Lucas just got out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He turned to the mirror, seeing his reflection. He noticed that his hair is getting long that it almost look like a mullet.
"Should I cut it?" He muttered as he ruffled his hair.
He turned to his bed where his phone is when he heard a ring from it. He made his way to his phone and answered it as he saw Ijekiel's name on it.
"Hello?"
"Uuhh.. Lucas can you come over here for a moment?"
Lucas frowned, blinking. "Uuhh... I never knew that you're like this.. Sorry man, but I have a girlfriend and you know who-"
"That's not it!!!"
"Eh?" Lucas blinked again but soon let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, I thought that-"
"Athy needs you."
Lucas paused and immediately pressed the speaker button as he went to his closet to dress up. "Why, what's wrong? Did something happened?"
"She was just sleeping peacefully but then she suddenly kept yelling 'stop' or whatnot, I tried to calm her down but she wanted you here."
"Mhm.." Lucas nodded even though the older can't see him. "I'll be there in a minute, tell her that I'm on my way."
"I will."
Lucas ended the call as he finished putting his clothes on. And took his phone and keys.
"Oh, where are you going?" His father asked as he walked down the stairs.
"Somewhere," Lucas muttered, sitting down to wear his shoes. "I'll be back at dawn."
"O-Okay.." His dad replied. "Be careful!"
"I will!"
Minutes after, he arrived in front of the apartment building and ran inside. He went in an elevator to where their apartment is.
When he arrived at their door, he knocked on it very loud.
The door opened, revealing Ijekiel with a worried look on his face. "You know, you're gonna destroy the door down if you kept knocking like that."
"Where's Athanasia?" He asked, not calling Athanasia peanut in front of her cousin.
"She's in her room, follow me-"
Ijekiel took a step back when Lucas pushed himself inside and immediately took his shoes off before going to his girlfriend's room.
"Peanut?" Lucas called, seeing Athanasia all curled up in her blanket.
Athanasia turned around and saw Lucas standing at the door. She immediately hugged him from behind when the older closed the door.
"You're here..." She sobbed.
"You know that I'm always here when you needed me," Lucas whispered softly, kissing her forehead. "Now, what's wrong? You're cousin told me that you had a nightmare. Care to tell Lu-nii?"
Athanasia lets go of the hug to wipe off the tears with her blanket that is still wrapped around her. She shook her head in response, too afraid to tell the older.
"No... just.. stay here.. please.." She whined, pulling him close to her bed.
"Sure, peanut.." Lucas gently smiled at her as pulled her back to her bed.
He sat down on the bed, and layed his back on the fluffy mattress. He spread his arms wide, welcoming his girlfriend in a hug to comfort her.
"Warm.." Athanasia softly giggles, snuggling closer to his chest for warmth.
Lucas smiled as he looked down worryingly to Athanasia who tried to fall asleep in his arms. "Do you want me to sing a song for you?"
His girlfriend hummed as she nods. Lucas shifted closer, taking a deep breath as he opened his mouth to sing.
“You give me hope
The strength, the will to keep on
No one else can make me feel this way”
Athanasia smiled as his soft voice hits her ears. She recognized this song, it was the song that Lucas sang for her when she was sick, when she showed him her secret.
And only you
Can bring out all the best I can do
She felt her heart slowly starting to calm down from the nightmare that she has and started to beat for him.
“I believe you turn the tide
And make me feel real good inside”
As Lucas continued to sing, Athanasia unconsciously opened her mouth and said, "It was about my past.. with my ex.."
Lucas stopped singing and looked down to Athanasia with a confused look on his face. "Huh?"
Athanasia looked back up to the older, smiling. "I will tell you about my past.."
"A-Are you sure?" Lucas stuttered, slightly leaning back. "Didn't you said that you don't want to tell me yet??"
"Yeah, I told you that.." Athanasia nodded as reached up to caress his soft cheek. "But I don't want to hide anything from you anymore."
"Athanasia.. love, if you're just forcing yourself then you should stop. I'm okay with not knowing about it, as long as you're here with me," Lucas said, leaning on her hand for warmth.
"No, I want to.."
Lucas watched Athanasia sat up to face him, he almost chased after her hand that was holding his cheek as it moved away from him.
"Lucas, I love you so much and I don't want anymore secrets between us. And I'm not forcing myself to tell you, I'm ready now. I'm ready to tell you everything about my past."
Lucas froze in his place, his eyes widened as his heart starts to beat more loudly than it ever was. He opened his mouth tremblingly and said, "C-Can you say it again?"
"I love you," Athanasia non-hesitatingly replied, reaching to cup his face.
Lucas felt joy surge inside him, causing his lips to curve up into a smile and his eyes filled with tears. "I... I love you too.." He happily said, leaning on her touch for warmth as he reached her free hand to hold it.
This time, Athanasia is the one who's surprised. "W-What..? You're not joking right?"
