Chapter Text
-Lucy Carlyle-
Paul Bell was waiting outside her classroom.
Six months ago, that would have been fine, normal even. But that was before they had argued over the art scholarship. Before she had broken up with him. Before she had left Cheviot Hills alone in the dead of night, with no intention of ever returning.
Lucy carefully peeked through the window on the door. Yup, he was still there.
She glanced at the TA sorting papers on the professor's desk. “Did you need something, Lucy?”
Lucy hesitated. Jessica Lockwood had been helpful so far; she was down to earth (despite looking like a veritable model) and incredibly easy to talk to. Lucy couldn't explain it, but she trusted the older girl. Trusted that she had the best interests of her students at heart. But what could she do about this? Lucy stepped away from the door, worried she might be overheard in the hall.
“I think-” she paused, nervously checking the door. “My ex-boyfriend is in the hall. He's outside the door right now. I don't- Miss Lockwood, I'm not sure what to do.”
“First, please call me Jess. Second? Let's sit down for a moment.” She took Lucy’s hands and led her to one of the desks. “Alright, just breathe, Lucy. We'll figure this out for you.” Lucy took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “OK, how long ago did you break up?”
“A little over a month ago. Paul didn't want me to leave for uni; said it was a waste of time. I'd applied for the scholarship before we started dating and never thought it would matter.” Lucy shook her head, blinking back tears. “He knew how badly I wanted to leave; I was always talking about escaping to London. But when I told him about my plans, about when I was leaving, he argued with me. He kept telling me I couldn't leave.”
“But you left anyway,” Jess whispered.
“Yeah.” Lucy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. When she continued, her voice was steadier. “My home life wasn't great. I'm the youngest of seven; Da died when I was little and- well, me mam didn't have much patience or kindness left in her after. All my sisters had left by the time I was in high school and I couldn't bear staying in that house a second longer than I had to.”
Jess frowned. “I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you. You're very strong and brave for having walked away.” Lucy’s lower lip trembled as more tears tumbled down her face. “Can I give you a hug, Lucy?”
With a nod, Lucy let Jess put her arms around her. The older girl was tall and slender, her nose nearly level with the top of Lucy's head. Long dark hair was tied neatly at the nape of her neck,and she smelled of expensive perfume.
After a few moments, Jess pulled away. “Do you have another class after this?”
Lucy shook her head. “No, I was heading back to the dorm. But if he's out there…” Jess grabbed her hands when Lucy began to pick at her nails.
“It'll be alright.” She made eye contact with Lucy before smiling at her. “I'll go with you, but we'll wait here for my boyfriend; he's picking me up very soon.” Jess pulled out her phone. “I'm texting him what's going on. He'll be more than willing to help. We can both walk you safely to your dorm.”
“Thank you.” Lucy took a few deep breaths and tried not to pace. “I'm so sorry I pulled you into this. I never expected he would follow me here; it wasn't a serious relationship. At least, I never thought it was.” Lucy shook her head. “This is ridiculous. I don't understand why he would do this!” Jess grabbed her hand again.
“Hey, it’s ok. I want to help you. I know this is confusing and scary, but we'll get you through it.” The older girl's phone chirped, and she checked it quickly. “Quill should be here any minute. What's your ex's name?”
“Paul.” Her voice was nearly a whisper.
A few minutes later, the door behind them opened with a bang, and Lucy jumped. Jess smiled as a blond man who looked her age sauntered into the room. She embraced him as soon as he reached her, kissing him lightly. They were around the same height, though Jess may have been slightly taller.
“Jessa-Luv, you doing OK?” The thick Yorkshire accent surprised Lucy, especially considering Jess’ posh RP.
“I'm fine, Quill. This is Lucy, and we're going to help her get to the dorms safely. Did you drive here today?” Quill nodded and turned to Lucy.
“I'm guessing the big guy lurking in the hall is the ex?”
“Tall, brown hair, built a bit thick? Looks a bit thick in the head, too?” Quill huffed a laugh and grinned. “Yeah, that's Paul.”
“Got it. I'll walk the two of you out.”
They each grabbed one of her arms, Quill on the side Paul would most likely be on, and walked her out the door. They kept close to her, smiling and chatting like they hadn't a care in the world. Lucy tried to relax, but couldn't keep her hands from trembling. Briefly, she felt Jess squeeze her arm; when she turned to look at the older girl, she was met with an encouraging smile.
The walk to the car was quick, and Lucy only caught a glimpse of Paul when Quill pulled away from the curb. They all breathed a sigh of relief when he disappeared from view.
“Well, now that's over, we can have a proper introduction. I'm Quill Kipps; Jessa and I have been together since we were in high school. And now I teach history classes at the local high school.” He grinned at her in the rearview mirror.
“Lucy Carlyle. Thank you for helping me.”
Jess turned in her seat. “Any time. I mean it, Lucy. Here, open your phone and give it to me.” Lucy did as asked, and Jess entered her number into the contacts list before handing it back. “I want you to call me if you need help. Any time, day or night, ok? Which hall are you in?”
“Connaught. Fourth floor.”
“Ah! I know one of the RA's there! Holly went to high school with my younger brother. She was a year ahead of him, but they were on the Debate team together.”
“Holly Monroe? She's the RA in my hall.”
“Marvelous. She’s wonderful, isn't she? I can text her what's going on if you're OK with that? She can alert security and have them watch for Paul, keep him out of the building.” Lucy nodded. No one had ever really taken care of her like this. Maybe Norrie when things were bad at home, but not like this.
