A/N: I'm sick and tired of repeating myself…read the disclaimer on the first chapter

A/N: I'm not expert, so any information that I have on here I made up…I wanted to check out facts but I was to lazy…please, if you know if I'm really wrong let me know and I'll go back and fix it.

A/N: I love reviews…heck I love reviews more than I love George Stults (well ok that's a lie right there)

A/N: I like this story…it's better than Secrets which I'm still way stuck on for the fans of that story…I have been reading The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and let me tell you…I think I have another story coming up soon!!!

Mary guided her into the living room of the townhouse that she had bought only a few weeks ago…but it was only a few weeks ago that everything was normal…well it seemed normal

"Luce…it's ok…you don't have to worry anymore…he's not going to find you and if he does he'll have a hard time trying to get into this house"

Lucy looked up at Mary her eyes wide with fear "How do you know?"

Mary gave her a small smile before guiding her towards the living room couch "because…your boyfriend is outside with a gun…I'm sure he'll shoot before asking questions" she chuckled.

"He's not my boyfriend!!" Lucy exclaimed quickly her face turning three shades of red

"Then what is he?"

"He's my friend…who…who helped me when I needed help" she stammered…she knew Kevin loved her…he had told her many times…but today was the first day she told him how she really felt.

Lucy managed a small smile before heavily sighing…she was exhausted…not because of the trip but because her nightmare was finally over.

"Okay…fine…he's my boyfriend" she admitted with defeat before sinking into the couch cushions...all she could hear was laughter coming from Mary…but it was soon drowned out by Lucy's sobbing.


Kevin who had watched the entire scene from the driver's seat got out of the car and hit the trunk button so he could get Lucy's suitcases out of the back.

He grabbed all three of her suitcases, before remembering that she had left her purse in the passenger's seat.

Rolling his eyes he slammed the hood and hit the unlock button on the cars keypad and opened the passenger door. Grabbing her purse off the seat, he somehow managed to tip it upside down spilling the entire contents of the purse onto the ground.

Shaking his head in anger he bent down and started to scoop everything back into her purse when something caught his eye…it looked like one of his business cards that he had given to her…


"Here" he told her, handing Lucy his business card "If you ever need anything…don't hesitate to call me…I'll always be here if you need me"

"What happens if I call and your not there?" she asked him looking fearful.

"I'll give you my home number and my cell phone number Luce…if you feel scared or you just want to talk I'll only be a phone call away…remember that" he told her while writing down the numbers for her.

She started to walk away but stopped and turned back around…her face looked a little brighter when she smiled.

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you" was all she had to say before she walked back into her sister's apartment closing the door behind her.


He knew it was at that moment he had fallen in love with her…it was only then that he had to wait to tell her the truth…she didn't need to know back then.

Walking towards the steps and into the townhouse he could hear Lucy quietly sobbing.

Walking into the living room he saw Lucy sobbing as hard as she could. Her knees pulled up close to her face as she could get them…Mary, who was sitting beside her looking helpless, stood up and walked over to Kevin.

"I don't know what to do Kevin"

"What happened?" he asked looking concerned.

"I was joking about you being her boyfriend…and the next thing I knew she burst into tears" Mary replied looking deeply upset as she watched her little sister on the couch.

"Give it some time Mare" he told her putting his arm around her shoulder.

"I know…but how much time will she need?"

Shaking his head ever so slightly, watching his Lucy cry hurt her and fears away before he answered Mary back "I don't know Mare…I don't know…" but what he did know was that his heart was breaking into a million pieces…and he couldn't show it to the one person he loved.


"God, why am I so nervous tonight?" Lucy thought to herself, digging through her dorm room closet trying to find something to wear for her "date" with Tom tonight.

"You Have Mail" came the reply from her computer.

"AHHH stupid computer" she yelled at the machine kicking the desk that it sat on.

Glaring at the computer she sat down to see who had e-mailed her. But her frown turned to a smile when she saw the name bballMary81…Mary had actually decided to write her back.

She scrolled to the top of the page and clicked on Mary's screen name and started to read the e-mail.

Luce,

What are you worrying about? Where's the old Lucy that I knew who wasn't afraid of boys? Just be yourself and don't worry about what he thinks…your one of the sweetest people I know…gotta run

Mare

"How sweet" she thought closing her e-mail and turning off her laptop…she would write Mary back later and tell her how the "date" went.

Standing up she saw the clock and realized that she only had thirty minutes to get ready…rushing over to her dorm room closet she managed to spot the perfect outfit….

It was her long khaki colored skirt, with a light pink ¾ length sleeved shirt and her khaki colored Tommy Hilfiger jacket that she bought at the outlet store only a few months after arriving in New York

Thirty minutes later she was ready…making sure that her outfit looked good together she stood in front of the full length mirror that was on the back of the door and smiled…she looked cute and was still dressed casually but still "girly" enough.

