One Wild Night

"Is there any need to take his pair of their matching outfits?" Janet asked her husband as she stared at a pair of matching shoes belonging to both Lucas and Rachel on their shoe rack.

"Yes, let's take whatever belongs to him. If he feels the need to discard or destroy them, then doing so should give him a level of satisfaction. Let's not leave anything behind that belongs to him," Andrew called from the other side of the closet where he was sorting through the clothes.

They both worked in silence for some time as they gathered all that belonged to Lucas into separate boxes, and once they were done with the closet, they looked at each other, and Janet let out a sigh.

"Do you think he's going to be okay, Drew?" Janet asked, and Andrew gave her a nod.

"Sure, he will. All he needs right now is time. See how well Lucy turned out? Lucas will be fine too," Andrew assured her, and before she could respond, her phone, which was on the bedstand, rang out.

She reached for it and smiled when she saw that it was a call from Evelyn, "It's Evelyn," she told her husband as she received the call.

"Hello, Eve! Good morning," Janet greeted cheerfully, and Andrew mouthed to her that she should sort through the drawers for all the documents belonging to Lucas while he took the boxes to the car, and she gave him a nod as she moved the padded stool in front of the dressing table to the front of the nightstand.

"I'm sorry we didn't call to find out if you've arrived or settled in well," Evelyn said apologetically as she poured herself a glass of lemonade while she sat by the poolside, trying to get some alone time for herself.

"Oh, never mind that! I wasn't in the frame of mind to receive phone calls either, especially when we couldn't find Lucas upon our arrival..."

"Oh, dear! Have you seen or heard from him now?" Evelyn asked with concern.

"Yes, we have heard from him," Janet said as she lowered herself on the stool before pulling out the drawers on the nightstand.

"That's such a relief. How is he doing? I hope he's not too hard on himself?" Evelyn asked hopefully.

"I honestly can't answer that, Eve. I'm yet to see him. You know how these kids can be. He claims he is okay, but I'm not sure. I really don't know how he is feeling or what to do to help," Janet said with a weary sigh as she looked through the documents and took out whichever one had Lucas' name on it.

"You can start by not worrying too much about it. You won't do him or yourself any good if you fall sick because you're worrying too much. I know how difficult this must be for you as a mother, but just let him be. Try to be cheerful whenever you speak with him. He needs only positive energy right now. You know, when my daughter lost her boyfriend, I was very worried about her too. It was all I could do not to move in with her because I was scared she might attempt to take her life or harm herself. Desmond advised I let her be. And whenever we spoke with her, we never really bugged her by trying to know how she was doing. It wasn't easy, but Desmond insisted we let her deal with her grief the best way she could. Although it took a lot of time, but she's fine now. You can also ask him to let you know if there's anything you can help him do," Evelyn suggested before taking a sip from her glass of lemonade.

"I'm trying to do that. As a matter of fact, we are at the apartment he shared with that brat. We are helping him move his stuff."

"That's fine. That should help keep you distracted for a while. You can also just soak all her fancy clothes in the bathtub and stuff her shoes in the toilet too," Evelyn suggested, and Janet laughed.

"I think I will take that advice. How are you? I learned you left Ludus yesterday. How was your trip? Have you settled in? How is Desmond?" Janet asked, and Evelyn smiled.

"Everything is alright over here. We had to stop by Sogal to handle some family business at Bryan's end. Although Sonia isn't feeling very well, so we will be here until the weekend before leaving for Heden. We hope to meet you both when we get there," Evelyn said, and Janet smiled.

"Sure, you will. What's wrong with Sonia? I hope it isn't too serious?" Janet asked with concern as she opened a file to confirm whose it was, and she flung it across the room when she saw it belonged to Rachel.

"She was down with flu, but I think she's feeling much better today. Desmond and I just want to hang around to make sure she's okay before leaving," Evelyn explained, and Janet was glad that both her girls had people like Evelyn and Desmond in their lives.

"That's so nice of you. Thank you. I will give her a call later. Hopefully, by the time you get back, things will have settled a bit with the kids, and we can all relax without having to worry too much," Janet said as she watched her husband return to the bedroom to pick up two more boxes.

"Sure. By the way, I was thinking. How about we sign up at the same yoga school? We can be partners and attend the classes together. I've been inconsistent with my classes because Desmond is always reluctant to go with me. He claims it's for women, not men," Evelyn said, and Janet laughed softly.

"Andrew shares that sentiment too. Perhaps they can both sign up at the same gym. That way, they can also work out together," Janet suggested, and Evelyn bobbed her head.

"Yeah, I thought of that. If the distance is too much, we can just find one between our place and yours. That way, neither of us has to travel a long distance," Evelyn said, and Janet nodded in agreement.

"I agree with you. Let's decide on that after you get back," Janet suggested when Andrew came in to get the last set of boxes.

"Alright, say hello to Andrew. And don't forget to dump the brat's clothes in water. If possible, you can leave the taps running. I don't know about you, but doing that would make me feel better," Evelyn advised, and Janet laughed out loud.

"I should get to it now before Andrew tries to stop me. Thanks for calling, Eve. I feel much better," Janet said, and Evelyn smiled as she hung up the call and turned to Desmond, who had just joined her.

Janet had an evil smile on her face as she dropped her phone on the dressing table and went to fill the bathtub with water.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked when he returned to the room and saw her sorting through Rachel's clothes.

"Are you done?" Janet asked without answering his question.

