After the fight I had to make up several excuses as to how I knew how to fight the way I did. I basically told the others the truth, that my cousin had taken me to one of his classes in Ireland and I'd loved it, just not the whole Irish and European champion "thing".
We went back to Lucas's house, where the others went home, "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" Lucas asked me as I got a water bottle from the fridge.
"Um, I don't think I have anything. Probably just Netflix and food." I said and he laughed.
"Do you maybe want to swing by the hospital with me? My mom goes in for surgery on Monday and I can't visit tomorrow. She really wants to properly meet you." He said.
I smiled, "Of course." I said without hesitation and ten minutes later we were in Lucas' car, on our way to the hospital.
We parked and made our way up to Level D, going to the same room we had gone to the first time. Except this time, Lucas wasn't scared or flustered. He just knocked lightly before walking in.
His mom was sitting up in the bed watching the TV in the corner of the room. She looked much healthier than when I had last seen her, and her eyes lit up when she saw Lucas.
"Hey!" She said as Lucas walked over and hugged her.
She looked past him at me and smiled even wider, "Ariel! Hi hon, how are you?" She asked me.
I smiled, "I'm good thank you." I said.
"I'm glad you came! I've wanted to get to know you ever since I met you." She said as Lucas and I sat down in two chairs next to the bed.
Cassandra and I talked back and forth for a good half hour before Lucas got bored and went to look for food.
"Finally he's gone. It took him long enough." Cassandra said once the door had closed and I laughed, "now we can talk about him." She added.
"You need to tell me everything." Cassandra said.
"What do you want to know?" I asked, preparing myself.
"Just, how is he? The last time I've seen him this often was when he was eleven and twelve. What kind of person is he?" She asked.
I was quiet, debating whether or not to lie or tell the truth. I decided to go with the latter, "I've only known him for the last six-ish months. When we met, he was...he was an asshole." I said bluntly and Cassandra laughed, "but, ever since I've met him, he's gotten a lot better. He's very protective over the people he cares about, and once you gain his trust, he'd do anything for you." I said honestly.
She smiled, "That's good to hear. You know, when he was little, he would always talk about how he couldn't wait to get married, so he could take care of his wife forever." She said and I laughed louder than I'd intended to, which made her look at me.
"I'm sorry. It's just, from what I've seen, Lucas doesn't really do relationships." I said with a shake of my head.
She gave me a thin smile, mischief in her eyes, "I'm sure he'll grow out of it." she said.
"If you don't mind my asking...why haven't you seen Lucas in five years?" I asked her softly.
She gave a heavy sigh, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked." I said hurriedly.
She shook her head, "No it's okay. I just haven't really talked about it in a while." she said, "Jason and I were never married. I got pregnant with Lucas when I was really young, only eighteen and straight out of high school. Jason was only 20 and I thought for sure he was going to bolt as soon as I told him I was expecting. But, he stayed with me all the way through Lucas's birth.
"We were together all the way until Lucas was six. We both thought we were going to get married. But then...it just didn't work out. We split up but shared custody of Lucas.
"We got along great and had no issues co-parenting. When Lucas was nine his dad met Tessa and they got engaged fast. Lucas loved her and she took to him quickly. Things were great. Until I met someone.
"He was sweet and kind, and much like Jason and Tessa, we got engaged quickly. He was great with Lucas and Lucas seemed really taken with him. We were in love like teenagers again.
"But I soon found that he had a temper. And he...um...he started beating me whenever he got angry." Cassandra said, taking a deep breath.
I reach out and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze, knowing how hard it was for her to talk about, "Anyways. Lucas found out when he was eleven and said he never wanted to see me again until I divorced my husband." Cassandra finished.
"What happened?" I asked softly.
"Six months after Jason and Tessa took Lucas indefinitely, I divorced Mike and filed a restraining order. I talked with Jason and he talked to Lucas but Lucas said he didn't want to see me. And he kept saying that for five years." Cassandra said.
"Well, he's back now. And I don't think he'll be going anywhere any time soon." I said.
She smiled, "He likes you, you know." Cassandra said.
I smiled and shook my head, "He does. Every time he brings you up, which is quite often, he gets this sparkle in his eye and a goofy smile on his face. He really cares about you." Cassandra insisted.
