Lucy Lahey trusted the man she was dating, and it turned out to be her biggest mistake. Reeling in the aftermath of a rape that stole not only her virginity, but her confidence, her love for MMA, her clarity and more, Lucy now finds herself in Jerse...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dad and I go out for lunch on Friday. It's the first time we've been out for a casual meal since I arrived. Subia's Vegan Cafe is a red brick building on a corner with a short black steel fence surrounding outdoor tables and chairs.
We sit outside, the weather is mild, warm enough to enjoy the breeze but cool enough for a hoodie. Dad is casual for the first time in a while. He's been busy at work for the last two days, catching up on what he'd fallen behind on while he hung around at home with me for the first half of the week.
Casual for dad is a hoodie and slacks. The waitress who sets down our food looks to be in her late twenties and I have to hold down bile when she gives him a flirtatious smile and asks if he'd like dessert. We both know what dessert she's talking about. Shoot your shot girl, but does it have to be my dad, while I'm sitting right here?
He politely declines and she leaves us alone. Dad has a coconut corn chowder soup, it smells incredible, even if it sounds disgusting. My California Dreamin burger though, delicious. At this point, I can't see why I shouldn't become a full time vegan.
Chewing on a fry, I scroll through the comments on my latest Instagram post. It's a photo of Niles and I at Liberty state on Wednesday. We're standing in front of the water, his chin on my head because he's so tall and our smiles are infectious.
The part that made me happiest was that he forgave me for the mess I made at homecoming. He could've decided I was too much drama, but he let it go, it was a relief I hadn't realised I needed.
The comments range from:
Is that your new man?
To:
Ooh he's hot.
And the ones in between talk about how they're glad to see I'm doing well in Jersey City. There's even a heart emoji from Coach, that surprises me. The success of the post encourages me to upload the homecoming photo we took in the living room. Niles is so tall next to me, dapper in his suit and the rose I'm holding is the sweet splash of color needed among our black outfits. I'd been hesitant about uploading this photo because of how the night went. But I can pretend it was a total success. No one knows the truth.
"Excited to go back to school next week?" Dad asks, his spoon halfway to his mouth.
"No."
"How come?"
I put my phone down and bite into my burger in attempt to stall answering, perhaps if I chew for long enough, he'll forget he asked. No such luck, he patiently waits and raises an expectant brow when I swallow my food.
"Because," I say. "I don't really have any friends and I pretty much ruined the homecoming dance. People are probably pissed."
"Nah," he waves me off. "It was like, a week ago. Everyone's forgotten. It's high school. There's a thousand more dramas that have happened since then."
