Today's poster is my story "Don't give up on me" - it's completed and on my profile!
It's Chapter 69......
Chapter 69: In Bed
Luke took my hand and stole us away before the others could see. We fled through the trees, creating as much distance between us and our friends. We wanted to be alone, together.
And I wanted this to last forever.
OK, if that isn't a lyric from a future Top 10 hit then I don't know what is.
I made a mental note to text Jake later.
"Why are you smiling?" Luke asked, glancing over at me with a relaxed smile of his own.
We were fleeing from our friends. I turned back to see if any of them had noticed us, but it looked like we'd gotten away.
"Are you sure you know the way?" I retorted, trying to change the expression on my face to match the escape plan.
His eyes were so beautiful. Has anyone told him that?
I turned 180 degrees to test him, but he spun me back round, playfully taking me the right way. His arm circled my waist as he pulled me in front of him. I laughed and shook my head, not wanting to lead the way. I had no idea where we were going.
Suddenly, Luke pulled me towards a tree bark and let me rest my back against it. We were well hidden from the others, all alone in this forest now. He pressed his hand against the bark next to my head and kissed me.
I thought I was doing fine until I felt his touch on me. Heated sensations tickled my skin as his mouth hovered over mine.
"I won't forget this," he whispered, "I swear to you Minnie, you caught me in a way you don't even know."
"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my hands and gently stroking his arms.
"You make me rethink my choices," he said mysteriously.
**
We ran from Mr Woodhouse's activity center without telling anyone.
We hadn't followed the cartoon map, done none of the activities and hadn't said our goodbyes. Luke grabbed our bags from the trunk while I used his phone to call an uber. It felt like we were runaways.
The drive back was when the fatigue kicked in. I'd completely forgotten that the last time I slept in a bed was in Dubai. As the car drove on empty country roads, my head slowly rocked onto Luke's shoulder. And I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing.
**
"Babe," Luke whispered into my ear.
I opened my eyes and sat up, feeling his arm around me loosen. I don't know how much time had gone by, but the light outside had faded with dusk. I looked out of the window and saw the familiar street I had grown up. We had grown up on.
Nothing had changed.
We were home. After a week in a foreign world, in Chad's world, we were back.
"What do you have in that bag?" Luke asked, pointing at the plastic bag I kept between my legs.
Inside was the gift I was meant to give him on New Year's. Cearra had brought it all the way to Dubai for a surprise that never happened. But I hadn't given up on showing Luke.
"Nothing," I answered as innocently as possible, squeezing my legs together so he couldn't see inside the bag.
I was going to save it for the right moment. He smirked and opened the door to get our bags from out back. He didn't ask anymore questions.
I hid my yawn behind my open hand as I pushed open the car door. I was feeling so tired. We thanked the uber driver who muttered something about our dirty clothes, before driving away.
Luke saw how tired I looked and said encouragingly, "You're almost there."
He carried my bags and took me to my door first. I saw the garden gnome sitting outside the front door and gave it a little stroke. I missed gnomey.
"Keys?" Luke asked, before he said in realization, "I really hope that..."
He pushed the door and it swung open.
"OK," he said, "Still not locking the door."
I peered into my home, feeling a coldness from the lack of heating. All the lights were off, and it didn't look like anyone was home. It didn't look like anyone had been home for a few days.
"Are you sure you don't want to come to my place instead?" he offered.
"No, I'm fine here," I said, convincingly.
I hope it was convincing. Just in case, I forced a smile for good measure. That's got to be convincing, right?
"Whatever you want Minnie," he said, unconvinced, "I'll be across the street if you need me."
I watched him go, picking his bags and walking across the street. If I know my boyfriend, I know he's going straight to the shower.
**
~9.05 PM~
I woke up, thinking it was the middle of the night. I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep.
I looked at the screen: 9.05 PM
That's going to mess up my sleep schedule.
I checked my phone and saw a missed call from Luke and a couple texts. I lay back in bed and lazily perused the messages:
Hey, I heard you're back. Free to meet up? – Jake
Have you eloped??? We need to debrief Dubai, Austin and Luke – Cearra
Surprisingly, I also saw Instagram notifications. I didn't expect that. I tapped the icon, saw that Oma had posted pictures of us and then noticed a friend request from...
"Bianca?!" I said out loud.
I heard a loud sound downstairs. My sister and mom weren't home so I wondered who that could be. A raccoon?
"Luke," I called out.
Luke was worried about me. I saw his expression when he left my house and I'd missed his call this afternoon. I called his number from my bed.
"Hey," he answered in his deep voice.
"I'm upstairs," I said, feeling nervous about my next words, "In bed."
It was an invitation. No one else was home tonight so we could spend the night together.
"Same," Luke answered, relaxed.
I froze.
A feeling of dread dropped into my stomach. I listened to the sounds downstairs. Dreaded and daunting. My heart thudded as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Slow and steady.
I sat upright..
"If you're in your bed," I whispered, staring at my closed bedroom door, "Then who's in my house?"
We made it! We've gotten to a part in the story where things are about to take a different turn :)
So I'll be back with the next chapter on February 4th. Quickest way to reach me in the meantime is the comment section of my Instagram (@NatalieInACorner)
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Looking for something to read? 📖 ...
Check out my FINISHED story "Don't Give Up On Me" (poster above)! Some of you may know it as HBHH, but I've rewritten the first few chapters and given it a rebrand. It's on my Wattpad profile!
See ya! <3
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