Thanksgiving. That special time of year where you surround yourself with loved ones and celebrate the things you are thankful for. A day meant for kindness and food and family.
"Darren get your ass out of the way".
Maybe not the kindness part.
"What? Nothing on that screen is as interesting as my story I want to tell you guys" Darren whines as Luke tilts his body to the right, desperately trying to keep his eyes on the screen as the football is released.
"I think the bears would beg to differ" I comment and watch as the Green Bay Packers tackle the Chicago Bears's quarterback.
A collective groan passes through Luke and Brandon as they sit back on the couch.
Naturally, my dad was out of town for thanksgiving but I wasn't mad about it. That meant that I could spend the day with Luke and his family. Brandon was also here because his parents had an important thanksgiving dinner to go to with work partners and Brandon refused to wear a tux on Thanksgiving and sit around people he barely knew.
So that is how the three of us have ended up piled on Luke's couch watching the football game as Amanda puts the last finishing touches on the meal that is soon to be served.
I asked if she needed help earlier since she was in what looked like a frantic state but she just waved me off and mumbled something about gravy under her breath.
"So what is that guy doing?" Charlotte asks, pointing towards the screen as Lea plays with a doll in her lap.
"That's the kicker" Luke explains. "It's the end of the quarter and the bears have one more play they can do. They can either try to get the ball into the end zone or they can try to kick it in but for less points".
Charlotte nods and keeps her gaze glued on the screen. I watch her in amusement. I remember being like her when I was younger. Around her age was when I decided to learn how football worked. Sadly, I had to google all of my questions seeing as my father figure was too busy to explain it to me.
Luke suddenly throws an arm over my shoulder and pulls me into his chest. "Have I told you yet how happy I am that your father couldn't make you his own thanksgiving dinner?" he asks, lips close to my ear.
I grin at him. "Maybe a few times" I say as he places a quick kiss on my temple. "Well I am" he states.
Ever since the day Solender locked us in his classroom, Luke has been full of short and sweet gestures like that. He would compliment me or pull me into his arms when we watched TV or reach back and grab my hand in class when he is seated in front of me.
All of these things never failed to make me happy but I was starting to get worried about his and I's lack of conversation about what we were. It's not that I wanted the official boyfriend and girlfriend title but I did want to know where I stood in his life.
Suddenly my cell phone rings out. I lift my head from Luke's chest and place the phone to my ear.
"Hello?" I ask into the speaker.
"Claire bear, my parents are completely wasted and my aunt and uncle are too drunk to cut the fucking turkey" Belle's voice rings in my ear.
"Sounds like a lot of fun" I tease her.
"No not fun. It's the opposite of fun because they keep asking Zack and I uncomfortable questions like have we ever tried to grind on someone in a club and now my mom is about to talk about her own personal story that's connected to the question and I'm scared Claire".
I laugh. "Well if you can steal the turkey I'm sure you guys are welcome to come over to Luke's house. Brandon and I are here as well".
Luke raises his brows at the mention of his name. "Can Belle and Zack come over? They'll bring an extra turkey" I ask him.
Luke calls out loudly. "Hey mom if two people join us and bring an extra turkey, are they invited to eat with us?"
"As long as the turkey is cooked already I don't have time to bake it" Amanda's voice calls out.
"Is the turkey cooked?" I ask Belle.
"It's baked like Stanley the Stoner on a weekend" Belle answers.
"Well then tell Zack that you two need to get your asses down here in 8 minutes because that's when we're eating".
"Gotcha babe" and with that there is a click telling me that Belle has hung up.
"We're not eating in eight minutes" Luke states confused.
"I know, I want to see how long it takes Belle to get somewhere if she rushes" I say with a smirk. Usually when Belle tells me she'll be over in ten, I spend the next half hour waiting on her.
"You evil, evil girl" Luke states and I grin before turning my attention back to the TV.
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It takes Belle 15 minutes to get to the house. Her entrance is probably one of my favorites of hers yet. Zack threw the door open for her and Belle sprinted in with a turkey on top of a plate screaming "The turkey is baked! I stole it while my family was distracted! Don't eat without us!".
I asked her if her family would notice that her and Zack were gone but she just waved it off and stated "their too stuffed on crackers to be hungry and I told them Zack and I were going out to buy them more cheese. They wont expect us back for another 3 hours".
