Cabriolet

LUCY NIELSEN
Lucy nodded as Killian started for the door into the house. From a psychological stand point, it probably wasn't healthy, the way he was so tied to the work he did, but she wasn't going to lecture him. Not when they had spent a fairly pleasant afternoon avoiding the uncomfortable status quo of their relationship. The fighting had stopped, and she wasn't looking to renew it, just to get in a word of advice Killian wouldn't listen to, anyway.

As he disappeared up the stairs and she watched him go with a quick shake of her head, she opened the backseat of the car to grab her duffel bag out. Entering the house, she followed in Killian's wake to the guest room, and depositing her bag by the door, she rifled through it for the swimsuit she had packed.

An afternoon by the pool, doing absolutely nothing of value... The control freak in her was hard to kill, but if anything could do it, it was that lazy, lackadaisical relaxation. Changing into the swimsuit and taking her book and sunglasses, she made her way back downstairs and along the path through the kitchen to the back door, leading to the outdoor pool. There was a pair of lounge chairs, and selecting one, Lucy lay back, sunglasses on, and cracked open the novel, thumbing to the first page.

By mid-afternoon, she had churned through ten chapters, her reached a point in the novel where stopping was nearly impossible. A few times, she had transitioned between the lounge and pool, but riveted, glued to the page, she ceased even that, her skin bronzing beneath the hot sun overhead, eyes glued to the pages with anticipation and thrill.
 
Killian Hopper
"You look bad," said Maria as Killian ambled into the kitchen, shuffling his feet and rubbing his hand across his face. He grunted in gratitude to her welcoming comment as he ripped open the fridge to find one of Liliana's coconut waters. He hated the stuff, but she swore by it, telling him to drink it whenever he was sick. He always refused, perhaps out of his own stubbornness, but now that she wasn't there, he cracked open the top and sipped it. He slid into one of the breakfast bar stools and sighed.

"Admittedly, I'm not feeling that great." Part of it was probably the fact he'd just slept away the entire afternoon and was groggy, but it was deeper than that. He was genuinely not feeling particularly well. His stomach churned with acid, and his head spun. He kept taking small sips of that terrible tasting coconut water, wondering if it actually would end up helping him. "I started to feel lousy after lunch actually. I just think it's the usual not working thing."

"Let me cook you some dinner, eh? Food will always help."

Killian could only vehemently shake his head. He was still full from lunch, and his appetite was not what it usually was. "I'm sure Lucy will want some dinner eventually, but I don't." To this, Maria frowned, but was already pulling out pots and pans to beginning her afternoon preparations

"But I'll be gone tomorrow," she reminded him, slamming down the pot on the burner. "So, I'll make sure there are leftovers for you both. I know you, you would not eat."

Killian cracked a lazy grin as he sipped his water again. "You're probably right about that," he agreed. "Where is Lucy, anyways? Have you seen her?" Maria only shook her head as she began to slice onions and a pepper, causing Killian to lean back on his stool to glance down the hall, wondering where that little mind doctor had run off to for so long.

 
LUCY NIELSEN
The son of a bitch betrayed his own fiance... She'd seen it coming, and yet somehow it was still infuriating...

Nearly throwing the novel across the patio, Lucy rose in fury, pushing her sunglasses up on her head with a huff. The ending had been less than satisfactory, and having engulfed it in such a short period of time, she felt dizzy with frustration. Shaking her head, she grabbed the cover up to her swimsuit and sliding it on, made her way back to the patio door. There wasn't much left to do but go inside and hope for a better result with the second novel that evening.

Pausing in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes, adjusting to the sun-blindness, shifted to Killian and a soft frown formed on her lips, as she took in the sight of him slumped back on a stool.

"...Hey. You okay?" Her gaze twitched to Maria, noting the same subtle expression of concern as the woman concentrated on her vegetables. He had mentioned his time off left him feeling drained and sometimes even ill, but the discoloration of his skin, nearly sallow, and the rim of red around his eyes seemed extreme, even considering this. Stepping fully into the kitchen, she reached out and gently pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, "Pretty warm, too."
 
