Chapter Text
Lucy did not sleep well that night. George had braved staying on the phone with her until she’d managed to calm down enough to be embarrassed about her breakdown. When she’d tried apologizing, he’d told her not to.
“I know it’s really hard for you to talk about this,” he’d said, “But it’s much better that you allow yourself to break down when you need to than to bottle everything up. So don’t apologize.”
She felt like she had barely laid down to close her eyes by the time her morning alarm went off. Thankfully, Arif did not notice anything amiss when she stumbled downstairs to start the day looking barely better than something the cat had dragged in. He was already well aware that she was very much not a morning person.
In spite of her recent emotional upheavals, the morning progressed as had become normal. Lockwood followed her from a distance until an hour after sunrise. The tingling in her fingers came back when he left, doing his funny little pirouette in the air to wave goodbye to her. About an hour latter, the feeling of someone watching her came back and muddied the faint sense of danger her magic always gave her.
Today though, the feeling of being watched grated on her. She’d felt like that the night of the events at the mill. This was as different as it could be from how she’d felt then – but that was little conciliation. Without even thinking about it, she started ducking around corners and pausing randomly as she watched out the corner of her eye. To her increasing frustration she had still not noticed anyone that could be responsible.
Something sloshed through her veins as she stomped about in a huff, trying to find someone that could not be found. She wished that if her magic was going to give her these warnings, it would also be useful enough to help her figure out who it was warning her against.
She grumbled to herself, scowling at the box of donuts in her hand as she made her way to the next delivery. That was when she heard it clear as day – a voice in her head, with no one anywhere in sight.
“I do wonder about this one,” said a female voice, “If Locky’s putting this much effort into keeping her safe, she’s got to be the real deal.”
Lucy froze. ‘Locky’, the voice had said, as in “Lockwood”? Before she could talk herself out of the impossible revelation, the shock of her dream from the other night ran through her. The voices in that dream, one of them had called the other “Locky” too. She’d felt as if she should have known who the other one was. Only now were the pieces slotting into place. It had been Lockwood’s voice in her dream. And what had he said? He’d asked this mysterious other person for a favour – something that would only matter during the day. She only felt like someone was watching her during the day, after Lockwood left.
A cold kind of furry rose up in her throat. She told him that she did not want to be watched all day long. He gave her his word that he would not. But he had said that he would not watch her. He had not said anything about someone else watching her during the day.
Lucy set off to her next delivery, a rabid kind of determination setting into her bones. She would finish her deliveries today before the sun started to set – she’d make absolutely certain of it.
…
Her furious determination had not burned any lower by the time Lucy returned to the store after her last delivery – a full hour and a half before Lockwood was likely to show up. Laura at the counter was still there when she came back.
“What’s got you so riled up Lucy?” she asked concerned. “You’ve been in a huff for half the day.”
Lucy chewed on her answer before she responded. “Someone made me a promise they didn’t keep, and I only found out today.”
Laura gave her a sympathetic sort of smile. “I’m sure they meant well by it dear.”
Lucy’s scowl did not change. “They promised.”
Luara did not say anything more, perhaps realizing that there was not much point. Arif asked her if she was ok too before he left. He got the same answer. Lucy made sure to lock all the doors behind everyone when they left, and then marched her way directly to the phone in Arif’s office.
The phone only rang twice before someone picked it up. “Hello?” called George’s voice.
“Is Lockwood still there?” barked Lucy in response. She was too keyed up to be nice to George right now.
“Lucy?” asked George surprised at her vehemence. “Why are you –”
“Is he there?” she snapped.
“…Yes, why?” hedged George.
“Put him on the phone,” she growled. It was kind of unfair to be so short with George – he was not the one who had gone to that mysterious “Flo” person she had heard first in her dream, and then again today. But he had likely known what Lockwood had done. He had not said anything either.
She heard indistinct muttering through the line as George likely covered the receiver and called for Lockwood. Maybe he was asking what they hell had happened. Maybe he already suspected.
After a few minutes that felt entirely too long to Lucy, the heard the customary shifting that meant George had handed off the phone.
“Lucy?” asked Lockwood’s voice. “Whatever’s the matter? Did something –”
“You LIED to me!” she accused without any preamble.
“I’m sure I don’t know –”
“You sent that ‘Flo’ person to follow me!” she yelled, “I told you I didn’t want to be followed all the time!”
“How did you –”
“Never mind how I found out. You lied to me! You gave me your word you wouldn’t follow me all day long!”
“It was for your own protection,” snapped Lockwood. He sounded frustrated now, in a way he never had before. It only made Lucy resent him more. “Some vampires are day-walkers. And many Covenist vampires have human slaves or followers. It’s not just when the sun goes down that dangers exist. You said yourself that you’re magics been giving you warning signals since the moment you stepped foot in London. Something needed to be done.”
“So it’s my fault then is it?” she groused. “It’s not like I knew that! You could have told me! Instead, you decided to go behind my back and set me a tail of some random person I’ve never even met? That was your solution!?”
“I think your over –”
“DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME I’M OVERREACTING!” she screeched into the phone. “Don’t you DARE, when you deliberately went against my wishes! It doesn’t make it better that you never thought I’d figure it out. That just makes it worse!”
“Lucy, can we just –”
“Don’t bother coming here tonight. I don’t want you, or your friend anywhere near me again – and I’ll know if either of you shows up! And the deals off – there’s no way I’m moving in with someone who lies to me while smiling in my face because they think I’ll never figure it out. Got it, ‘Locky’?” mocked Lucy. She slammed the phone down before he could formulate a response.
She stood there breathing hard for a few moments before a chocked off sob broke through her furry. Lucy tried valiantly to push the sound away with shaking hands. She wasn’t very successful. She sank to the floor in a trembling heap, trying to make sense of why she was suddenly crying her heart out on Arif’s office floor.