I smiled, "I care about him, too." I said.
She smiled brightly, "Good." She said.
Just as she finished Lucas walked back into the room, talking on the phone, "No Cole. I don't care what they're saying. Look, I can't talk right now. I'll call you later." Lucas said before hanging up the phone and shoving it back into his pocket.
He looked at us, giving him sly smiles and he immediately narrowed his eyes, "What were you two talking about?" He asked.
"Nothing. Who was that on the phone?" Cassandra asked, changing the subject.
"Oh it was just a friend." Lucas said casually.
"What were you talking about? You sounded annoyed." She pressed.
"Nothing important. Just stupid drama," he insisted, brushing it off, "anyways, we need to be heading out soon. I'm going to come and visit some time next week after your surgery, okay?" Lucas asked, walking over and kissing his mom on the cheek.
"Alright sweetheart. Thanks for coming." She said.
"Love you." He said as he began making his way to the door. I stood up and followed, stopping to turn back around when Cassandra called out my name.
"Ariel, it was good to meet you." She said.
I smiled, "You too." I replied before turning around and following Lucas into the hallway.
I looked up at him and saw that he looked annoyed, "What did Cole call you about?" I asked.
He sighed as we stepped onto the elevator and he pressed the button that would take us to the parking garage, "Nothing important." Lucas said.
I gave him a look as we walked, "What?" he asked.
I just shook my head, "No, it's not nothing," I said. Before he could interject I spoke again, "But that's okay. You don't have to say anything."
We reached his car and climbed inside, "It's just...It's not something I'm ready to talk about." he answered.
"You don't have to be ready any time soon." I supplied as he started the car.
Lucas smiled wistfully and shook his head, "I don't know what I'm going to do with you princess." he said and I smiled in response as he backed out of his spot and drove off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lucas was a mess at school on Monday. He was jittery, short-tempered and very irritable, refusing to stop glancing at his phone every minute and a half.
"What's up with you?" Cole asked him at lunch.
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.
"You're acting really weird. You've been snapping at everyone and you won't stop looking at your phone." Tyler supplied.
"No I'm not." Lucas said simply.
Everyone looked at him as if to say 'are you serious?', "Dude, yes you are. Just tell us what's going on. It's not a big deal." Miles said.
Lucas kept his face even, "It's none of your business. If I wanted you to know, I would tell you." He snapped.
I rolled my eyes as everyone grumbled. Before anyone could say anything else Lucas' phone rang. He answered it and walked out of the cafeteria immediately.
"Is that phone call the reason he's been Donald the Douchebag all day?" Alex asked, looking at me.
I smiled slyly at the nickname but quickly let it fall from my face, being the only other person who knew how serious the situation was, "Yeah. It is. And I'm sure he'll tell you guys shortly. But it's something really personal. I'm actually going to go and check on him. Don't go too hard on him, he's been dealing with a lot." I said as I stood up walked out of the cafeteria.
I turned a corner to the main hallway and saw Lucas halfway down, standing in the middle of the corridor, just done hanging up the phone. He looked up at me, his eyes wide.
"Well?" I asked, my heart trying to climb out of my throat.
"She's out of surgery," he said, taking a deep breath. I gestured for him to keep going, "And the doctor said she's going to be fine." He said breaking into a smile.
I broke into one just as big, "Lucas that's amazing." I said, running up to him to give him a hug.
When I reached him and wrapped my arms around his neck, he wrapped his around my waist and picked me up, spinning me around. The sudden surprise made me let out a yelp which made both of us start laughing as the spinning slowed and he lowered me back to the ground.
I looked up at him, still smiling, "Lucas that's amazing news." I said and he smiled even wider.
"She's awake. I guess she told the doctor to tell me when I visit today I'd better bring you or I shouldn't even bother coming." He said and I threw my head back in laughter.
"Well it looks like I have plans for the afternoon." I said.
We pulled apart from the hug and began walking down the hall, back to the cafeteria, "Just so you know, the others are worried about you. I think that you should consider telling them what's been going on." I said softly.
He sighed heavily as we slowed our steps so we could talk, "I know. It's just been hard." he said.