Killian Hopper
"I'm fine," Killian clarified when Lucy marched into the kitchen and pressed her hand to his forehead, just like his mother would have done. "I'm just a little under the weather, is all." He wasn't terrible, he thought. A little off colour and warm, but he felt tolerably okay. A cold, perhaps, or something else equally unimportant in the grand scheme of things. He sipped his water down until he finished the bottle and tossed it into the recycling bin, all without getting up from his stool.

"I always get this way with time off of work, even on vacations. As I said before, my body is all about routine." And nothing ruined his routine quite like not going to work. He wasn't even sure if it was the routine of waking up, going to work, coming home so much as the innate need to feel like he had a purpose in life. Currently, he felt useless, and he didn't like it. He was giving Lucy a place to stay, which was a start, but it didn't change the fact that she could have been at the house without him. His hands needed to do something, to work, to feel like there was purpose.

"I'll be fine in a day or two," he clarified once more, deciding the coconut water was not the miracle cure Liliana might have claimed, though it tasted better and better the more he drank it. "I just need to get away from the house and do something tomorrow, I think."

He didn't know what, exactly. It wasn't like there was a ton to do. As he thought, his mobile vibrated on the counter and he went to pick it up, reading through a text several times before responding and returning his phone face down on the counter.

"Fix the car," Maria suggested, to which Killian just snorted a 'no.'

"What about you? Any plans for tomorrow?" he asked, turning his eyes to Lucy and glancing her up and down once. "Have a nice afternoon by the pool?" She'd gotten some sun that afternoon, he noted. Her skin was flushed with a radiant pink that could only come from a bit of sunbathing.

 
LUCY NIELSEN
However reminiscent of a mother she might have been in that moment, Lucy wasn't one, and certainly not Killian's. So when he said he was fine, she let it go without pushing the issue. He knew himself well enough, and if there were grounds for concern, he didn't seem the type to try and push through them for reasons of shear arrogance. Maria seemed to think it wasn't worth pursuing, either, and moved on to the car again, to with Lucy smiled faintly.

As Killian looked to her, she nodded, "Yeah. It was nice, actually. I mean, until my book was completely ruined by a crappy, predictable ending. But it's gorgeous out, and the water was perfect. I don't think I've gotten a suntan in a long time." Chuckling, she shrugged, "Killian tells me your son is graduating tomorrow, Maria? Please give him my congratulations." Settling on the stool beside Killian, she set her disappointment of a book down and sighed.

"Maria's right. You should work on the car. You won't have time like this again to figure it out, and it's not like you're the type of person who gives up on something. You know if you sell it without figure out the issue, you're gonna think about it for the rest of your life. Besides, maybe sweating out in the garage, you'll start feeling better. And hey... work is work, even if it's with your hands, right?" Smiling faintly, she shrugged, "I can keep you company, if you want. I'm ruined for reading anymore right now, anyway."
 
Killian Hopper
"Yes," Maria replied when Lucy inquired about her son. She smiled, weary, and nodded. "Yes, I will let him know, though I don't think he knows who you are. I am sure he'll be happy either way, though." She glanced up only for a moment, before returning back to what she was doing, humming softly over the sizzle of veggies sautéing in a pan with some butter.

Killian, meanwhile, leaned back and rested his elbows against the counter, raising his brows at Lucy as she began to join in on Maria's singing about the car. He didn't like it, not one bit, having two women barraging him in tandem. Normally, Liliana didn't take sides in his and Maria's playful little spats, preferring instead to remain neutral on all matters. Lucy did not seem to be that type of woman. More importantly, he couldn't argue her points, and that frustrated him. Sighing, he swept a hand through his hair, which was a little sticky with sweat from his body's excess heat.

"Alright, fine," he agreed reluctantly. "We can see what we get done tomorrow, then it's going up for sale." He doubted he'd be able to get it running in only one afternoon. He had some extra parts lying around from when he'd been ambitious about getting it fixed, but he wasn't sure he had all and everything he'd need. Nevertheless, it would give him something to do, but he made his intentions of selling the car known. "Sorry about the book though," he commented with a shrug. "You know about the library, right? You can go find more books from there, if you want, though I doubt there are any romance novels in there."

