A/N: This chapter contains sexual content
Chapter 49 – Pieces of my Heart
The trip to New York was an easy one for the two of them, Riley stayed with Lucas's parents' even though they couldn't sleep in the same room. They had dinner together and talked about their future, his parents asked about school and how they were dealing with the load of having a job and going to school at the same time. The next morning, they went to her parents' house for the twins' breakfast party, her parents were surprised to see the two of them there but they brushed it aside because she hadn't visited them all summer. When it was time to leave she gave them all a hug and a kiss before walking out the door. It was a good day and she was happier than ever, but somewhere in her heart she knew something was wrong.
"Riley," Lucas said while he drove them back to Philly. "What are you thinking?"
She looked at him trying to pinpoint the feeling she was having. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe I'm just tired, it's been a very long weekend I guess. But I loved it."
"So did I, and thank you for making my birthday memorable."
"No problem," she smiled but she knew that it didn't reach her eyes. Something was wrong and she couldn't figure it out. The feeling was bothering her, like something gnawing at her stomach.
As Lucas parked the car outside of the house he looked over at her worried that something was terribly wrong. She knew that she couldn't hide what she was feeling from him but she wanted to keep him happy because his birthday was the day before.
"Seriously what's wrong," he said.
"Maybe it's just the dread of cleaning up the mess from the party," she said to him. "I did go overboard."
"No you didn't Riley, the party was the most perfect moment I have ever had. Well except for that day you fell on my lap in the subway and lead us down this road."
"Aww," she gushed before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
"Come on Princess let's go clean out place."
"No," she protested. "Can we just leave it like that for a few days, we can cuddle under the stars after work, and have picnics and make out."
"Okay we can leave it until next weekend but after that we're cleaning the place."
"Yay."
When they walked into their place Riley looked around thinking about the fun they would have with the set-up, but the weird feeling hadn't left and she tried to push it back. And in one second everything changed. As Lucas stood in the doorway his phone rang and on the other side was the news that his Pappy Joe had passed away. Riley didn't know something was wrong until he dropped his phone on the ground, the glass shattered as the phone slid across the floor.
"Lucas," she said trying to get his attention.
"Pappy Joe…. We just talked to him the other night…"
Riley remembered the conversation but the heartbreak on his face made her push it aside. Instead she walked up to him and put her arms around his waist. They stood there unmoving for what felt like an eternity. Then everything began moving in slow motion for Riley, Zay showed up because he had gotten the call from his grandmother. Lucas's mom called and said that she made arrangements for Lucas to go to Texas. Then Lucas was gone and she was alone in the remains of his birthday party. She hadn't cried, he hadn't either. She wished she could have gone with him but she knew that it wasn't possible.
The days went by slowly as Riley cleaned the apartment of the remnants of the party, as she went to school and to work. She hadn't slept since they were in New York, she felt numb because she couldn't help Lucas who was now thousands of miles away. Zay returned on Thursday but Lucas had disappeared. Riley talked to his professors who had all told her that he was keeping up with the work, she called his job and they told her that he was using his vacation time. She felt her heart breaking because the only thing he abandoned was her. She wanted to help him, she wanted to be there for him but he shut her out and disappeared.
Lucas stood outside his grandfather's house, the farm he had spent so much time at when he was younger, the man who gave him the greatest gift in the world, he gave him the ability to look at everything as though it was new. Lucas felt as though his heart had been ripped right out of his chest because he had just talked to the man days before. He wished that he had recorded the conversation, he didn't want to forget his voice and his lessons. When the will was read and the assets divided Lucas didn't care because in the end it just drove a nail on his heart. Pappy Joe had left the house to his parents, but the farm to Lucas. The barn had so many memories from growing up, the horses and all of the animals didn't know that his grandfather was missing.
"What am I going to do with all of this?" he wondered.
His parents wanted Lucas to have the house as well since they had their place in New York, but they also thought it would be a good place for Lucas to make memories in the future. Yet the only memories he could think about were the ones that Pappy Joe wasn't going to see and that broke his heart even more. He had left Philly nearly two weeks ago and didn't want to go back, his parents left after the funeral, Zay left not long after, but Lucas missed his flight. He was trying to hold onto something, something that was missing now. His parents set up the farm to run on its own but to pay Lucas the money that was made from it. They made sure that everything would be okay, but he couldn't figure out how they could just move on with their lives.
