// cate //
She felt alone.
She was alone.
Calum had dragged Luke off a couple of hours ago, meaning Catelynn had to cope by herself. As much as Luke hadn't wanted to leave her alone with her current mental state, it would be suspicious that he would rather spend time with his friend's sister instead of his actual friend. So, she was sitting on the porch swing out back by herself.
Cate had hugged her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees, staring sullenly at the porch pavement a few feet in front of her. Dried tear stains coated her cheeks, trailing down from her usually bright eyes.
It was getting colder. The sun had sunk below the tree line half an hour ago, and she could barely see the outlines of the garden across the yard. The moon wasn't out yet, so it was just dark. Catelynn didn't really like the dark all that much, unless she was with Luke. However, Luke was somewhere upstairs with her brother.
Sighing, she leaned her head back to stretch her neck after sitting in that cramped position for too long.
The Hoods used to come out here a lot. They would utilize the grill sitting in the corner and the nice picnic table and the fairy lights strung from the overhang. Her dad used to try and figure out how to use the grill, get frustrated, and then ask the gardener who was always very conveniently pruning the hydrangea bushes next to the porch to help. They used to invite over Elaina and maybe some clients whose case they had been working on recently.
The last time that had happened was when Catelynn had just turned fourteen, late August of 2014.
And- understandably so- that would be the last time.
Reaching for the blanket lazily folded on the swing beside her, Cate draped it over herself, trying to relieve herself of the chill of the summer night.
Everything sucked.
She had nothing to distract herself from the thoughts running rampant through her brain. Everything Cate tried to focus on, she would end up losing interest in quickly and start staring into the distance.
Curling up into a ball on the swing, she exhaled slowly. Cate was tired. She was tired of being depressed over something that happened years ago. She was tired of sneaking around with Luke because Calum would kill him. She was tired of pretending that she was okay.
Her hand clutched the fabric of the blanket tighter, tugging it closer over her shoulder. There was a slight breeze drifting across the porch, and it was making her shiver.
Just then, the sound of the back door creaking open alerted her.
"Hey," Luke breathed, stepping out. She offered a weary smile before letting her features droop once more. The door slammed shut behind him, and he muttered curse words under his breath in surprise.
She started to move over to make space for him to sit, but he stopped her. Gently, he scooped her into his arms, before taking a seat, letting her rest in his lap.
"Sorry for leaving you alone for so long, doll," Luke murmured, trailing his hand across her hair softly.
"It's okay," Cate mumbled quietly into the blanket. She wasn't facing him, more so she was lying with her back curled against his abdomen, her head on his thigh.
"Baby," he sighed.
"Hm?"
"Do you want to go back to your room? It's cold out here,"
"Can we sleep in your room?" Catie murmured drowsily, her eyes no longer open.
"I- I guess," he replied, "I'm not really in there a lot, though."
She shrugged.
Luke gently slid his arms underneath her again, hugging the little girl to his chest. Carefully, he opened the back door, making sure it didn't slam shut this time.
She wasn't sure why she wanted to sleep in his room. Like he said, he was never in there. He would leave his duffel bag by the bed and mess up the sheets to make it look like he actually used the room, but in reality, Luke had never slept in there once. So it was a little of an odd request to sleep in there, but if Cate wanted to sleep in there, then by all means would Luke grant her request.
"I do have to go in tomorrow though, babe," he mumbled, quietly making his way up the dark stairway.
"I know," she murmured, nearly inaudible.
"Are you going to be fine?"
She shrugged, her face pressed against his shoulder softly. "We'll see."
Entering the room, Luke shut the door with his foot, before laying the little girl on the mattress. Her arms fell back to her sides from where they had been comfortably slung around his neck. He tugged his shirt off, leaving it on the floor with his sweats following suit.
Mindfully, Luke climbed into bed beside her. Her body immediately curled into his, and he had to bite back a chuckle at how instinctive the movement was. Catie was so cute, even when she was barely awake.
Pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, Luke took a moment to admire the girl, watching her drift off into the unconscious. Cate meant the world to him, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself. She had helped him keep his temper in ways he couldn't have done on his own. She was the reason he always kept going. Even if she didn't know any of that, Luke was so grateful. It wasn't everyday that you meet someone who can help you in ways you could never imagine, and there was no way in hell that he would take this for granted.
The sneaky kisses on the cheek when no one was in the lobby, the races to his car from the hotel when it was pouring rain, the simple way she would start blushing at anything he said... it all just made Luke feel giddy. A grown man, feeling giddy.
It was all so new, and yet all so old to him.
Luke had been through this before.
He knew what could happen.
And he knew what would happen.
And it was probably in his best interest to distance himself from the little girl with the innocent doe eyes and the infectious laughter, but Luke had no idea how he would have the self-control to do that.
So he wouldn't try to.