He smirked and shrugged, only guessing that's what she'd read. He didn't know for sure, but she seemed like the type who enjoyed romances. "You into those… Fifty Shades of Grey style movies, Lucy? Sorry to disappoint, but I should remind you my last name is Hopper, not Grey, though I am rich and devilishly handsome. I even have a fun room… wanna see it?"
 
LUCY NIELSEN
She took it as a small victory when he didn't offer an argument in return, though she resisted the urge to gloat as she turned instead back to watching Maria prepare her food. There didn't seem to be many people in Killian's life who cared about his well being, but the housekeeper was certainly one and it was nice to see. Nice to know that eventually, when Lucy moved on from his life, Killian would have someone else to keep him from complete isolation of work. Though she had to wonder if Killian did pack up and move away, what would happen to Maria... Would she move as well? Upset her entire family and go to an island, just to care for Killian's house?

Glancing over to Killian again as he continued, she grinned a little, shaking her head at his suggestion about the library, "I'll have to take a look. You do still owe me a tour, after all. Though romance isn't my genre. I prefer thrillers or a good mystery. Something with meat to it. Though better written than this garbage." Rolling her eyes, she pushed the book a little further away, as if its proximity alone was offensive to her.

But as Killian went on once more, a brow lifted and while the grin didn't fade, there was an air of surprise to her expression that quickly melted into a note of mischief... damn near flirtatious, though not quite reaching that point on purpose, "Ah, I think I had enough Fifty Shades action earlier this week.. not my style." Gesturing to the bruises, she shrugged, before looking him over again, curiously, "What makes you think you're even my type, Mr. Hopper? That's awfully presumptuous." Grinning, she pushed back from the stool and rose to her feet, looking at him with a shake of her head, "Interesting, though. I wasn't aware you knew how to have fun." With a wink, she stepped away, "I'm gonna get dressed. Try not to die..."
 
Killian Hopper
"Hm, yea, I guess I do," he agreed when she reminded him of the tour he was instructed to take her on, a tour which never happened because he spent the bulk of his afternoon sleeping. His eyes fell on the book she shoved away with a frown and an insult, and he merely shrugged. "Dunno. I don't read fiction much." He enjoyed reading and did so often, because it felt important to do so, but rarely on fictious tales. He'd rather spend his time learning and packing useful information into his brain, rather than wasting an afternoon reading about some thief and copper playing a long-winded game of cat and mouse. Maybe he'd learn to appreciate fiction in retirement, though he didn't really plan to retire, either.

He glanced over Maria's sauté pan, as if to inspect what she was making, but didn't open his mouth to say anything. She worked diligently, pacing between the counter and the fridge, bringing with her ingredients as she went. Meanwhile, Lucy made a grand declaration from behind him. "Money," he said, "opens all doors. Everyone can be bought for the right price, and don't tell me you can't. You can, so can I." He shot her a glance over his shoulder. Despite his disagreement to Liliana's assessment that coconut water was the cure all, he was feeling a little bit better, though not well enough to have an appetite and when a particularly strong whiff of garlic hit him, he had to recoil as his stomach churned violently and knotted in his throat.

"Yea, good luck with that," he called after her as Lucy disappeared from the kitchen. "Maria says dinner is soon. Don't be gone long."

Killian thought he was hungry, but every time he smelled the cooking meal, his stomach soured even more. Eventually, he had to get up form the breakfast bar and recede further into the kitchen, to the sink, to fetch a glass of water to help soothe his stomach.

"You should open some wine," Maria said, watching him from the corner of her eye. "It'll help."

"Wine?" He raised a quizzical brow. "Wine will help with a cold?" There were worse treatments and home remedies he'd been suggested in the past and, ultimately, he shrugged and pulled a bottle of red from the wine cabinet, quick to uncork it and pour a small sample into a wine glass. He sniffed it, surprised his stomach didn't immediately upturn, and took a sip.


 
LUCY NIELSEN
Lucy grinned as she walked away, shaking her head at his words. Maybe to an extent they were true... people were easily bought, though not always by money. Manipulation was easy... once you knew a person's triggers. But emotional manipulation? That was where the brunt of people fell. She had seen people do great and terrible things for someone they loved...

