We head back to my car, and Lukas stays quiet as I settle in and start the engine. It’s not until we’re on our way back to his hotel that he finally speaks.
“Torin isn’t involved.” He says, breaking the silence. I nod.
“I could’ve told you that without reading his mind. I mean, did you see the way he looked at Rina?” I say with a small smile. Lukas glances at me, confused.
“What does that have to do with him being involved or not?” He asks. I roll my eyes.
“Because, as far as I can tell, that guy has literally everything he wants in that bar. Do you really think he’d risk it all by getting involved with a necromancer? It wouldn’t make any sense.” I explain my reasoning. Lukas considers this and nods.
“Based on what I saw in his mind, I agree. Also… I don’t think he has the confidence for that kind of dangerous activity.” He adds. I raise an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
“Confidence? Are you saying Torin lacks confidence?” I clarify. Lukas nods, and I mull it over. Huh. I guess looks really can be deceiving. The demon is so… Imposing. But now that I think about it, he didn’t actually DO anything to be intimidating, he just is. And let’s be real, demons have that whole larger than life reputation working for them.
“So, we agree Torin isn’t involved.” I conclude.
“Right.” Lukas agrees.
“Which means Laura probably isn’t either.” I add. From the corner of my eye, I see him nod.
“Agreed.” He says firmly.
“Good.” I let out a small sigh of relief.
“So… What do we do now? Like, what’s our next step? We didn’t really learn much at the bar other than confirming that Torin and Laura aren’t part of this mess.” I have no idea how we’re supposed to figure this situation out. We don’t know who we’re looking for OR what we’re actually going to do if we do find them.
“Well.” Lukas begins thoughtfully.
“We could try to learn more about Solem or get close to people who know him and fish for information. Another option is to track the necromancer directly. Their magic isn’t exactly subtle. Most people notice a dead body walking around, or just vanishing. Additionally, we could try getting more information from my family or… Yours.” He adds the last part hesitantly, like he knows it’s a touchy subject. I scrunch up my face.
“I would really rather not. Although, trying to get close to a demon, an actual dangerous one, doesn’t sound like a particularly safe plan either.” I remind him.
“So, we investigate the necromancer first?” Lukas confirms. I nod reluctantly.
“I suppose so. I mean, we can still keep an eye out for any information about Solem, too. Just… Carefully.” I decide.
“I find it interesting that you’d rather face a demon or necromancer than talk to your own family members.” Lukas comments mildly. I shrug.
“At least the demon wouldn’t judge my life choices.” I grumble. Lukas laughs, and for a moment, the tension in the car eases.
I pull up in front of Lukas’s hotel to drop him off, but he doesn’t move to get out of the car. I glance over at him, raising an eyebrow.
“I need your phone number.” He says bluntly.
“Oh… Right. Okay then.” I reply, fishing my phone out of my bag. I give him my number, but not without a stern warning.
“Don’t use it unless you ABSOLUTELY have to.” I don’t want to deal with Lukas any more than I have to. Lukas smirks faintly but doesn’t respond.
“I’ll come back in the morning.” I add with a heavy sigh.
“We can grab breakfast and figure out our next step.” I tell him reluctantly. I am spending entirely too much time with this guy and his boring as hell suits.
“Sounds good.” Lukas agrees, finally stepping out of the car. I watch him walk into the hotel, just to make sure he gets inside safely, before driving off, heading straight home. Okay, that’s a lie. I make an essential pit stop for ice cream. It’s entirely necessary for my mental health. Once I’m home, I eat the ice cream straight from the container while washing off my makeup and setting my hair back into rollers. I curl up in bed with Princess and scroll aimlessly through my phone, trying to wind down. Just as I’m about to put my phone away, a message from an unknown number pops up.
Unknown- Texting so you have my number too. -Lukas
I roll my eyes but respond.
Clare- Okay, good night.
A few seconds later, another message comes through.
Unknown- Sleep well, sweet dreams. I hope I’m in them.
I stare at his last message, blinking. Seriously? Why does he keep saying stuff like that? I doubt he actually means it. He always has such a straight face when he makes these comments, like he’s just trying to mess with me. Or maybe he thinks this is how you’re supposed to talk to people? Either way, it doesn’t matter, because I don’t like him. Lukas is a jerk. He made that abundantly clear the first time we met. Sure, he hasn’t been THAT bad over the last couple of days, but that’s probably because I’m the only person willing to help him right now. I doubt he’s as nice as he’s been acting. Nice guys don’t go around invading people’s privacy and reading their thoughts whenever they feel like it. I sigh, save his number, then toss my phone to the side after setting up an ASMR video of some guy making clay models of nerdy and weird stuff. The videos are weird but they’re interesting and the guy has a soothing voice. Despite how exhausted I am, it takes far too long for me to finally drift off to sleep.
I wake up tired, cranky, and far too early. My mood is foul, and yet I’m inexplicably restless. Worse than that, I’m worried about Lukas. Damn him. I don’t WANT to be worried about him, but the guy is kind of helpless. If his family figures out where he’s staying or if he decides to wander off somewhere, he could end up in real trouble. It sucks. I don’t want to feel responsible for him, but for some reason, I do. That’s how I find myself pulling up in front of his hotel at seven in the morning. Seven. In the morning. I hate mornings. I hate that I’m awake, and I definitely hate that I’m here. It’s also clearly too early for breakfast, but screw it. If I can’t sleep in, then neither can he. I march straight up to his room and knock loudly on the door. I plaster on my best fake cheerful smile, the one I use at work when a particularly annoying lawyer decides to call instead of emailing like a normal person. I expect Lukas to take a minute to answer, bleary eyed and groggy. Maybe he’ll even have bedhead. Nope. The door swings open immediately, and there he is, looking like he’s been up for hours. His hair is damp, like he just stepped out of the shower. He’s dressed in yet another boring charcoal suit, and to top it off, he’s smiling at me. Pleasantly. Like an actual morning person. My carefully constructed fake smile falls right off my face. Faking happy this early isn’t nearly as satisfying when the person you’re trying to annoy is legitimately cheerful. I narrow my eyes at him, wondering how someone can be so put together this early in the day.
“Good morning, Clare.” He says brightly, completely ignoring my lack of response. I hate him a little more in this moment than I did yesterday. I feel the sudden urge to slap him. I’ve never actually slapped anyone in my whole life, but if I were going to get slappy, I know exactly who I would be slapping first.