Lucy felt like her mind might possibly explode. Her fingers twitched at her side, and her eyes kept dancing between The Man, Audrey, and Pam. She had to hold her eyes shut for a moment and force herself to take a deep breath. What would Dr. Fischer have her do in this moment? Tense. Relax. Tense. Relax. Her fingers began to drum a simple pattern on the side of her leg. She forced herself to take another deep breath. Then again.
She couldn’t help the small wave of relief when Oliver came up the stairs. At least he was something familiar in all of the chaos, even if she didn’t know him incredibly well. She bit her lip, when another man came darting up behind him. She didn’t recognize him at all, and when he came quickly towards her and Pam, she took a large step back.
She could hear him. His accent. He must be Jerome, right? But what if there was suddenly another German man? This could be another new person, but then why would he be so calm. He wouldn’t. This must be Jerome, and she liked Jerome. Jerome made her pancakes.
Lucy had to keep repeating facts to herself in her head, to keep the irrational side from winning. Gently, she leaned herself against the doorway, just staring now, though she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to see the conclusion to this disaster.
Taking a large breath, Lucy took a few timid steps forward, staying directly behind Pam. She didn’t say anything, but she wasn’t going anywhere with a stranger. She was going to stay here with Pam, or go with Oliver, or find someone else she knew, but she didn’t want to deal with anymore unknown men.