Hi guys! I love all of you so so much! I know I say this all the time, but I just want you all to know how much I love all of you! You are all precious human beings! Thank you all so much for continuing to read my story and taking the time to review it. Everything means so much to me as a writer. I am so appreciative of all of you. Okay, I just had to write that down.

This chapter will kind of pick up where it left off. I mean it will be a few days later, but y'all know what I mean.

Again, this story is going to deal with heavy subjects so if you want a list of what those subjects include, then go back to chapter one and read the trigger warning. As an aspiring writer, I think it's important to write about subjects that will be uncomfortable but will also bring important matters to the table. I'm just trying to give perspective.

Enjoy this chapter! Things may escalate at the end.

"Lucas, I know you didn't take the money. We live together, and I know that you wouldn't steal from me. I don't know who is taking my money from me, but it's important that I talk to everybody. Are you sure you didn't see anything suspicious in the last few days?" Zay asks.

Lucas shakes his head, no, but he couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he did. It was almost one of those feelings where he felt like he didn't see anything weird, but he also feels like maybe he should've.

"Well, I trust you when you say that. Please, just keep an eye out for me?" Zay asks. Lucas just nods and leaves Zay's office. He pulls his towel out of the waistband of his britches and walks over to the bar to help Farkle clean glasses. Farkle looks frantic as he wipes the glass clean. He grabs another and another and another.

"Nervous cleaner?" Lucas asks. Sure, Lucas doesn't think that Farkle took the money, but he can't help but notice the odd behavior of Farkle's quick cleaning.

Farkle looks at him and nods, grabbing another glass from the shelf below him. He takes his towel and wipes around the inside of the glass. He finally stops and sets the glass down on the bar counter. He slams his towel down, which grabs Lucas' attention.

"Whoa. Cool down, Farkle," Lucas says. "Are you nervous about talking to Zay about the money?"

"That's part of my problem. You're in the know, can you tell me how everything went when you talked to Zay?" Farkle asks. Poor little Farkle. Lucas feels bad for the kid.

"No need to worry, my friend. Zay is talking to everybody. He didn't talk to us just because we're prime suspect or whatever. He's just trying to get to bottom of this," Lucas says. "Just go in there, cool down, and tell him the truth. Zay is a very forgiving person."

"You're right. You're right," Farkle says, taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna tell him that I didn't take the money and everything will be alright."

Lucas pats him on the back and grabs another glass from the bar. "So how has your plan to get Riley's birthday present coming along?"

"I'm just a few greenbacks short. I've been saving up for this gift for three years. I just hope she likes it. I'm thinking about writing down how I feel about her, but I don't know if she'll feel the same about me," Farkle says. Lucas raises his eyebrows and shrugs his shoulders. He doesn't want to tell Farkle that the woman he is in love with kissed another guy. But what kind of friend doesn't tell their friend about something like that?

Lucas hasn't talked to Riley since the kiss three days ago. He still likes Riley, but he's afraid that she hates his guts now because he rejected her. Not only that, but he hasn't had the chance to talk to her. He has been really busy moving into the apartment with Zay, and she has been busy with her own things.

"Hey Farkle," Zay walks over to bar. "Would you mind coming with me? I just have to ask you a few questions."

"No problem, sir," Farkle says. He nods his head at Lucas, and Lucas brings his hand up to salute to the two men. He turns the bar lights off and walk to the back entrance of the building where the time cards are. He pulls the card with his name on it and puts it in the machine before pulling it right back out. He grabs his coat off the hook on the wall and before he can walk out the back entrance, he is grabbed from the back of his collar. The short woman pushes him up against the wall and digs her fists into his collarbones.

"Ow!" Lucas exclaims. "What in God's name are you doing, Maya?"

"Why did you kiss Riley and then tell her that you didn't like her?" Maya asks, tightening the grip she has on the collar of his shirt.

"I didn't say that I didn't like her. I just said that I wasn't carrying a torch for her. That's all," Lucas says.