If it happened, Luke would take responsibility for it all.
He would end up broken and battered and bruised all again, because in the end...
It was his own damn fault, and Luke was well aware.
//
After making sure that Cate had eaten some form of breakfast- she seemed to be in a newfound yogurt phase- Luke headed for work. He was going to come back and pick her up during his lunch break, so it wasn't as if he was leaving her to her own devices all day.
Slipping behind the desk, he set his things on his chair before glancing over the files that Burt wanted to be put into their system. So he turned the monitor on, knowing it would take ages to get running.
"Luke,"
The expectant voice of Autumn as she wandered into the lobby from where she had been checking on the bar caught his attention. It wasn't the cute way that Catie would do it, instead, it made his eyes narrow in the slightest and the start of a headache to show.
"What?"
"Mrs Peters is leaving today."
Oh thank God.
It had seemed like she managed to stay an extra few weeks in addition to their original plans. And Luke was pretty tired of dealing with her spoiled sons- and- at this point- honestly even her.
"Okay."
Autumn rolled her eyes at how short his tone was.
"Anyway, she wanted you to have lunch up in her room as a goodbye," she raised an eyebrow, popping her arm over the counter.
"Can't."
"Why not?" Autumn asked indignantly.
He shot her a glare from his monitor screen. "Because I'm picking up one of your waitresses during my lunch. You wouldn't want to be short staffed again, now would you?"
"Don't patronize me." She scowled, her fingers moving to slide the charm on her necklace as some sort of habit.
"You are acting like a toddler," Luke mumbled under his breath, starting to input login information into the computer.
Rolling her eyes in a more exaggerated manner, Autumn walked away, muttering profanities at the blonde Australian under her breath. He bit back a malevolent smile, shaking his head.
A few hours later, and all of the files were finally inputted into the computers. Luke was tired of staring at spreadsheets, and after glancing at the time, he realized it was about fifteen minutes away from his lunch break.
"Luke!"
The peppy voice of Eleanor made his head swivel to the studious red head approaching the front desk.
"Mrs Peters," he replied, much less enthusiastically.
"Did Autumn tell you? I was wondering if you could have a farewell lunch with me," she smiled, cocking her head at him expectantly.
Even though he had nearly twenty minutes until his lunch started, Luke really wasn't in the mood to sit with preppy Mrs Peters and talk about some rich people from her country club and what amazing things they had accomplished with their millions of dollars. So he decided Burt wouldn't mind if he went to pick up Catelynn a little earlier than schedule.
"Uh, I've got to go, actually," he confessed, rubbing he back of his neck.
"Oh. Anything major? I can wait,"
Luke shrugged uneasily, feeling for his keys in his pocket. "I'm going to be gone for a while, maybe more."
"Is everything okay?" she asked, furrowing her brow.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just have to go get someone." Luke started to stand up, glancing towards the parking lot through the automatic doors that were currently slid shut.
Why was she asking so many questions? Christ.
Heading to the other side of the desk, he started to make his way toward the door.
"Uh, well. Have fun then!" she called uncertainly after him. "Maybe we'll catch you before we leave."
"Maybe," he muttered under his breath, not even offering a backwards glance in her relative direction.
It only took a few minutes to reach the big fancy neighborhood that he had gotten so familiar driving through the past month or so. Each house Luke passed, his eye had grown accustomed to seeing as he approached the Hood residence.
There on the stoop, was the little girl waiting for him, a small- but clearly genuine- smile gracing her lips. Her hair was pulled up onto her head, hanging across her back- despite the elastic holding it up, and her knees were tucked in front of her.
The only good thing Autumn had done recently was let Catelynn wear a skirt as part of her uniform, instead of the stiff pants she despised so much. So, as Luke pulled the car into the driveway, the tan slender legs belonging to the girl were very evident.
It wasn't as if the skirt length was inappropriate. It truthfully barely lifted above the knee, but all the same, it made Luke feel things he didn't want to be feeling at that moment.
"How are you?"
"Better," she hummed, watching as he approached her from the driveway. Offering her a hand, Luke helped her to her feet.
"Did you have lunch?"
"Mhm. Aimee made roast beef sandwiches. I have one for you in my purse."
Luke smiled at how cheery she seemed in comparison to the day before, letting her give him a quick hug before tugging his hand after her as she walked towards his car. He had parked father down the driveway for some reason- maybe he didn't want to disturb the gardener trimming the bushes by the side of the garage. But his car was much closer to the gate at the entrance to the residence than the house.
As soon as they had shut their doors, he leaned across the armrest, his face hovering only inches from her own.
"Luke," Cate breathed.
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?"
"Can I kiss you?"
Her confused expression shifted to a wide smile, her eyes twinkling.
"Duh."
