Chapter 43
I watched as Lucas' jaw clench, almost painfully by the looks of it.
In that moment, it felt like everything was going in slow motion before he decided to pounce onto Alec.
So, deciding to risk my life for a second, I stood in front of Alec so Lucas was looking right at me.
"Luke," I said softly, and I noticed his jaw loosened slightly. Just an inch. "Can you take me home?"
Behind me, Alec stepped on branch while standing up, and I groaned at his stupidity. I was so close to distracting him and getting him out of here.
But just as I was close to losing all hope, Lucas looked back to me and slowly nodded. "Okay," he grumbled before turning on his heel.
Without looking over his shoulder to see if I was following his lead, he opened the door and stepped inside before closing it shut.
I looked over my shoulder and threw Alec a glare before jogging to the front of Lucas' black car.
"Thanks," I mumbled once I was seated in the passenger seat, and Lucas didn't choose to reply before turning on the engine.
Lucas didn't give me enough time to prepare before he sped down the street. I had to grip the handle above my head for support.
Thankfully, the drive only lasted a few more minutes before he slowly stopped in front of Jason's house, which was currently empty.
I've gained a new power that I could look into houses.
That, or, I saw there was no cars on the driveway, and I know the Valentine's family uses the garage as a storage unit.
"Just say it," I sighed, and Lucas clenched the steering wheel before dropping his hands on his lap.
"I have nothing to say," he scoffed, and I rolled my eyes at that.
"You and I both know that's not true," I stated as a matter of fact.
Lucas stayed silent for a moment before turning off the engine of his car. After that, he turned his head so he was facing me.
"What's your thing with him?" He asked, and I slowly nodded.
"Alec and I... we used to date for a little over a year when I used to live in Vancouver," I began with a sigh, and he slowly nodded, pressing me to continue.
"We met during second semester in French class, and I would help him out," I laughed. "Which I learned later on that he didn't need help, he was just trying to get me to talk to him."
Lucas' attention was locked on me, and I couldn't hold his stare as I said the next part. "I made him wait a year before we... you know."
He stayed silent, which killed me inside. "It was a month after that until he was caught cheating."
After what felt like minutes, I fluttered my eyes higher so I was looking at him, but Lucas wasn't looking at me. He was glaring daggers outside the windshield while clenching the wheel once more.
Before I could understand what he was doing, he turned on the car before putting it onto drive.
Lucas began to drive down the street at an impressible speed. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, and he didn't spare me a seconds glance.
"I'm gonna go kill that fucker," he tried to state calmly but I could hear the anger behind his voice.
Without thinking twice, I tapped into my magic and turned off the engine. Lucas, of course, wasn't happy. Which was shown when he shifted his glare to me.
"You're not stronger than me, Hope," he stated, and I raised my eyebrows, challenging him.
Lucas narrowed his eyes on me before moving his gaze to the engine button. Which, worked on my side and stayed off.
"Are you done?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, and he sighed, showing his defeat.
I couldn't hold the grin back as I began to reverse the car. Lucas pouted like a child while I was doing so.
In a minute or so, we were parked outside of Jason's house once more, and I unbuckled my seat belt before grabbing the strap of my bag that has been sitting on the floor.
Shifting my gaze to the side of Lucas' face, curiosity bloomed inside of me.
Does he still like me like he did all those months ago?
The question got me excited in my chest, and my heart raced slightly, but when Lucas looked at me with hardly any emotion, I shoved the excitement aside.
"See you later, Hope."
"Bye, Luke," I said with a small whisper before opening the door.
I guess when you almost die, it can really change your view on the world you lived in.
♡
"Give me the fucking popcorn, Valentine," I hissed as I watched Jason cuddle with the bag by the very end of the long couch.
"I'm good, Em," he said, continuing to watch the movie on the screen.
I kept my gaze on him, raising my eyebrows while waiting for him to look at me to notice that I was only seconds away before taking it from him physically.
He may be stronger than me in the magic compartment, but I know how to get what I want.
Especially if what I want is food.
I gave him ten seconds before I pounced.
I pressed my feet on the couch cushion so my knees were just under my neck. Before he could spare me a second look, I jumped, and Jason widened his eyes when he saw what I was doing before throwing the popcorn on the other couch.
After I landed on top of him, a devilish laugh left me before rolling off of him so I landed on the floor. Thankfully, I thought quick and I pushed my elbows in front of me to avoid my face hitting the floor.
A giggle left me as I grabbed the popcorn before taking the seat on an individual couch.