But while Killian was undoubtedly attractive, and she enjoyed his company, he was a man with a lot of baggage, and one piece of luggage bore a little more weight than the others. She could flirt and play around with the idea of him... but she would never be the other woman. Even if his girlfriend wasn't a stellar paragon of love and affection.

Making her way upstairs, she slid out of the coverup and swimsuit and dug inside her bag for something to wear, eventually settling on another sundress - this one white with red flowers. It occurred to her that her usual style of dress, far more professional and reserved, had gone out the window with her unscheduled time off, but looking in the mirror, she couldn't say she minded. She had gotten color from sitting outside, and the pop of pink in her skin played well off the bright red poppies, scattered across the white canvas. Her hair had dried to curls, which she pinned back with clips, and her lipstick reapplied gave a subtle, but attractive aesthetic.

Forgoing shoes, she made her way back downstairs to the kitchen, to find Killian with a bottle of red, "May I?"
 
Killian Hopper
"I dunno, you sure about this?" The wine felt like it was helping, but he couldn't believe alcohol would fix anything. It was the source of all hangovers, after all, and he struggled to equate cold medicine with wine. When Maria didn't answer, he kept sipping, settling back into his chair and deciding that if it didn't do anything else, at least it tasted good. Heat rose from his cheek and forehead, though he was thankful for the cooling temperatures of early evening. The sun was far from setting, but the midday intensity was beginning to wane, allowing the air conditioner to catch up and regulat the house's temperature better.

For that, he was glad. His back was slick with sweat and stickiness tacked the back of his neck, his forehead. The cool swirl of air helped, though his stomach wouldn't stop churning. At very least, the wine didn't make it any worse.

About halfway through his glass, he sighed and set it down. The dizziness was setting in a little bit more prominently and he decided to switch back to more coconut water. Fething another bottle from the fridge, he found sipping that didn't help either, but he was more liable to believe coconut water would help before wine.

His eyes drifted to the side as Lucy returned in a fresh change of clothes. She went for the wine and he waved her on with a small nod. "Of course, help yourself. You can finish it, if you'd like. I'm not really up to drinking anymore right now."

He considered taking a swim in the pool to help him cool off, but even that seemed unappealing. He wanted to do nothing… he didn't even want to go lay down in bed, but sitting in the kitchen was hardly his idea of a good time, either.

Each idea he contemplated was quickly dismissed. Shower? Couldn't bothered. Bath? He'd rather not. A jog? He couldn't even ambulate the house properly.

 
LUCY NIELSEN
Lucy glanced over to Killian as she poured the wine into an empty glass and a brow lifted. He still looked terrible, and the lethargy, it seemed, was catching, a contagious strain.. a trait, it seemed, in people who simply had no idea how to handle life outside of an office. She couldn't actually remember the last time she'd taken off voluntarily, really, and that was a pretty depressing thought. She told people all the time how important it was to take a break, yet here she was only a few days out of work and she was going mad.

Her afternoon in the sun left her exhausted, like a lazy cat that had spent the entire day sleeping. But she wasn't lazy... She was a hard working, independent woman, and this was something she should have been able to handle without the gnawing pressure. Sinking onto a stool, she sighed softly, pulling a long sip from the glass. The wine was good, if not a bit dry, and licking her lips, she set down the glass again.

"Okay. This is ridiculous. Come on, up with you. You said this happened last time you had time off? Well, it's ridiculous. We are grown adults. There is absolutely no reason on earth we shouldn't be able to handle an impromptu vacation." Rising, taking her glass with her, she nodded, "So. Tour, car or a western. Your pick, Mr. Hopper." The corner of her lip twitched up and she shrugged, "Or you can show me that ... what did you call it? Fun room? Hell... it's something to do, right?" Starting for the door, she glanced back over her shoulder and her nose crinkled with a smile, "That last one was a joke, by the way."
 
Killian Hopper
"Ugh, what? Why?" he whined at her demanding nature, crinkling his nose at her. The last thing he wanted to do was get up and amble around the house, but it didn't seem like she was taking no as an answer and he sighed, slipping off his bar seat. "I'm fine. I'd be perfectly happy to be left alone." He didn't like her word choice of 'ridiculous,' however, and decided who couldn't live such a horrible term down. She gave him only a few options, and with his muscles dully aching, the car was out immediately. He didn't even want to work on it to begin with.

