Chapter Six : The Day After

Lucy stared at her alarm clock, despite it being almost three in the morning. She heard the leaves rustling across the roads and sidewalks alongside the gush of wind. She scratched her collarbone, realizing a hickey had formed around the area. Her hand froze, and she turned around to find her cellphone. Her mind had been racing ever since her and Natsu had sex in the park, and the intensity of emotions they shared at that moment jammed Lucy's thoughts. She couldn't help but wonder why that had happened - why did she give herself to someone she didn't know? Why was she so attracted to him - so quickly?

Scrolling through her contacts, Lucy's eyes fell onto a text that Natsu had sent her, possibly right after he had dropped her off to her home.

I had fun tonight.

Her eyes locked onto those four words. It wasn't a question - but a reinforcement. Strangely, it was what she needed to hear. Being with her made him feel good - the way being with him made her feel powerful. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard - hesitating whether to text him or not. She didn't know whether she wanted to see him again - even though she knew her heart was set on it. Not holding back any longer, she texted him back - praying to the Lord he would answer her.

So did I.

She let the phone lie on her chest, and trailed her hands up her arm from the chill in her room. Her skin was barely touching the tips of her fingers, and she remembered the way natsu had touched her in the park. Enough to make her want more - but not enough for her to be fully satisfied in the moment. He teased out a desire in Lucy - something she never knew she had in her. She soon felt a vibration on her chest, and when she opened her cellphone, she found a text. A text from him. At three in the morning.

Shouldn't you be asleep?

A small smile unexpectedly formed on Lucy's lips.

Asks the person still awake.

Lucy's hands gripped the cellphone tight, waiting for a reply.

I couldn't sleep.

Me neither.

Hey… you wanna hang out again?

Lucy froze for a minute - eyes fixated at that one text. She had been hoping he wanted to see her again. She waited for the moment that he'd tell her that it wasn't just a one-night stand that he's forget about. He remembered her, and he didn't want to let go of her. Not yet.

Yea…

Yea, we should.

I'll see you in Calc, then?

Lucy chuckled.

We have two whole days left, moron.

Haha, I know. Just wanted to say that.

Haha, alright. Goodnight.

Goodnight, Luce.

The nickname dumbfounded her. However, she let out a small smile, before turning her phone off, and finally trying to get some sleep in the quiet, desolate Friday night.

…

The Saturday morning sunlight beamed through the glass windows, as Lucy sat at the dining table, drinking her coffee. Her grandfather was sitting just a few days away from her, reading today's newspaper. Lucy jerked her head, and was able to place her eyes on the front page of the paper - and glanced at four faces. Four happy, vibrant, and confident faces - now with three of them six feet under. Lucy looked away, to hide her pain from herself. The headlines rang for days - yet all that wa mentioned were conspiracies, unnatural motives, and finger-pointing. She had barely thought of the girls, but she thought about her.

She thought about her own pain, and her own feelings. Her own demons that remain unsolved.

As Lucy's mind rambled with confusing thoughts and ramblings, the telephone rang. Lucy's grandfather reached to pick it up however, when he responded to the other line, his face turned white as he brought his eyes upon Lucy.

"Umm, sweetheart," he started, as he held the phone just far enough where the microphone couldn't catch a significant sound, "The police called. They want to see you."

Lucy slammed her coffee cup at the statement, making her grandfather fidget on the floor.

"Why?"

"They have a few things they need to inform you of."

"Well, can't they do it on the phone?" Lucy's voice screamed irritation with every word she had spoken. A few weeks after the accident, and they decide to call her now? Did they believe the gossip going on about her? Did they actually believe whatever rumour someone who was too bored for their own good started? The thought of interrogation over baseless claims struck a nerve with Lucy; she places her hands over her face.

Her grandfather sighed, but didn't say anything. The police were still on the other end of the line, but hadn't hung up. The room was filled with silence for a few moments, however, when Lucy's grandfather looked at her again with straight, concerned eyes, he said. "Don't worry. They assured me you're not a suspect."

Lucy didn't say anything after that. She looked at her grandfather as if he had read her the death penalty, and proceeded to get off her chair. With a grasp of her jacket and attachment of her boots, Lucy disappeared from the apartment, without asking for a ride, or even wondering what the police had wanted.

…

The station was unbelievably busy. Detectives and street cops alike were walking front and back, everywhere, around the place. Lucy stood at the edge of the entrance, waiting for someone to approach her, as she didn't know who to approach herself. She felt her phone buzz in her hand, and when she turned on her phone, she saw a message from Natsu.

Hey, you free?

Her fingers hovered over the message board, but she turned off her phone, pretending she didn't see the message as a detective duo walked towards her.

"Lucy Heartfilia." the female detective greeted her, "My name is Detective Benson. This is my partner, Detective Stabler."

"Hello." Lucy faked a smile as she shook the hands of both Benson and Stabler.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little quieter?" Detective Stabler suggested. Lucy nodded her head, and followed the two detectives to a seating area away from the noisy station. The detectives sat across Lucy, with a folder intact in one of their hands. Lucy crossed her legs, and hung her head - avoiding eye contact with the detectives.

"Okay," Detective Benson started, "Now, I know that -

"Why am I here?" Lucy blurted out, stunning the detectives. They looked at each other, before looking back at her, with confused expressions. "You guys have been out cold for God-knows how many weeks, my friends are dead, I go from Lucy Heartfilia to the chick with bleach-blonde hair, and you're acting like all of this is fine." Her voice funed with anger, which Benson and Stabler took notice of.

"Lucy... I'm sorry." Detective Benson murmured. Lucy didn't make eye contact with her. "I know how hard this has been for you, and we were set to rule this as an accident... but we got a report for the damaged automobile just yesterday."

"The car was pretty badly battered," Stabler continued, "however, we recently found something that could possibly throw out the possibility of an 'accident' occurring."

With that, the blood from Lucy's face began to drain, bit by bit. Her head began to spin, while her heart rate excelled meteorically. "W-what are you saying?" Lucy's hands began to shiver, as she spoke to the detectives. "I was told after I had woken up from the coma... that the whole thing was just from a horrible accident. The driver that crashed into us was over the limit, and had crashed into us because he lost control of the wheel."

"I understand that." Detective Stabler continued, as he opened the folder and brought out a sheet of paper, and handed it to her. "However, the car that you and your friends were in that night also had faulty brakes."

All movement in Lucy's body was still - as her eyes zeroed onto the report that the detectives' handed her. Faulty brakes - the car they were in had faulty brakes. They weren't working. The car couldn't have been stopped anyway. The accident would've happened - whether it was from a drunk driver hitting them, or whether it was from crashing into a ditch. "The brakes were damaged…?"

"Well... that's a possibility." Detective Benson said, as she took back the car report, "However, there's also a possibility that the brakes were tampered with."

"Tampered? What are you suggesting?"

"We're suggesting that... we might be looking at a quadruple-murder investigation, rather than a mere accident."