KING LUCAS

CHAPTER 29

It had been two weeks since Lucas had taken home fourteen of her paintings, apparently he was going to get Cal, the man who sold stuff in his street, to sell all of the paintings in no time. But the little blonde had given up after five days, it's like she always said: hope is for suckers.

She had already made up her mind of spending Thanksgiving in New York with Gammy Hart, her mother and whatever boyfriend she was planning on bringing, Josh was going back to Philly to see his parents and thankfully he hadn't ask her to come because she knew she wouldn't stand two days with Alan and Amy Matthews reminding them of how much younger Maya was or how it was their third time back together and she couldn't handle the fake smiles and the fake politeness.

The fight with Riley hadn't been an easy one to fix, the two spent three hours discussing how they felt about the whole situation, Maya on her part was trying to make Riley understand why it was that she felt inferior and Riley kept saying that she got it, but why not take the ticket and pay it off later. Eventually, like every conversation, they deviated from the topic and ended up remembering how they met and crying into each other's arms, asking for forgiveness.

That Saturday morning she went out with Josh to get breakfast then they drove around the city in his Vespa. She liked these kind of dates, most of the times he would say something stupid and so she would disagree with him or correct him or try to explain why he was wrong. It was never pretty, but eventually he would come back with a cute gift or make a cute gesture and they would make up.

"I can't believe you left your keys inside your apartment." Maya was telling her boyfriend as they were climbing up the steps of her building. "You're lucky I kept the copy you gave me."

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm an idiot." He said, behind her.

"Yes you are." Maya replied, as she reached her door, she could hear a banging coming from inside, she frowned and looked at Josh to check of he could hear it too.

"Are you fixing anything on your house?" He asked, a bit alarmed.

"No." She opened the door quickly, only to find Lucas in her living room with a hammer in his hand and a nail between his lips, holding her coffee table.

"Babygirl, you're home!" Her mother exclaimed from the kitchen counter, where she was sitting. "I thought you were on a date."

"I was, I mean, I am." She answered as Josh popped inside the apartment, his eyes landed first on Katy and then moved to Lucas, who was in a tank top with a tool belt around his hip, his smile slowly faded away.

"Lucas came looking for you and I told him you were out but then he saw that I was trying to set the table with some books, so he offered to help." She said, fixing a glass of water and taking it to Lucas.

"I had some pieces of wood on my truck so I thought I'd put them to some use." He thanked Ms. Hart for the water. "Josh, it's good to see you again." He offered a hand, which Josh took with an expression on his face that made Lucas smile, genuinely.

"He's so wonderful, he also helped me set that heavy mirror I bought at the flea market, remember sweetie?" She asked, getting her bag and her coat ready. "I've had it for weeks but never got around to put it up."

"You know, Ms. Hart–" Josh began, "–you could've called me and I could have fixed it for you, I'm always available on Fridays."

"I thought you had classes yesterday." Maya added.

"What? Oh yes, I did, but those were to replace the hours I lost last week." He quickly responded, Lucas narrowed his eyes, Josh was lying. The muscles on his upper lip quivered as he answered and his pupils were fixed on Maya, trying to cover up his lie.

"Well, I have a shift to get to, so I better get going." She grabbed her keys from the counter. "Thank you again, Lucas, you're a lifesaver." She kissed his cheek and then Maya's, as she passed the couple Katy smiled at Josh, but Lucas could see the fakeness in it and he couldn't help but snicker.

Maya shot him a look, it was true, her mother had never been a fan of her on and off boyfriend and she could see the resent in his eyes as he watched Lucas win over Katy effortlessly.

"So, Lucas, you just go around fixing people's houses on the weekends?" Josh asked, as Lucas bent down to stick the foot on its place.

He didn't answer immediately, he waited for the glue to set and finally took an envelope out of his toolbox. He stood up and gave it to Maya.

"No, I just had to give that to Maya." He said, returning his green eyes to the blonde who was counting the money in her envelope.

When she was done, she couldn't believe it, she shrieked and jumped into Lucas' arms thanking him once and twice and almost six times, until she remembered that they weren't alone.

The look on Josh's face made him seem that he was one word away from killing Lucas. The Texan couldn't believe that this had gone so perfectly for him, it was one of those right place-right time things where everything seemed to line up in his favor, but it was time for him to leave and leave the hot headed guy do the rest for him.

"I think it's time for me to leave, it's almost lunch time and my momma will be waiting for me." He packed his tools and put on his jean jacket. "You should wait at least two hours for the glue to dry."

"Thank you, Lucas." Maya smiled at him, a new kind of smile, one that made him smile back.

"I'll walk you out." Josh interrupted, practically pushing Lucas out of the door. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but Maya is with me." He said at the door, whispering.

"We'll see, by the way if you're going to lie to her, you should at least cover your tracks." Lucas replied, tapping Josh's wrist, where the stamp of a night club stood. That's where he had been the night before, with whom, Lucas might never know. He winked at him and left before things got out of hand.

"What did he tell you?" Maya asked him from the kitchen, as she drank a glass of water.

"Nothing." Josh replied, a little pissed.

"Do you want pizza for lunch?" She casually dropped in the conversation.

"What the fuck was Lucas doing here?" Josh asked, now really pissed.

"He was bringing me this envelope." She took it out of her back pocket and threw it to him, annoyed by his sudden mood change.

Josh frowned as he counted her newly acquired 620 dollars. She walked to her room, leaving her boyfriend alone in the living room. To her surprise there was a wood frame waiting for her in her bed, with a small note attached to it. She came closer, the details on the sides were beautifully carved, it reminded her of the details in the columns of the Aladdin movie theater.

"Why would he give you an envelope with 600 bucks?" Josh came roaring in her room, she grabbed the note quickly and crumbled it, putting it away in her trash bin.

