Lou wasn't expecting reassurance. Her steps faltered for a minute and she had to catch herself so that she didn't fall behind or pull Justice back with her. The surprise showed clearly on her face as she turned to look at the other woman as they continued to hurry along. There was something alert about Justice, something on edge, but she didn't look angry to Lou. At least, not at her. "I thought you...." Lou did stop there to try to catch up with her thoughts. They always made her feel so vulnerable when she said them out loud.
But the words were half out, so she finished them. "I thought you'd be mad at me." Gus would have been mad at her, probably. Her mother, definitely. Good girls didn't find themselves in trouble like that. The problem had to be her. Lucy had internalized the message so strongly that she didn't even need someone else to say it.
In a way, though, she was proud that she'd been able to do anything to help herself in that situation. She still had Justice to thank for it ending up okay, but now she knew that she wasn't a total pushover. She'd never forget the way that drunk had gone down.
Before when it had been quiet, she hadn't stopped to consider where they were heading. But with Justice seeming just as intent on whatever it was she was focused on, and with the distance they'd put between them and The Experience, Lou was starting to think maybe there was more going on. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Is there something wrong? More wrong, I mean." Lucy looked around her. She didn't hear or see anything, but she knew she wasn't at her best.