Every day he walked through the house looking for his grandfather, his presence was there but the man was missing. He wasn't laughing out front, or sitting in the living room, he wasn't in his office looking at the books. Lucas sat down in his grandfather's favorite chair and stared at a spot on the wall trying to remember his hugs and his lessons. As he moved to stand up he felt something against the seat, he pushed his hand down the side and found a letter addressed to him. Pappy Joe had written it, almost as if he knew that Lucas was going to be there. Lucas ripped open the letter and slowly opened the folded paper.
'Don't dwell over my death boy, I've lived a long and happy life. If you want to grant me my final wish then listen up, keep Riley close when you feel sad. She will help you move forward. She will help you move on. If you do somethin' stupid and run away from her so help me Lucas Friar I will come back from the dead and kick your sorry ass. Your grandmother was the greatest gift the world could give me, and Riley is the same for you. When we meet again in the afterlife I want to hear about how happy you were, and about your kids. I don't want to hear any regrets. Ya hear me boy.'
Lucas laughed at the letter, Pappy Joe knew him the best but he had also knocked some sense into Lucas's head. He had stayed away for too long and hadn't even called Riley at all because his phone had shattered on the floor the day he got the news.
"I feel so stupid," he said to himself. The first thing he had to do was get a new phone, then book himself a flight back to Philly. He needed to get his life back.
The plane had landed jolting Riley awake, she had worked double shifts along with her school work to raise enough money to get to Texas and see Lucas. The only sleep she had gotten was on the plane after she resolved herself to getting to him as quickly as possible. She was in luck that it was a holiday weekend, so she had four days to knock some sense into his head. She had only packed a carry on so she ran towards the front of the airport to catch a cab to Pappy Joe's farm. Zay had told her that he thought that that would be where Lucas would be hold up in, since he was so close to his grandfather. It was nearly midnight when she reached the farm but there were no lights on, only the rustling of the trees as a storm slowly creeped up behind her. She had heard as the plane landed that they had been the lucky ones, all other flights were being rerouted because of the storm. Now the wind was beginning to pick up and a light rain had begun but she knew that it would get worse as the night wore on.
She climbed the stairs hoping that someone would be there to open the door but when she knocked no one answered. She tried the back door as well but everything was locked and the rain was beginning to come down in giant drops of water soaking her as she ran back towards the front of the house. She huddled herself in between the benches in hopes that the rain wouldn't hit her. She was cold and alone, she texted Lucas before remembering that his phone had shattered on the ground weeks ago and apparently he hadn't replaced it since. She had called and texted him several times but no replies ever came back.
"What am I doing here," she said as tears fell down her face. "I feel so stupid."
She was shivering cold but she didn't dare move, the rain was joined by thunder, and she could hear hail hit the side of the house. Every once and a while it would hit her on the face. She ended up falling asleep in that position when she heard a car pull up and someone cursing in the wind.
"Damn it that stings," the voice said. When Riley looked up she saw Lucas digging though his pockets looking for something, while bags surrounded his legs.
"Lucas," she croaked, her throat was dry and her voice was hoarse but he jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Riley," he said walking over to her. "What are you doing here, the weather is crazy. Oh my god you're soaked to the bone," he said when he saw her clothes were dripping with water sticking to her body.
"I wanted to see you," she said as she pulled him close. He was warm, she shivered but she didn't want to let go. Then tears began to form, "You were gone for so long I thought that I would come find you. I was beginning to think that you didn't want me because I hadn't heard from you at all," she hiccupped. "I love you Lucas Friar so don't do that to me again."
"I was actually trying to leave tonight but the flights were cancelled," he said pulling her hair aside. "I love you too Riley, and I'm sorry for what I put you through."
"Don't be sorry, you had just lost someone important, I just didn't want you to shut me out, remember we're going to get married one day so we have to learn how to work together okay."
"Okay," he said. "Come inside, let's get you warmed up."
Lucas brought in the bags and Riley's stuff and set them down in the living room. She watched him put away the groceries and grab a couple of towels from the linen closet before he walked back towards her. He quickly wrapped her in a towel before he started drying himself.
"Were you really leaving tonight?" she asked him once he finished drying his head.
