The Road Ahead

Chapter 13

"Luke!" Caroline shouted up the stairs. "Breakfast is ready!"

There was no reply. She shook her head, he was probably still sleeping. She placed a bowl of Lucky Charms on the counter for Kelly and microwaved a bottle of formula for Bo. He had been off breastfeeding milk for a while now. Which was good now that she was expecting again.

Kelly slid into her seat sluggishly. She was only three now, her brother almost two. Caroline remembered her as her little baby.

It wasn't fair that Kelly lost her mother. It wasn't fair that Luke had a child only to lose his wife. Caroline herself had been heartbroken. But she loved them both. Thank God, she was there for them. Luke especially.

Caroline rubbed Kelly's arm before making her way upstairs to wake Bo. He had just gotten switched into  toddler bed. Soon he'd be drinking regular milk and eating cereal too. She didn't want her baby to grow up.

Before stopping in Bo's room, she leaned against her own bedroom door. "Nobody's gonna love you like this southern gentleman," Luke's voice echoed. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Did I hurt her?"

Caroline's heart broke when she heard Luke's choked up voice. She had denied his touch. She pushed her baby away, she was scared he was going to hurt her. But she ended up hurting him instead. That's all she has been doing the past couple of months. Hurting the man she loved. And it was wrong.

She opened the door slowly, to reveal a crying, messy haired, red eyed, and shirtless Luke. That image of him killed her more than anything else.

"Luke? Breakfast is ready."

He quickly wiped his eyes, and gave her a fake smile. He was about to squeeze past her, but she grabbed his wrist. "What?!" Luke shouted. She immediately let go. Luke pushed his way out the bedroom door and continued to the front door.

"Luke, baby! Wait!" Caroline yelled after him.

"I want to be alone!" he screamed back, tears soaking his face. He didn't want to be alone, he wanted to be held. He wanted to know why she was scared of him touching her. He had no clue what to do. They were being torn apart.

Caroline wiped the lone tear that was on her cheek. "I love you, please don't go."

Life wasn't a fair game. No matter what you do, you lose. Nobody deserved to lose, but everybody did. Caroline was losing the father of her two little babies and the man she has always loved. And it wasn't fair.

Luke was just sitting in his truck. Hands in his face. She wasn't suppose to see him like this. She wasn't suppose to know he was being destroyed on the inside. Brett did something to her to make her afraid of men. Afraid of him. Luke was going to beat the hell out of that man.

Almost instantly, Luke threw on a shirt grabbed his hat off the dashboard and started the drive to Brett's house. This needed to end. Whether he ended up dead or not, Brett wasn't going to hurt another woman ever again.

"Leah, I don't know what to do. He won't answer my phone calls," Caroline sighed into the phone as she watched Bo play with his race cars.

"You need to tell Luke the truth. Tell him why you're scared and tell him about what Brett did to you. And, Carol, Luke's a good guy. Don't deny his affection."

"It's hard. The last we done anything. I got pregnant. And then Brett tried to sleep with me. Leah, he almost took my child from me with how he abused me. Luke doesn't need to know that his child was almost killed"

"He misses you, Carol," Leah sighed.

"I've been with him the whole time," Caroline argued.

"No, you haven't you said you haven't done anything since you got pregnant? Caroline, you haven't let him love you. Luke is feeling unwanted."

Caroline felt a tear fall. She felt horrible. She wasn't letting him live her? And now he was God only knows. She wanted him back. She felt like she let him down.

Luke was knocking feriously. After about five minutes, Brett opened the door. "Luke?"

Without a second thought, Luke threw a punch right into Brett's judge, knocking him down. He then climbed on top of him and fist his shirt into his hands. "What did you do to my baby?!"

"Huh?"

"Why won't my fiancée let me touch her?! What did you do to her?!" Luke shouted.

Brett pushed Luke off of him. Now he was throwing punches. "I DID NOTHING! SHE'S A FUCKING BITCH!"

Brett let go of Luke, his hands covering his mouth. Luke was lying there unconcious, possibly dead. Brett moved his hands away from his mouth as he started to taste blood. He looked at his hands in horror.

"I got to get out of here," Brett whispered before packing some things and escaping town, but not forgetting to hide Luke's unconcious body first.

It was already well past midnight and Luke was still missing. Caroline was worried about him. She had reported him missing hours ago. His phone always goes straight to voicemail, which wasn't normal.

He's okay, Carol," Leah tried to assure her best friend.

"Easy for you to say. You're kids aren't going to bed crying because they miss their daddy. Your fiancé isn't missing. How do you know if he's okay? How do you know whether or not I'll even get to kiss him again."

Leah hugged Caroline tightly. "I don't. I just want to believe that this wonderful man is okay."

Caroline and Leah cried together for what seemed like eternity. "I can't help but think this is my fault. I just want my baby back in my arms where he belongs. I want him safe at home."

Leah wiped her tears away. She took Caroline's hand and squeezed it tight. "We'll find him."

"God, he's alive," she choked out. "He better be alive."

Leah thought that it was best to get Caroline to bed. She didn't want her worried right now. "Come, let's get you to sleep."

Caroline reluctantly followed Leah upstairs to her room. She laid on the soft bed and looked towards her right. "Luke's supposed to be right there, kissing me goodnight."

"I know. You're just going to have to have faith that he's safe and I promise you that they'll find him."

"He's my world, Leah. I can't live without him," she cried. "This is all my fault. I didn't tell him the truth."

"It's not your fault, Carol. Now get some sleep." After a few moments, Caroline was out like a light.

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A/N: Here you have it. Let me know what you think and what you're predictions are. ~Kelsea

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