Grabbing her purse and the dorm room key she locked the door and shut it gently before heading downstairs to meet Tom...

Slowly walking down the stairs she started to have second thoughts…what happened if he was another Jeremy? Or what if he was like another Mike? All of these thoughts continued to cross her mind and she almost lost her footing when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Smiling at Michelle, the security guard who was assigned to her dorm house, she signed herself out and wrote down what time she would be gone till and her room number.

Pushing the door open, she scanned the parking lot in hopes that she would recognize his car…he hadn't told her what he was driving so she was unsure what to look for.

Suddenly, she heard the screeching of tires and looked up and saw an old dark blue, Honda Civic coming straight at her.

Moving out of the speeding cars way, she almost felt sick to her stomach…was that some sort of a sign that she shouldn't be going on a "friend" date with Tom tonight?

"Lucy?"

She heard someone calling her name and turned her head slightly to the right and spotted Tom right away…his gorgeous smile beaming down at her.

Smiling back at him, she quickly walked over to where he was standing…holding the passenger side door of the dark blue Honda Civic that had almost tried to run her over.

She got into his car and he closed the door and walked over to the driver's side, hopped in and drove off.

Lucy, being extremely nervous was opening her purse and then closing, opening and then closing and looking back and forth from the road to the clock in the Honda.

Tom, had a pretty good idea why Lucy wasn't being talkative…she was nervous…just like all the other girls he had dated before her…knowing exactly what to do he opened his mouth to speak.

"You can turn it on if you want to"

"Turn what on?" she asked frowning in confusion

"The radio…"he told her switching lanes.

"Oh"

15 minutes later they arrived at a new restaurant called "The Lion's Den" that had just opened only a few weeks ago. Tom parked the car and got out and walked quickly over to the passenger side door where Lucy was and opened the door for her and offered his arm.

Walking arm in arm together they entered the fancy restaurant and were seated quickly since Tom was smart enough to call ahead for a reservation. After the waiter handed Lucy her menu, she quickly scanned the prices and almost gasped out loud…the prices were sky-high and she didn't have enough money to even cover a salad.

Glancing over towards Tom she noticed him studying her with another one of his famous grins.

"What are you staring at?"

"You" he replied.

"Why?"

"Because…I think you're beautiful" he told her softly reaching for her hand.

Lucy blushed and turned away…she wasn't ready for that kind of attention yet…but somehow it didn't seem wrong either

"Tom?"

"Yes, Lucy?"

"There's…there's something I have to tell you" she started to say, getting more embarrassed at every word.

"What's that?" he asked grabbing her hand.

"I…I don't think I can pay for my dinner" she said slowly, taking her hand out of his grasp and looked away in shame.

"That's ok…this will be my treat" he told her, standing up and sitting next to her in the booth.

Lucy started to open her mouth in protest and that's when he took advantage of her…and kissed her square across the lips.

He looked deep into her eyes after he finished kissing her and smiled at her.

"Lucy…I have a confession to make"

Lucy still too stunned at what just happened, just looked at him…her eyes still wide with shock.

"There is no film festival at Cobell Hall…I made it up so I could get you to go out with me…like on a date" he told her intertwining his fingers with her.

Lucy just shook her head and smiled…she had known a little bit what he was up to the night he asked her out as a "friend" but she wasn't sure…she didn't want to lead him on incase he was another jerk.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked…Tom was starting to sweat…normally most girls would have said something by now…but she wasn't saying anything.

"Yeah…what are you buying for dinner?" she teased him before inching closer to him…she wanted to be near him for the rest of the night…


"Kevin…please do something…she can't just keep sobbing like that…she has got to realized that none of this is her fault" Mary told him, sighing in frustration as she stared at her sister.

Heaving a deep sigh, Kevin walked over to the couch and sat down gently…all his training as a police officer would have to kick in.

"Luce?" he said softly, to let her know that he was sitting next to her.

"Luce" he repeated again, this time a little louder.

Not getting a response, Kevin did something that with abuse victims, especially Lucy you should never do…touch them while they are in a state of shock…but because it was his Lucy he decided to go against it.

Scooping her up into his arm he stood up…and that's when he felt her body go tense and the sobbing started to get louder.

"GET AWAY FROM ME" she screamed at him trying to get out of his arms, but he held onto her tightly walking out of the living room.

"Luce…sweetie…it's me Kevin" he told her gently, walking up the stairs one step at a time so he wouldn't drop her.

"PLEASE, JUST GET AWAY FROM ME…I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING THIS TIME" she sobbed harder, still trying to get away from Kevin.

Mary who had watched the whole thing had to take a deep breath…it was bad enough that what her little sister was going through was hell on everyone but she still had to figure out a way to tell her parents.

Mary started to take the stairs two a time when her cell phone rang. Stopping in mid-step her heart froze in its place…what happened if the person on the other line was Tom? Or worse someone else?

