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Thank you @Jj.sshi for the poster. It speaks for itself ;)

Chapter 77: Morning person

I opened my eyes to a warm pair of arms wrapped around me. The warmth of his body kept the cold air at bay.

My neck cramped from lying in an awkward position. Luke was lying alongside me on the couch. My leg was draped over his, though my foot rested in the gap between his. My bare toes touched the tip of his white socks. He was sleeping beside me and his chest slowly rose and fell as he breathed.

It was pitch dark outside and we'd accidentally fallen asleep here last night, together.

I fell asleep.

I actually slept.

Something about Luke made me so comfortable, it washed away my worries. I just dozed off in his arms and, at some point, he did too. His arm still held me from falling.

I got up slowly and quietly, trying not to knee him in the process. It felt amazing to have slept – I was still tired, but feeling better than I had all week. I accidentally kneed my left leg with my right leg and almost fell on Luke. 

He stirred at the commotion, moving his arm and slowly opening his blue eyes.

"Come back to bed," he groaned, half asleep.

"We're not in bed," I reminded him with a smile.

He frowned in that confused, cute way of his and checked the time on his watch. He groaned again. It was 3 or 4 ish AM.

Not such a morning person now, are ya?

"I'm starving," he stretched.

Watching him stretch took up the whole couch. I wondered how I managed to fit in there with him.

He never made it to dinner, did he?

If he was hungry, he really needed to go home. My kitchen was empty, achingly empty.

He sat up and his feet hit the floor. He looked up at me standing in front of him and smiled. 

Luke reached out and pulled me towards him. He led me down to his lap where he kissed me, first on the cheek and then on the lips. He wrapped his arms around my stomach and pressed his lips in the dip behind my collarbone. His fingers softly tugged at my shirt, pulling it down over my shoulders so he could kiss me there too.

"Your present," I whispered.

Luke was still looking dreamy, like he could close his eyes and sleep in any moment.

When he was in this haze, between waking up and falling asleep, his emotions were so readable. For a guy that liked to keep his cards close to his chest, I treasured these moments. I kissed his soft lips and let my tongue slip in the gap between them. He opened his mouth and I pressed my finger gently against his strong jawline.

"I have a new year's present for you," I repeated, the movements my lips made pressed against his.

He seemed more interested in making out than this present. It was hard to resist. My hand slipped under his shirt and traced the outlines of his muscles on his smooth torso. I loved how they tensed under my touch.

I continued, "It's a very small thing, but I borrowed it from Cearra."

"You didn't need to get me anything," he said.

"It's very small," I repeated, pressing my hand on his shoulder to help get up off the couch, "Wait here. I'll be five seconds."

I ran up the staircase and avoided looking at the broken window for the memories it triggered. I flung the door to my dark room open and picked up the bag I had kept Luke's present in.

This felt so silly now.

I put it on.

I took my time walking back down the stairs and started to overthink this whole idea. What if he doesn't like it? I saw Luke on the couch, looking down at his phone.

I wanted to surprise him.

"Don't turn around," I told him.

He put his phone down and raised his hands in the air, claiming innocence. He waited without turning, though I could see he wanted to.

"I was meant to give you this on New Years'," I explained, trying to put it into context, "And if you remember, I was wearing a red dress that night."

"I remember." I couldn't see his smile, but I could hear it.

I stood behind him and pressed a hand against the back of the couch. I said, "OK. You can turn around now."

He did.

He turned around so quickly, his hand rested on mine on the couch, his gaze landed on me and then he burst into laughter.

That was not the reaction I expected.

"Luke!"

"Millie!" he replied, trying hard to control himself, "You're dressed up as Minnie Mouse for f*ck's sake. How do you think I'm going to react?"

I stood there in my Minnie Mouse ears. My face flushed bright red with embarrassment.

"Aw, come here," his tone softened when he saw my reaction. His fingers clasped mine and pulled my hand off the couch. I was so embarrassed.

"I thought you'd like it," I muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"It's a sweet idea," he sympathized, "But I'm glad you didn't bring this on New Years'. It would've killed the mood."

"Luke!" I exclaimed again, wondering what happened to his sympathy.

"Sorry," he said, trying not to laugh again, "But don't doubt it. I get turned on by you, not Minnie Mouse."

He laughed again and raised his hand over his stomach, expecting me to playfully punch him again.

I should've thought twice before I borrowed a five-year old's mouse ears as a gift to my boyfriend.

**

~The next day~

I handed Cearra back the accessories she lent me after borrowing them from her little sister. This was a moment in my life that I was looking forward to forgetting all about.

The bell was about to ring but Cearra and I had agreed to meet outside her locker a few minutes before.

"How'd it go?" she asked, accepting the bag from me, "I didn't realize Luke was into this kind of thing."

Ha.

"Yeah," I replied in a high-pitched voice that was a dead giveaway I was lying.

Luke was not into that.

She quickly stuffed the bag into her locker and slammed it shut. Then she pulled me away from the girls standing by the locker next to us.

Usually, she'd want to talk Luke details to death, but I was grateful that she had bigger fish to fry.

"I saw you leave school with Austin yesterday," she whispered, "Well, I didn't see you, but I heard from others. Some people now think you two are seeing each other behind Luke's back but, don't worry, that's a small crowd."

"I'm guessing you brought us up?" she said excitedly, "What did he say?"

I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, wondering where to begin. I didn't have all the answers, but I had some. I guess.

"Before I tell you, I just want to say that Austin is mysterious," I said, "I think there's a lot behind his bubbly personality, but you probably already knew that."

