Chapter 12 – Pictures

Their first meeting turned into somewhat of a fun first date.

They were enjoying each other's company, cracking jokes and laughing at each other.

Matt laughed uncontrollably while listening to Lucia rattle on about her life growing up, the interests she once had and the ones she has now as well as the things she planned out for her future.

The glint in his eyes was evidence that he savoured his time with the purple-haired lady.

"Well if that's what you want to do, then I must say that you are very good at it," he said, addressing an earlier narration by Lucia.

Matt rubbed his chest to calm himself as he sipped the orange drink he ordered earlier.

Lucia made him laugh so much that he started to tear up.

"You're very good."

Lucia pushed her chair back, stood up and curtsied in front of him as it was done in medieval times.

"Well, thank you, kind sir. That would be two hundred bucks," she joked while extending a hand to him to receive payment.

Matt chortled again. "No problem, my lady. Your performance absolutely deserves it."

Continuing in their medieval era roleplay, Matt reached for his wallet and opened it to get some cash for Lucia.

Lucia could not help but peer into the leather wallet Matt held in his hands.

Her eyes narrowed and she shifted her attention quickly between the wallet and her newly found companion with her mind a tad concerned about what she had seen.

Matt shifted his attention to her and Lucia hurriedly turned her face.

Nervous and worried that she had been caught, she hurriedly glugged down the whole drink in front of her.

"What's the matter?" Matt asked, placing his palm on top of her hand and rubbing hers softly.

Lucia chuckled sheepishly.

"N-Nothing. Oh no! It's nothing. Don't worry about me." she answered with an initial stutter.

"Excuse me, Matt. I need to use the restroom... like now... ish."

"Sure, sure. Don't let me be the reason a damsel like you would be in distress."

Now distressed, the infatuation she once held for Matthew had cleared from her eyes.

Lucia reacted with a nervously formed giggle to Matt's poorly crafted joke before waltzing her unsettled self away from him and further into the cafe.

"What the fuck," she murmured under her breath while making a face as she walked away.

Lucia played the ancient 'I'd like to use the bathroom' card to get away from Matt.

But what had happened all of a sudden?

A minute ago she was enchanted by his young handsome face that was betoned by his corporate dressing style, now she was disgusted and wanted to just get away.

Lucia went ahead to use the restroom but not for the use that restrooms were built for.

She entered a free toilet and locked the door behind her.

She rested her back against the door as she rubbed her face with dismay plastered all over it.

"What the fuck!" she murmured again, this time she slammed her hand on the door of the toilet.

"What... the... actual... fuck!"

She opened the door slightly and peeked outside to be sure she was the only one in the restroom and then locked it again.

Lucia packed her long purple hair into a ponytail with a band of rubber she wore on her wrist.

After that, Lucia started a relaxation exercise. She began to breathe deeply, in and out, as she tried to calm her nerves.

She was getting agitated by what she had seen in Matt's wallet.

"How did he get those pictures?" she wondered, glancing at the ceiling of the restroom.

That is what she had seen.

Lucia had seen a set of pictures inside Matt's wallet that made her very uncomfortable around him.

She rubbed her face as if clearing the disbelief out of her face.

'What the hell is going on?' she wondered. 'And where the fuck are you, Beth? I hope you're alright.'

Things were starting to take a turn in the direction that she wasn't very comfortable with.

Even worse off, Beth had not returned and Lucia couldn't enter the NERVE tower to search for her.

Even if she wanted to or could enter the tower, she had to deal with her immediate problem first and that was the young man, Matthew.

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A/N: Thanks for reading this far. I'd like to say at this point that this novel is in the 2024 WSA Contest and I would love and appreciate all the support that I can get from you.

Thank you.