The Many Problems of Luka Erebi | Sapphic Webnovel | Chapter 14
Luka won’t let it happen
Luka woke up to a ceiling with a diagonal crack she’d spent too long staring at, an unfamiliar bed (that was actually a couch), in an unfamiliar environment and scent. Despite all that, she slept rather soundly. She even considered sleeping in if she didn’t have class in an hour. If Ari actually did what she said she would’ve done yesterday, maybe Luka would’ve succumbed. But she wasn’t here on the couch with Luka.
Time to get up before her alarm did. The living room wasn’t a mess, but it was filled with clutter. The jacket Luka recognized as Ari’s favorite since she wore it often sat on the arm of a chair… a few inches away from the jacket hook. Small objects, gathered on the windowsill to her left—a bottle of rum, a deck of cards not in its box, a pocket knife that even Luka knew was illegal to get here. A mug with lipstick markings on the rim sat by its lonesome on the coffee table.
Her leg tapped a backpack leaning against the coffee table. The one Bellamy brought over after Luka ran to Ari’s place—which happened to be those tall apartment complexes built a couple years ago—with nothing but the clothes on her back. Inside was a bundle of her clothes, her daily necessities, and a note from Wren that said: “Lock your goddamn balcony door and window.” If it wasn’t for that note, Luka would’ve wondered how Bellamy managed to grab her stuff without the key.
After she grabbed the outfit for today, she went into the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. There was a double shelf screwed into the wall beside the mirror. On it lined multiple beauty products ranging from skin cream to rows of serums. Luka recognized the Jezebelle brand, mainly because it was what Bellamy said she used, and a certain silicone object that definitely shouldn’t be sitting in the open like this.
Luka’s cheeks became rosy at the thought of Ari using it, though she tried her best to sweep that to the back of her mind and focused on getting ready for school.
By the time she exited the bathroom, she saw Ari making herself a cup of coffee, her back was to Luka, one hand on the counter. She had on a semi-transparent nightgown, revealing dark red lingerie. Luka rubbed her cheeks, still feeling the heat. For some reason, Ari’s laptop with books and papers spread around it was also on the kitchen counter.
“U-um… good morning, Ari.”
“Hey,” Ari said, her eyes giving Luka the once-over. “You’ve barely slept a wink and now you’re going to school? Maybe I should’ve been serious when I told you I didn’t mind if we cuddle.”
Luka didn’t reply, because already in her head, she knew the result if Ari did come into the couch with her. She let out a sigh, and picked up the backpack sitting on one of the dining room chairs—another one brought by Bellamy.
Ari was beside Luka by the time she put on the backpack, her hand landing on Luka’s forehead.
“You got a fever or something?”
A fever? Couldn’t be.
Inches from touching chest-to-chest, Luka saw how well-endowed Ari really was. Ari often wore clothes that hugged and showed off her figure, and Luka had imagined what she was without before. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Luka’s imagination couldn’t compete with the reality before her.
Ari’s skin seemed so perfect and smooth, though Luka knew it was because she clearly put work into it. On her upper right breast was a mole. She was a couple inches shorter than Wren, but that didn’t make her tower over Luka any less.
“Oh? So it’s not a fever.” Ari chuckled.
When Luka looked up, she saw a devious grin. She took in a deep breath, and stepped back toward the door.
“I-I’m gonna head out.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll see out in a couple hours.”
Urk! Luka grasped her backpack straps, and marched out the door.
This new routine had caught Luka off guard. She forgot to tell Ari about the phone… the one still sitting in her jacket pocket and not in the police station as it should be.
———
Luka’s eyes widened, mid-bite of her sandwich, when she saw Ari coming toward her with those ripped jeans. She wore dark tights underneath her jeans, matching with her black tall-collar shirt.
“Mm!” Luka almost choked on her sandwich when she saw Ari pull out a phone from her fur jacket.
“What is this?” Ari asked.
Her was tone light, but her strained smile was not. There was no way Ari didn’t already looked through the phone. She knew exactly what this was. So why did Luka have to say it?
“Did you go through my stuff?”
Ari mocked gasp. “I would never. But no. It fell out of your jacket when I was putting it up. So…” She leaned forward, her eyes brimming with frustration. “Care to tell me why you got a burner that has footages of you on your balcony? And judging from the low angle and your position in this video, I’m guessing the camera isn’t sitting on Bellamy’s side.”
“Um… I found it in my neighbor’s apartment.”
“The same one with the man who tried to hurt you?”
At least Luka now know Bellamy told Ari about this.
“W-well, funny thing there,” Luka said, forcing a chuckle. “He’s not the one. His wife was.”
Ari scrolled through the phone with glazed eyes. “I’m not surprised. A man couldn’t have written a whole fanfic’s worth of notes.”
Splsh.
Lettuce and tomato spilled from Luka’s dropped sandwich. Luckily, it landed on the plastic wrap instead of the raw surface of the cafeteria table. Not that Luka cared at that moment.
“Wh-what?”
When Luka tried to grab the phone, Ari committed a very not-fair move. She shoved it into her bra.
“H-hey! Ari!”
“I think I’ll keep the phone until you decide on what to do with it.”
Luka groaned. Either way, she wasn’t getting the phone. What else could she have done with it? She had to bring it to the police. But what would happen to Mosca? Luka heard from her father that the rehabilitation in prison did a number on her uncle, the good kind. Something about how he went from a “filthy degenerate” to a upstanding man. Though she wasn’t quite sure if that was true or not.
“W-what do you think I should do?”
“As you?” Ari ruminated on this while she chewed on the sandwich Luka dropped. Apparently, it was hers now. “I’d probably be dumb enough to give it to the cops in hopes they actually do their job.”
…
“What would you do?” Luka asked.
