Chapter 24
"Excuse me?" Lucas's voice hardens, and I suck in a harsh breath as I tighten my hold on the railing upstairs.
"Lucas, I'm curious to how you haven't realized you're... what's the word. Different," Xavier questions, but has a devilish smirk on his lips.
Lucas furrows his brows together. "What?"
Xavier sighs in exaggeration as he takes a seat by the dining room table, which is out of my view. "You're telling me you never questioned how you were able to access all three T's without no struggle? Or how you were able to sense another witches presence?"
Lucas's mouth gapes open, realizing how true his father's words are. "Why are you just telling me this now?" Lucas demands, a low growl erupting from the bottom of his throat.
Xavier smirks. "Normally, you don't reach your full potential until you're seventeen years old, but you're turning seventeen soon, and you've already reached your full capability. I would be impressed if I wasn't envious, son."
Lucas stays silent and frozen on his spot, not sparing me a glance as he shoots daggers to his father.
As if he already knows he won't speak, Xavier continues. "So, next time you're with... Emma Sullivan, remember your duty to your kind. Remember who you are. Because you, son, have the power to kill any witch, especially your lovely Emma," Xavier cockily states, before pushing back his chair.
Xavier's footsteps echo through his now silent house, and I don't move from my spot until I no longer hear him.
Lucas stays stiff by the front of his house, and without looking back up, he slowly turns around and walks up the stairs.
I take a step back when I see a blank expression on Lucas's face.
His eyes flash with a hint of anger from my actions, and I slightly begin to fear what his next moves are.
Lucas strides towards me with no stop until he right in front of me. Before I can comprehend what he's planning to do, Lucas wraps his muscular arms around my waist, tugging me closer to his hard chest.
I breathe in his scent as my rapidly beating heart pumps against his chest.
After it slowed down, I slowly began to wrap my arms around his neck, making Lucas sigh a breath of relief.
"Don't worry," he mumbles into my neck as he tightens his hold on me. "I won't give you to them," he reassures and I tighten my hold as well.
No words transpire between us as we remain tight in our hold on one another.
After a few minutes passed by, Lucas rests the palm of his hands on my waist and moves himself back.
My arms hang off the sides of me as he looks deep into my grey-blue eyes.
So handsome, I think before I mentally slap myself.
"Would you rather stay in my room tonight?" He whispers, and I suddenly forget how to breathe again.
"Not to do anything, obviously, but if you'd want to be with me instead of your room... it's your choice," he assures, and I nod.
After he notices the stuggle inside me, he grabs my cold hand and guides me down the hall until we're in front of his room.
Once he's opened the door and turned on the lights, I'm flashed with immediate shock by how clean in looks.
His walls, which were previously painted with bright red as a child, is now dark blue, which matches his bed spread.
His large, king size bed stands against the wall by the center of the room as it faces a large flat screen television.
On each side of his bed, there stands a chestnut nightstand with only three drawers, which are the same colors used on Lucas's headboard.
On the right side of Lucas's room, there's a large dark grey sectional sofa, and right across the room from that lies two large windows covered by black curtains.
No photos. Anywhere.
"Are you alright?" I ask, taking a seat on his comfy bed.
Lucas walks towards his couch and face plants straight down, letting his legs hang off the side of the couch.
I takes that as a no.
Sighing, I stand up from my seat and make my way over to him. Once I'm seated, I rest my hand on his dirty blonde hair and begin ruffling it up. "Do you want to sleep?"
I ask softly, and he groans, turning his head around to face me.
He stares at me with no expression hinting at what he's thinking about. Once he's satisfied with whatever that was going on in his head, he stands up right in front of me, and gives me his hand.
He lifts me up with ease, and guides me to the dresser, right under his television.
"Do you want a shirt, or did you pack one?" He asks as he opens up a drawer filled with t-shirts.
I shrug, trying to make it seem like what he's offering is nothing to me, but in reality, my heart... flutters.
"Sure," I nod, and he hands me a black t-shirt that seems too big for my body.
Rushing to his bathroom, I quickly take off my clothes and switch it with the shirt he gave me and the shorts I packed.
Once I've left the bathroom, I find Lucas already in his boxer shorts, and a white t-shirt which shows off his perfectly sculptured muscles.
"Let's go to sleep?" He asks, and I smile, walking closer to the bed.
♡
I'm suddenly woken up by the sound of a phone blasting out a ringtone.
Groaning, I reach to retrieve it but am heavily weighed down by something behind me.
I twist my head to the side sorely and find Lucas's heavy arm hanging on top of my own.
I grunt in frustration as I move his arm off of me. Once I'm free from his hold, I stretch my arm until I reach my phone from the nightstand.
"Hello?" I mumble in the phone.
"Are you not at school or something?" Jason asks, irritation laced in his tone.
My eyes widen and check the date on my phone.
Monday, November 1st.
Shit.