As she sits down next to me on the couch, Zack takes a seat next to Luke. The both of them are tense for a minute but that quickly changes as the bears score a touchdown. They both stand up and throw their hands in the air with a shout of happiness. After that they quickly slipped into a conversation about the pro teams this year along with Brandon.
At the sound of the doorbell I turn towards Belle confused. She shoots me a nervous smile. "I may have invited Danny as well".
"Belle!" I shout in exasperation.
"What? You know his mom and dad are too focused on his brother who came back from college a day ago. Plus, I told him to bring mashed potatoes".
I give her an irritated look but Luke speaks up. "Good. Mom forgot the mashed potatoes. That's why she is going crazy right now".
Belle gestures in a See? way before I get up to open the door.
"We brought potatoes that are evenly mashed" Danny states as I open the door. At his side is a girl that looks only a few years older than him. She has blonde hair that is styled in loose curls.
"Good. We forgot the mashed potatoes" I say as Danny and the girl walk into the house.
"Oh! This is my cousin Lydia" Danny introduces the girl. I smile at her. "Nice to meet you".
"You too. Your house is beautiful" she says, examining the hall.
"Sadly, Claire can't take credit for the interior decoration of this house since she doesn't live here but I can" Luke's voice sounds as he walks into the room.
I watch as the girl Lydia looks him up and down in a seductive way, not even trying to be discreet. "Oh, then I guess I'll have to thank you instead" she says in a low voice that sounds like she is trying to get him into her hotel room.
"No thanks needed. You guys brought mashed potatoes" Luke states with a smile. She laughs slightly too much at this.
"Well, lets eat" Luke states and we follow him into the dining room. I start to not feel as excited as I was before about eating because of the appearance of Lydia, who looks like a bikini model.
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"Well, it doesn't surprise me that you three boys are football players. I mean, look at you" Lydia exclaims. Brandon has just mentioned how him, Luke, and Zack played football with Danny.
Zack smiles at her. "Not to mention we now hold a state champion title" he adds.
Belle looks over and gives me a look that says my cousin better not be trying to impress this girl with football because I'll smack him.
I shrug. Zack gloating to the beautiful girl is not my problem anymore. What did bother me though is the fact that the girl keeps trying to lean on the table, showing a good view of her cleavage to whoever sits across the table from her, which just so happens to be Luke.
"That is impressive!" she exclaims. "Which one of you boys made that happen?" she asks.
The other three boys motion to Luke and Danny adds in "but not without getting knocked out by the biggest player on the other school's team".
"Oh my gosh, you poor thing" Lydia coos and I have to clench my fists under the table to stop the annoyance for the new girl from showing on my face.
"Well, I would be in a lot worse of a state if Sleeping Beauty didn't jump in when she did" Luke comments, sending me a grin that makes a shiver of warmth go through my body.
"You jumped in?" Lydia asks me in surprise. "Yeah" I answer. She giggles slightly.
"Something funny about that?" Belle asks curtly. Pretending to like someone was never a specialty for Belle. She was pretty blunt if she didn't like someone and it was clear she didn't like Lydia.
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just funny picturing someone like Claire jumping in and going after somebody who sounds so big" she explains.
"Someone like Claire?" Brandon questions.
"Yeah, you know" Lydia says, looking over at me. "A little scrawny. It just sounds a little funny".
"Well I can assure you it wasn't funny when Luke was knocked out by that boy and this scrawny girl had to jump in to stop the boy from hurting him more than he already did" I say curtly.
There is a silence that falls across the table before Zack finally breaks it. "So Charlotte, you said you were working on a school project in school?" he asks.
Charlotte's face goes red at Zack's question as she stammers through an answer and soon the conversation is back again.
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"Bye" I say as I hug Brandon before he walks out the door. The dinner is over and everyone is finally starting to leave. It is 11:00 and we have been talking for the past 5 hours.
Lydia is the next to walk out the door but she doesn't do so before hugging Luke for a much longer time than a farewell should be for someone you've just met.
As she walks out the door Belle turns towards Danny. "No offense Danny" she says. "But your cousin seems like she's a bit of a slut".
"Oh she is" Danny states before saying bye to everyone and following Belle and Zack out the door, leaving Luke and I alone in the hall.
"You can spend the night here if you want since no one is at your house right now" Luke offers. I nod before walking upstairs with him. I start to walk down the hall but Luke grabs my arm and pulls me into his chest. "Uh uh" he says with a smirk. "You can stay in my room".
