final round - lrh

fifty-four.

Shaking my head at my thoughts, I gather my clothes to toss in my hamper and open the door to the bathroom as I intend to walk past Luke and put my sneakers on. I feel bad for letting my frustration out on him, especially as he had spent the night consoling me, but the truth is I'm not dying to be around anyone right now as I feel nothing short of broken.

As soon as I open the door, I notice Luke is leaning on the doorframe, waiting for me to step out but I don't acknowledge his presence and instead keep walking away from him.

"Lila..."

I don't answer him, walking towards my sneakers as it isn't long before I feel Luke grab onto my wrist, stopping me from moving any further.

"Baby."

And if his grip isn't enough, that one word certainly is.

I don't move as I'm frozen in my spot, repeating the sound of the word in my head a million times over as it's practically enough to make me relax entirely. It sounds so beautiful coming from him-- as if it's a word of healing. Any context I've ever heard this word in otherwise is temporarily stripped from my memory entirely as all I can focus on is now and the desperation laced in his tone as he needed me to hear him.

And I can't help but let out a deep breath.

For that, I'm absolutely all his in this moment as I don't want to focus on Michael, or the events of today, or what we're having for breakfast, or how badly I need to put on my shoes. Instead, I just want to focus on what he just called me and how good it made me feel.

I want to focus on the way that he said it with no hesitation.

I look into his eyes, recognizing how crazy my thoughts are as a simple word has sent me into a frenzy. A simple word has managed to take all my hurt away from me, if only temporarily, and has made me feel weightless under the gaze of the beautiful man who is Luke Hemmings.

And I don't fail to remember the time that he told me he was a slave to my pleasure but in this moment, I truly recognize that I'm a captive to his blue eyes that promise me the world.

"I'm here, you know that, right?" he asks, his eyes looking into mine in the most intense way possible.

For that reason, I don't hesitate to nod my head as I know he's here. I know he's willing to listen and willing to be a shoulder to cry on and willing to allow me the day off if I need it. I'm not blind to this and I'd never want him to think that for a second.

In response, I whisper back to him, "Thank you."

I notice Luke seems to relax in hearing this as his body reacts immediately, his head lowering in order to seal his words with a kiss. I don't pull away and I certainly don't hesitate to reciprocate his actions as I close my eyes and wait for my pain to fade further as his warm lips meet mine. And the second they do, I feel my own form of instant relief.

There's no urgency in our kiss and there's definitely no desire to further it from the simple kiss that it is but it definitely is exactly what I need in this moment. It makes me feel safe once more as I don't have to think about all the people that are here that could be lying or could be watching my every move. I don't have to worry about any of that because I have Luke.

And in every lifetime, that's enough.

Luke squeezes my hand gently, pulling back from our kiss in order to rest his forehead to my own. I keep my eyes shut, fearful to open them as they'll bring me back to reality and remind me that I can't just sit in here and hide all day. I have to go back out there and be the strong woman that I am.