"Of my money." She corrected him. "Lucas helped me sell some of my paintings to make some money and I didn't tell you because I wasn't expecting them to actually sell."

"And they did?" He asked very surprised, this made Maya angry, he had as much faith in her abilities as she did.

"Apparently." She replied, dryly.

"And what do you need the money for?" He finally asked, catching up with the situation. Maya realized that she hadn't bother telling him about the trip to Lucas' farm because she knew exactly how he would react.

"Because Lucas invited us to his farm for Thanksgiving and I'm planning on going."

"No, you're not." He told her, frowning. She wasn't expecting that.

"Excuse me?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, she had never seen Josh behave like this, maybe because there had never been a reason for him to be jealous of anyone.

"I don't want you spending any more time with that guy." He warned Maya.

"You're not my mother! You can't tell me who I can or can't see." She told him, raising her voice so he knew that she was serious.

"Don't you see what he's doing? He's manipulating you!" He raised his voice too. "Helping your mother, getting you that money, that stupid frame–" He walked over to her bed and grabbed her gift. "– he's trying to steal you away and you can't see it, because you're charmed by him."

"What are you talking about?" He was making no sense.

"He just wants you to go to Texas with him so he can prove to me that you're his!" He was yelling now, she was going to get a few angry calls from her neighbors later that day.

"I am not a property!" Maya finally yelled back. "I'm not his and I'm not yours either!"

Josh stood there, thinking, looking into his girlfriend's eyes. "I get it." He said, in his regular voice. "He's in love with you."

"No, he's not." Maya told him immediately.

"Why else would he be doing all of this?" He asked.

"Because he is my friend." Maya replied.

"Jesus Christ! How can you be so naive? It feels like I'm talking to a child." He exploded, raising his voice again.

"Me?! You're the one that's throwing a tantrum." She matched his tone.

"If you go on that trip, you and me are through." He concluded, and Maya closed her mouth. "So? Who is it going to be? Me or him?" But she kept her quiet.

"Son of a–" He screamed, throwing the frame on the floor, this one broke in two. Maya's mouth dropped opened, but still she didn't say a word, she kneeled and picked the pieces. Josh watched her, more furious than ever.

Maya got up and walked slowly until she was facing him. She slapped him, his hands went up immediately to cover the red stain that was already showing.

"Leave." She finally said.

"I can't believe you're picking him." He said, touching his cheek.

"I'm not picking Lucas, I'm choosing to leave you." She explained.

He left without another word, she heard him slam the front door behind him and she closed her eyes. She couldn't believe she had just done that, but then she remembered...

She walked to her nightstand and grabbed the key that stood in her jewelery box, she ran to her window and saw Josh walking out of her building.

"Hey, asshole!" She yelled, not surprisingly enough, he looked up. She threw his key to the street. "Good luck finding that!" And she closed her window again.

She went to her trash bin and picked the paper she had thrown earlier. In it she read:

Cal told me to tell you that you're welcome to give him your paintings whenever you want. There is enough to pay off Farkle and a little extra to buy yourself something pretty ;)

Now your art is out there in the world. Here's a frame so maybe you'll hang some of it in your place.

-L.

She smiled and got up, she grabbed her purse and her art bag in which she stored her broken frame. She had some stops to make on her way to Lucas'.

"Master Farkle, the blonde menace is here." The butler announced on the intercom as she finished her tropical drink. She had gotten her nickname the first time she visited her friend, now she wasn't allowed near the sculptures.

"Maya, I wasn't expecting you." The skinny kid said as he rushed down the stairs, she got up and gave him the envelope. "How?"

"I'll tell you later. There are 537 dollars." She told him, before he began to count the money, he seemed surprised. "Now we're even."

"What about the ten years of ice creams I've been buying you?" He asked, jokingly.

"Maybe I'll buy next time." She said, smiling, the boy smiled back, she could feel the pride in his stare and she couldn't help but flush. "I'll see you Monday." She kissed his cheek and hopped on the elevator.

One down, two to go.

"Maya?" Riley asked opening her window. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I left my phone at home." She explained sitting on the bay window, her other half sat next to her. "Josh and I broke up."

Riley gasped and grabbed her hands, looking her in the eyes.

"Are you ok? How did he do it?" She asked, like she had the other times.

"Actually, I broke up with him." She corrected her, Riley gasped even louder.

"What?! Are you ok? How did it happen? Are you ok?" She asked at once.

"I feel... at peace. Like I don't have to worry any more about where he is or who he's with, and there isn't anyone that tells me what to do. Like it was finally my decision and it was what I felt in that moment and maybe I rushed it but I can't help but think it was the right one." She said calmly.

"I think that it will always be the right decision as long as you follow your heart." Riley offered her shoulder to her friend, which she gladly took.

They stood there, talking about the episode on Maya's apartment, she spared no detail, there were no secrets between them. She told him about Lucas' idea and the money and what had happened earlier that day and how Josh lost his mind.

"No, you didn't!" Riley exclaimed, Maya only nodded her head. "You threw his keys?" And she nodded again, both of them laughed so hard that Auggie demanded some silence.

"I should go, I still have one more stop to go." Maya stood up, grabbing her stuff from the floor and packing the frame again after she had shown Riley. "We're on for tomorrow?"

"Yes, you, me and 12 hours of shopping." She said hugging her best friend. "Texas won't know what hit it." Maya chuckled and went the way she had come.

The sun was setting, it hadn't been a cold day, she breathed the heavy New York air and felt at home, she was imagining what the air must be in Texas, in a farm in Austin, to be more specific. A smile appeared in her face, after all the drama and the fighting, it had been a good day.

And she still had one more stop to make.