Not realizing that the townhouse had quieted down, Mary ran up the stairs to see Lucy still cowering in fear but was finally warming up to the fact that it was Kevin who was stroking her hair gently.

"Kevin" Mary whispered loudly enough for him to hear.

Kevin's head snapped up at the sound of his name and he looked at Mary trying to summon him to the hallway.

Shaking his head he motioned for her to come in the room…Lucy's breathing had suddenly clamed down a lot…which meant she had fallen asleep again.

"Kevin…my cell phone rang downstairs…I didn't answer it but…what do I do if it's my parents wanting to know where Lucy is?" she asked him sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"Tell them nothing" he told her flatly.

"Why?"

"Did your parents know your sister was dating him?"

Mary thought for a moment before speaking "Actually…I think they were out here at Christmas time and they met him…everyone liked him…that damn bastard…if I ever see him I'll—"but before she could say anything she was cut off by the house phone ringing.

The phone rang again and this time it woke Lucy up…she sat up rubbing her eyes and looked from Kevin to Mary and started to say something when the phone rang again…for the third time.

That's when she started to cry…she didn't want them to answer it because it might be Tom on the other line looking for her.

Kevin wrapped his arms around her to signal that everything was going to be fine and placed a finger on her lips to signal for her to be quiet…that was when he motioned Mary to answer the phone.

"Act normal" he whispered to her just before she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mary? It's your mother"

Mary breathed a sigh of relief and turned her head towards Kevin and mouthed the words "its mom" to him.

"Oh, hey mom what's up?

"Nothing how is everything in Buffalo?" Annie asked.

"Everything is great, Wilson, Billy and I went to the park and to the zoo…we had a blast"

"That's great sweetie…listen…I'm calling about your sister…have you seen Lucy at all?"

Mary's eyes got wide when she flipped around and started to wave her hand at Kevin pointing to the phone

"Not recently why?" she asked trying to make sure her voice wasn't shaking

"Well…Tom just called a few minutes ago and said that when he got to her apartment that everything was gone, her clothing, everything was gone and he was hoping maybe you would know where she was"

"Nope, sorry mom…I haven't seen Lucy since a few weeks ago…actually since we went to that Art Festival with Kevin and Ben four weeks ago" Mary added hoping that what she was lying about sounded legit.

"Hmmm…I guess I'll have to call him back and tell him that you haven't seen her either…I wonder if maybe Jeremy got to her and she decided to surprise us and come back home?"

"Maybe"

"Actually mom I have to get going I have a Airline Attendant meeting in a half an hour and if I don't leave soon I won't get there on time so I'll call you as soon as I hear something from Lucy…call me and let me know if you find anything out" Mary spoke quickly into the phone and hung up before Annie had a chance to say goodbye.

"What was that all about?" Lucy suddenly spoke up looking from Mary to Kevin

"Mom wanted to know where you were at…Tom called her about 10 minutes ago" Mary said not stopping for air.

"I knew it" Kevin exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Lucy asked looking extremely confused.

"He didn't have the guts to call you Mare…so he called your parents hoping that they would call you and that you would have seen her…" he trailed off and started to think again.

"Listen…Luce…Mare…whatever you guys do don't answer the phone unless you know who it is…"Kevin told both of them point blank.

Lucy started to get scared again and started to get off the bed "I don't think I can handle this anymore Kevin" she said softly sitting in the rocking chair.

"Luce…you can do this…I know you can" Mary told her walking over to her.

"He knows too much…he knows my friends…my hangouts he even knows my parents…how can I do this if he knows my every move?" she asked them starting to get tears in her eyes.

"Luce…I'm here remember? There is no way he will ever be able to get to you without having to go through me" Kevin exclaimed placing his hand on her arm…it was one of the first times that she didn't jump or flinch.


It had been two months since Tom and Lucy started to date and boy were they two WONDERFUL months.

Lucy had never felt so alive, so free and best of all she never felt more herself than ever…now she was just waiting outside for Tom to come and pick her up so they could go to The Lion's Den to celebrate their 2 month anniversary.

She smiled when she saw his car pull up and stop in front of her. Tom got out and walked over to her and frowned.

"Luce…sweetheart I thought I told you to wear your green dress"

"I was going to but Lauren said that the blue brought out the color of my eyes" she told him, putting tiny pieces of hair behind her ears.

"But Luce…I wanted you to wear your green dress…it makes my suit look twice as blue" he told he leaning up against the passenger door.

"We don't have time to wait for me to change" she started to argue.

"Luce" he said sharply "I want you to wear the green dress…and that's final…if you don't we won't go out" he told her firmly.

"But Tom—"she started to say.

"No buts…either it's the green dress or it's goodbye Tom"

Sighing, Lucy turned around and walked back into her dorm…she had to go find her blue dress so she could eat dinner…what didn't occur to her was that this wasn't the first time something like this would happen…