"Yes. So what are you doing?" Andrew asked once again.

"I will tell you about it later. Why don't you go around the house one more time and see if we are leaving anything behind while I finish up here?" Janet asked as she escorted Andrew to the door while he eyed her suspiciously.

"Jane?" Andrew asked, but she shoved him out.

"It's best you don't know until I'm done. Don't worry. It's a woman thing," she assured him with a broad smile before shutting the door in his face.

Although she knew it was a petty thing to do, but that was the best she could do for now. Merely thinking about the look on Rachel's face when she finds all of Lucas' stuff gone, and sees her things in a mess, was enough to lift her spirit.

Janet picked all the major designer brands, and once she was sure the tub was filled with water, she stuffed both clothes, shoes, and hang bags into the tub and then poured all the items in Rachel's jewelry box into the toilet.

If the jewelry were very important to her, then she should dip her filthy hands into the toilet and get them out. Once she was done, she smiled in satisfaction and returned to the dressing table. She took out Rachel's red lipstick and returned to the bathroom, where she wrote on the full-length mirror that covered one side of the bathroom.

"THIS IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU DESERVE FOR TRYING TO COME BETWEEN MY CHILDREN."

Satisfied, she returned to organize all of Lucas' documents into an empty box, and then she picked up her phone before opening the door to let Andrew, who was still waiting by the door, into the bedroom.

"What did you do?" Andrew asked as he walked past her to see what she had done.

Janet followed behind as he went straight to the closet, and when he couldn't find the clothes she had been packing a moment ago, he went to the bathroom, and he blinked in surprise when he saw the disaster his wife had done.

He looked back at her, and he saw the satisfied sparkle in her eyes, "Does this make you feel better?" He asked, and she gave him a nod.

"For now, yes."

Andrew took out his phone and snapped a couple of photos, "When you start feeling upset again, you should look at these pictures," he said before turning on the tap at the sink, making Janet laugh happily as she let him lead her out of the bathroom. He stopped by the nightstand to pick up the box containing the documents before leading her out of the apartment.

By the time they arrived at their home and Janet opened the door, she was pleasantly surprised to see Lucas standing by the door.

"Oh, Luc!" She exclaimed as she went to embrace him, "I'm so happy to see you. How are you feeling now? You've lost so much weight," She observed, and Lucas smiled as he embraced her back.

"I'm alright. I've been waiting for a while. Where are you coming from?" Lucas asked curiously.

"We went to get your stuff from the apartment as you requested," Janet explained just as Andrew walked in carrying two boxes.

"Let me take that from you," Lucas offered as he rose to take the box from his father.

"If you feel that strong, why not get the other boxes from the car?" Andrew asked, and Lucas chuckled as he went out to get the other boxes.

Both Andrew and Janet had agreed to take Evelyn's advice and act normally towards him. If they all behaved like it all wasn't a big deal, then he would also believe so and wouldn't dwell too much on it.

While Andrew and Lucas brought in the remaining boxes, Janet quickly fixed something for them to eat, and by the time both men were done and had freshened up, the table was set for lunch.

"So, are you back for good now?" Janet asked hopefully as they ate.

"No, I'm not. I came to see you and to let you know that I'm fine so you don't have to worry about me. I also wanted to pick some of the stuff I would need. I'm going on a vacation," Lucas said, and his parents nodded.

"A vacation is a good idea. There is nothing like a change of environment to clear your head. Do you have any particular destination in mind?" Andrew asked, and when Lucas shook his head.

"I think I will start by stopping at Ludus to see Lucy for a moment before leaving," Lucas rushed to say before his parents could start suggesting different places he could visit.

"Oh, that's very good. I'm sure Lu would love that very much," Janet said with a pleased smile.

Lucas cleared his throat as he looked at them with a serious expression in his eyes, "I'm deeply sorry for all the pain and heartache that my wrong choice of a girlfriend has caused us all," Lucas said, and Janet waved it off dismissively.

"Oh, c'mon! None of that is your fault. You don't have to apologize for it. When the time is right, Rachel will be sorry for messing with us, I promise you," she said, and Andrew chuckled as he scrolled through his phone before handing it to Lucas.

"Look what your mom did to her stuff," he said, and Lucas' eyes rounded in surprise when he saw Rachel's favorite limited edition handbag soaking in the bathtub alongside her very expensive clothes.

"Mom! You shouldn't have done this. She's going to be very mad when she sees this," Lucas observed with concern even though for some reason, the thought of Rachel being mad and pained made his lips twitch.

"Definitely not as mad as I am at her, I assure you. She must know better than to do anything stupid. Don't worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. Just focus on yourself, okay?" Janet said, and Lucas gave her a nod.

"Listen to your mom, and don't worry about anything, okay? Do everything healthy you need to do to heal, and we'll be here waiting for you when you get back," Andrew said as he slapped Lucas' back fondly.

"I will. Thank you very much. I have already booked my flight. I'll be leaving for Ludus tonight, and if for any reason I change my line, I will let you know first," he promised.

Apart from the fact that he wanted to hand Rachel's phone to Lucy before leaving, he also wanted to apologize to her properly before leaving. A phone conversation wasn't good enough. He needed to look into her eyes as he apologized to her. He needed to be sure she was as fine as she claimed. That was the only way he would be okay enough to forgive himself and put it all behind him.

*******

Author's Note:

I couldn't skip to the next week as planned because I realized there are certain things I need to take care of. I will let you know when I skip, so I don't leave you confused. Much love.