“It depends on who I’m dealing with. So, tell me about this stalker wife.”
Luka had a lot of time to spare before her afternoon class, and she knew Ari knew that. When she told Ari she didn’t want anyone to overhear, Ari took her to the Volunteer Club. This club room was empty most of the time because the members of this clubs were often out volunteering.
A table with six chairs was at the center of the club room while a couple of bookshelves flanked its left and right. After Luka got ushered to sit down, Ari pulled the closest chair, turned it backwards, and sat. Her legs spread, and she would’ve shown her inner thighs if it wasn’t for the tights underneath. Arms propped on the chair’s rail, she leaned toward Luka in anticipation.
Luka didn’t have an excuse to not talk about Mosca anymore, no matter who weird and awkward it felt. What was she to say?
The beginning, of course.
She recounted to Ari about last month, when she saved Mosca from drowning after jumping off the bridge. How it took her to the hospital with Mosca, where she saw Mosca’s husband for the first time. How it got her talking to Mosca every week.
In the end, it was weird to talk about this to someone. This incident she kept locked inside, figuring it wasn’t something her neighbor wouldn’t want to be passed around. Ari listened all the same. She kept a steady expression, her eyes not ripping away from Luka. It made Luka spill a bit more, knowing that she had someone listening with such intent.
Was she doing it just to gather information? Luka figured. Still, she was a little glad to know Ari would remember it. What Ari was about to say next, however, was a different story.
“Wow. Here I thought you were a little dumb and brave after what you did for me last year, but I have underestimated you. You’re more than a little.”
“T-that’s not nice…”
“I mean it as a compliment.” Ari didn’t let Luka dwell on it, already pouncing on her cold read. “So this woman is a depressed housewife with a terrible husband. She probably was going through a monotony in her everyday life, and when you ended up becoming her savior, you broke the monotony. And I assume she probably didn’t go to therapy after that.”
It didn’t sound wrong. Luka understood the monotony of being in the house all day and night. After her confrontation with Mosca, she for sure knew Mosca wasn’t seeing a therapist.
Luka shook her head to confirm.
“So what happened last night?”
“I, uh, I heard shouts coming from her apartment. I thought her husband was hurting her, so I knocked on their door. Then… well…”
“Mhm. Good thing you had a Vespula with you.” Ari pressed her finger on Luka’s forehead. “But if she wasn’t there, what do you think would happened, huh? You need to let people know what you’re doing before you do it.”
“S-sorry.”
“I’m not the one you should apologize to.” Ari withdrew her finger. “If she actually got hurt by her husband, then that’s probably another case on top of the stalking. And let’s be honest, the most she’s done was break into your house. The court’s going to give her a slap on the wrist for the stalking if they find a plausible cause for the domestic violence. Don’t even get me started on the fact that you’ve been holding on to her burner phone for almost a day now.”
“Are you saying I’m gonna get in trouble for… stealing?”
“Only if she wants to follow through with it. I doubt it, but if I were you, I wouldn’t hold on to this phone for more than twenty-four hours.”
So, no matter what, I have to hand it over today…
“C-can you come with me?”
Ari sighed, now resting her head against the chair’s rail. “You’re better off asking Bellamy if you want any credibility.”
“Oh. O-okay.”
Does she also have a record with the police, like Wren?
Wren…
Luka recalled last night. The way Wren pounced on that man and started wailing on him, it wasn’t her first time. Kids would regularly ignored or pick on Wren ten years ago, though it never seemed to matter at the time since she and Luka were together. After Wren left, the harassment must’ve gotten worse—to a point where Wren had a record with the police.
The image of the cut near Wren’s left eye and nose made itself known. She was already hurt before she came to Luka’s defense. Now she had hurt herself more by punching that man.
“Hey, Ari. Can I ask you something?”
Nobody liked it when someone ask you if they could ask you a vague question. Luka knew that, but the words slipped out of her lips before she could catch. Just like her next.
“What happened between you and Wren?”
Ari rolled her eyes, and stood up. “Did Bellamy put you up to this?”
“N-no. I was just curious about the situation.”
Luka stared at Ari, who frowned in response. Then, after a sigh, Ari said, “Bellamy asked her to get her ID and told her to come here. Unfortunately, once she arrived, she met someone who didn’t like her and got beaten up.”
“And that someone was…?”
Ari flicked her head, giving Luka a wily side eye and grin. “I’ll tell you if you answer my question.”
The attention was now on Luka’s court, though she wasn’t surprised. She gave Ari a nod, and watched her get closer.
Her hand placed on Luka’s shoulder, she said, “But first, a prerequisite to my question. I liked you better when you chose to stay ignorant. You didn’t know anything about Natives. You knew when to not ask questions. Yet, ever since last week, you suddenly know just enough to start poking your nose into unwanted business. I believe this is because of Wren Vespula, correct?”
Luka gulped, not liking the way Ari dug her fingers into her shoulder. She couldn’t get away, even if she wanted to.
“Y-yeah.”
Ari took a step back, releasing Luka from her grip, and gave Luka an impish grin. “I’m curious. Do you like Wren? As lovers.”
Heat filled Luka’s face, from her cheeks to her ears. Lovers? Luka didn’t even know if she was friends with Wren or not. Saying it to a police officer didn’t make their friendship status official.
Sure, she thought Wren looked gorgeous, but it was more like a “Wow, she’s really grown” kind of way. Her back was broader, her figure fit. When she wasn’t glaring, she had such soft broody eyes.
Last night, for just a second, Luka didn’t mind if it was Wren who was protecting her this time around.
…
These were dangerous paths if she chose to follow. It would only resurface the guilt that’d been waiting to breach ever since Wren came back. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Wren.
Luka shook her head. “That won’t happen.”