Chapter 164 - Trust Issues

Listening to the silence at the other end of the line, Tom could tell that she had finally processed what he had said, "Lu? Are you still there?" He called softly, as he waited to hear her thoughts on his confession.

Lucy cleared her throat and licked her lips which were suddenly feeling very dry now, "Yeah. I'm still here," she said, gulping softly while her heart continued to race wildly. What was she going to say to him? 

This whole thing was very confusing for her. She loved seeing him, talking to him, and having him around, and now she knew she also enjoyed having sex with him too. But did she want a committed relationship with him? Was she capable of something like that? She had always said she didn't want a companion, but now that Sonia was busy with Bryan most of the time, and Lucas was also too busy with the hospital and his fiancee, who else did she have to turn to apart from Tom? Was this relationship thing something that she could do? And if what he said was true, and he really wasn't interested in any lady, then why had he convinced her into being in a temporary relationship with him? Had he done that because he really wanted to be in a relationship with her?

Seeing that she still wasn't saying anything, Tom decided to find out what she was thinking, "What is in..."

Lucy cleared her throat, "I want to see you before I say anything else," she said before Tom could complete his question.

"You want to see me?" Tom asked in confusion. That wasn't the response he had been expecting. He had expected more questions, perhaps anger, or any other thing, but certainly not a request to see him. 

"Yes. I want to look you in the face while I talk to you," Lucy repeated, sounding a bit more confident now than she had been a moment ago.

"Can we FaceTime?" Tom asked hopefully since he was yet to hear from Harry about the situation with the private investigator, and he didn't want to make any move until he was certain that it had been sorted out. 

"No. I want to see you here," Lucy repeated. "Call me when you get here," Lucy said and hung up before Tom could say anything else.

Once she hung up the call, she blinked in surprise when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and noticed that she was smiling broadly. Why was she grinning? She asked herself, raising both hands to her cheeks. 

All of a sudden she no longer felt exhausted anymore. It felt like all her tiredness had disappeared, and was now replaced with newly found energy. How was it possible that a single phone call could change both her physical state and mood entirely?

With her newfound strength, Lucy got off the bed and pulled off the bedspread which had some bloodstains on it. She had taken note of the bloodstain when she returned from the hospital in the morning, and also a couple of minutes after she returned from the office, but she had been feeling too tired to do anything about it. 

Now she took the bedspread to her laundry basket, and once she dropped it, she walked over to the bathroom to wash her hands before returning to take off her contacts which she was yet to remove from her eyes. Sitting in front of her dressing mirror, she combed her hair and tied it in a ponytail. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she recalled Tom's words to her. He really had feelings for her, and not anyone else? 

Although she knew that she should be feeling angry that he had lied to her about being interested in a lady at the company, and for deceiving her into becoming his temporary girlfriend, she just felt relieved in a way, knowing that there was no one else in his life, and she wanted to see him.

Once she was done with her hair, she picked up a clean bedsheet and lay it over her bed, tucking it neatly around the edges. After that, she showered and put on a mini jeans skirt and a sports bralette before returning to lie on her bed. 

She checked the time and sighed when she noticed that it was just past 2 pm. After their outing earlier, the CEO had dropped her off in front of the company and had insisted that she spend the rest of the day at home since there was nothing to be done at the office until the following day. Hence, she had to leave the office earlier than usual.

Having no one else to call and with nowhere else to go, she picked up a novel from one of her bedside drawers and settled on her bed to read it. Just when she started becoming engrossed in the book, she heard the sound of her doorbell. Thinking it was Tom, she sprang up from her bed and raced to her door barefooted.

Once she pulled the door open, she frowned in disappointment when she realized that it wasn't Tom. 

"I guess you were expecting someone else. Sorry to disappoint you," Alicia said, flashing her an apologetic smile. 

"It is fine. You want something?" Lucy asked with a polite smile. 

"I noticed your car was parked outside, so I stopped by to see if you were in, and to also make sure you're fine. I noticed someone else drove you home earlier and you didn't look like you were feeling fine," Alicia said holding up a mini tray of cookies.