Before Jess could message Holly, Lucy's phone rang. “Hullo?”
“Lucy? It's Holly, there's been an incident at the dorm. I'm so sorry, your room has some fire and smoke damage. It looks like someone started a fire there.”
“A fire? What? No! How-” Lucy cut herself off with a gasp. “Oh, god! My work! My pictures! Holly, how bad? What happened?” Jess grabbed Lucy's phone and switched it to speakerphone.
“Hol, it's Jess Lockwood. I'm a TA for one of Lucy's classes. She had a scare after class so, Quill and I are driving her back. Can you tell us what happened?”
“I'm not sure; they haven't let anyone back in the building yet. But it was caught quickly. One of your neighbors reported to me that they saw an unfamiliar man walk out of your room. The doorjamb was splintered, so we called the police, and they discovered the fire.”
“Someone was in my room?” The day was just getting worse. Lucy could feel her heart racing and gripped the passenger seat with trembling fingers.
“It looks like it, yes. The police and the fire department will want to talk to you.” Lucy nodded, knowing Holly couldn't see her. But if the police wanted to talk to her, she would tell them about Paul.
“Good. Fine. I needed to talk to the police anyway. Jess and her boyfriend walked me out of my last class because my ex was outside the classroom today.”
“Oh, Lucy!” The sympathy in Holly's voice nearly brought Lucy to tears.
“He was waiting in the hall for me after class. I hope I'm wrong, but he may have been the one to start the fire.”
“I'll let the police know and wait for you by the front door, OK? Just get here safely.”
The next ten minutes seemed to take forever. The car was quiet, no one daring to break the silence that had come when Holly hung up the phone. Quill finally pulled up at the front doors. So many people were milling around that Lucy wasn't sure how she would find Holly in the crowd.
As soon as the car stopped, Jess pulled her out of the back seat and held her hand as they made their way to the front door. In moments, Holly was leading the detective in charge over.
“Detective Barnes, this is Lucy Carlyle, the girl whose room was broken into. Lucy, you said you saw your ex-boyfriend outside your last class?”
“Yes. Paul went to high school with me up north. I'm from a tiny village in the Cheviot Hills. After we argued about my leaving for uni, I broke up with him. This isn't like him; we argued but- I never thought he would follow me.” The detective opened a notebook and wrote something down.
“Miss Carlyle, did this boy ever threaten you or your family? Did he ever hurt you?”
Lucy nodded. “Just the once. He gripped my arm too hard when we argued; it left some bruises on my wrist. He apologized right away, said he hadn't meant to hurt me. Again, it wasn't like him. I don't understand what's gotten into him.”
The rest of the interview passed quickly for Lucy; she barely remembered anything she said. Just before leaving, Detective Barnes let her know the police would issue a warrant for Paul's arrest.
She nearly sobbed in relief when she was allowed into her room. Once there, she was glad to discover that very little had burned. The fire had been contained in a metal waste basket filled with oil-soaked rags and a few of her shirts. Unfortunately, the smoke damage was bad enough that she couldn't stay there. A few of her drawings and paintings were stained with smoke and soot, and her clothes and bedding reeked of it. Everything would need to be cleaned, including the plaster walls and ceiling.
The university housing authority gave her a timeline, saying she should be able to return to the dorm in less than two weeks. Until then, they could provide a room for her at a local hostel. It was a bit further from her classes than she liked, but she didn't have to pay for it.
Lucy was packing one of the boxes she'd been given for her things when a knock on the door startled her. She looked up to see Jess standing in the doorway.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Holly told me you're unable to stay here for a bit?”
Lucy nodded. “They need to clean the walls, the ceiling, and the furniture. Not to mention replacing the doorway and door.” She closed the first box and started a second. “It should take about two weeks, they said. Until then, I'm being put up at a hostel.”
Jess stepped into the room and closed the door. “I live with my younger brother and his best friend in a terrace house in Marylebone. Our parents own the house, and Anthony and I have lived there most of our lives. They’re working in Edinburgh now, teaching folklore and anthropology at the university there. We have a spare room in the attic. It's not much, but it has its own washroom, and it’s private. We also have a laundry you can use to wash anything clothes or bedding affected by the smoke.” She paused and stepped further into the room. “Lucy, would you like to stay with us while they sort out your room?”
Lucy stopped packing and looked at Jess, searching her face for any sign she didn't mean it. “Would that be ok? I don't want to put you out or be in the way.”
“Not at all,” Jess reassured her. “It would be a safe place, close to classes. And I wouldn't be worried about you!” She put a hand on Lucy's shoulder when the younger girl hesitated. “I want you to stay with us.”
“Are you sure it would be okay with your housemates?” Lucy hated how small her voice sounded, but was concerned Jess’ housemates would disagree.
“I'm sure, Lucy.” Jess started helping Lucy pack up the last of her things. “I've texted them a few times, but Anthony is taking a test today, so I'm not expecting an immediate answer. George rarely answers texts, even emergency ones, but he did respond ‘K’. It shouldn't be an issue. Both of them are genuinely sweet boys and I'm certain the three of you will get along wonderfully.”
Lucy thought for a moment. Jess had been a lifesaver today and Lucy was genuinely grateful for the help. She wasn't used to kindness like this; it wasn't something she'd seen or experienced growing up in her little backwater village. It certainly wasn't how her family lived their lives. For a moment, she considered telling Jess everything would be fine, she'd just stay where the school sent her.
But when she opened her mouth, instead of explaining why she would be fine, Lucy found herself saying something else entirely.
“Thank you! I'd love to.”