"As long as you don't try any funny business" I say wagging my finger at him.
He presses a hand to his heart in fake outrage. "I would never" he states as he opens the door for us to enter.
"You know, I think Charlotte has a thing for Zack" Luke states as he walks over to his dresser and I take a seat on his bed.
"Yeah, well she didn't seem like she was the only one interested in someone that's not her age at dinner tonight" I mumble.
Luke turns towards me as a crooked smile appears on his face. "Does someone have a problem with Danny's cousin?" he asks teasingly.
"No, I just didn't like how she was trying so hard to get attention from you, Zack and Brandon" I say, looking away.
Luke lets out a hearty laugh. "I don't believe it. Is Claire Adams jealous?" he asks teasingly.
"No!" I deny, standing up. "I just didn't like her".
"Well she did look nice in that dress" Luke comments.
I scrunch my nose. "I don't think she was that pretty" I argue.
"You are jealous! Admit it!" Luke exclaims, reaching for me.
"No I'm not!" I argue.
"Admit it!" He says as he starts to tickle me. I let out a shriek of laughter and try to wiggle out of his clutches.
He lifts me onto the bed and continues his assault on my stomach. "Stop!" I shriek through laughter.
"Admit you were jealous of Lydia" Luke says, a grin on his face.
"Okay!" I give in. "I was a little jealous of her" I confess. Luke's grin turns into a soft smile. "There is nothing to be jealous of. I love you, not her".
The word makes my heart thump louder. "What are we Luke?" I ask in a soft voice. The question had been bugging me all night. I didn't know if I had the right to be jealous of Luke and Lydia when I didn't even know what Luke and I were.
Luke's smile drops down to a serious expression. "Well what do you want us to be?" he asks. I shrug. "I'm just not sure if we're close friends or-"
"Oh, we're definitely more than close friends" Luke states, taking in my body. I am still lying down on his bed and his body is hovered over mine. I swallow at his intense gaze.
"So, are we boyfriend and girlfriend?" I ask in a quiet voice. Luke takes a while before answering. "Yeah, I guess we are".
"Why the long pause?" I ask.
"It's just" he sighs before sitting back. I sit up and look at the troubled boy in front of me. "I've never been good at this relationship thing" he admits. "In fact, I've never done it".
"But-" I start to argue but he interrupts.
"No. None of those girls were ever my girlfriend. They were just girls I messed around with sometimes. In fact" he stops to laugh slightly. "Our fake relationship was the first kind of relationship I've ever had with a girl".
"What about Riley" I point out. Luke grimaces. "Sure, if you want to count that but I doubt you want a relationship like ours was".
I block the ideas of what their relationship was like and say "I only want to be your girlfriend if you want to be mine".
"You want me to be your girlfriend?" Luke asks and I laugh. "You know what I mean" I say.
Luke takes my hand. "I can't promise that I'll be any good at this relationship thing but I will try. I really do love you" he states sincerely to me.
"I love you too" I say honestly back. Luke moves his head towards mine and I slowly close my eyes and wait for the contact of his lips on mine.
"It's fucking cold in here" Luke suddenly states, making my eyes snap open. He is smirking at me. "I'm going to go turn the thermostat up".
"Don't wake up your siblings" I say as he walks towards the door. Luke waves the comment away. "Darren took them out to get what he called 'after-thanksgiving sundaes'. I'll be back in a minute" he says before shutting the door behind him.
Luke's P.O.V
It's fucking cold in the house right now. I guess winter came early this year because it usually isn't this bad at this time of year. I walk down the steps, the carpet under my feet making my steps silent, and walk over to the side of the wall where the thermostat is.
Suddenly I hear a noise from the kitchen. I freeze in my spot. I know Darren, Charlotte and Lea won't be back for a while if they are getting sundaes.
I silently take slow steps towards the closed door. I reach it and put an ear to the door and hear what sounds like whispers and.. moans?
I swing the door open and my eyes go immediately to the source of the sound. My mother is pinned to the wall by a man and I watch as he moves his mouth from her lips to her neck. Her eyes are closed so she doesn't notice me standing there gaping at the scene.
I look at the man and notice a shiny watch on his left wrist as he uses that hand to cup my mother's face. I know that watch.
It belongs to Solender.