Well, here we go. I've been wanting to write this for a while, but with school I just haven't had the time. Thankfully, Christmas break has been less hectic, so I have some time to write. The story is rated T for language and violence, but that's all. Otherwise, this is a clean one-shot.
All Pokémon are anthro, and live just like any normal human would in today's society. So keep that in mind while reading.
Enjoy.
Luke sat quietly in his bed, absentmindedly reading a book. He wasn't really reading the book, but more like skimming his eyes over the words, seeing them but not truly reading them. That was how he felt about many things in his life at this point. He sighed, closing the book and took a sweeping look of the empty bedroom he was in.
He was alone. It was approaching one o'clock in the morning. He was waiting for his fiancée to come home, and fill the empty space in the room. And in his existence. He moved his eyes over the new wallpaper, the new oak dresser he shared with her, focusing on a picture on top of the dresser. It showed him and her, together, hugging each other before a freshly built log cabin sitting in front of a lake.
He was there in a light teal jacket, a black t-shirt, and worn-out jeans smudged with dirt and grime from hard work. His black hair came just past his ears, and was brushed neatly out of his eyes. He had a tool belt on, and various other tools were scattered around the door of the house in the background. He was holding in his arms a gorgeous Leafeon. She was wearing a light brown shirt and dark blue-jeans that complimented her deep brown eyes. Her beige fur was just a few shades darker than his own white skin, and her hands were tinted a rich brown, the same color of her shirt. Her ears were tinged green at the ends, as were occasional ruffles in her fur on her arms and legs. Her tail swept out behind her, frozen in the still photograph, but no doubt twitching with happiness.
Her name was Leah. He met her his junior year of college, sneaking glances at her as she worked as a clerk at a campus coffee shop, while he should have been working on a term paper. They had fallen for each other, and decided to settle down in a place of their own after they both graduated. She wanted a house fit for the environment.
They built their house together, working with each other and the land to make sure it was exactly what both of them had wanted. He, working as a manager for a new construction business, did all of the planning and assembly. She used her abilities to produce all the raw lumber they would need, holding it in place with vines. The house was just as much his as it was hers, just like everything they had done since they started dating. They promised each other it would be that way.
Blinking, Luke ripped his gaze from the photograph, interrupting the happy flashback. He sighed, waiting for her in the cold, lonely house. She was gone, and he felt the house barren and empty without her. She told him that she was out seeing a movie with her friends, and to not worry about her, she might have gotten a late meal with them afterwards. He should have fallen asleep hours ago, knowing that he would wake up next to his soon-to-be wife sleeping peacefully beside him in the morning. But he knew better.
Leah had gone out frequently with her friends as of late, and it weird seemed to Luke that she would always go out that same time on Saturday nights. The last few times, Luke had pretended to be asleep when she came home, only to find that instead of one of her friends dropping her off, a Mightyena on a motorcycle would stop and let her off, where she would quietly sneak in the front door as if nothing had happened. He also overheard her talking on the phone to what he would only assume was this mysterious Mightyena, but Leah had dropped the conversation whenever Luke was within earshot.
He knew that his fiancée, his love for five years, had been deliberately lying and sneaking out to visit a strange guy he had no information about. And it broke his heart. To him, his relationship was falling apart before his eyes, and he was afraid of losing her. He didn't want to confront her, for fear of making the situation worse, but he also didn't want to remain silent, as it would inevitably spiral downward anyway.
He decided that tonight he would confront her as soon as she got home. Whether the Mightyena was still in the driveway or not, he would find out why his relationship, to him, was a failure.
He turned the light out, so that Leah assumed he was sleeping. Not soon after, he heard the low throaty roar of a motorcycle engine pull up outside. It reduced itself to a low rumble, and a few moments later he heard his front door open.
"She's home," he sighed to himself, getting up to meet her in the living room.
He walked down the dark hallway that connected the rooms quietly. He stopped at the opening between the kitchen and the living room, seeing the arrangement of the furniture in the dark. The couch and armchairs were huddled closer to the television, and room was made by the fireplace in preparation for Christmas. It was the last week of November, and they had yet to buy the Christmas tree for the room, but the space was there, along with decorations that hung on the mantle and walls.
