Free Bearly Enough by W.H. Vega Page B

crowded inside her mind, tumbling, and
she couldn’t make sense of anything.
    She needed to sleep.
    Or needed a drink.
    One or the other.
    Or both.
    And now what?
    She was being held prisoner. How long were they going to
keep her locked in this room? They couldn’t possibly keep her locked in here
forever. And what must Gabby and everyone be thinking? Her wedding had been
ruined.
    Lucy went to the door again, yanking and tugging against it.
“Let me out!” she cried. “You can’t keep me locked up here.”
    She banged against the door again and again, until her side
felt bruised and her lungs were hoarse from yelling.
    Weak and defeated, she practically crawled to the bed. She
sank onto the mattress, pulling the covers up. Her body ached and she wanted to
cry, but even that would take too much energy.
    She sank into a deep and fitful sleep.
     
     

Chapter Fourteen

     
     
    When Lucy awoke, the light was different in the room, and
she sat up in fear, forgetting where she was.
    The night came rushing back to her and she felt so dizzy
with sickness and fear that she had to close her eyes, willing it not to be
true. When the wave of nausea passed, she sat up and looked around the room.
Someone must have entered the room at some point because a tray now sat on the
floor, and she hurried out of bed.
    The tray contained a big glass of water, as well as a glass
of orange juice. There were two pieces of cold, buttered toast as well as
slices of bacon, an apple, and a granola bar.
    Not stopping to think, she sat cross-legged on the floor and
devoured the food, polishing off the water and then the orange juice.
    Once her belly was full, she was able to think more clearly.
But more pressing matters demanded her attention.
    “Excuse me!” she shouted angrily, knocking on the door. “I
need a bathroom!”
    She waited, bouncing from foot to foot. If someone didn’t
open this door soon, she was going to be forced to pee on the floor.
    “Hello?” she demanded, feeling more like herself despite the
circumstances. She heard steps come up the stairs and the doorknob clicked as
it was unlocked.
    It opened slowly, and there stood Stone, looking exhausted
and worn, still wearing the same ratty sweatpants he had been given last night.
    “Lucy,” he said, his voice filled with emotion.
    She forced a steely gaze. “The bathroom?” she asked coldly.
    He nodded and beckoned for her to follow him down the hall.
He paused in front of a door and Lucy went in, holding her head high. She came
out a moment later and looked at Stone, refusing to let herself feel anything.
    “My dress is ruined and dirty,” she said flatly. “Am I
allowed a shower?” After that she was going to get the hell out of there, no
matter what it took.
    Stone hesitated for just a second. “Of course you can
shower.” He looked around as if he wasn’t sure what to do. “I can find you some
new clothes and leave them in the bathroom for you.”
    Lucy narrowed her eyes. “Fine.” She slammed the door in his
face.
    “Stupid asshole,” she muttered, unhooking her beautiful,
ruined dress and letting it fall to the floor. She wanted to cry and scream but
she needed her energy and she needed to focus. She didn’t know what was going
on, or what Stone even was, but she had learned after years of living
with her mother that she just had to lay low and survey the situation before
acting.
    Once she stripped off her clothes, she stepped into the
shower and let the hot water wash over her body. It felt amazing, and she tilted
her face up to the showerhead, closing her eyes as the water rained down over
her face. She found a bar of soap and began vigorously scrubbing at her skin.
The soap smelled faintly of mint and left her skin tingling.
    There wasn’t much choice in shampoo, but she would have to
make do. She washed her hair, shampooing it twice since there was no
conditioner, and she raked her fingers through her long locks, pulling at the
knots.
    She heard the