He also quickly cancelled the Western movie, deciding that flashing lights and surround sound wasn't going to help his headache. "I really do have a fun room," he remarked, "and it's not a joke, but it's not what you think." He did have a fun room, even called it such, though it wasn't exactly Fifty Shade of Grey style. "Come on, I'll show you." Lucy had already started for the kitchen door into the landing, and he followed, overtaking her to take the lead.

He led her down the main stairs that led into the ground level, but instead of hanging a left to head towards the pool room, he kept on straight, past the movie theater, and came to the last door on the left. The door, left slightly ajar, was pushed open and he stepped into his fun room. The fun room was a personal arcade—dozens of old school arcade games, all lined up in a dark room. Their screens flashed, ready to play without token or coin. It was a child's paradise. Beyond the games was a popcorn machine, a cotton candy machine, another liquor bar.

"I used to be really into games," he admitted. "I'd go to our local arcade when I was a kid. Had the high score in Pac Man all through primary school." He'd built the 'fun room' on a nostalgic whim, and as a space to entertain Maria's kids when they came to visit while she worked. "You can play any of them you like. None of them require money, or anything." Though they still had the coin slots from when they were actually installed in true arcades.

"I had DDR in here, too, but I hated the sound of it so much, I got rid of it."

 
LUCY NIELSEN
She expected him to protest, really... to ignore her, even, and continue sulking at the island. But instead, surprising her once again, he rose and offered to show her the room he had teased her about earlier. For a second or two, she wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but he didn't strike her as the sort to possess any kind of intriguing passions or fetishes, and she the concern dissolved as she followed him out of the kitchen.

What he did show her, incidentally, was somehow more surprising than a room filled with whips and chains might have been. Staring at the make-shift arcade, she blinked for a moment, words stolen away by all the flashing lights and blinking, tinny music. Slowly, a smile spread to her lips and looking at him, she shook her head, "If you had put a list of things in front of me that I though Killian Hopper would ever have in his home, I would never in a million years expect this."

Laughing, she stepped further into the room, looking around with an awestruck expression, "This is fantastic." She was, by no means, a frivolous person, but she wasn't aware of anyone in the world who didn't enjoy a good go on a classic arcade game. Stepping to the Pac Man machine, she beamed, glancing over her shoulder at him, "You said you had the high score when you were younger... You still any good?"
 
Killian Hopper
"Yea, it's alright," he agreed, standing near the threshold with his hands up on his sides. "To be honest, you didn't seem to think me very human at all, but I'm just like everyone else. I have whims, and a childhood. I just have money to bring it all to life," he admitted with a shrug. He was confident many adults would have had a childhood arcade in their home if they could afford. The mere difference between him and them was money. It probably was frivolous to own, but Killian had given up on being frugal many years back.

His eyes trailed behind Lucy as she traversed the floor to one of several versions of Pac Man. Several names scrolled through the high score board, with 'KIL' being at the top. It wasn't hard to guess who that acronym belonged to, though the date of the score was several years long past. "Honestly? I dunno. I haven't played in a few years." The only people who had been playing in the arcade the last few years were guests' kids, and Maria's kids. Most the rest of the time, the room was turned off and forgotten about.

"Was that a proposal to play?" he asked, finally willing his feet to step across the room and come up behind her, peering down at the old glass screen now lit up with a demo of game play. "Because you can't just go up to a King and challenge him. You need to prove your worthiness as an opponent. I'm not going to come out of Pac Man retirement for nothing."

Liliana never liked the game room. She found it childish and "a way to not let go of the past," which she deemed to be an unhealthy thing for an adult man. Maybe it was. Lucy hadn't lectured him a while, and perhaps she thought the same thing, but had just learned to keep her mouth shut. "You don't think this is all, oh, I dunno, a little immature?" Truthfully, he didn't care about her answer all that deeply. She could think of it, and of him, however she pleased, but that didn't sate his curiosity. When they'd first met, he'd thought she and Liliana thought exactly the same, now he wasn't so sure.
 