He saw her dark silhouette begin to enter the living room, and he flicked on the lights, illuminating everything in the room. She jumped, startled, still in her puffy white jacket and winter hat.
When she saw him, her face relaxed somewhat, but her slim figure was still tense with apprehension. "Oh. It's just you," she said softly, "You really scared me for a moment." She forced a smile on her face as he looked at her, not dropping his suspicious gaze.
Luke rubbed his eyes with one hand, then sighed again. "Leah, I… I'm going to be frank with you. I know that you weren't with your friends. I heard that motorcycle drive in." None of what he said sounded right to him. He could only imagine how pathetic it sounded to her.
She raised her eyebrows, not sure what he was getting at. "What do you mean, honey? We just saw a movie together. We went to a restaurant for a bite to eat before we came home, and just stayed there a little later than usual. Are you-"
Luke held up his hand for her to stop. "Leah, don't play dumb." His voice was slowly filling with anger, even though he didn't want to sound angry. "I know you've been going off with this Mightyena. I've overheard you on the phone, and I've seen him drop you off here a couple of times the last two weeks. There is no sense in lying to me!"
Leah got on the defensive. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" Her voice was also steadily rising, the beginnings of an argument. "Why are you insisting that I-"
She was interrupted by the front door opening. They heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall, and a tall, bulky Mightyena made his way into the room, carrying a small dark brown purse. He wore a black leather jacket, and blue jeans. He had tan work boots on that were faded from being worn so much. He carried a pair of riding gloves in his other hand, and had a pair of sunglasses resting above his forehead, even though it was dark out."Hey, Leah, you left your purse on the bike." His voice was gruff, matching the growl of the motorcycle Luke heard not minutes before. He walked over, handing it to Leah, still not noticing Luke leaning against the wall. "It was strapped over the back of the seat, you must've forgot it ther- Oh! Hey, pal." He finally saw Luke standing there, addressing him impolitely, as if it wasn't his house they were standing in.
"Leah, who is this?" Luke said roughly, not hiding his anger and astonishment. He was glaring at her.
Leah took her purse from the Mightyena's hand. "This is-"
"I'm Derek." Said the Mightyena, barging in to introduce himself. "May I ask who the hell you are?" He spoke with a smartness, and an underlying contempt.
Luke switched his gaze from Leah to Derek, not losing any intensity. "My name is Luke. I'm the owner of this house that you're standing in, as well as Leah's boyfriend." He crossed his arms. "Now may I ask what the hell you are doing here?"
Derek widened his eyes. "Me? I'm just returning this fair lady to her house. You're her boyfriend? That's hard to believe." He looked as though he wanted to burst out laughing. "Pokémon aren't fit for humans. What right do you have to date her." He jerked his finger at Leah, who was standing at a wall between the two. She had a look of fear on her face, scared that the two men might start fighting soon. Derek was speaking like humans were dirt compared to Pokémon, and should be kept separate.
It was Luke's turn to act surprised. "Are you serious?! She chose to be in this relationship with me! We've been close ever since it began. We built this house together, and she became my fiancée two months ago. Who do you think you are to talk like that?" Luke spat the last words at him with as much hate as he could manage.
Derek looked even more incredulous when Luke mentioned her being his fiancée. "Pffft. Now you guys are getting married? Yeah, okay pal. Obviously your relationship isn't too hot if she's been seeing me. I'll be damned. There's no way a Pokémon and a human could get married in this world. Or any other world for that matter!" He started jeering Luke, waiting for an excuse to jump at him. "I won't believe it. This house will burn to the ground before you two are married together." Derek made sure to make it sound like a threat that he would carry out.
Luke had had enough. He walked into the kitchen, raising his voice as he went so he could be heard. "I won't let some biker punk insult me in my house. You've got ten seconds" -Luke came back into the living room holding a pistol in his hands, pointing it straight at Derek's chest- "to get the hell out of my house before I shoot you on trespassing grounds." He stood still, arms outstretched, leveling the gun right below Derek's neck.
