Free Lost December by Richard Paul Evans

father used to say, “The world is designed to take your money.” I was quickly learning how right he was, though some parts of the world are more adept at doing so.
    To dull my humiliation, I took to drinking with Marshall. I had no idea where Sean was. The last I’d seen of him he was walking out of the club with his arms around two Italian women.
    Around two in the morning, Marshall nudged me withhis elbow. “Luke, check that out.” His eyes were fixed on an exotic-looking French woman in a revealing dress. She looked over at him and a seductive smile turned up her lips. He immediately stood. “
Mon bel ange
. That, my friend, is the only thing on earth that could convince me to learn French.”
    “What about Lucy,” I said.
    “She doesn’t speak French,” he said with a condescending smile. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll find a ride home.” He walked across the room to the woman.
    I wished I had stayed back with Candace. Actually, I was beginning to wish I had stayed in Arizona. I finished my drink and went back to the hotel.

CHAPTER
Nineteen
    Truth is patient. It can afford to be,
for eventually it will have its way
.
    Luke Crisp’s Diary

    When I arrived back at the Four Seasons, Lucy was asleep in our room with Candace. I turned on the entryway lights, and Lucy rubbed her eyes then sat up, slowly looking around. “Where’s Marshall?” she asked.
    “Still out,” I said.
    She looked at me with a pained expression. “Is he with another woman?”
    In spite of my desire to do otherwise, I nodded.
    Lucy stood up and went back to her own room. Candace just looked at me and frowned. “Come here, baby,” she said.

    Several hours later we woke to yelling coming from Lucy and Marshall’s room next door. Lucy’s voice was punctuated by sobs. I looked over at the clock. It was nearly 5 A.M .
    “Have you ever heard her that upset before?” I asked.
    “Yes,” Candace said. “It’s their cycle.”
    There was another loud scream followed by louder crying. Then I heard a door slam.
    “I think the chain just fell off their cycle,” I said.
    “Will you check on her?” Candace asked.
    “Sure.” I pulled on a pair of sweat pants and walked out into the hall. Lucy was lugging her suitcase to the elevator.
    “Hey,” I said.
    She turned around. Her eyes were puffy and red and she was trembling.
    “Where are you going?” I asked.
    “Anywhere he isn’t.”
    I walked toward her. “Want to talk?”
    She wiped her eyes then said, “Yes.”
    We went back to my room. Candace had put on a robe and she hugged Lucy as she came in. “I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “But you’ve been here before. Things will work out.”
    “No they won’t,” she said. “He told me he doesn’t love me. He said he hasn’t cared about me for more than a year. He’s just been using me.”
    I gently rubbed her back. “Marshall’s a jerk. The only person he cares about is himself. You’re better off without him.”
    “No, I’m not,” she said.
    “You will be,” I said. “Trust me. It may not seem like it now, but as soon as you’re free from him, you’ll be much better off.”
    She looked up, her eyes darting back and forth between us. “I’m pregnant.”
    For a moment Candace and I were both silent. Then Candace said, “Oh.”
    That’s why she’s been so sick
, I thought.
    “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Lucy said.
    “Does he know you’re pregnant?” Candace asked.
    “I told him tonight. That’s what started his yelling. He said I’d gotten pregnant to trap him.” Lucy continued to cry. “He said he doubted it was even his baby.” She put her head down. “That’s when he told me he didn’t love me.”
    I softly caressed her hand. “I’m really sorry. He’s an idiot.”
    “I’m the idiot,” she said. “How could I have been so stupid?”

    Candace made Lucy stay with us. I laid a blanket across the sofa for myself and Lucy climbed in bed with Candace, though I’m not sure