Lucy smiled at the kind gesture, "Thanks. That's very nice of you," Lucy said, stepping aside for Alicia to enter the house. 

"It's what neighbors do," Alicia said with a smile as she walked in with her tray of cookies and set it on the table before sitting down. 

"What would you like to have? Tea to go with the cookies? Or perhaps a can of drink?" Lucy asked, and Alicia smiled up at her.

"A can of soda is just perfect," Alicia said, and Lucy gave her a nod before going to get it from her refrigerator.

"By the way, did something happen?" Alicia asked the moment Lucy returned with two cans of soft drink and handed her one.

"Something like what?" Lucy asked as she settled down on the same couch, but turned in the seat so that she was facing Alicia, before opening her can of drink and taking a long sip. 

"I noticed that someone came to look around Tom's house earlier. Is he moving out? Does it have anything to do with what we talked about during dinner on Sunday?" Alicia asked with curiosity in her eyes as she opened her can of drink. 

"Someone came to check the house today?" Already? Lucy wondered with a frown. When Alicia bobbed her head, Lucy sighed. 

He had said he wasn't moving away because he was scared of her or avoiding her. Perhaps he was doing this because she had implied at the initial time that he was stalking her? And so had decided to move out after hearing about how she had been stalked as a teenager? But she didn't think he was a stalker anymore, so there was no reason for him to leave. She was just going to have to talk to him about it. 

"He didn't happen to mention anything to you about moving, did he?" Alicia asked, breaking into her thoughts. 

Not wanting to think about Tom at the moment, or what would become of their relationship if he stopped being her next-door neighbor and driver, she tried to focus on Alicia. 

"He did. I just didn't expect it to be this soon. Do you both still plan on asking him to be your sperm donor?" Lucy asked curiously, hoping they had changed their mind. For some reason, it didn't sit well with her anymore to have any other lady around Tom, talk more of having another woman carry his child. 

Alicia cleared her throat, as that was another reason she had actually come to see Lucy, "Well, Jas wants us to hold on for a while until we are sure about Tom's personality. But seeing how he is moving out soon, I don't think we have the luxury of time to wait," Alicia said, making Lucy look at her with patient curiosity as she waited to hear what Alicia wanted to say. 

"What do you think about him?" Alicia asked, watching Lucy closely.

"What do I think about Tom?" Lucy repeated, imagining herself telling Alicia that she thought it would be a very terrible idea to have Tom father their child, "Well, Tom is a very nice guy," Lucy said with a shrug.

Alicia pursed her lips as she contemplated whether or not she should tell Lucy the truth about the real occupants of the building where Tom was living and when Tom moved in there. Jas would probably be very upset if she told got herself involved in this. 

"You don't think that perhaps Tom is stalking you?" Alicia asked after a little pause, making Lucy raise a brow. 

"What do you mean, stalking me?" 

"Showing up at the club, and then at your house, as well as the company where you work? Don't you think there is something fishy about it?" Alicia pointed out. 

Lucy didn't like the direction the conversation was going. She had enough trust issues already that she was still trying to clear, and she didn't need Alicia or anyone else fueling her doubts, "He applied for the job before I arrived unless you are saying he applied for the job on the day I resumed and got it that same day, which we both know doesn't make any sense. And according to you and Jas, he has been living here long before I got here. I even met him at the club, not the other way around. So who would you say is stalking the other between us both?" Lucy asked matter of factly. 

Alicia shrugged, "Well, I'm all for women looking out for women. I just think perhaps you should be more careful around him. Things might not always be as they seem."

"Is there something you're trying to say to me?" Lucy asked, remembering that she had thought they were keeping something from her that night during dinner. 

"I'm just saying that maybe there is more to Tom than we all know. Jas thinks so too. He seems to be hiding something, and that is why Jasmine wants us to hold off talking to him about the sperm donation. So you should be careful too, and not trust him too much." 

"Is there a particular reason you feel this way?" Lucy asked, remembering Tom's outburst during dinner that night. 

"You can't tell Tom or Jas that you heard this from me, okay? The other night, Tom asked us not to tell you that he is new to the neighborhood.. An older couple used to live in that apartment, and we only saw Tom for the first time after you moved in."