"Luke don't do this!" Leah burst out. "You can't shoot him! Just let him go! He hasn't hurt anyone." She stood in front of Derek, as if to protect him. Derek slowly smiled at Luke, satisfied that Luke would be hurt enough just seeing Leah trying to defend him.
"Yeah, hasn't hurt anyone yet," Luke spat. "It's his choice. Either get the fuck out now, or be dead before he leaves the house." The look in Luke's eyes showed Leah he wasn't kidding.
Derek just smiled, squeezing Leah's shoulder before backing towards the hallway. "I'm done with this little wimp. He needs a gun to keep his relationship together? What a loser." He turned, walking back to the front door. The heavy thump of his boots echoed throughout the house as he went. Before he left, he called out, "And Leah? When you wake up and quit fooling around with this joke of a relationship, you can come and find me. I'll show you how Pokémon should really live together."
He left, but his sneer stopped both of them from moving at first. Luke dropped the gun when he heard the growl of the motorcycle fade away. "Huh," he said to himself, "idiot didn't even know it wasn't loaded." He picked up the gun and put it back where he got it, under a counter in the kitchen.
When he came back, Leah was sitting on the couch, trembling. She snapped her gaze straight to Luke when he came back in the room. He approached her, and she flinched away when he stopped and sat down next to her. She was on the verge of tears. "W-w-what're you g-going to do with m-me, Luke?" she whispered, as if afraid of what the answer was going to be.
All of his emotions from the previous conversation disappeared when Derek left. He was left with the same acute emptiness within from before. Luke sighed again, pausing, collecting his thoughts before he answered her. "Don't say it like that, baby. You're not my property. We are equals; we outlined that day one. That's a respect we need to recognize if this is going to work."
He stopped again, staring at the wall. He drew in a deep breath, then continued. "As for what we're going to do, I don't know. You're free to do whatever you want to, whether it concerns me or not. I don't control you. I can't confine you to the house to prevent you from seeing him. That's not right." He put his face in his hands, thinking one more time. "It's your decision whether to stay with me or not. In a way, he's right. A true relationship between a human and a Pokémon in today's society is borderline taboo. But we knew that. We told each other that we wanted to make this work, that we were going to love each other with all our hearts. I believed myself, and I believed you. I said I would do anything for you. And that's still true now."
Luke exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding onto. He looked straight at her, into her deep, beautiful brown eyes. He found pain there; pain that echoed what he was feeling in his heart right now. "My trust was hurt tonight. It certainly won't be healed tomorrow. I need you to convince me that you want to be a part of this just as much I do. I'm going to bed now. This whole thing between worrying about you and dealing with that Derek asshole has worn me out. I'll see you in the morning."
He broke his gaze from hers, and began to get up. She pulled him back down, and hugged him with all her might. "I don't want to lose you like this…" she whimpered softly, just so he could hear. He hugged her back, then stood up and began the walk back to their bedroom. It seemed much longer than usual.
He laid back down once more, not bothering to turn the lights off. He pulled the covers over himself and turned over, burying his face in the pillow. I don't want it to end. Not this way... The thought remained in his mind until he fell asleep.
In the week that followed, Luke and Leah stayed distant from each other. Leah still stayed with him, and nothing else had changed. She stopped going out at night, and did not mention Derek since the night he entered their house. There was, however, a tangible distance between them, like a chasm lay between their hearts and minds, separating them from each other. It plagued Luke's mind more and more, until one night, he was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of arguing.
Luke bolt upright in bed. Someone was yelling at someone else, and it was in his house. He glanced at the alarm clock that was on the nightstand beside him. Two o'clock, not good. He listened carefully, trying to hear what it was that had woken him. He heard Leah's voice arguing with a low, gruff male voice. That's Derek's, no doubt. That asshole came back to beat our relationship into the ground even more. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that it was pretty intense. Suddenly, Leah's voice stood out: "No! I will not go with you! I am not abandoning him. You've already set it alight, you jerk, now leave! I never want to see you again!" Then, she cried out, followed by the a thump and the groaning of chairs against the hardwood floor of the kitchen.