I waited for her reaction, and she looked a bit surprised.

"I brought up the idea of a double date and he's up for it," I started, seeing her face light up with excitement, "But I have to warn you that he said he wasn't interested in anything serious. I didn't mention your name by the way, so this was all hypothetical. Oh, and Gloria called him the accidental heartbreaker."

"So, he's a player," Cearra concluded, looking disappointed.

I tried to encourage her, "On the bright side, he's not seeing anyone seriously. So he could-"

"No, it's OK," she told me, "Thank you for trying, Millie, but I guess it makes sense he's a player. He's best friends with Luke after all."

I pretended like I didn't hear that last part. Luke was a player. Was. I hope.

"Sorry!" she realized her mistake, "I didn't mean it like that! I meant that he was a player before he met you. The guy's unrecognizable now."

The bell rang and we were both relieved it had.

**

~Lunchtime~

The lunch rush was in full swing. I walked into the cafeteria at the same time as Chad was heading out. He was walking with a friend and I didn't know whether to wave or say-

"Hey Millie, your sister says hi," Chad said as he walked past.

He was wearing a black designer cashmere sweater with white logos on the arms. I froze mid step and the person behind me bumped into me. I excused myself and took a second to register Chad's sentence.

My sister? Flora?

I stared at Chad who was obliviously walking away with his friend, totally unaware of the meltdown he sent me into.

"Wait!" I called out, finding the spirit in me to finally go after him, "Chad!"

Chad was still walking away, deep in his casual conversation.

This was my family we were talking about. My here-one-day, gone-the-next magician family.

"Roland Chadwick the third!" I said louder.

Still no success. People gave me a few weird stares. My expression was so full of emotion, I could barely control myself.

"CHAAAAAADDDD!!!!"

Silence. The hallway went completely silent and Chad very slowly turned around.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

At least it got his attention.

I hurried towards him so the whole world wouldn't eavesdrop, "You spoke to my sister?"

"No," he shrugged.

Then why did I just scream your name across the hall?

I asked, "Are you going to explain that a little more? You just said-"

"Ohhh, is this about what I just said?" Chad realized, "Nah, I was at lunch with Max who said he was dating Luke's girlfriend's sister. And you're Luke's girlfriend so..."

Max. I remembered the coffee barista who never remembered my name.

"I thought Max broke up with Flora," I said.

Chad just stared at me.

"Does it look like I care?" he asked.

"Nope," I told him, happily, "Thanks!"

I skipped off into the distance. Happy. Chad turned around and stared at his friend, wondering what just happened.

I knew Max, and I knew where he worked. I was going to find my family.

**

~Home Alone~

I didn't want to visit Luke tonight. I didn't want to be that annoying girlfriend his parents could mistreat. They lived in their perfect world, held together by secrets and lies, and I didn't need to live like that.

I tried visiting Max at the Coffee Bean after school but was told that he only takes the morning shift lately. So I returned home.

Now I sat at the dining room table, in the seat my mom used to occupy. All the bills were spread out in front of me.

"So you're saying that the electricity for this month has been paid for?" I repeated into the phone, surprised by the operator's response, "Wow, OK. Just to make sure, there isn't anything I need to do or pay?"

The feeling of relief lightened my panic.

My mother was still paying the bills. Wherever she was, she was at least taking care of the house.

There was a 0% chance I would've been able to do that, and if worse came to worst ... I don't know where I could go.

My doorbell rung and I went to open it, feeling lighter. Today was so much better than I imagined it would be. The waves of bad news were finally changing tide.

"Officer," my smile disappeared from my face.

"Hi Millie, it's Officer Patel," he said, "I'm not in uniform because I'm taking my daughter to dinner and we passed by your house."

He pointed at his Suburban parked on the curb. A young girl was sitting in the back, playing a game on her phone. She paid no attention to us.

"That's my daughter, Anushka. I mentioned before that I have a son who just joined the basketball team at Preston Oakes," he continued.

I could tell he was trying to make me feel comfortable.

"Anyway," he said, "I saw the padlock on your front door, which means that a locksmith hasn't come over yet. It is important to protect your safety after the incident last week. Is your mom home?"

"Not right now," I answered, "She's on a business trip."

"OK," he replied, suspicious of my response. "She wasn't here when we last came either. Who is taking care of you in her absence?"

"Plenty of... people," I said, wishing I was older.

I can take care of myself – it's only the law that says I can't.

"Can I meet one of them?" he asked, "Preferably an adult."

That rules out Luke then.

"Do you have to?"

"No, like I said, I'm off duty. But I am worried about you," he said, "I'm a father myself, you see. Have you eaten dinner? You're welcome to join me and my daughter and we can wait until adult supervision arrives."

The idea of going to a restaurant made my mouth water. This was very generous.

My main problem is that I needed to find adult supervision. He obviously wasn't going to let it go easily. I wish I could call Austin to be the moustache-wearing Roland Chadwick II.

An idea struck me.

I excused myself and went into the kitchen, pretending like I was grabbing my bag. I made a phone call instead.

This was my only chance and I really hope he'd pick up. The phone rang a couple times before I heard someone answer. I felt relief.

His voice spoke out loud and clear:

"Well, look who it is. My comedic muse."

A/N: I know you know who it is. An OG from the first book... 

Anyway, how are you? It's been a busy day of me sleeping, eating and working on my raccoon graphics (see below), so I will now happily return to those activities.

Who knows, I may spice things up with a little Netflix.  Living life on the wild side...

There are other things I should be doing, but... I'm not... 

OH, PLEASE VOTE!! Thank you :)

<3 Natalie

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