Love and affection

You studied her after she didn’t have any obvious reaction, her head down as she stared at her lap. After that, it became obvious to you that anger wasn’t the emotion fueling her at the moment.

Disappointment? Guilt? You couldn’t quite tell exactly what was plaguing her but you knew she wasn’t going to lash out at you if you got closer.

Without moving too fast, you siddled closer towards her and wrapped your arms around her in a hug, holding her tightly and feeling her squeeze back urgently.

“He’s doing it again isn’t he,” she asked into your shoulder, sounding more **** than you would have thought possible.

Lucy knowing your father had cheated in the past had made it seem like she was hardened to his bullshit, only now you could see that under her built up facade, he could still cause her pain just like the night she had first caught him in the act. Your assumptions sounded pretentious when she hadn’t told you her true feelings but the way she was clinging to you almost desperately was what told you how badly he had affected her.

You felt yourself getting angry in her stead but that wasn’t what your sister needed right now, letting the hug continue while it seemed to calm her down.

“..Thanks” she announced with a sniffle, looking slightly awkward that she had let you see her like that when she pulled back from the hug.

“Don’t mention it. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t” you joked, seeing the faintest signs of a smile reappear on her face.

You took the chance to change the topic towards the more mundane aspects of your weekend trip as a distraction, telling her about the town itself and where you planned on taking Emma if you got the chance. It turns out she had passed through there on her way up from college and before she could dwell on that point, you asked her if anything had stood out that looked interesting enough to visit.

“You are you gonna take Emma on a date and then take Grace on one separately or you just gonna lump them together?” Lucy asked after she had listed a few places.

“Probably just me and Emma. Grace is a bit torn at the moment so I think she wants some space. She’s not gonna get it if we're all stuck in a car for hours but she might be happy for some alone time if me and Emma go out. That's if we do anyway. I haven’t planned everything for this to avoid thinking about it” you admitted, not wanting to return to the main reason you were going away.

Lucy wanted to avoid it as well but there looked to be something she still wanted to ask, giving you a funny look as the question formed in her mind.

“Why do you have a tracker anyway?” she asked, not having an answer pre-planned.

“Err…well” was all you could answer before she continued.

"You weren't gonna track my car were you?" she asked, still no anger in her voice but you could tell she wanted the answer.

“No of course not. I… It’s a general use one, not just for cars…I wanted to…” you attempted to explain, a reason not coming to mind as you had nothing you really wanted to track.

Well, except your subjects which the KDK took care of, which you knew Lucy had no idea about.

“Sorry it’s just a private thing between me and Emma so I'm not sure if I should tell you without discussing with her. Actually telling you about the tracker was probably something I shouldn’t have done but given that its purpose changed I don’t think she will mind that” you finally responded, the reason still not coming to mind but you now had time to think of something if Lucy accepted your answer.

“Fair enough. But the two of you seem to have a lot of secrets.” Lucy relented, letting herself fall back onto your bed when she didn’t get the answer she wanted.

“It’s kinda hard not to have some secrets when your girlfriend wants you to be with 5 other women. I mean she was the one who suggested Grace, I don’t think I would have ever brought that up first no matter how I felt.” you replied, laying down on the bed at the side of her before you carried on.

“I mean, how would anyone get away with that. ‘Oh hey I’ve got a crush on your mom and I think you should let me make the moves on her’ “ you joked, knowing how absurd your life sounded sometimes.

That seemed to get a chuckle out of Lucy but she didn’t comment any further, already knowing enough about your love life after you had asked her to help manage it.

“I should probably find out how clean Sarah’s room is before I go to sleep” Lucy said to finally break the silence, forcing herself off your bed before she get any more comfortable.

“You can sleep in here tonight if you want? I’ve already said there will be no funny business if that’s one of your worries” you replied, giving her the option to stay with you.

“I…maybe another time.” Lucy answered getting up from the bed, the progress on your relationship tonight not being enough to make her agree to a sleepover.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then” you said with a smile, not pressuring her as that seemed to be the best way to move forward with Lucy.

“...Goodnight Max” Lucy replied with some hesitation, something going unsaid as she left the room and headed towards Sarah’s door.

You sat up on your bed now that you were on your own and had no other plans to go and visit one of your other subjects. You had the power ups to **** some of them to visit you if you wanted but now seemed like a good moment to end off the night.

You did have to get up and go through your usual routine before going to bed but that seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye while your mind was occupied, having made your way to the bathroom and back before you pulled your sheets back and got under the covers, taking only a second to look at your phone and your current alarm before confirming Emma’s dream effect before turning off the screen and setting it aside.

Your main KDK concerns ended up being levels once again. You, Sarah and Emma were close to your next ones and you got to feel the excitement that came with all the potential extra rewards and points that came with it. On the other end of the scale though, all your other subjects were far from the next goal and you had little idea of how to get them up at the same pace you had been keeping so far.

Even with the concerns, you still found it difficult to keep your eyes open now that you were lying down and after everything you had done today, your body knew that it needed to rest.