"That piece of shit, he just shoved her to the ground," Luke said to himself. He got himself out of bed, throwing on clothes, before the loud slam of a door stopped him. Then, the start of Derek's motorcycle, which quickly grew in intensity, then faded away almost as quickly. As he listened for the sound to die out, he also heard a faint crackling sound, like a far away fireplace had been brought to life. Luke also realized that the house had become very hot, making him break into a sweat just by standing up. "That's weird," talking to himself again, "we always keep the heat lower on winter nights."
Luke walked over to the thermostat, noticing that it was at its usual setting of 65 degrees (Fahrenheit). He turned it down a couple clicks, just for good measure. For whatever reason, his eyes were caught on that picture on his dresser of himself and Leah, hugging in front of their newly built house.
Don't. Stand. Again.
His thoughts were at once back to how happy they were back then, when their love was new, and they were still excited about the thought of a long-term relationship.
And I thought maybe we could save ourselves.
The heat snapped him out of the trance that he was in, staring at that old picture. It had not died down since he moved the thermostat, in fact, it seemed to have gotten much worse. The crackling also grew in intensity, so that it could not be shoved to the back of his thoughts. What the heck is going on here. What did he do? Derek thought.
I hear your footsteps in the hallway. Your presence won't leave this place.
He froze. Suddenly, everything clicked in his mind. "This house will burn to the ground…" "That son of a bitch lit my house on fire!" Luke shouted. No wonder it didn't dawn on him, they hadn't installed fire alarms yet. He could already see the thin haze of smoke spilling into his room from the hallway. He looked out the window, and saw a bright red glow emanating from the opposite side of the house.
This house has worlds inside its walls.
Luke's mind started racing all at once. He ran to the door of his bedroom, and saw to his horror flames already licking the walls of the hallway. He thought of calling the police dispatcher, but his house was only a half mile from the city limits. They would see it in time, for sure. Then, his mind jumped to Leah. She was still in the kitchen. He didn't know if she was injured. Worst of all, she was a grass type. He jumped into a pair of sweatpants and threw on a light jacket that was hanging in his closet. He grabbed the picture of himself and Leah, along with a few other things. Then he ran out of the bedroom.
In the back room, on the last night, I heard you crying for life.
He dashed into the kitchen, and found Leah curled up on the floor, bawling. The flames had already spread all around the kitchen, the heat so intense he felt like it was burning him, the crackling so loud it almost drowned out Leah's crying. The drywall was completely gone, the frame of the house visible. A crack sounded overhead, and Luke dodged a large wooden beam as it fell from the roof above them. The whole thing's coming down. The thought echoed in his mind. He looked around, taking in everything that had happened. All around him was the red of flames. His vision was being distorted by the heat. Since their house was made mostly out of wood and drywall, the fire had quickly spread to the entire house.
Smoke was pouring through the halls.
Luke stopped, thinking quickly. He looked out the glass door that connected the kitchen to the backyard. His gaze stopped on the lake behind his house. "Come on Leah," he shouted, "we have to get to the lake!" He picked her up, cradled in his arms, and thrust open the glass door. The heat trapped from inside blew from behind them as he ran out the door. He caught in his peripheral vision a stack of full propane tanks saved for the next summer.
His mind had only just registered what they were when they exploded, a loud BOOM quickly followed by just a loud ringing in his ears. He and Leah were thrown across the backyard, and he tried to throw her further, so that she would reach the water just yards away. He landed a few feet in front of the edge of the water, and she came to rest just inside the outer bank. His eyes were closed, his hearing was gone, and he could faintly feel flames on his back just before his consciousness faded away and his thoughts drifted into black, unaware that fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars had just pulled up in front of the house.
He didn't feel a thing as the paramedics loaded him onto a stretcher and into the back of an ambulance and sped away to the nearest hospital.