LUCY NIELSEN
Looking over at him, she couldn't exactly argue his suggestion. She had never thought him less than human, perhaps, but certainly the thought had occurred to her that he was, perhaps, little more than that. He seemed stoic and frigid, indomitably business-minded, and unwilling to compromise. So seeing a side of him that was so innocent, so ordinary was jarring. But not unpleasantly...

The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile, warming her features as she shook her head, "Oh, no... That wasn't a proposal. I'm calling you out. But if you're scared I might beat you... Hm." Turning to the machine again, she eyed the top score, "Well, I mean... I can understand not wanting to lose." In truth, it had been years since she had even entertained the idea of something so utterly childish, so without purpose. She could feel the strands of control slowly unraveling, could see herself slipping away from the status quo she had so firmly established. And for just a little while, she didn't care. Control had gotten her no where, and she had the bruises to show for it...

"Immature? Of course it is..." Looking back at him again, she shrugged, and her own words surprised her a little, for the authority she felt behind them, "But who cares? What is life, if you can't let go and have a little immature fun now and then? I think that's the problem... we're all trying too hard to pretend we don't want something because someone's told us we shouldn't. Well, to hell with that. I'm gonna beat your top score... unless you can stop me."

Setting her wine glass down on the ground and whipping back to the screen, she gingerly cracked her knuckles, before she pressed the start button, her fingers roving over the controls with a fixed attentiveness.
 
Killian Hopper
He snorted at her answer because he knew that wasn't what she would have said even a week ago. It was like she really had done a complete one-eighty since her run in with their mutual cop friend, but then, he supposed near-death experiences had a way of changing a person. He'd never believed it could so dramatically, but the proof was right before his eyes, at least for the time being. He wondered if that would stay, or if she'd slowly revert back to her old ruts. It was easy to change for a short amount of time when you were away from everything you knew: your living space, your usual acquaintances…

He narrowed his eyes and studied her for just a moment before ultimately deciding it wasn't any of his business and he didn't really care what Lucy ended up doing in the long haul of life. Killian propped his weight against one of the nearby machines, rolling his wrist at her lazily. "Go for it," he remarked, her words not rousing any sense of competitiveness in him. When it came to rivalry, he cared about money, numbers. Things like a game score wouldn't faze him, and he didn't want to indulge her pleasure any further than it already would be if she actually did beat his score.

"I don't think you would have said that a while back. You would have told me: Killian, this is all frivolous and silly," he mused, cocking his head to one side and closing his eyes and a swimming headache pulsed behind his eyes for a few moments, reminding him that he wasn't at his greatest. The sounds weren't particularly soothing, but they weren't any worse than the sound of sautéing onions, funny enough.

"How is that score beating venture going for you, by the by?" he asked, cracking his eyes open again, though his vision taking on a blurry fuzziness, the numbers meaning nothing to him.

 
LUCY NIELSEN
As she played, her eyes focused on the screen, she listened, shaking her head with a coy smile at his presumptions. They weren't entirely wrong, but she wasn't about to admit that out loud. It still bothered her, a little, how Killian seemed to read her like a book. He had, the moment that they met, and if he had chosen his words a little more carefully... if he'd perhaps phrased things differently, she had to wonder where their situation might have gone, instead.

"I do not sound like that." She remarked with a laugh, shaking her head, "But you're right. I never would have said that, before. I never would have thought it. I dunno... Maybe I'm just tired of caring so much what people think. About me. About any of it. Maybe I'm tired of thinking about other people. I'm in a career that's built around assuming who a person is, and it's never served me. I meant what I said last night... I like my job, but I think I let it get in the way of having an actual life."

Eyes flickering up to the score on the screen, she smiled faintly. Freed from distractions, it was amazing what the human mind could accomplish when determined. She was well aware he was nonchalant about it, but that didn't make it any less enticing. "I'm crushing it. Bet you ten bucks I can have it beat in... ten minutes. I am indestructible."
 
Killian Hopper
"Now you're betting? My, how far you've fallen down the rabbit hole," he mused, his eyes closing again, letting her go on with her game and not offering a comment about what she'd said, and what she'd meant. He didn't want to say he didn't care, he did in some respects, but it was none of his business. Whether she went back to the way things were or truly did end up making an honest change to her life was what she would do, and he had no right to comment on it in any regard. What amused him, however, was the fact that she was offering to bet.