Stifling laughter at her childish response, he connected their lips, his hand slipping to hold the nape of her neck. Her tongue slipped between his lips, and chills shot down Luke's spine in surprise. But, relaxing once more, he let his own tongue tangle with hers. Catelynn didn't seem to shy away, instead, she giggled, her soft hand pressing against his chest.
"Baby," he mumbled.
"Yes?"
"I don't want to go back to work."
"Then don't."
"But you have to."
"Then be late."
Figuring this solution was better than the first one, Luke was aware of his pants tightening when her gentle hand caressed his cheek and a groan escaping his lips that were pressed against hers. Cate paused, her eyes glancing to where he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
"I- is everything okay?" she asked softly, her hand moving to fiddle absently with his collar.
"O- oh, yeah," he mumbled.
"Are you sure?" Cate pressed hesitantly, considering it would be better to push him then to let something go unnoticed. She may have pushed against a bruise and hurt him, or maybe his stab wound was hurting again-
"Y- yeah, it's just... that skirt isn't leaving a lot to the imagination, princess," he breathed, aware of her brows furrowing in confusion before a dusting of pink flooded her cheeks.
"I- I can change," she mumbled, now staring solely at her lap, starting to pull away, "if you don't like it."
Luke wanted to smack his face into the steering wheel. "That- fuck, that's not what I meant."
Cate looked back up at him, now even more confused. "Then what did you mea- oh."
Her hand rested in the position it had been previously withdrawing from Luke in- on his chest as she slowly realized what he meant.
"So I guess you do like it," she mumbled very quietly.
The corners of Luke's mouth turned upward into a smirk he tried his best to contain at her remark. Chuckling, he glanced down at his lap where his issue was still very prominent.
Looking back over at the girl, he noted where her eyes were. She had dug her teeth into her bottom lip out of habit as she gazed absently at Luke's lap, and it took all of his strength to not chuckle again at her expression.
"What?" she asked, snapping his gaze back to his.
Luke chuckled again, and her face ran pink as she noticed he had noticed her staring.
"What can I say, princess, you're pretty when you're staring."
She giggled, rolling her eyes.
"Not to say that you aren't pretty all of the time. Or only pretty when you're staring. I'm just saying that I noticed you staring and I thought it was cute. I hope you don't think I always say the wrong thing on purpose, I swear it's just around you. Not that there's anything wrong with you-"
Luke's rambling was cut short by Catelynn pressing her lips softly against his.
"Baby," he mumbled.
"What?"
"Sorry."
She giggled. "Don't be sorry. It was cute."
He smiled sheepishly, ducking his head down.
"I know I said we could be late..." Cate mumbled.
"But we should get going?" Luke guessed, caressing her cheek softly.
"Mhm. I don't want to though," she told him softly, looking into his eyes.
Luke shook his head, leaning a little closer to her, "Neither do I, princess."
His hand ran down her hair in a caring way, before lingering at her lower back. Her breath hitched in her throat at the feeling of his rough fingertips grazing across her clothed skin, chills shooting down her back.
Dipping his head down, his nose brushed against her neck, making her shudder instinctively. Luke pressed a kiss to her collarbone, his teeth grazing against the sensitive skin in a fashion that made Cate press her thighs together and her eyes start to flutter shut.
"Luke," she mumbled, her voice cracking slightly.
The stiff shirt collar wasn't really in the way, especially due to how Catelynn refused to button it up the full way anymore. She said it made her uncomfortable, and she didn't like it.
Her fingers dug through his hair, holding it as Luke fervently pressed kisses across her neck and the top of her chest in a way that made her stomach start to burn and her lips part with a whimper.
"Jesus, I wish we could keep doing this," Luke mumbled, pressing his forehead to her cheek, exhaling shakily as his want for the girl was struggling to suppress itself in his pants.
Cate slipped her hand down to the nape of his neck gently.
"But I have a half hour lunch break and we should get back before Autumn gets pissed," he sighed reluctantly. Looking into her eyes that were as big and innocent as ever, Luke swallowed thickly. He never had enough willpower for things like this, but he didn't want any Cate's first times to happen in his battered old car. She deserved much more than that.
"I'm sorry, princess."
"It's okay, Luke," she said softly, pressing a kiss to his temple gently. "Bad timing, that's all."
He gazed at her admiringly, before sharing one last kiss on the lips that didn't seem to last long enough for either of their liking.
"You're too perfect," Luke mumbled finally, before turning and starting the car.
- -
i kinda like this chapter yay
lmao haven't updated in like a week? two? idk
but who's excited for three weeks of standardized and some AP tests
woo
i ✨did not study✨🤩
also i know i reuse the same photo at the top so many times but i just love certain photos more than others yno and that's like one of my favorites 🥺💗
uhh so gracias for reading i had a cool fanfic idea that i hopefully won't lose interest in before i finish this book
love you all to the moon :)) stay hydrated
carolyne xxx