've been twice as big as the living room. Mrs. Spetto was already humming as she warmed some water in a kettle, looking through the pantry as she decided what tea she should make. Lucy knew that it would be Oolong Tea, for it was Mrs. Spetto's favorite, and she could never resist it when it was an option.
"That door near me is the bathroom," Mrs. Spetto informed the two," And, Lucy, your bedroom is through the door to your left."
"Thank you," Lucy murmured, and she pushed open the door and led Loke in. It was mostly barren, with a full bed tucked in the corner, its colorful purple sheets perfectly made. The dresser was placed in the adjacent corner and Lucy set her baggage next to it. Loke set his overnight bag on top. Lucy sat on the bed, before flopping on her back.
It was still so surreal to her, being here, as if any moment she would wake up and be back in her lavish bedroom in her lavish penthouse. She would be served her favorite breakfast, as she was every morning, and she would spend the day working on her novel or going out to find inspiration to write said novel. She felt so horribly empty, like her emotions were ripped away along with her life.
"How long do you think I'll stay here?" She asked Loke. She looked aimlessly at the ceiling.
"You just got here," Loke chuckled, though it was obviously fake. It was nice to see him happy, though. "You'll get back on your feet soon enough."
Soon enough. Soon enough would be now.
Lucy twiddled with her thumbs, already bored and tired and guilty of just laying on the bed. She would make Mrs. Spetto happy that she took her in again. Lucy refused to be a burden. She, with determination, picked herself off the bed and walked back into the kitchen, where Mrs. Spetto still stood near the stove, humming to herself as she waited for the tea to finish.
"Is there anything I can do?" Lucy asked suddenly, blurting it before she would change her mind. "Like, chores?"
Mrs. Spetto hummed in thought, her fingers rapping against the counter as she thought. "Have some tea first, and we'll discuss your role here."
And so, Lucy was grocery shopping, listening to the quiet rustling of her shopping cart's wheel as she hunted for the items on Mrs. Spetto's grocery list, which had a few strange ingredients that Lucy had never heard of before.
Yuka root? It almost sounded like a witch's ingredient.
Loke was supposed to be with her, he had intended to go, but Mrs. Spetto had whisked him away to complete another task, holding him in the kitchen as Lucy walked out the front door. Lucy was slightly bitter. The few people she's come across in the aisles of this terribly lonely place were always in some sort of group. A mother chatting with her toddler as they picked out what was apparently the child's favorite cake mix, a lively couple no older than 21 laughing as they picked up chips and soda for what must be a party, twins running so carefreely near the packaged meats that Lucy nearly brought them to the front before their older sister reappeared with a birthday cake in her hands.
Well, it wasn't like Lucy would've spoken to Loke anyway. Words always floated in her head but never bothered to escape her mouth.
She scratched another item off her list as she plunked down a bag of limes in the cart before rolling away in search of frozen pizza. Did Mrs. Spetto even eat pizza? Apparently.
Life seemed horribly slow as she rolled through the store, walking around so aimlessly, her mind floating away so often that she often forgot what she was looking for. It must've been days since she walked through the sliding doors, promising herself that she would be quick.
It took too long to get to the last item. Bread.
It would've been nice to know she needed that while ago- she must've passed that aisle many times. Perhaps she should've looked at the whole list instead of going item by item.
She looked at all her options- the list just said bread. She finally decided to get honey wheat- because who didn't enjoy it?- and just as she placed it in the cart, she was tapped on the shoulder. She jumped, swinging her arm back as self-defense, hoping that if she screamed someone would hear her.
It took a while to realize that her hand had not contacted the man who stood behind her, but her arm was still moving, nearly beginning to wrap around herself. It didn't drop until her eyes met his. Black eyes stared back at her just as surprised as she was, and Lucy's hand dropped to her side with surprising weight.
"Damn, it's really you?" Gray smiled, the shock overshadowing that he had nearly given Lucy a heart attack. He was tall and normally intimidating, but it was hard to imagine that when he engulfed Lucy in a tight hug and guilt pierced through her heart. Gray was never a hugger.
He drew back, his smile faltering before it fell back into his usual apathetic expression. "Where's Dan?"
Lucy flinched, just slightly, sweeping her hair behind her ear. "What are you even doing here? You don't even have a shopping cart."
Gray looked down into his empty hands before smirking. "I saw you when you pulled into the parking lot and I've been watching you since."
"Creep!" Lucy shrieked, reluctantly accepting Gray's banter. It made her walls crack as if they hadn't seen each other in a month instead of five years. Her hand reflexively reached to gently slap his arm and she watched in fear as her arm extended towards him. By the time she thought to retract it, it would be awkward if she did.
"Kidding," He grinned. "No, Fire Breath has all the stuff- I snuck off when I thought I saw you. He would flip his shit if he saw you. He tried to sniff you out for a good year! I'm surprised he hasn't found me out yet, honestly. And good, too, he would just hog you."
He shifted so that he leaned on his leg- this wasn't going to be a short conversation. "You avoided my question about Dan. I'll be the shit out of him if I need to. I always knew he was batshit crazy."
"He is," Lucy bitterly said. She realized she didn't want to talk about it and fell back into her foul mood. Gray noticed the change and ran his hand through his hair.
"Well, I guess we can't hide you from Natsu forever."