Happily munching on the popcorn in my hold, I placed my full attention on the movie we were walking, which happened to be the sequel of John Wick.
It was currently Friday night, and Jason suggested we watch a movie when his parent's went out for date night, and I happily agreed, craving to watch a good action movie.
Well, the first one was pretty amazing, this one is... eh.
What can I say, not really crazy about sequels unless they're necessary.
After a few minutes from eating the popcorn in peace, I was mildly surprised that Jason hasn't threatened to steal it from me yet.
Curiosity settled within me as I shifted my gaze to Jason, who I noticed was already looking at me with a small pout.
"What?" I laughed. "Miss the popcorn that much?"
Jason sighed, making me notice the seriousness of what is to come. "I need to tell you something."
"Shoot."
Jason closed his eyes for a brief moment before pausing the movie.
"Anna and I kissed last Thursday," he said quickly, and my eyes widened.
"On... your birthday?" I asked slowly, still processing the information.
He sighed before nodding. "Yeah. We hung out after the exam review, and... I kissed her."
I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. "You're mad, aren't you?" He cringed, and my eyes widened.
"No! I am kinda annoyed it took you over a week to tell me, but I'm not mad," I shrugged. "If I'm gonna be honest, I always assumed she was into you, and that she just didn't know it yet."
Jason laughed, shaking his head. "I thought you'd hate me or something."
"Just the opposite," I smiled. "I'm happy. For both of you. And I hope it works out in the end."
♡
I was sleeping peacefully, dreaming about what it could be like to have had a completely normal life.
But of course, reality kicked me to the curb when I heard a familiar laugh echo through the house, waking me up as a loud yawn left me.
Once I rolled onto my stomach, I checked the time on my phone, which was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.
Eleven in the morning. I cracked a smile, impressed that I actually managed to oversleep.
I got up surprisingly easy before heading to the bathroom, starting my normal morning routine before slipping into sweatpants and a baggy shirt.
Baggy clothes are by far better than tight fitted clothing.
I walked down the steps slowly as both Jason and Lucas came into my view. They were in deep conversation, which helped me because I could slip downstairs without them noticing.
At least, that's what I hoped to believe just before Lucas moved his head so he was looking at me descend the stairs.
Jason's back was to me, but that didn't stop him from turning around to face me with a wary smile.
My eyes widened as he threw me something, but I caught it without looking twice. "We're going on a road trip. Get ready."
My brows furrowed and looked to see what he threw me, which I found out that it was a omelet wrap covered with saran wrap.
"Thanks for this but... where are we going?" I asked while they moved around me so they were standing in front of the door.
"Wait and see, Hope. Wait and see."
I sighed but followed their lead as they put on their shoes. In only a matter of minutes, we were all seated in Lucas' car — me sitting in the back — before he drove down the street.
For almost an hour, we were on the road, driving through the busy streets as no words left. The only sound being made in the car was the radio, that I struggled to enjoy.
The songs they play nowadays made me want to cry in desperation.
But, when we finally parked outside of where our 'road trip' took us, I quickly glared at both Jason and Lucas.
"Concord Jail? Are you fucking serious?" I hissed out, already feeling emotions swarm inside of me.
Of course, they both shoved their noses in someone's business that wasn't there's and brought me to the jail my dad would be held in for five years.
"You're going to see your dad," Jason said in a matter of fact tone.
"You haven't seen him since he got arrested," Lucas said softly in reminder, and I sucked in a large intake of breath.
"They already know you're coming. So go in there, and talk to your dad," Jason said, and I closed my eyes tightly before nodding my head.
Jason and Lucas both sent me a smile before telling me to head inside, which happened to be completely busy when I did so.
Dozens of families were sitting on the chairs, waiting to be called so they could enter, while another few were in the line ahead of me, planning on talking to the receptionist.
It took me almost an hour before I was finally finished with the whole process.
I had to go through security testing, a metal detector, iris scan, and a drug detector before getting to the visiting center.
However, when I was going to see him, I thought it would be him sitting across the table from me, but instead of that, there was a glass screen in front of me when I entered a vacant room labelled as a non-contact room.
The guard told me to take a seat, and I eyed the phone connected to the wall on the right side of the booth.
In a few minutes, my dad walked in on the other side of the glass with an orange jumpsuit on and a fading bruise under his eye.
I sucked in a small intake of breath as he took a seat, not able to take his eyes off of me.
I realized I couldn't do the same.
Slowly, I reached for the phone, still looking at him while he did the same.
"Hey sweetie," he rasped out, and my eyes closed.
"I turned too early. And I hit the driver's side."