Leah stared wistfully into the room where Luke was. He was laid across a table on his stomach, his head hanging over awkwardly. There was an IV tube in his left arm, and a packet of blood with his blood type was next to the table in case it was needed. He had an oxygen mask strapped to his face, and was taking slow, deep breaths.
He had woken up briefly when he was brought into the burn unit of the hospital, but quickly passed out again from pain. His entire back was seared from his jacket catching fire, and the pain from being moved around knocked him unconscious again. Leah was looking through a square network of paned glass separating his room from the hallway of the burn unit.
It was one day after the fire. Leah had been living at her parents' house, and was giving them a break by visiting Luke in the hospital. He just looks so sad… she thought to herself, He has no idea what's happening, just that he is surrounded by doctors and equipment. There were three doctors standing in the room, along with two nurses, one of them was a Kirlia. The Kirlia kept glancing out into the hallway at Leah, and had an expression of pity and empathy every time they made eye contact. Luke had needed skin grafts on his back because of the severe burns, and the staff was checking to make sure the procedure went as expected. Leah sighed and turned around, only to be met by a familiar figure in a leather jacket smirking at her.
"What do you want?" she asked, with venom in her voice.
"I can't believe you're still with this guy," Derek said, nonchalantly pointing at the room with his thumb. "Look how pitiful he is. And you really thought you guys were meant for each other? Unbelievable."
"No thanks to you, asshole." Ever word was seethed with anger, and she had to control herself to not make a scene."You're lucky that we haven't had time to press charges or anything. I would be running out of the city with my tail between my legs if I were you."
"Yeah, but you're not," he added, mocking her.
"I will call for security if you don't leave me, right now."
"Oh please. I'm here to take you home with me. After all, you need a real relationship."
"I'm not going one step with you."
"Oh, so now you'll play Little Miss Stubborn. Whatever." He acted hurt at her attitude. He reached out to grab her arm, but she caught it in midair before he could reacted. He would have jeered her again, but her grip was like a vice, constricting his wrist in her grasp.
She leaned in close, and whispered with such a hate that he had never heard, "Don't you even dare touch me. I will make it so you won't be able to show your face in this town again without hesitating. You better get out of this hospital damn quick, or I'll burn a lot more than just your house." Her eyes had a fire in them more intense than the one that consumed her house.
At that moment, a nurse, the Kirlia from before, stepped into the hallway. "Excuse me," she asked gently, "am I interrupting something here?" She could tell something was off about the scene in front of her.
Derek dropped his gaze to the floor. He made sure to have the last word to Leah before leaving. "Whatever, I hope you enjoy being with a loser for the rest of your life." He turned on his heel, and walked away from her. He looked back once before he exited the ward, only to be met with a glare more ferocious than the one he had planned to give.
Once he was gone, Leah turned back to the Kirlia. "Sorry about that."
The Kirlia smiled. "No problem." She held in her hands a couple of things in a tray. "Are you a relative of the patient in there?" she asked.
"Umm, yes. I'm his fiancée." Leah felt proud to call herself Luke's fiancée. It didn't mend the wounds instantly, but to her, it was a start.
"Okay. I can update you on his condition." Leah couldn't help but tremble at how bad the news could be. "He lost quite a lot of skin from his burns, so we had to use a combination of grafts and stem cells to speed up his recovery. They've taken well, and he should be healed enough so that he can be released within a couple days. Other than that, there aren't any major concerns. He is being kept on oxygen for at least another day until he can keep consciousness, just to be safe. We are monitoring his vitals, but otherwise, he just needs time to heal."
Leah forced herself to relax when the nurse told her about his immediate condition. "He just needs time to heal." When she heard that, she felt a pang in her heart. I still don't know how he feels about this yet. He might not want anything to do with me. She forced out the negative thoughts. They wouldn't help anyone.
The nurse still had more to say. "I assume you're the closest to him right now, so it would be good for you to take these." She was referring to the objects in the tray. "This is everything he had on him when he was brought in."
In the tray were only a few possessions. One of which was Luke's phone, still in surprisingly good condition compared to what happened to him. Along with that were his wallet and watch. But what most interested Leah was what else was there. Next to Luke's personal items was a small green and grey stone, and a picture frame with a crack running between two diagonal corners.