"Why would I joke about this kind of thing?" Lucas scoffed. "I'm serious Athanasia. I love you."
"I... I can't believe it.." Athanasia teared up. "I'm not dreaming right? Is this the reality, right?" She asked as she pinched her cheeks. Lucas loves me back.
Tears escaped from her eyes, Athanasia cried in her hands, covering her crying face from Lucas. "Why are you good at making surprises?!" She yelled. "It's unfair!!"
Lucas chuckled as he wipe off the tears that also ran down from his cheeks and pulled Athanasia in his arms. "Why are you crying? Are you not happy?"
"Are you stupid?!!" Athanasia smacked him on the chest. "I'm crying because I'm happy!!"
Lucas smiled, watching his girlfriend wipe off her tears away. He helped her wipe it off, giving her small kisses on the cheeks, forehead, the tip of the nose making her giggle at the kisses she recieved.
"It tickles.." Athanasia giggled, moving her face away.
"You don't like it?" Lucas teased, continuing to kiss her face but her lips.
"Stop it, Lucas!" Athanasia laughed, pushing him away. Her face starts to blush red with his face very close to hers.
The two continued to laugh together and talked about some good stuffs before they could go to talk about Athanasia's past. As they talk, Lucas never let go of her trembling hand.
He knew that Athanasia is still scared of him knowing about her past. He wanted to stop her, but she's too stuborn to turn back.
He looked down to their intertwined hands and asked, "Are you really sure that you're gonna telle about your past?"
"I'm sure of it.." Athanasia nodded, putting another hand on his to reassure him. "I'm ready Lucas.."
Lucas let out a defeated sigh and shifted to get a comfortable pose to sit. "Okay.. I'm listening.."
Athanasia smiled as a small thanks for her boyfriend being understanding to her. She took a deep breath before telling him her past, her horrible past that she don't want to remember. She told him everything, starting from when she started school and how she got bullied because of her popularity, how she met her ex and how they started dating to when the abusing and the negative rumor starts.
Telling Lucas her past with a calm tone made her tear up again as she remembered her past. She held his hand tightly to calm herself down and to show him that she's okay telling him.
Lucas listened very carefully, nodding at every sentence that she told him. The more he listened to her past, the more he felt angry and sad for her.
"A-After getting the courage of breaking up with him and changing school, my life's been great so far until Aaron found me and tried to get back to me. He started to make some bad and false rumors about me and acted like a good guy to me, everyone started to bully me again just like what my old school did. They pranked me, call me disgusting names and... i-it was horrible.." Athanasia sniffled, taking a deep breath not to cry again. "The more they kept on hurting me the more I feel so weak around them. I usually fight for myself but I was tired... I was tired of saying the same thing over and over again.. I let them hurt me, bully me, humiliate me until Athy came."
Lucas looked down at their hands and gently caressed hers. "D-Did your dad know about this..?" His voice was trembling after hearing her past.
Athanasia shook her head. "No... dad's a busy man.. I can't bring myself to tell him or he might stress himself up."
"That's why you decided to live with Kiel.."
"Yeah.. Kiel-nii and I were not very close so he didn't know about who I normally was that's why I chose him. But we became close!" Athanasia smiled. "I never told everyone about my past because I was scared that they might judge me for being such a weak person and for being disgusting.."
"You're not weak or disgusting," Lucas said, reaching for her face to face him. "Athanasia, you are strong and you don't deserve to be treated like that."
Athanasia didn't answer and just stared at Lucas with teary eyes.
"How I wish that I went to the same school as you that time and be the person to protect you," Lucas continued, tears suddenly escaped from his eyes as he tried to imagine the pain that Athanasia felt. "How I wish to be there that time when you need someone to lean on."
"If we met in the past then we wouldn't have came to this," Athanasia chuckled. "We wouldn't be together."
"No," Lucas shook his head then leaned his forehead on hers. "I still would fall in love with you."
Athanasia felt her cheeks getting warm, she shyly looked down smiling. "Thank you, Lucas... for listening and understanding me."
"No need to thank me," Lucas smiled back. He shifted again and pulled Athanasia into a hug. "I'm supposed to be the one who is thanking you."
"Why?" Athanasia asked, looking up with her chin leaning on his chest.
Lucas look down and met her eyes, he leaned closer to give her a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Thank you for telling me and for trusting me about your past."
Athanasia softly smiled, she shyly avoided his gaze and then go back to face him again as if she wanted to so something but to shy to do so. She took a deep breath and took the courage to lean towards him and gave him a peck on the lips. She immediately hid herred face in his chest, snuggling closer for him not to see her shyness. "I love you.."
Lucas was taken aback at the sudden kiss and just sat in his place for seconds before going back to earth. He looked down and saw Athanasia looking so shy in his arms after what she did. He let out a chuckle and hugged her back tightly.
“ I love you too. ”
A T T E N T I O N
chap. 34