I ate my cereal loaded with marshmallows at the kitchen table. Not needing to eat today, I kissed Kate's cheeks and she went to open the window while I had breakfast. Bart waved at us looking inside. "Good morning, ladies!" That booming voice of his, I shook my head taking another bite of cereal. "Morning, Bart! Have a nice patrol!" Kate called back. "I will! You have a nice day too!" Then he made a "swoosh" with his head turning downwards. "Why hello Lucas!"
My spoon dropped onto the counter. Kate had just enough time to turn around to see me quickly grab the vase of roses. "Uh, Sia? What are you…..?" "Quick! I gotta hide these!" "Why?" "I don't want Lucas to see them." "Oh… why not?" She wasn't going to let this drop, was she? "I just…! If he sees them, he'll ask who they're from, and I can't lie to Lucas. It's just easier to hide them." "I thought you were going to tell him; and sooner rather than later." "I will! Just not right now!" I flinched at the knocking at the front door. That transformed to the sound of the lock being turned. Damn! I forgot he had a key! "Go greet him!" I told Kate before rushing the vase into my room. I shut my door and ran back to sit down in the kitchen by the time Lucas entered.
"Hi, Ana," he said with a warm, sad smile on his lips. "H-hi, Lucas," I tried- painfully- to sound as natural as possible. He looked at me for a second before coming over to me. "Still choked up about the funding, huh? It's ok; I understand," my eyes shut as he put his hand on my head, bringing his in to give me a kiss on the forehead. Then he took the seat next to me, brushing a few stray hairs off my cheek with his thumb. "Oh, Ana; I'm so sorry. I know how much you wanted your PhD funded." "I-it's ok… It just…. wasn't meant to be, I guess," my eyes scrolled downwards. Lucas didn't take his gaze off me. "You never did say why you quit…." I could practically hear the cogs in his head turning. "Wait, he didn't…..?!" "No, Chr-….. er, Mr. Grey didn't do anything. I just… decided that I wasn't ready to move away yet," it was a half-truth; I was never keen on moving. I peered over to see Lucas take my hand in his, protectively wrapping his fingers around it.
"Well, good! I'm so glad you're not working for that monster. If I had my way, he'd never see you again, much less hire you." Oh, his wording…. And truthfully, a part of me was terrified that he might be right. I might never see….. "Ana?" Lucas's concerned tone brought my attention rushing back to him. "Huh? Sorry," my eyes lowered a tad. He sighed softly, tightening his grip on my hand. "I know this is hard for you, and I'm so sorry you had to go through this. If there was anything I could do….?" Anything you could do…. I slowly moved my long-eyed stare up to his face. He looked so concerned for me…. so worried…. Lucas, my lips parted a little. I so absorbed in his presence that I failed to notice Kate slip out to give us some privacy.
"Lucas?" "Yes?" This beloved man perked up. This man…. this man who always held my hand; the man who took my hand on the first day of school and never, ever let go….. He always held onto me so protectively. Always… "Lucas, you know… that I love you, right?" "Huh?" I think this dumbfounded him more than anything. His back stiffened up, but he didn't let go of my hand. Of course, he didn't.
"W-wha-… what kind of stupid question is that? Of course I know you love me. Why would you even ask me?" I took a long, deep breath in. "And you know…. that I would never do anything to hurt you?" His eyes widened in confusion and slight alarm. "W-where is this coming from, Ana? Is this because you were thinking of moving? I told you I'd come see you as often as possible. I didn't… I don't want you to move, but it wouldn't hurt me or us…." His thumb rubbed up and down the back of my hand in a comforting way. His dark eyes lowered onto me softly, adoringly…. "Ana, there is nothing you could do that would ever hurt me, because I know you wouldn't. That's not who you are; that's not the Ana I adore body and soul." "L-Lucas!" My head shot up so to meet his stare.
With the widest, warmest smile, he leaned in so to press our foreheads together. "Promise me you'll never worry about that, since there's no need to. FYI, I love you too; you are so incredibly precious to me. You're the closest thing to a sister I have, and I'm not about to let you go anywhere." Oh, Lucas…. I could feel an onset of tears forming in the corner of my eyes. My hand lifted up to grasp onto his arm. "So, don't worry, ok?" "I never want to hurt you, Lucas…." "You never will. I'm not blind, Ana; I know what you've given up for me… friends and acquaintances over the years. Close friends….."
This made my eyes grow gigantic, but Lucas kept going, keeping me securely close to him. "Hurt me…. how could you even think that? It's always been you who's given for me. Of course I know you love me; that's been obvious since we were kids." "It's true, Lucas. I do love you, so much….." My gaze began to lower. "I know, Ana; I know….. But I'm not the only one in the picture here. Whatever you choose to do- move, get a PhD, whatever- I'll support you too. This time belongs to you too; it's fine for you to cherish it."
"Lucas?" And he smiled…. He smiled at me. "You love me. That's enough, isn't it?" His finger wiped a tear off my cheek. Me, Lucas, and Christian all holding hands and laying down in the field together- laughing in the sun. "You know, Ana…" Lucas's hand holding mine under the cherry trees; we were both looking at Christian. "Meeting you was a blessing."
Lucas took one hand and I took the other. Their warmth automatically filled us. And I looked at Lucas and he looked at me. I would never let anyone else beside him hold her hand, for we both knew that for all the things our hands have held…
the best by far is her.