She took the stone and the picture frame, but left the rest of the objects. She looked at the nurse, "Those things can stay with him here. He'll probably need them when he gets released."
The nurse nodded. "That's fine. I'll see that he gets them." She was about to turn back into the room, before she looked back at Leah, eyes full of concern. "You know, I heard what happened at the house from the paramedics. It could've been a lot worse for either of you. You're both lucky."
Leah didn't want to think of their house. Of what happened back there. She wouldn't be able to keep a steady composure. She just looked at the nurse, and added wistfully "Yeah, I guess we were. He's a pretty hardy guy."
The nurse was still looking at her. Leah felt as though the Kirlia was reaching straight into her heart, trying to alleviate some of the sadness filling it up. "My name is Mariah. I'll be staying with him until he is released. If you need any help with anything, with him, or whatever, just come find me here." Leah took what she said to heart. She could tell that the Kirlia could feel her pain, and sincerely meant it. She appreciated everything Mariah had said, but couldn't put her gratitude into words.
Leah thanked her, then turned around to leave. She grabbed her coat, a spare winter coat from her parents, shoved the colored stone and picture into a pocket on the inside lining, and left the hospital.
She walked out the doors into the brisk winter atmosphere outside. It was late, and the moon was out shining brightly in a cloudless sky. Stars were sparkling here and there on a vast, dark canvas. The wind was calm, with only light breezes. It was still cold, though, and Leah put on her hat and scarf, bundling up for wherever she was going. She didn't know where she was walking to, her mind was too lost in sad thoughts and what ifs. Her feet carried her to a destination unknown. She snapped out of her daze to find herself in the small city park.
Being surrounded by trees made Leah feel more at ease. She found a bench nearby, and sat down to take a break from walking. She looked up, where branches stretched out to cast dark silhouettes across the sky. She pulled out the objects found on Luke's person when he was brought the hospital.
First she examined the stone. She recognized it as a leaf stone, which Luke have given to her. He knew that wasn't how she evolved, but he had found it at a work site where his crew had been digging, and knew it would make for a nice gift to her. She held it in her hands, feeling the rough texture of the fossilized leaf pattern, and the smoothness of the rest of the stone. She turned it over in her hands, where "For Leah, my love" was cut into the back of it with flowing calligraphy. Leah held it tightly in her hands, drawing it closely to her chest, closing her eyes. She remembered when he had given it to her on her twenty-fourth birthday, making sure it was the last thing she opened. She had been delighted when he told her of how he had found, made, and machined her the gift all by himself.
She felt something soft and cold fall against her neck, and discovered snow falling when she opened her eyes. It was falling soft and gently; small, thin snowflakes that lazily floated to the ground in the absence of wind.
She put the stone back into her pocket, and pulled out the picture frame. She saw it was the picture that Luke had kept on his dresser, the one they had taken together when their house was finally finished. He had her enveloped in a loving embrace, one that encompassed all the care and happiness they felt when they were in each other's arms.
Leah looked at the crack that had dug its way across the glass in front of the picture, and saw in that single crack everything that had happened to her and Luke. She saw how they had become distant as of late. She saw the lonely nights Luke spent alone, worrying about her. She saw how Derek had driven a nail between them, even though she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. She felt tears rushing to her eyes. She closed them again, to be rid of the ugly crack that had been torn in her and Luke's relationship.
When she closed her eyes, she saw herself laying in the middle of a flame-filled room. She was crying just as she was now, tears rushing down her face. She saw Luke come running through, and pick her up in his arms. He took her through the kitchen, running around flames and dodging burning wood falling from above. Everything was happening in slow motion. He threw open the big glass sliding door, clutching her closely to him as he ran. He just passed the propane tanks when they exploded. As she flew through the air, falling into the safety of the lake. She saw him land far from the shore, landing on his stomach, the back of his coat ablaze.