"She came to my apartment, crying. She told me that you kissed her in the storage room. Then she told me that you told her that you didn't like her. Am I supposed to take your word over hers? She's my best friend, Lucas. And whoever doesn't like her, I don't like them," Maya says.

"You could witness her rub someone out and believe her when she tells you that she didn't do it, huh?" Lucas assumes. That little comment didn't go well with Maya.

She pushes him in to the wall again. "You would be right about that. Riley is one of the few people on this entire planet that I trust. Zay and Farkle are the only other two. But you? I don't like you. I haven't had a good feeling about you since you've walked into this place."

Lucas does feel a little pained by that comment. He thought he was on good terms with everybody when he arrived. And it doesn't help that he is attracted to this woman. I guess he feels what Riley felt when he rejected her advances. He really needs to talk to Riley.

"I'm sorry that you don't believe me, but I'm not a bad man. I didn't want to hurt Riley when I told her that I didn't feel the same way, and I've been wanting to talk to her about it, but I haven't had the chance. These last few days have been really busy. You would know that if you weren't sick," Lucas defends himself. Maya's grip on his shirt loosens. "What are you doing here anyway? Are you still sick?"

"I'm coming back tomorrow, so I'll be able to keep my eye on you now," Maya answers.

"Trust me. I don't want to hurt anybody. I just want to keep my job and not get into any trouble. That includes trouble with women who are freakishly strong," Lucas says as he grabs Maya's hands and pulls them off of his collar. He straightens himself out and pulls his coat over his shoulders and onto his arms.

"I'll see you tomorrow," He says, walking away. He can hear Maya huff and puff as he's walking away, which makes him laugh.

He walks back out to the front of the club to see if Riley is still there. He sees Farkle and Zay shaking hands at the door of Zay's office. They share a hug before Farkle walks out and meets Lucas up front.

"What are you still doing here?" Farkle asks, grabbing his coat from a shelf under the bar counter. He puts it on and begins walking to the location where Lucas had just had his encounter with Maya.

"I thought I forgot something, but it's all good," Lucas says.

When Farkle walks to the time card machine, Riley is already standing there with her coat on. Farkle stops and stares at her. She turns around at the sound of footsteps and smiles at the two boys.

"Goodnight, fellas," She says.

"Wait, Riley," Lucas calls. Farkle quickly looks to see Lucas walking over to the dame. Farkle steps up to the plate and joins Lucas and Riley. "It's pretty dark out there. Farkle told me that he would like walk you home. Is that okay?"

Riley looks down and giggles before paying her attention to the nervous boy standing beside her. "I would love that. Thank you, Farkle."

Farkle smiles and nods. "It's no problem," He says.

"Riley. Because Maya is coming back tomorrow, do you think that you and I can have a chance to talk?" Lucas asks. Riley looks at him and nods, but she isn't smiling like she was when they first walked into the room.

Farkle quickly punches out and meets Riley at the door. "You ready?" Riley nods and leads Farkle out the door. Farkle looks back at Lucas and mouths "thank you" to him before following Riley outside.

He's not sure how things are going to go with Riley tomorrow but hopefully he will be able to straighten things out to where Maya doesn't want to kill him.

Dear Riley,
I was taken by surprise when you pulled me into the storage closet and kissed me. It is a situation that I have never been in before, so I want to apologize to you for not handling it the way you wanted me to. It's not that I don't like you because I do. I just don't have the same feelings for you that you have for me. I hope you know that there is somebody out there who does carry a torch for you like that. You are a sweet, intelligent, funny, and beautiful woman, but I am not looking for a relationship at the moment. I hope this doesn't completely alter the way you see me because I feel that we all the potential to become great and close friends. Have a nice day!

Your friend,
Lucas Friar

I know this chapter is pretty short, but things are gonna get interesting in the next chapter. Lucas will tell Riley a secret. Any guess as to what it is? Hint: you probably won't get it until you read it! Hahaha!

Anyway, I hope y'all loved this chapter because I did, and I am so happy with how this story is going so far, there are so many things that are going to happen!

Love y'all!