I cringe, and look over my shoulder to face a sleeping Lucas. "I overslept, sorry Jason."
"Are you sure you're okay to be at school right now?" I ask before he says anything.
He scoffs. "I'm fine. I'm a fast healer."
"Hope," Lucas murmurs in his sleep and my chest expands as I suck in a breath.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" I bite my lip, and wait for his response.
Jason sighs. "Yeah, see you."
Once we've hung up, I set my phone back on the night stand and face Lucas.
"It's 11.00am, babe. Let's just go back to sleep," Lucas grumbles with his eyes still shut.
"How do you know it's 11.00am?" I ask.
"Opened my eyes. Saw the time on the clock next to you," he mumbles, and I pay attention to the clock on the nightstand.
Oh.
Suddenly, Lucas's arm wraps around my waist and tugs me closer.
"Go to sleep," he whispers as he drifts to a deep sleep once again.
I don't bother telling him I can't — because I can't fall back asleep once I've woken up — so I stay silent on his mattress, snuggling into his warmth.
♡
Over the course of the week, I spent most of my nights with Lucas, doing nothing but sleeping.
Jason was oblivious to this, of course, and Lucas and I both preferred it stay the way to avoid any conflicts.
On Friday after school, Jason mentioned to the both of us how his brother, Daniel will be staying in town for a few more days before heading back to university.
According to Jason, his mother demanded him to invite the both of us over for dinner on Saturday for a homemade dinner made by herself.
Naturally we both agreed before driving away, making our way to Lucas's house.
I'm woken up Saturday morning in Lucas's bedroom, with his arm wrapped around my waist tightly.
I gently elbow Lucas's ribs, and he groans into my neck, his hot breath leaving goosebumps there.
"Leave me alone," he grumbles, and I roll my eyes just before shoving his arm away.
"Get up, today's the dinner loser, and we have to be there by five," I state as I throw my legs off the side of the bed.
Lucas rolls until he's lying on his back, and releases a loud groan. "Can we cancel?" He asks, and I throw my rolled up pair of socks at him.
"No," I deadpan, but try to hold in my laugh when I see his cute nose scrunch up from the socks impact on his face.
"Hurry up, I'm hungry, and if I wait any longer, I'll rummage through the cupboards and I will eat anything I like. Including your Pop-Tarts."
After I spoke, Lucas jumped out of bed and rushed to brush his teeth.
Once we got down stairs, I made the both of us sunny side up eggs, with cut up strawberries on the side.
After we've eaten, I put on some dark wash jean shorts, with a light blue boat neck ruffled overlay crop top.
Once I finished dressing up, Lucas went to his bedroom and chose to dress up in black jeans and dark grey Henley shirt. When we were both ready we left his house and made our way to his car.
I rushed into the closest grocery store and told Lucas to stay in the car so I could quickly buy a cake for the dinner.
My mom always said, never go to someones house without bringing something.
We got to Jason's house slightly earlier than expected, and wait patiently in front of his door.
The door is swung open, revealing a familiar face. "Emma Sullivan," Daniel Valentine whistles, staring at me from my head to my toes.
I raise my eyebrows, and shove past him, already familiar with his antics.
"I feel like every time I see you, you grow... more and more each day," he smirks, standing next to me.
Lucas silently moves him away from me, and takes the empty spot next to me.
"Daniel are you being an unnecessary piece of shit again?" Jason asks as he enters the living room.
"No, that role belongs to you, brother," Daniel smirks, turning to face Jason.
Jason narrows his eyes, and takes slow, calculating steps towards him.
"Why can't you just leave already?" Jason deadpans, and Daniel's smirk broadens.
"Well, because I wanted to see Emma, Jason."
Without breaking eye contact, Jason's arm shoots up, and puts his hand on his shoulder, pressuring his thumb under his collarbone.
Daniel drops to his knees, and shouts in pain from the pressure point Jason is violating.
Suddenly, Danielle rushes to the room, with a look of determination set on her expression.
"I have two sons that I thought I raised correctly," Danielle shouts as she marches her way towards her sons.
A grin spreads across both mine and Lucas's faces when we see Danielle grab a hold of both Jason and Daniel's ears.
"Ow, ow, ow," they both shout simultaneously as they rise to their feet.
"Now we have guests. What do you have to say?"
"Sorry," they mumble to the ground.
Danielle clenches her jaw and presses harder on their ears. "What was that?"
"Sorry," their afraid gaze meets ours, and I couldn't hold in my chuckle.
Danielle immediately lets go of their ears, and grins, brightening up the room. "Alright! Now let's wash our hands and take a seat at the table. Connor will be here any minute," she claps her hands in excitement before turning back to the kitchen.
♡
"So..." I slowly begin, trying to release the tension between the Valentine children.
As I begin twisting my spaghetti around with my fork, I suddenly grin.
"Guys," I begin, grabbing everyone at the dinner tables attention.
"What do you call fake spaghetti?" I ask, my grin widening.
