Chapter 32: I am the half brother of Meredith Grey

Carly: Hey, want to know something interesting?

Lucas: What?

Carly: Spencer somehow scored a date with your sister, Lexie.

Lucas: Really?

Carly: Yeah, he said that they have been texting recently and are going to go on a date this weekend. He has been looking at stuff online and asking his friend Socko for advice.

Lucas: Well, that's very indeed interesting.

Muttering to myself, I couldn't help but remark, "Spencer works fast, huh".

I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was already approaching 9 in the evening. After wrapping up my day at Ridgeway, I carried on with my teaching sessions with Gibby, and I must say, things were going better than expected. In just two lessons, it became evident that Gibby possessed a remarkable talent for playing the drums. It was truly impressive to witness his rapid progress, even I couldn't quite believe it. With continued dedication, it seemed likely that Gibby would soon reach a fairly decent level with the instrument within a few months at the very least, perhaps that could even be shortened depending on how hard and often he practices.

However, I couldn't help but find it amusingly peculiar that he insisted on drumming shirtless every time. Well, that's just Gibby, embracing his unique quirks, I suppose.

Carly: He sure is smitten with your sister. Also, Spencer told me to inform you that Socko has a cousin who is an attorney, and she would like to meet you this weekend so that she could potentially be your lawyer.

Lucas: Sure, I'll meet this attorney at your apartment this weekend?

Carly: Yeah, I'm thinking the same time as when you arrived last Sunday.

Lucas: That would be great! Thanks!

Despite my initial reluctance to take things further with Carly, I couldn't deny the fact that we found ourselves exchanging text messages almost every night. I contemplated the idea of not responding to her messages to create some distance, but I swiftly dismissed that thought. There were a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, maintaining a good relationship with Carly was crucial for my continued involvement in iCarly. I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship, as it could have implications on my potential future appearances on the show.

Secondly, I didn't want Carly to overthink or misunderstand if I suddenly pulled back and stop replying. I didn't want her to think that she did something wrong that sour our friendship.

So, despite my reservations, I continued to engage in our text exchanges. It seemed like the best course of action to keep things smooth between us and avoid any unnecessary complications.

Carly: Also, did you see it?

Lucas: See what?

Carly: Nevel is still being bullied online for his articles.

Lucas: Look at that. It seems like this Nevel is being put in his place without us even doing anything.

Carly: Even the pop star celebrity Hannah Montana is tweeting about her opinion, and she is totally siding with you and iCarly.

"Hannah Montana?" I muttered to myself as I placed my phone down and rubbed my face with my hands and sighed.

At this point, I shouldn't be surprised anymore. Hannah Montana was just another character from a popular show of my past life, and yet I'm only hearing about her now. It made me question what I had been doing in the past few days to be so out of touch with all this stuff.

As I was about to berate myself for such a dumb lapse in thinking, I suddenly received a message from Freddie. He informed me that Sam had texted him, asking to meet up at the Seattle Police Department within an hour.

"What are you thinking, Sam?" I muttered to myself, feeling a mix of curiosity and concern. I quickly grabbed some cash, texted Carly that I would be doing something for the rest of the night thus ending our convo and replied to Freddie.

"I'll sneak out. I'll meet you at your place, and we'll go to the police station together."

Freddie: I don't think I can go out now. I'm pretty sure that my mom won't allow me.

With a surge of annoyance, I texted back, "Freddie, there are times when you need to set aside the fear of consequences and just go with it. But if you genuinely don't want to leave, then I'll go by myself." Without waiting for Freddie's response, I made my way downstairs, only to be greeted by the enticing aroma of freshly baked muffins wafting through the air. The smell alone indicated that someone had been busy baking a substantial batch.

Intrigued, I followed the scent into the kitchen, where I discovered Izzie surrounded by dozens of delicious-looking muffins. The whole room felt like a cozy bakery.

"What are you up to?" I inquired, although I had a strong suspicion about the reason behind this sudden baking spree. Izzie was known to bake on a regular basis, but preparing such a large quantity of muffins usually meant something was amiss—and I had a feeling it had something to do with George.

"I'm just baking. Help yourself," Izzie stated, as she focused on measuring the ingredients she needed to yet bake another batch.

"Love life problems?" I commented, taking a muffin and savoring a large bite.

Izzie gave me a neutral glare that confirmed my assumption. "You wanna talk about it?" I asked. I was curious if George had already informed Callie about Izzie or had George pushed forth what I wanted him to do, getting Izzie to have a checkup.

She sighed and continued baking, saying, "It's fine. I shouldn't burden you with this. Just go to bed after you're done eating."

For a brief moment, I contemplated saying something to Izzie, but I decided against it. I didn't have time to pry information out of her while I was also preoccupied with Sam's intentions at the Seattle Police Department.

Before leaving, I grabbed a plastic bag and filled it with a few muffins. Izzie seemed puzzled by my actions. "You know you could use a plate, right?" she commented.

"I don't want to dirty any dishes this late," I lied. Sam texted Freddie to meet her within an hour and if I was going to wait, might as well have something to eat.

Afterwards, I returned to the stairs while keeping a watchful eye on Izzie. As soon as I saw her attention shift to the oven, I quietly slipped out of the house.

Once outside, I began running as far as I could before Izzie realized that I was gone. Currently, she was the only adult in the house due to Meredith and Alex taking a longer shift at the hospital.

After a few blocks, I spotted a taxi and promptly hailed it.

"Hello," the taxi driver greeted warmly. "Where to?" he asked as I entered the vehicle.

"The Seattle Police Department, please," I replied, but just as I got settled, I received a surprising text message from Freddie.

Freddie: I'm sneaking out. Just meet me at the Seattle Police Department.

I couldn't help but chuckle. Who would've thought that I would become the bad influence in Freddie's life, rather than Sam?

"Should you be out at this late hour, young man?" the taxi driver questioned, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm meeting someone there," I confidently responded, aiming to alleviate any suspicion from the driver, who understandably had concerns about a 14-year-old being out alone at this hour.

Wanting to change the subject, I continued, "So, how long have you been driving for?"

At first, the driver was skeptical, but perhaps due to my destination being a police station, he let the topic go. "I've been driving for many years now, ever since I arrived in America," he replied.

"Cool, how's business in Seattle?" I asked, continuing the conversation.

"Actually, I primarily work in New York. I'm just visiting my family here in Seattle and decided to look for customers," the driver explained.

"Ah, so this is like a side-hustle for you while you are here," I joked.

"Something like that," he responded, flashing a smile.

Despite our brief interaction, there was a nagging sense of familiarity about the man that I couldn't quite place. "Well, nice to meet you sir. I'm Lucas Grey, by the way," I introduced myself, hoping to elicit his name in return. I wanted to see if my gut feeling about him being someone from a show in my past life was correct.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, Lucas. My name is Ranjit Singh," he replied, nodding his head while looking at the taxi's rear-view mirror.