The scene gently faded away to black and the flashback ended. With snow falling all around her, Leah sat on the bench crying for him. Everything for her had gone wrong. The best thing she had, the man who she wanted to spend her life with, was almost gone before her eyes, taken right out from underneath her. She hugged the picture of them tightly against her body, afraid that if she loosened her grip it and he would disappear forever.
Leah was walking down the sidewalk on the street were Luke had moved. Since their new house was no more, he had moved back into his old house that he wasn't able to sell quite yet. She still knew where it was without an address because she would visit him so much before they lived together.
Snow was falling again, coating the sidewalk. She wore a thin green winter coat and jeans. For whatever reason, Leah always felt as if snow falling made the weather seem not as cold as it truly was. It came down heavier than the night she had sat in the park, so that she could only see for about a half-mile down the road. Everything around her was painted in white fluff. It was nearly a week later, and Luke had been released from the hospital in good health a few days prior.
Leah was lost completely to her thoughts as she slowly walked down the street. In her mind were a thousand different scenarios that could happen. She hadn't talked to him before te night their house caught fire. She only saw him briefly in the hospital; she couldn't bring herself to go back and see him there. She stopped and cleared her head, turning to the second door of a small red-bricked apartment block that was between two larger houses. She stood on the sidewalk, looking at the building with a heavy heart. She missed seeing the house, because it meant someone she loved was inside. She took a deep breath, finding the walk up the short set of steps the hardest thing she had to do over the past week. She reached out and rang the doorbell to the small apartment, and waited for him to come to the door.
After a couple moments, she heard the main lock click, and the door was pulled open. She was left looking at Luke, in his standard lounging clothes: a sleeveless maroon undershirt and black sweatpants. There was a small step between the landing she was on and the threshold of the door, so she was left looking up at him from her slightly lower position outside.
Neither of them said anything for a moment. Leah decided to open it up professionally.
"Hey," she said, looking into his eyes with her deep brown ones.
"Hey," Luke answered back, not really sure what was happening.
Leah sighed. "I need to talk to you. I figured you'd move back here since it wasn't sold before… you know… 'that' happened." She didn't want to bring up the specific event in particular.
Luke blinked, then stepped aside, holding the door open. "Well then, come in. Outside certainly isn't a place to discuss anything if it's important." He turned and walked back into the house. Leah followed, taking off her shoes and leaving them at the door.
Luke went into the small kitchen and pulled out two chairs from the small rectangular table sitting in a space against the back wall. He motioned for her to sit down.
As she was taking off her coat, a sharp whistling broke out from the stove. He went over and turned off one of the burners, and called over to her, "I just had some water boiling for tea. You're more than welcome to have some, if you want."
"What kind is it?" she asked politely.
"Rawst, with a tinge of mint," he said, pulling out two mugs from a cupboard.
She felt a pang in her heart. That was the only kind she ever drank. "Yeah, sure, I'll have some."
He brought over the two mugs, along with a couple sugar cubes. He sat down, took a sip of tea, and asked "So. What did you want to talk about?"
Leah sighed, looking down at her tea. "Well, I… I'm not really a hundred percent sure myself. I guess I'll start with this:" She looked at him in the eye. "I really sorry. For what happened. For everything." She averted her gaze, unable to hold eye contact and on the verge of tears. She felt ashamed, as if everything in the small house was staring straight at her, and that everything that had happened over the past two weeks was completely her fault. To her, it was.
"Hey," Luke said softly, "Don't beat yourself over this, or anything that happened the past couple weeks. I forgive you. I always will. I have part of the blame here too-"
"No! That's just it!" Leah slammed her hands on the table, shaking the cups. "It isn't your fault! It's all mine. I was stupid, and unfaithful, and foolish, and so much else that I regret right now! I've regretted it since you were in the hospital." She looked up again, and he was staring at right, his face compassionate, with no trace of anger. He looked worried.
"You don't know how I felt, standing in the burn unit, with you hooked up to breathing machines, realizing that you almost lost your life because of me! Because of what I did! And it was so damn selfish of me!" She put her head down, cradling it in her arms resting on the table. She let herself cry, sobbing, wishing she wouldn't be so fragile in front of him.