"And I get that. I'm not saying walk in there and tell them everything, because I know it's hard. But at least assure them that you'll tell them when you're ready." I said.
Lucas threw his arm around my shoulder, "What would I do without you Princess?" He asked me.
I smiled as we walked back into the cafeteria, "You'd be lost." I said with a shake of my head, making him laugh.
When we sat back down at the table next to each other and Lucas got serious, "Listen guys, I'm really sorry for being such a dick the last couple of weeks. I've just had some...pretty serious family stuff going on. It's been really hard. And I will tell you guys everything that's been happening when I'm ready." Lucas said.
Aaron was the first to speak up, "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. If it's personal stuff we get it. We just want to make sure that you're doing okay. We care about you." He said, everyone else nodding along.
Lucas smiled, thanking everyone and we left it at that.
After school, I went straight to Lucas' house, and climbed straight into his car before we sped off to the hospital. We went through our normal route through the parking garage, into the hotel, and up to Cassandra's room.
We walked in to a room filled with people that neither Lucas nor I recognized, "Lucas! Ariel! You're here!" Cassandra exclaimed as soon as we stepped into the room.
"Hey mom." Lucas said with a smile, walking over and kissing her on the cheek, myself following.
"I'm so glad you guys could make it." She said with a smile.
"Of course we came." I said for the both of us.
"Well there are some people I want you to meet," Cassandra began, looking to the four other people in the room.
There was a man who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, as well as two teenage boys, both with dirty blonde hair and golden eyes, and one younger girl who looked to be about nine or ten, with beautiful blonde hair and soft blue eyes.
"This is Connor, my husband, and his three kids, Tanner, Chris, and Emily." Cassandra said as each person stepped forward when their name was called.
I looked to Lucas quickly and saw his face was even. It was hard to tell how he felt about the idea of a stepfather and step siblings, but I could see enough that it made him uncomfortable.
"Guys this is my son Lucas, and his...friend Ariel." Cassandra supplied, "I'm sorry these are the circumstances, but I suppose we should make the best of them." Cassandra said.
Connor stepped forward with a warm smile and reached his hand out to Lucas, "I had hoped to meet you in a better setting, but here we are." He said.
I looked at Lucas, nervous about how he would react, but he smiled and shook Connors hand, "It's nice to meet you. All of you." He said looking to the three other kids who smiled tentatively.
I silently breathed a sigh of relief that he had taken it well.
The rest of the afternoon at the hospital went well, Lucas got to know his stepfather and step-siblings. Tanner and Chris seemed nice, and Emily was a sweetheart, who took to me right away.
After a few hours of sitting and talking, Lucas and I stood up to leave. Once we had gotten in the car and were leaving, I spoke up for the first time, "Did you know about Connor and the kids?" I asked, looking straight forward.
He was quiet, "She told me that she remarried and he had kids. I didn't know they'd be there today." He said.
"I can't tell if you're happy about them being there or angry. " I said, testing the waters.
Lucas was quiet for some time before answering, "I'll be okay." He said eventually.
Before I could say anything, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was my mom.
I answered the phone and held it to my ear, "Hey mom. What's up?" I asked.
"Ariel, you need to come home." She said. Her voice was breaking over the line and I could immediately tell she was crying.
"Mom what's wrong? Why are you crying?" I asked.
Lucas glanced quickly at me, concerned as I grew terrified of what my mother was about to say, "Sweetie, it's Granddad. He passed away this morning."
A/N: BUM BUM BUMMMMMMMMMMMMM So sorry for the late update AGAIN I'm a horrible human :( :(
I've just had a lot going on and it's been difficult keeping up with the schedule I have.
With that being said, I'm really sorry, but I'm going to be switching to and update every other week. I'm doing this because I don't want to publish bad or half-assed updates just in order to get them done on time. I may be writing this story as I go, but I still want it to be something you all enjoy reading. That's one this I will always stay true to.
So I'm sorry if I've upset any of you, but I just want to be putting out my best possible work.
On another note HOLY COW. You guys have brought this story to nearly FOUR THOUSAND reads in just a few months! Thank you guys sooooooo much from the bottom of my heart.
I'd never thought this possible when I wrote the first chapter.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH
Love you all! XOXO - Gossip Girl