Faded Away

|FOUR|

His family returned home a few hours later and I decided it was time for me to leave. I tried to return the bathing suit to Jordan but she told me to keep it. I thanked her and said good bye to everyone as Luke walked me outside. The boy who was on Luke's shoulders earlier, Tate, ran up to me and asked if I would go back to play with him. I agreed and ruffled his hair before giving him a hug. Luke followed me out to the drive way and gripped my hand.

"Ow! Luke, you're hurting me!" I said, ripping my hand away and shaking it a bit.

"I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean to I swear." He replied.

"That's okay. What's the matter?" I noticed his demeanor had significantly changed.

"I don't know. What happened back there with Tate really got to me. I haven't seen him like that in a while. And I'm worried." He sighed.

"You're worried about Tate? He seemed perfectly fine to me." I commented, a bit confused.

"No not about him. I'm worried about us. You and me. What's gonna happen after this week is over? What if you decide that you don't feel the same about me anymore? What if you don't want to leave with me?" He held my hands in his and had a solemn look in his eyes.

"When this week is over, we'll find out. We still have time. You don't have to worry about how I feel about you, Luke. Do you really think if I didn't feel the same about you, I'd be standing here right now? You need to stop worrying and just take things day by day. Okay? Now, it's getting late and I better get home." I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"No don't go. Stay here with me. Please." He said pulling me back into his arms. I tried to tell him that I needed to go home but he was being stubborn and made me stay despite my protests. I followed him back upstairs to his room and I plopped down on the comfy bed.

"I don't have pajamas Luke. Are you sure I should stay? I don't want to wear out my welcome with your family." I said.

"Nonsense. You're welcome anytime and my family loves you. It's fine, really." He smiled, handing me a pair of gray drawstring sweatpants, a hoodie and a pair of socks. I entered his personal bathroom and changed quickly. I came back out and realized he had on a similar outfit. He chuckled when he saw me. "I know I look like a munchkin but you don't have to laugh."

"You don't look like a munchkin. You look adorable in my clothes that are awfully big and socks that look like the grinch's feet." He smirked and pulled me into a hug. "Now c'mon I promised I'd start the fire out back for s'mores."

"Actually, I'll meet you down there in a minute okay?" I stayed back for a moment to change from the sweat pants to my shorts since it wasn't that chilly out. As I put the sweat pants away in his dresser, I found an old photo album stuffed in the drawer. I flipped through it and found wedding pictures and family photos. I came across a well worn photo so I took it out of the sleeve to get a better look at it. It was Luke and I at the beach many tears ago. I smiled and put the photo and album back in their proper places. I went downstairs and out back to join the family for s'mores. I took a seat between Luke and Tate, who gave me a bright eyed smile. I was given a wooden stick and marshmallow. I roasted it just enough that it was still in flames when I pulled it back towards me. Tate eyeballed the flaming marshmallow so I let him blow it out. I did this a few more times until I had enough of eating s'mores.

Little by little, Luke's family retreated back inside to go to bed. Luke and I remained sitting by the fire. He scooted closer to me and motioned for me to sit with him. He opened up a space between his legs big enough for me to sit in. I leaned against his chest with my back and my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me and we say there for a while without saying a word.

Luke pulled out his phone and opened up his snapchat. He held up the camera and snapped a quick picture of us before captioning it and sending it to someone under "BM". He laughed at the reply but didn't want to show me. I rolled my eyes but snuggled more into him and he held me a little tighter. The radiating warmth and crackle of the fire soon died out as the charred firewood collapsed into chunks of black soot.

We went upstairs and laid under the covers of Luke's bed. He kept his arms firmly wrapped around me. I was tired but I just couldn't fall asleep so I laid there with my eyes closed. I felt Luke stir a bit before I felt his lips press against my temple.

"Thank you God for letting me bring her back into my life. Please let me keep her in it forever. She means the world to me." He whispered, thinking I must've fallen asleep. A tear slipped from my eye and down my cheek after hearing him say those things.

Author's Note:
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Ily guys. ❤️
-sam✨