I walk back into my room to find Luke snuggled up in a ball, still sleeping. I crawl into bed and slightly pull the covers up to get underneath. As I lay next to him, I watch him sleep peacefully. It is rare for him to fall asleep before me, so I almost never get to see him sleep. I enjoy the sight of it, so calm and quiet. His chest gently rises and falls and his breaths come out long and warm against my face. I'm so excited about telling him my news that I want to wake him up and tell him right now, but I decide against it and watch as his eyes slowly move back and forth under his eyelids.
A few seconds later, his eyes barely open. He blinks a few times and smiles as he sees me laying next to him. He always catches me staring but I can't help it.
"Why are you awake?" He asks quietly, giving me a confused look.
"Just couldn't sleep," I say back.
"Is something wrong?" He asks again with a yawn.
"No, nothing at all," I smile. At this moment I felt safe and happy with my life. Despite the fact that my father could come back and try to harass us any minute, I knew Luke would protect me. I was just glad to have him here and in my life. Right now that's all that mattered to me.
"Good," he said with a smile and pulled me into him.
I breathe in my favorite scent and close my eyes as my head lays on his bare chest. "Luke?" I say quietly against his skin.
"Yeah?" He responds.
"My answer is yes," I whisper. I smile without meaning to and hope he knows what I mean.
He pulls away from me to look into my eyes. "Y-you'll move in with me?" He stutters.
"Yes," I say back and watch his eyes light up.
He pulls me in again and squeezes me tight. "I love you so much," he whispers and plants a kiss on my forehead.
"I love you Luke," I say before finally falling asleep.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Luke and I talk a lot about how we're going to go about moving into our own apartment. Since Thanksgiving is next week, we decide we won't move out until after. We decide to tell my family about our plan the day of Thanksgiving since we will all be in the same place. He didn't know what Thanksgiving was when we were discussing this, so I had to explain to him that we eat a big meal on that day because it is a celebration of the Pilgrims settling in America. He is still confused and I tell him that it's just a day to eat and be thankful for what we have.
It is now Tuesday night and we have not had another visit from my father, thank goodness. Maybe he got the hint that we didn't want to see him, or as Luke sees it, he scared him off. I just hope that one of those is true and that we won't be seeing him anymore. I hoped for that the first time he left, but it obviously didn't work.
I finally told Lin and the boys about the situation yesterday at lunch. They all reacted how I expected and told me that they would be over to help me in an instant if I needed them. I'm glad that I had the kind of people that would do that for me. My friends back home would do the same, but I still felt more loved here than I ever did back home.
When they told me that I would be getting a lot of attention at school for the awesome party, they were right. People in the halls and in my classes repeatedly asked me when my next party would be. Another one? If these people thought I was gonna have another party they were crazy. It was fun but I don't think I could do it again. Plus, my parents wouldn't be gone again and I would be moving out soon anyways.
That still seemed so crazy to me. I was moving out, to live with a boy. Of course I would be attending college in a couple of months which meant that I would move out then anyways, so it really is no big deal. I'm just scared of how my mom was going to take it, and the fact that I was going to be living with my boyfriend of only a few months. I was scared for many reasons; what if something happened between us, what if moving in together ruined our relationship, what if it just doesn't work out? The thoughts flood my mind almost every second and I have to try to distract myself to get them out.
When I get scared, I remember that it's Luke. I trust him and we've already been through a lot. I actually think that it will be fun to live with him; no need to sneak around, we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, and wherever we want with no distractions. It will be fun to go grocery shopping and cuddle on the couch watching movies until we fall asleep. It will be a nice little hang out place for when we want to have our friends come over. When I really think about it, it seems perfect.
The boys have been posting a lot of videos on YouTube and they've been getting a lot of views which is crazy. What if they became famous? I want to believe that they will, but I feel like it's so hard to get famous. The thought seemed crazy and I brush it aside.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday comes already and I think about how fast the week has gone by. We are all eating dinner and Troy and my mother are telling us all about how their trip to Melbourne went. Why they had waited until almost a week later to tell us about it, I didn't know. My mom is interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door.
"Sweetheart, could you get that please?" She asks me.
I wipe my face with my napkin and leave the table. I didn't know who was at the door, but I imagined it was probably Josh.
When I open the door, I am met with a face that is not Josh's.