Between Two Girls

Chapter 21

"Um, I guess we can do both," Paige answers. "In case we need a break from the project."

"That works for me." Lucy notices the stack of books Paige's carrying. "Oh. You brought some research."

"That's the upside of being a bookworm." Lucy laughs and tells Paige that she'll be right back. She heads into the house, and Kip is staring up at Paige.

"Can we get a puppy like that?" Juli asks. "Please? I can take care of it."

"How? By using Paige?" Emery asks.

"Exactly!"

"No, Juli," Paige says. "We're not getting a puppy."

Lucy returns with a couple of books and a notebook. She hands the notebook to Paige and sits down on the ground cross-legged. Kip goes up to Lucy and sits on her lap. She distractedly scratches the corgi behind the ears as she opens a book and rifles through the pages. "I'm thinking that we can go through the books," Lucy starts, "and we'll write down the important facts in the notebook. As soon as we're finished, we can put it together."

"Sounds good." Paige sits down next to Lucy and grabs a different book. She opens it just as Juli pipes up.

"You should get her talking," the party animal says. "Maybe you can find some things you two have in common."

"They already have something in common," Emery says. "They both love to read."

"But that's it! Not a lot of couples stay together because of the one thing they have in common," Juli argues.

"You'd be surprised, actually."

Paige tunes them out as she takes the notebook and writes down a fact she thinks might help. She looks at Lucy and sees the ink again.

"Oooh, you should ask her about the tattoo!" Juli exclaims. "I wanna know the back story about it."

"Are you that desperate to have Paige and Lucy talking?" Emery asks.

"No! Well, maybe. But not about the tattoo. I want to know about it."

Paige hears a sigh from the sage. "If Paige asks, will you be quiet for the rest of the time they have?"

Juli scoffs. "How long have you known me? I'm never quiet."

"Yeah, I noticed," Emery deadpans.

"So, um, what's with the tattoo?" Paige asks, interrupting both the voices and the quiet time. Lucy looks up, and Paige feels nervous for bringing it up.

Lucy looks at her thigh. "Oh, this?" she asks. She lifts up the shorts and reveals a pair of angel wings. Paige turns slightly red at how much of Lucy's bare legs she's seeing. "I got this last year," Lucy adds.

Paige raises an eyebrow. "I didn't know there are tattoo parlors that service people under 18," she says.

"That's where the invention of fake IDs comes in," Lucy explains. She leaves the tattoo exposed and gently gets Kip off her lap.

"Is, is there a back story behind it or something?" the bookworm asks.

Lucy purses her lips. "I, uh, had a friend," she starts. "We met at a city, and we hit it off, I guess. We were close since then via internet. She was an awesome person to hang out with. And," she stops suddenly. She takes a deep breath and continues, "after being friends for a couple years, she, um, said that she's moving from where she lived to here."

"I have a feeling this story isn't going to end well," Emery says.

"Shhh, we're getting to it," Juli stage-whispers.

"While she was going through the transfer," Lucy continues, "she, um, got mugged. She didn't have what the person wanted, so he stabbed her in the stomach and ran from the scene." Paige can see Lucy's bottom lip tremble. "By the time she was found, it was too late. She was already gone." She looks down at the tattoo with sadness in her eyes.

Paige blinks a couple of times. "I'm, so sorry," she says hesitantly. "I didn't know that happened."

"No one knows about it," Lucy says. "I didn't tell anyone that I knew the 'girl on the news.'"

"So, you got a tattoo to remember her?" Paige asks.

"Um, kind of." Lucy runs her fingers over the wings. "I figured she'd be wearing wings in heaven. And if she didn't, I got a pair in case she wanted it."

"That's . . . so sweet," Emery says. "She's such a devoted friend."

"I think I'm going to cry," Juli announces.

"Really?"

"OK, probably not. But that is a sad story."

Lucy pulls the shorts over the ink. "So, um, I think we should get back to work," she says.

"Um, yeah. I guess so." Paige turns to another page in the book. She writes something down in the notebook, and then gives it to Lucy when Lucy was making a gesture that she needs it. They keep going back and forth with the writing until the sky turns dark and the facts are all written down for their use.