Betting was something he didn't do. He didn't gamble, either. He had a few times in the past, and occasionally he'd sit down for a game of Black Jack over matchsticks. He made his money on enticing the risk of others, but it was a mistake he'd never make himself. "I don't bet," he clarified. "Not on slots, not on cards, not on horses… and certainly not on arcade games. Good luck on crushing it though."

Killian closed his eyes again and folded his arms over his chest as he waited for her to finish crushing it—or whatever it was she was doing. He supposed he could have just left her there and gone back to his spot at the breakfast bar, where he could continue to gripe at Maria, but he didn't even have the energy for that. He'd slept all day and he was still exhausted, and for the first time in a long time, he actually couldn't wait for bedtime. Maybe Lucy would chug the rest of the wine and pass out so he could retreat into his own bed.

Somehow, it seemed unlikely.

 
LUCY NIELSEN
Shaking her head, she laughed softly, "Of course you don't bet. Because why would a man who owns half the Las Vegas casinos put money on the table. It was a joke... but that's probably not expected of me, either." She wasn't a betting woman herself, and in fact, she hadn't actually been serious when she'd said it, but it somehow surprised her less than she expected, that Killian wasn't a gambling man. For all he teased her about being a control freak, he was just as bad... maybe a little worse.

"Who'd have thought the day would come, though, when Lucy Nielsen knew how to have a good time, and Killian Hopper was the boring stick in the mud." And just like that, she pulled her hands away from the controls, bending to pick up her glass with a small sigh, "Or maybe it's just me. I'm willing to accept that I was wrong about you. That you aren't who I thought you were. I'm willing to move past that and try here. But you still look at me like you can't stand being in the same room as me. People keep telling me I'm seeing things... that I want to believe you don't like me, because of some deeply rooted psychological issues. But I don't think I'm seeing things. Not really..."

Frowning, she took a sip, before crossing the room again, pausing in the doorway, "You look terrible. You should probably lay down. Maybe call a doctor. Whatever you think, it's not normal, getting sick like this because of a little time off. Tired, maybe... but there's something wrong with you, and it'd be pretty stupid to up and die out of sheer stubbornness." Waving her hand, she shook her head, "Not that you'd listen to a damn thing I suggest. Goodnight, Killian."

With a sigh, she left the room, the thought etched into her mind that Liliana knew exactly what she was doing, suggesting she and Killian spend more time together. What better way to ensure her man stay faithful in her absence, than pitting him against a woman it was physical torture to be around... It was just a shame Lucy had allowed herself to consider maybe, just maybe there'd been a chance things were changing. She wouldn't have allowed herself to like him so much, if she knew he'd never change.
 
Killian Hopper
Well, she hadn't changed at all, he noted. Maybe she tried to with her quips about immaturity and living life, but she was still the same Lucy Nielsen he remembered under it all. He sighed at her, though offered no form of rebuttal as she turned on him like an enranged panther. Her hands yanked away from the controls, and the sounds of defeat quickly followed as her Pac Man was captured by the ghosts. The difference was that she had been the one who wanted change in her life, but Killian didn't, and he certainly didn't appreciate being told he should change just because she was.

There was some startling revelation in his mind when he realized what annoyed him most about Lucy was how much she reminded him of Liliana. The way she acted, the way she scolded him like a child when she didn't get what she wanted. Even in the way she said there's something wrong with you. He'd heard those words before. The corner of his lip twitched and he just shook his head, wondering when he started hating Liliana so much that he began hating people who were like her in many ways.

"Good night," he replied after her, deciding not to pursue the argument, but also wondering why he'd chosen to stay in the house. He had others. Heck, he could rent a hotel room from any of the hotels down on the strip for a while. Lucy hadn't wanted to be alone, but she had Maria, except for the next day, and she was more or less safe from Rob there. He didn't want to be around Lucy as much as he didn't want Liliana to come, and that was a bit of a wake-up call.

Turning off the lights as he left the room, Killian made his way upstairs, passing by the kitchen where Maria was putting the last dashes of salt on dinner, and continued to his bedroom. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed. "Hey, Brett, it's Killian. Can I rent a room from you for ah… uh, well, a while? I don't know how long."

 
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