My decision to help Lukas out a little longer means I’m missing yet another day of work. I probably could just leave him, work all day, and take him to meet Laura in the evening. It’s not like I couldn’t have juggled both. But the idea of leaving him on his own doesn’t sit right with me. Part of it is practical, he still looks kind of beat up, and while Lukas might be bigger than me physically, I’m fully aware that, in a fight involving magic, I’m probably the one better equipped to handle it. The other part… Well, the other part is harder to explain. Maybe it’s the nagging little voice in the back of my head that’s been bugging me ever since he mentioned my family. I keep telling myself I’m not worried about my relatives being involved. After all, my family’s more than capable of taking care of themselves, and I’ve spent years keeping a healthy distance. I don’t hate them or anything, I just don’t particularly enjoy their company. They’re overbearing, opinionated, and incapable of respecting my boundaries. But still… I don’t want my family tied up in something as dangerous as necromancy. My uncle isn’t the worst, and some of my younger cousins are perfectly fine people. If there’s even the slightest chance that something big is going on, it would feel wrong to ignore it. And maybe… Maybe… There’s another reason too. One that has nothing to do with magic or necromancers. Because if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t really want to leave Lukas alone right now. Which is stupid. He’s a mind reading lawyer who’s perfectly capable of booking himself a hotel and sorting his own life out. He’s also infuriating, arrogant, and not particularly great at asking for help. I don’t like him. He’s judgey and difficult to read. But his dog is cute… And I guess I’m a sucker for someone in need. Besides, I’m already like an hour late to work, the responsible, adult thing to do is obviously just to commit to the bad decision. No sense going in now just to clock a half day. It’s Friday, which gives me the entire weekend to figure out this whole mess before I have to show up at work again. And honestly, I really hope this is the kind of problem that can be wrapped up in a weekend. Necromancers, demons, and family drama… It all sounds like the beginning of a very long and very annoying problem. I sigh loudly.
“Everything okay?” Lukas asks, reaching out and placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Fine.” I answer a little too quickly. “ I’m mentally composing an email to my boss about why I’m not coming in today. I hate calling in sick. I don’t know why, maybe it’s the deeply ingrained guilt or my overdeveloped sense of responsibility. But I feel like a terrible person every single time, even when I’m legitimately too unwell to function. It’s ridiculous. I could have a high fever, be missing a limb, or be actively on fire, and I’d still feel like I should be sitting at my desk answering emails. So here I am, trying to settle on an excuse that feels both believable and not so believable that I’ll get caught. I could say I’m sick, but what if someone sees me walking around town and realises I lied? Maybe I could say I’m looking after a sick relative? It’s not totally untrue, I’m technically looking after Lukas, and he’s injured. Although the idea of introducing him as a ‘relative’ makes me want to gag. Maybe I should tell Laura, just in case. She’d definitely cover for me if someone came asking. I know that logically no one ever checks in on that kind of thing. But I just like to be sure.
I’m mid thought, running through my list of plausible excuses, when Lukas raises an eyebrow at me, looking far too amused for someone who nearly got kidnapped.
“Your mind is an exhausting place.” He comments. I pause and slowly look up at him.
“Excuse me?” I suddenly realise his hand is still resting lightly on my shoulder, and it clicks, he isn’t trying to comfort me. He’s just snooping.
“You’re reading my thoughts again?” I demand, narrowing my eyes. He doesn’t even try to deny it. He just shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“I wanted to know what had you spinning out. I thought you might be worried about the necromancer or the demon. But nope, just work. As I said, your mind is exhausting. You have entire arguments with yourself in there.” He sounds disturbingly fascinated. I don’t think I like him being fascinated by my thoughts.
“It’s rude to eavesdrop, you know. Don’t they teach you manners at mind-reading school?” I sass. Swatting his hand away lightly. Lukas looks unbothered as ever
“I’m self-taught. And by that I mean I’m a total natural.” He says calmly. Reluctantly, he drops his hand completely, though he doesn’t look the least bit sorry about it.
“Seriously though, you overthink everything.” Lukas adds, shaking his head in disbelief.
“You’re making back up plans for taking a simple sick day. You’re allowed to not go into work sometimes, you know. Everyone does it, and for much worse reasons.” He reminds me.
“That’s not the point,” I argue defensively. I grab my phone, and compose an excuse to send to my boss. I stare at the screen for a second, then hit send before I can overthink it any more than I already am. As I tuck my phone back into my handbag, I can feel Lukas’s eyes on me, like he’s still trying to mentally organize the chaos in my brain. Well, good luck to him. Even I haven’t managed that yet.
“All done. No going back now.” I sigh again, guilt rolling in my stomach. This sucks, I feel bad for skipping work, but if I went to work, I suspect I would feel bad for ditching Lukas. Damn it. “Another day off. You’re really going above and beyond for someone you claim to dislike.” Lukas teases, though his voice is quiet.
“I’m not doing it for you.” I say stubbornly, crossing my arms.
“But I just put a lot of effort into keeping you alive. So if anyone gets to kill you in the next twenty four hours, it’s going to be me.” I say firmly. Lukas laughs, far too happy with my threats. We end up back in my car. Lukas’s cousins might have already reported back about him, and about me by extension. Still, there’s a chance they don’t know exactly what my car looks like, or they’ll report it back wrong. Maybe we’ll get lucky.
“So…” I sigh as I start the engine.
“Where are we going now?” Before Lukas can answer, Roxy sticks her head in between the front seats and gives my cheek an enthusiastic lick.
“Ugh, Roxy!” I groan, scrunching up my face.
“Don’t lick my makeup! It can’t possibly taste good.” I grumble, grabbing a tissue from my bag and wiping her slobber off the edge of my glasses, as Lukas tries, and fails to stifle a laugh.
“I think she’s just thanking you for helping us out.” Lukas comments, way too amused for my liking.
“She can thank me with her eyes, not her tongue.” I reply primly, shooting him a look.
“This is why cats are superior. Now, where are we going?” I repeat my question. Lukas clears his throat, sobering a little.
“Well, I know this might not seem like a priority, but I need clothes and a few other essentials.” He does not seem thrilled by the admission.
“Clothes?” I ask, eyebrows raised.
“Yes.” he confirms, looking out the window as though this is some kind of tragedy. I can almost imagine the foggy grey sky and rain backdrop while some boy band sing a breakup song. He would fit in perfectly.
“I could go back to my house, but considering what just happened with my cousins, it’s probably less trouble to buy a few new things instead. I also need food for Roxy. She’s been very patient about missing breakfast, but I don’t want to push my luck.” He explains. I glance in the rearview mirror at Roxy, who perks up at the sound of her name and gives me the most innocent, loving look she can muster. I sigh dramatically.
“So what you’re saying is… You want to go shopping?”