"Come here." He said quietly.
She looked up, sniffing and wiping tears from her eyes. She saw how calm he was. He had his arms stretched out, reaching to her. Slowly, Leah rose and fell into them, holding him tightly. He returned the embrace, lightly rubbing her back as he held her there. One by one Leah felt her worries and pains slip away.
"How… How do you always know how to make me feel better?" Leah asked, her voice muffled from being planted against him.
"I like to believe it's what I'm here for."
He held her there for another few minutes until she calmed down enough to break apart from him. She stood back, reaching for her coat.
"Here," she said, taking out a small wrapped rectangle from her coat pocket. "This is for you."
"Why are you giving me gifts already? It's still a week before Christmas…"
She gave him a playful shove. "Just open the damn thing already."
"Fine," he said with mock irritation as he took the present from her.
He ripped off the wrapping paper. What was underneath was the picture he had managed to save from their burned house, with them standing in front of it when it was first built. He covered his mouth with one hand. The picture was in a new gold frame with fresh, uncracked glass over it.
"It's wonderful," Luke said, looking back at her. Leah had a bright smile on her face. He pulled her for another hug, whispering in her ear, "Thank you so much. I love it. I thought I lost it in the fire because it wasn't with my stuff in the hospital." He pulled back in, only to gently kiss her. It was filled with all the compassion and love that Leah could imagine. It made her all warm inside.
When they separated, he smiled and asked, "I could tell when I first opened the door that something was really bothering you. Are you all better?"
She jumped into his arms again. "Uh huh. A million times better." She looked at his face before carefully asking her next question. "So does this mean we're back together?"
"I didn't know we were apart."
"Yeah, I really hoped we weren't. I've come to realize now more than ever just how amazing you are, and how amazing you make me feel. When I was alone those couple days when you were gone, everything just felt so empty. I felt like I was missing something critical, and I didn't want to do anything without it. I knew it was you." She squeezed him tighter. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Thanks. It's good to know someone worries about you. It makes you feel a little more important."
They stood in the kitchen for a few more moments before they separated again.
"Are you staying here tonight? It's already kind of late." Luke asked, observing the time from a wall clock.
"Of course. If you'll let me, that is."
"Absolutely I'll let you. Come on." Luke put the dishes by the sink for the morning, and cleaned up the leftover tea. He turned out the light in the kitchen and led her into the dark living room. He stopped to put the new picture on an end table. As he turned around, Leah grabbed him and tossed him over to the couch, falling on top of him.
"Was that really necessary?" he questioned.
"Yep," she said, mischief saturating her voice. She snuggled up against him, content with just sleeping on the couch for the night.
"Well, I guess we're staying here tonight," he sighed.
"Oh please, you love it."
"Yeah," he wrapped his arms around her figure, holding her against him. "And you, especially."
She adjusted to get comfortable, entwining her legs with his. She rested her head on his chest, just listening to his heartbeat for a couple moments. She was overjoyed to know that Luke loved her just as much as before the whole incident happened. She made a promise to never let him go again. These were the thoughts that passed through her mind as she fell asleep in his arms.
Wow.
I really apologize for how long this took. Senior year has been ridiculously busy, and I'm lucky to have time to write over the weekend these days. So that's why there hasn't been anything new recently. And it'll probably stay that way until summer break comes along. But I still have ideas in the back of my head. I just need time to put them into words.
Speaking of words, I tried to really develop my description skills with this one. I believe it to be one of the areas I lack in skill. Drop a review to tell me how I did. The italicized lyrics in the first part of the story are from "The Home We Made Pt. II" by Crywolf. It is an excellent song, I suggest checking it out. It has a lot of feels. It is also where the inspiration for this story came from. A lot my ideas come from music like that.
Anyway, feel free to drop a Favorite, or Follow me as an author. It is really unlikely that the story will be continued, so it wouldn't make sense to follow the story itself. Please leave a Review if you have the time, as they always help me to improve. I greatly appreciate.
Otherwise, stay tuned for some more content as school winds down. Hopefully I have some time to write in between, but who knows.
-apk493