Lucas didn't even bother to look for blankets or pillows. He wasn't sleeping tonight. He didn't know what Maya would try to do. Obviously, she wasn't thinking clearly. She might try to leave without him, and that simply wasn't happening.
He sat on the couch, rubbing his temples as his head spun. There would have to have a funeral, soon. They needed a burial plot, and a coffin, and a church, and a headstone. And after that, Maya would need a place to stay, because there was no way she could go to college and still afford to live in New York. Besides, he didn't like the thought of her living alone.
Bad things happened when people were left alone. They did things like drink too much, or run away. Slowly, Lucas got to his knees on the floor. He rested his head on the worn brown couch with the wide orange stripes. It was the ugliest couch he had ever seen.
And Lucas prayed.
He prayed until his phone rang—he didn't know how long it was.
The screen nearly blinded him. He picked up the call. "Hey, Mom," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Where are you? It's three in the morning!"
"I'm at Maya's."
"Lucas, you know that's not allowed."
Lucas bit back a sigh. "I know. But her mom died tonight, and she doesn't have any family. I thought it was the right thing to do."
She didn't want to admit that he was right. "Alright, honey. Come home first thing in the morning."
"I don't know if I can," Lucas said. "There's so much stuff that has to be done, and she has no one. Can she stay with us for a little while if she wants to?"
His parents couldn't say no to a practically orphaned girl, no matter how much they disliked her.
"If she wants to," his mom said. "It's the least we can do."
It really was the least they could do. They always did the absolute least they could do. He would never want to be like them, but they were his parents. He had seen too many of his friends grow up without families to complain about his. His family was together. That was what actually mattered.
"Bye, Mom."
"I love you, Lucas."
After he had hung up, Lucas found a trash bag in the kitchen and started tossing stuff into it. He couldn't think clearly in a room that was messy; and someone in this apartment needed to be thinking clearly. After he picked up all the trash and straightened up the room, he started on the dishes. Someone had made macaroni and cheese and left the noodle-encrusted pot soaking in the sink. The box was still out on the counter. Was this the last thing Katy had eaten? Or did Maya make this before she left for school yesterday?
He scrubbed the bottom of the pot with fury, like he could scrub away everything that had happened.
"Lucas!"
He dropped the sponge in the sink, and with his hands dripping, ran to open Maya's door.
She was sitting up in bed, her fingers clutching the blankets as though she was about to fall off a cliff. Her eyes shone in the light streaming in from behind him. "What is it?" he asked as calmly as he could.
"Katy is dead," she said evenly.
Then a sob racked her body like she had been shot with it. Two hands flew to her head, raking her hair back. "Lucas!" she cried, as tears started coursing down her face.
He climbed into the bed beside her, drawing her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his middle, crying into his shirt. Every so often, she would try to say something, but tears would drag the words back down into her throat.
"You're going to be okay," he'd say, holding her tighter. "You're going to be okay."
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's one of my favorites so far. Thanks for your lovely reviews, and keep reviewing! It helps me want to write more and get content out faster. :)