With a heavy heart Lucas stepped through the front door and into his home. It was quiet. His mother appeared to be gone. Sighing, he set down his bags and looked around. It was comforting to be back in his house; the butterflies that had taken up residence in his stomach a few days before had flown away when he found out he would not be starting a new life in a new town. Yet something else had taken their place. Emptiness was there. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach, in his heart and in his head. Walking down the hall, the silence that at first had been a comfort began to surround him, suffocating him. Sometimes when a room is too silent, a slight ringing will sound off in a person's ear, as if the brain is yelling at the body to leave, to find laughter and noise--to find life. And this is what drove Lucas out of the house, to the café that his mother owned and ran.
The weather that day seemed to match his mood. The wind whipped through his loose jacket sending shivers down his body as he tried to pull it closer to block out the cool air. Clouds hung low in the sky as if to warn the people down below not to be too happy on such a bleak afternoon. Lucas took their advice and a small frown appeared on his face. He jogged the last few steps to the door of the café, and hurried inside blowing the air out of his lungs relieved to be inside, yet exasperated with the crummy weather.
Lucas took off his jacket, peering out the window as he watched raindrops begin to fall from the sky. Perfect.
The café was warm and cozy, yet unusually empty. Lucas supposed that most people were staying in on account of the rain. As he moved to sit down at the counter, however, he spotted someone in the far corner of the room. His breath caught in his throat and his heart began to beat just a bit faster when he took in the curly wisps of hair falling out of a messy and careless ponytail. She sat in an oversized chair with her legs curled up close to her body. She seemed to be staring out the window, watching the rainfall just as Lucas had. A book lay next to her on the table. It was Of Mice and Men, one of his favorites.
I told her she should read that book. I'm surprised she listened to me. Actually, I'm not. She always took my interests as seriously as her own. I could've suggested she read Pets of the White House and she would have picked it up just to see what I thought was so great about it. I wonder if she likes it…I could just go ask her. Pretend like I never left in the first place. Maybe things could be different…no! You made a promise to yourself. Leave her alone.These thoughts raced through his head as he tried to make up his mind on what to do. He was just turning around to head back out the door when a petite woman with dark brown hair came out of the back room, wiping her hands on a towel. Her face lit up when she saw her young son standing awkwardly in the middle of her café.
"Lucas! What on earth are you doing here?" Arms were flung around him as she squeezed him tight.
Green eyes stole themselves away from the window as Peyton came out of her thoughts.
His eyes shifted nervously back towards the corner of the room as his mother continued fawning over his unexpected appearance. He was surprised to see her eyes on him. Her lips, perfect in his opinion, formed one word. Lucas. But her face held many emotions. Joy and fear, happiness and confusion…. and anger. They were all there. He blinked and she was in front of him.
"Luke."
He winced inside. Unlike his "Peyt" she seemed to shorten his name only when she was mad at him. It wasn't a question either. He wondered what she was waiting for. An explanation? Would it really matter if he gave her one? He couldn't even understand the things that had happened the past few weeks, how could he begin to explain anything to her?
Karen sensed tension between the two teenagers and excused herself to the back room once again. What has he gotten himself into now, she wondered.
"Peyton. What's up?" Lucas tried to control his voice. He felt the last thing he needed was to start squeaking like a little boy just entering puberty.
"Is that really the first thing you have to say to me?" Hands on her hips, her voice defiant and strong, Lucas couldn't help but love her even more. But he knew what he had to do. Distance yourself…get out of here.
"Listen, it was really nice to see you, but I was just grabbing something to eat at home. Maybe I could give you a call later," he replied, gesturing towards the door and acting as if he hadn't heard a word she had just said. She simply looked at him, staring him down like it would bring a flow of answers to her if she just searched hard enough. Slowly she brought her gaze to his eyes and she saw something in them, a distance, that she didn't like. A lone tear stung behind her eyelid, but she would not let it fall.
"Don't bother, Lucas. I don't need to hear a word you have to say."
Lucas watched as her face became expressionless and her eyes blank. For a second he had seen pain there and it took all his strength not to pull her into his chest and whisper all the things he had wanted to say since he had first met her, but he resisted. Nodding his head in understanding he walked towards the door, grabbing his jacket as he exited. There was a slight tinkling of bells above the door, but it was the only sounds save for the pattering of the rain on the windows that echoed in the café. Peyton didn't move from her place in the middle of the room. Shejust stood there and wondered what had happened to make him so cold.
AN: I'mso excited! This story has been added to someone's favorite list! Yay! Ok...anyway, enough of my giddyness. I hope you guys all enjoyed the update. I hope you will all continue reading as I have a lot of ideas in mind for this story and I'm very excited about it. Here's a few personal notes:
writie: Nonna! hug Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews for BOTH of my stories. I wasn't expecting such long ones at all. I'm really glad that you like them, especially this one b/c it's shaping up to be something good I think.Like I said earlier, less campy drama than in TTTMU. I will be reviewing your stories OF COURSE. But I can already tell you're a wonderful writer from what I've read. I hope you continue reading my fics and that you enjoyed the update.
Laurie: Thanks again for the review. I'm glad you're not worried, but I'm sure you know that you don't need to be. LP are in good hands with me, I promise.
Mon: Sweetie, I'm so glad to have you as a reader. You're just the best and it always makes me so happy to know you like what I'm writing. You've been there since the beginning when I was posting over at the Corner Forum.
Jessica: Aw, thanks for sticking around and reading! I'm so glad you're liking the story. Thanks for the review and your time.
tamplin: I'm glad you stumbled upon my story! It's so nice to get reviews--I hope you'll continue reading!