"Yeah, I kinda got some sense knocked into me and it made me realize what I was giving up by wallowing here."
She smiled because she knew it was Pappy Joe who had done it, she didn't know how and she didn't want to know either. As long as he wasn't moping around anymore she was happy.
"Come on Princess let's get you into the bathroom so you can warm up," he said as he pulled her towards the stairs but she stopped. Instead she put her arms around him and pulled him close.
"Riley?" he said but she didn't listen.
Riley stood there breathing him in, she had feared the worse for two weeks, that he wouldn't come back, or that he wouldn't be himself anymore. Instead he was still himself only now he had become a stronger person, someone who had lived through a tragedy and come out on the other side embracing the things he had. She breathed him in like she hadn't been this close to his body in years when it had only been weeks. She didn't want to let go at all, instead she wrapped her arms around him and held on, while slowly running her fingers to the edge of his shirt. Once she felt his skin against her fingers she knew that this moment was going to change them both for the better. She wanted him to be as close to her as possible, the clothes were just in the way.
She looked up into his eyes trying to tell him that they should take this step, but she didn't want to say it out loud and ruin the moment. She didn't want her brain to stop her at all, all she wanted in that moment was Lucas and that was it. She pulled him down to her and claimed his lips and she lost all control of her senses. The softness and the heat was what she had missed the most, she loved their conversations but without him nearby she had felt numb, now she felt alive again. She started pulling off his shirt but she didn't want to pull away from him at all, all of a sudden Lucas grabbed his shirt and ripped it open so that it would come off. That made Riley pull away surprised but she saw the hard lines of his body and started running her fingers up and down his chest. Lucas pulled her close and kissed her neck, Riley groaned as she felt her blood boil in her veins from the heat. She wanted him so badly she ached for it, she didn't understand the feeling but she had heard from Maya that it was pure lust, a carnal feeling that took over. Riley felt it and wanted more from Lucas.
She felt his hands pull down the cardigan she was wearing revealing the straps of her dress, he began pushing them down as fast as he could. Riley felt a draft hit her back as the dress pooled down on the floor as she stood there in nothing but her strapless bra and her panties. She didn't think that it was fair that he was still mostly dressed in front of her so she tried to take off his belt but Lucas stopped her and scooped her up, carrying her towards the upstairs bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and looked at her for the first time since he had pulled off her dress.
"You're the most beautiful woman in the world," he said before descending towards her lips once again.
Riley was speechless because she had always had insecurities about herself but every time he said things like that to her it took her breath away that someone could love her so much. He started kissing her everywhere before pulling himself back up to her lips. He slowly unclasped her bra and threw it across the room before and grabbed her breast making Riley gasp out loud, they had never gone this far because someone usually interrupted them before they could do anything. But the sensation was tingling all over her and she wanted to keep going, with every touch and pull she felt a trail of heat burning through her. He slowly kissed his way down leaving Riley's mind in a whirlwind, she didn't know what to do or where to go all she could do was gasp each time he did something new. Everything was new. She couldn't figure out how he knew what to do to her, but it felt right.
"Lucas," she said as he slowly pulled off her panties and threw them to the ground. "I want to feel you against my skin."
He groaned before he pulled himself back up to her lips. She grabbed his belt and yanked it off, he helped her as she unbuttoned his pants. He quickly yanked his underwear down with the jeans and laid on top of her. She could feel every inch of him against her and it exhilarated her, she wanted more.
"Are you sure?" he said.
"Yes I'm sure Lucas," she said pulling him back down.
He continued to ask for her permission with every touch, but as they got closer she wrapped her legs around him to stop him from asking again. They were nervous but at the same time it had felt right. The first few moments felt painful but as they eased themselves into a rhythm the same fire she had felt before had spread throughout her body, she felt nothing but love for him as she opened her eyes to look at his face. She felt her body tense up not knowing what was happening but feeling nothing but pleasure as it happened. It pulled them closer and closer, as she looked in his eyes, she felt like she was drowning in them. She cried out as she closed her eyes and held on to him as she rode through the feeling. As the two of them collapsed against each other Riley was breathing as if she'd run the New York City marathon. Lucas pulled her close and cuddled as she felt herself grow sleepy.
Before she dropped off to dreamland she whispered, "Happy Anniversary."
