Andy pushed open the front door. It had been exactly what she had expected and nothing she had hoped. It was the same ol' Les. It was easy and comfortable, but no feelings were left; those had been long done away with.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the suitcases in the hall, and Lu lugging another one downstairs.
''What is all this?'' Andy asked, closing the door behind her, feeling panic as she was sure she knew exactly what was happening.
''I'm moving back home,'' Lu said. Marc had been staying in her old apartment whenever he came home from college and she was still dutifully paying rent every month.
''This is your home,'' Andy said. Lu had been staying with her for longer than she had lived in some places and she couldn't imagine coming home to a house without her and Rosa.
''Like you said, we can't keeping playing house for forever,'' Lu said, heading back towards the stairs to get more of her luggage.
Andy grabbed her by the arm, ''I didn't mean that you have to move out.'' It was the last thing she wanted.
''So then what? I stay? I mean, Andy, what are we doing?'' Lu asked, fighting back her tears. ''I was supposed to stay with you for maybe a month, I've been here for coming up on fifteen, Rosa doesn't even know which one of us is actually her mom… I don't want to do this anymore.''
''Why not? What has changed?'' Andy asked, putting her hands on Lu's arms, seeing how tired she was and wanting her to stay, to say what was plaguing her.
''I just—'' Lu took a deep breath and bit down on her lower lip, ''I need more.''
Andy thought for a second before frowning, ''more what?''
Lu looked back and forth between Andy's eyes, ''just—just more.'' When Andy's hold didn't release – clearly not satisfied with Lu's answer – she nodded slightly. ''Okay. You wanna know what has changed? You fell asleep next to me.''
The confusion on Andy's face was clear, narrowing her eyes at Lu. ''I fell asleep next to you?'' Her mind was racing trying not only to figure out when this supposedly happened but also how it was relevant in any way shape or form. Her hold on Lu's arm was finally loosening and when Lu didn't immediately take that chance to run away Andy stepped away from her completely hoping that having some room to breathe would help her understand what Lu was babbling about.
''You had gotten up with Rosa and rocked her back to sleep, and you…'' Lu sighed, ''you came back into my room with me and fell asleep next to me.''
The look on Andy's face softened though many questions remained unanswered. ''That was months ago,'' although that didn't mean she had forgotten about it, particularly the memory of waking up early and watching Lu sleep just for a few minutes, taking her time to appreciate how angelic Lu looked… She swallowed hard, ''what does that matter now?''
''Watching how good you are with her,'' it was something Lu could stare at endlessly, ''and then feeling you next to me,'' the fact that it had been months since she had had someone sleeping peacefully next to her didn't help, but Lu knew that wasn't the only reason her hormones had raced, ''and then—'' nothing. And everything. Nothing in particular had stood out to her as the moment she had first realized her first feelings, but every single thing Andy had done had strengthened them. Her gaze fell to Andy's lips, just long enough to be noticed, before she looked away.
Andy stood frozen, certain that she had imagined it, a pregnant pause between them.
Lu slowly took a step towards the stairs, ''I'm gonna continue packing.''