Jason furrows his eyebrows from across from me, and I look to my left to see Lucas fashioning the same expression.
"An im-pasta!" I shout excitedly, and look around the table to find everyone smiling.
"You're so weird," Lucas laughs before digging into his pasta.
I shrug and take another forkful of macaroni.
"Yep, that's my middle name. Emma Weird Hope Sullivan," I grin proudly, and Jason shakes his head at my behavior.
After my corny ass joke, the tension surrounding us, lifted, and we all casually talked for the rest of the meal.
Once we all finished our bowls of pasta, Danielle and I both cleaned up the table. The boys only decided to help towards the end when Danielle threatened to beat them with her spatula.
Soon afterwards, we cleaned up the table and set up the dessert table.
We all chatted and ate the cake I brought by, and finished eating a little less than an hour later.
Once we've all cleaned the table, Lucas, Jason and I made our way to his bedroom.
I was last to enter his room, and was completed stunned to see a photo of the three of us from Lucas's 11th birthday party, right before things all went to shit.
Lucas begins right when I take a seat next to him on Jason's bed.
"I'm a hunter," Lucas states dryly, but I can sense the worry in his gaze as he tells him.
Jason's eyes double in size as he freezes in front of the both of us. "Uh, what?"
Lucas fidgets with his fingers for a brief moment before clenching them on his lap. "My dad told me less than a week ago."
Jason clenches his jaw as he stares intensely at Lucas. "And you're telling me this now because?"
"Because you had your own shit to deal with, Jase," Lucas confesses.
Jason narrows his eyes at Lucas before sighing in defeat. "Well, in all honesty, I always thought you were different."
Lucas's eyebrows shoot up, waiting for him to continue.
"When we were tied up at your house... Emma and I both tried to use magic to get out of the ropes, but we couldn't. You could," he explains.
I suddenly remember what happened when we were at the hospital. "When we were walking around and I thought there was no more hunters, you said you sensed more. And you were right," I face Lucas, suddenly remembering all the signs.
"Maybe we're stupid for not figuring it out sooner," Jason laughs, and I follow along.
"Jason, get down here!" Danielle shouts from downstairs.
Jason shouts a, "I'll be back," over his shoulder before opening his door to leave.
Lucas and I are enveloped with silence, and I awkwardly look around to avoid his gaze.
Without thinking, I stand up from the bed and face him. "I think I'm going stay at my place tonight," I confess.
Lucas furrows his brows. "Why?"
I tightly smile. "I haven't been home for a while. I feel like I should make an appearance," I awkwardly laugh, and he slowly nods.
"I'll see you later, Luke," I whisper as I touch his shoulder for comfort.
Lucas's eyes widen a millimeter when he hears me call him his previous nickname before returning to its natural state.
"Bye," I wave, leaving a emotionless Lucas alone by Jason's bed.
♡
I quietly shut the front door to avoid my dad hearing me enter.
As I start to make my way towards the stairs, I begin to hear slight noises of the television running in the living room.
Furrowing my brows, I make my way to the room, avoiding to step on the cracks as I'm doing so.
My dad lays unconscious on the long sofa in front of the television with his mouth hung open, releasing soft snores.
I frown, and take the light blue throw blanket from the arm rest and open it up so it's resting on my dads figure.
Once he's fully covered, I shut off the television, and quickly toss the three bottles of beer my father left on the coffee table on full display.
After doing so, I make my way upstairs, turning on my bedroom lights right when I get inside.
"Where are my pajamas?" I mumble to myself when I see the current ones I'm wearing are not behind the pillow where I usually keep them.
I pout and go to my dresser, opening the bottom right drawer to pull out my baggy neon blue t-shirt, with black shorts.
Right as I put my phone on charge on my nightstand and assign my alarm for ten in the morning, there's a knock on my window.
I stare at my window in confusion before slowly walking towards it with caution.
"Lucas?" I question when I find Lucas on the opposite side of the window.
"Hey," he whispers, throwing his leg over the ledge, making his way into the room.
"What are you doing here?" My wide eyes meet his blank ones, and I suddenly notice his clothing attire.
Lucas stands before me wearing a grey t-shirt and black shorts that end above his knee.
My hear accelerated from what he says next. "Can I stay the night?"
I open my mouth, ready to ask why, but no words end up forming.
"Okay," I whisper back, and Lucas's expression brightens.
We both make it to the bed in record time, and although the darkness now surounds us, I don't miss his icy blue eyes staring at me.
"Goodnight," I smile, trying to ignore the little shiver that runs up my arms when he shuffles closer to me.
"Goodnight, Hope," Lucas whispers back, and my heart starts running a mile a minute.
He called me Hope again.
After a while, Lucas's soft snores are heard next to me, but the only thing I could think about is one thing.
Do I like Lucas Scott?
♡
Hallelujah!
Thank you lovelies for reading! You all are absolutely amazing.
See you babes in the next chapter xx