I took a deep breath to try to calm my racing hear before looking at him with no emotion. At least, I think I was.
"Hey, dad."
♡
A loud yawn left me as I stared at the television in front of me with my eyes slowly fluttering shut.
Lucas seemed to notice me drifting asleep because when he nudged my shoulder, I looked at him and saw him looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"Come on, Em, It's a good movie," he complimented, but I silently groaned so I wouldn't wake up Jason on my left.
"I don't fully get it," I whispered as I rubbed my head while he rolled his eyes.
I watched Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet begin to fight in the snow before turning back to him. "Cause you weren't paying attention in the beginning," he said in a duh tone.
"It was hard to pay attention to begin with," I grumbled, as the next scene faded in.
After my twenty minute discussion with my dad — which consisted of 'how are you's', and 'how is school' — I left, seeing their car right where it was before.
We chose to go out and get some food in the area before driving another hour back to Jason's house.
By the time we got back to Jason's place, it was almost five, so we decided to watch a movie.
The first one passed smoothly, maybe it was because we were all familiar with the movie, Bay Watch. But when the second movie began, Jason fell asleep within thirty minutes.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a confusing movie for my taste.
"All I do know," I began. "Is that their relationship is just... sad."
"How?" He asked, and I sighed before turning my body so I was facing him.
He paused the movie.
"They loved each other, so much. Even if their differences came into play, they loved with their whole heart," I sighed, feeling the pain they must have felt.
"But when things got hard... they wanted to erase the pain. But how could you do that? Erase someone you love, so easily?" I whispered, looking into Lucas' eyes which seemed to have softened when they met mine.
"What?" I asked softly when I noticed he wasn't saying anything from my small speech.
Lucas eyed Jason, who was sleeping soundly behind me before looking back to me.
Without saying anything else, he stood up from the couch and moved around before heading to the hallway.
Following his footsteps was a door closing, and my eyebrows furrowed before following him out of the house.
"Why'd you leave, Luke?" I asked, my voice returning to its normal volume — which felt weird at the moment.
Lucas' back was to me as he faced Jason's driveway. He sighed before turning on his heel to face me.
"I didn't want to wake up Jason," he explained simply, and I slowly nodded.
"What's got you all... freaked out?" I asked as I watched him lean on the brick wall next to Jason's front door before pushing off of it.
"You! For fucks sake, you get me all freaked out," he shouted and my eyes widened at his sudden bluntness.
"You kissed Alec, Emma," he scrunched up his nose in disgust, and my jaw clenched as I remember what happened that Friday afternoon.
"I didn't kiss him, he kissed me. And I shoved him away right when he did, Lucas," I hissed, which caused him to take in a large intake of air.
"And you're walking around like..."
"Like what, Lucas? Like a normal person?"
"Like you don't care anymore."
I stared at him in disbelief. "I don't care about... what?"
Lucas stared at me so intensely I felt it in my bones.
"You?" I answered for him, but when he didn't answer, I scoffed.
"You didn't talk to me, Lucas. You didn't even acknowledge my presence!" I reminded him, a little too loudly for my liking.
"I'm sorry for everything. I should have told you I loved you. Because I do, you jerk, I love you and now I can't even tell you."
The memories of when he almost died filled my brain, and my heart sank in my chest.
But I didn't let him see it.
Lucas' jaw clenched slightly before looking off the distance again.
"No," I said through my clenched jaw as I shoved him slightly. "You don't get to do that again."
"Do what?" He asked obliviously as he slowly looked back to me.
"Cut me out again! I'm tired of this crap, Lucas. Just talk to me," I whispered the last part, and his jaw clenched before he grabbed my shoulder's and pushed be roughly against the brick wall next to the door.
My breathing was cut short as he trailed his thumb under my jaw before cupping my cheek.
"Lucas..."
"Looking at you only reminds me of what a failure I am," he admitted suddenly, and my lips parted in surprise.
"I couldn't save you," he whispered as his gaze roamed around my face before settling in my eyes.
"You did, though. You came for me and that makes you a savior in my book," I whispered back, and Lucas shifted his gaze lower so they were on my lips.
Within seconds, Lucas smashed his lips onto mine.
♡
Yup, I'm proud of myself. I'm on a roll.
So, I'm currently watching The Conjuring while writing this chapter for the first time and can I just say... what the hell.
Probably shouldn't have watched this around midnight.
Also, thank you lovelies for 90k, we're so close to 100k!
Anyways, I'll see you lovelies in the next chapter, please vote and comment!
Love you xx