Chapter 407: Embarrassed Chris
After interrupting Christopher and Lucy, I headed down the sixth-floor hallway with Christopher and Daisy beside me while Lucy walked a few steps ahead.
Christopher lasted maybe ten seconds before he started explaining himself.
"So... Lucy was helping me with some of the guns I had," he said. "A few got jammed. I ignored them and just took new ones instead, but I figured it was about time I got them working again. Since I don’t know anything about that stuff, I called Lucy. She was a marine, you know."
"I see," I said.
Christopher glanced at me.
"Do you?"
"I do." I nodded. "You needed help, and you thought Lucy would be perfect for it."
"No, I didn’t think she was perfect for it," Christopher replied far too quickly. "It’s more like I didn’t have any other choice."
Lucy heard him.
She looked over her shoulder and gave him a sharp stare.
Christopher did not say another word.
"I see," I said again. "So you had no other choice."
Christopher winced at how unconvincing I sounded.
Honestly, I wished he would just admit it already. Still, I could not really judge him for that. I was probably worse when it came to admitting things I felt. If I had been in his place, I would have probably tried to deny it too.
"I think you look cute together, Christopher."
Daisy’s voice came out so casually that all three of us stopped for a second.
Christopher looked stunned.
Lucy turned her head halfway toward us.
I stared at Daisy, trying not to laugh.
"W...What do you mean?" Christopher asked. "Me and Ryan?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked holding back a laugh.
Christopher glared at me in response.
Daisy blinked a few times, realizing what he had thought, and her face started turning red.
"I...I meant you and Lucy," she said. "Not you and Ryan."
Christopher’s face went a bit red too.
Lucy gave a quiet scoff and continued down the hall before either of them could make the situation even more awkward.
I followed her, deciding to save Christopher from further embarrassment for now.
"Lucy," I called.
She slowed and looked back at me.
"Marlon wants to see you. It’s about Brigantine. He wants every bit of information you can give him."
Lucy stopped walking completely.
"What now?" she asked. "He trusts me suddenly because I helped take the Golden Nugget?"
"I’m not sure," I replied. "I think he wants to see it for himself. He’ll talk to you, hear what you know, and decide whether he can trust you after that."
"I don’t expect anything less from him," Lucy said.
She looked forward again, her expression returning to that serious, guarded one she usually wore.
Marlon was a former marine, even if he had retired long before all of this happened. Lucy had been one too. They had started off on opposite sides, and there was still distrust between them, but maybe that shared background mattered.
They both understood what it meant to follow orders. They both understood the kind of choices people made in situations where there were no good options left.
"He’s a good guy," I told her. "He can be strict, yeah, but he’s fair. If you’re honest with him, he’ll listen."
Lucy did not answer immediately.
"And I’ll be there too," I added. "Just in case somebody decides they want to try something."
That part was not really a joke.
The Boardwalk had suffered too much because of Callighan. Some people still saw Lucy as part of his side no matter what she did at the Golden Nugget. I would not have been surprised if someone got angry enough to try hurting her before Marlon could stop them.
"Thanks," Lucy said.
I nodded.
"Or I could bring Chris too, if that makes you feel safer."
"Fuck off, man."
Christopher shoved me forward from behind.
I stumbled a little, then laughed.
Lucy only scoffed and kept walking, though I caught the smallest hint of amusement at the corner of her mouth before she faced forward again.
After a few steps, she spoke without looking back.
"And thanks for speaking for me that night."
I knew what she meant.
I had not really spoken for her. I had placed the entire mess on myself. I had taken responsibility for Kunta, for Lucy, for every secret that had upset the people in the hotel.
If somebody had to carry all their anger, I would rather it be me than them.
"Well, you saved Chris," I replied. "I owed you that much."
"Don’t let Sydney hear you say that," Christopher said. "She’ll start having her own gay fantasies about us."
"Definitely," I said, nodding to myself.
Christopher groaned behind me while Daisy covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Lucy kept leading the way down the hallway toward the stairs.
Lucy stopped in front of one of the rooms near the end of the hall.
"Then I’ll get ready," she said.
Before either Christopher or I could answer, she opened the door and went inside. The door shut behind her a second later.
I looked at it for a moment.
"Oh. She’s living down here with us now?"
Originally, Lucy had been kept on the upper floor with Kunta and Mark, where it was easier to keep an eye on her. Apparently that had changed while I was away.
"Well, she preferred this floor," Christopher said.
"I wonder why," I muttered.
"Fuck off."
"No, I’m genuinely asking," I replied, letting out a quiet laugh.
Christopher gave me another glare, but Daisy smiled beside us.
We headed for the stairs and started climbing toward the upper floor.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
"Probably upstairs," Christopher said. "Rebecca took a liking to Kunta. Sydney bullies her. Rachel found herself a new little sister. That’s basically it."
"What about Cindy?"
Christopher looked back over his shoulder.
"She’s probably trying to stop Sydney from bullying Kunta."
"Right," I said, laughing.
That did sound exactly right.
We kept climbing. My legs still felt heavier than usual from everything that had happened at the Golden Nugget, but it was easier to ignore now that Christopher and Daisy were nearby.
After a few steps, Christopher spoke again.
"You know you can just stay here, right?"
I looked at him.
"I know what you said that night, and I know why you said it," he continued. "But nobody here hates you. Except those three idiots."
"Yeah, maybe." I watched the steps in front of me. "I don’t know. I still think I shouldn’t show my face too much for a couple of days. If Brad and the others see me, they’ll probably start another fight."
"Fuck them, man," Christopher said. "They don’t do anything except create problems. We really don’t need that shit right now."
"Well, Brad has hated my guts since Jackson Township," I said.
"That’s because he has a crush on Rachel," Christopher replied immediately, "and she obviously prefers spending time with you."
I glanced at Daisy.
She had been listening to us quietly, and she nodded as if Christopher had just explained a simple fact.
"Yeah," she said.
It did not seem like either of them had noticed how strange it felt hearing that said out loud.
"But he’ll never win Rachel over," I said.
The words came out before I could stop them.
Rachel was mine.
My foot stopped halfway through the next step.
What the hell was that?
I stood there for a second, staring down at the worn carpet beneath my shoes.
"Ryan?" Daisy asked.
There was concern in her voice.
"Yeah. Nothing," I said quickly. "Let’s go."
I started moving again before either of them could ask more questions.
Christopher gave me a brief look, but he did not push it. Daisy stayed close at my side as we finished climbing, and soon the three of us reached the top floor where the others were staying.