Chapter 70
She
stretched and yawned as she opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling. She felt so good today, warm and relaxed, Lukas had been coming every night to watch her memories with her. He held her tight, murmuring softly to her as he tried hard not to rip Loatie apart. When she couldnt take anymore, he changed the dream to one of his memories. A happy memory and then a darker one. Then he would hold her until she fell into a dreamless sleep. Last night, she hadnât been able to conjure up a memory.
Somehow over the last few months, he had dulled all of her bad memories and so they had spent the night exploring happy memories, both his and hers. Their nights had become a series of flirting and teasing each other. Lukasâs playful manner made her giggle and made her comfortable enough to tease him back. Last night he had kissed her in their shared dream and she didnât panic. She got up out of bed and got dressed in blue jeans and a green tank top. She rushed downstairs to the dining hall to eat before school.
âGood morning,â she sang as she danced into the hall.
Her family all stared at her as she snagged a blueberry muffin and kissed her fatherâs cheek. She sat next to Sommer.
âHey, girl. How are you today?â
Sommer eyed her. âIâm good. How are you?â
âIm fantastic,â she said with a smile.
âYou must have had a great night. I havenât seen you this happy
âI dreamed about Lukas.â
âAh, so a very good dream.â
y in, well ever
Lily grinned, nodding. Sommer leaned close to her, lowering her voice.
âDo me a favor, look at our parents. What do you see?â
Lily turned to the head table where their parents sat. Her father was watching Sommerâs mother who kept glancing shyly at him.
âIs something going on between them?,â Lily asked quietly.
âI donât know, but they have been looking at each other like that since your mate brought her here. The last few months they have gotten really bad.â
Lily pushed her food around her plate. âHave I been that self absorbed that I havenât noticed? I have missed so much lately. I have been trying to fix everything for everyone.â She lowered her head. âAm I the reason they are holding back?,â she asked quietly.
âNo. I donât think that has anything to do with you, I think whatever happened between them happened years ago.â
âOh. They really do seem like they care about each other.â
Lily watched them interact while everyone else around them ignored them. She pushed her chair back and he got up to help her up. She smiled at him and he lifted his hand to lightly trail his fingers over her wrist. She trembled and pulled back. She glanced in their direction and paled when she saw the girls watching them. She hurried from the hall while her father stared after her. He left the dining hall through the side door and Lily took note of
his untouched food.
âThis is because of me,â Lily whispered, crushed that it appeared to be her fault they werenât together.
Sommer hugged her. âNo, Iâll talk to mom.â
Lily stood up, shaking her head. âNo, Iâll do it after school.â
She hugged her cousin and waved to the others, before leaving to go to school. She was lost in her own world so much that she didnât even realize when she bumped into someone and ended up sprawled on the floor. She looked up and smiled.
âHey, Kenny.â
He turned away. âHave a good day Hâ¦
Chapter 70
She narrowed her eyes as he started to walk away. âWait!,â she ordered, her aura coming out.
He froze and she could feel his frustration coming off of him in waves. She scrambled up to stand in front of him.
âWhy havenât
1 you talked to me or sat with us at lunch?,â she asked.
âNo reason. I have other friends. I have been busy.â
She rolled her eyes. His excuses were like water, she couldnât hold them up to anything, not even her previous poor view on what friendship was.
âLook, Kenny, I didnât mean to hurt you. I really do think youâre great. Iâm just not the girl for you. With that being said, I would really love to have your friendship back. What can I do to make it up to you?â
âDid you tell anybody I tried to kiss you?â
âYesâ
âWho?â
âJust my mate.â
âSo nobody here?â
âNo. Itâs none of their business.â
He sighed and held out his hand. âThanks, Iâm sorry for being an asshole.â
She took his hand and squeezed it. âItâs ok. I want to help you find your mate
âHow?â
âThere is an annual clan meeting Sasha was telling me about at the end of July. I was thinking about going. Do you want to go with me? There will be so many girls there from all over. One of them might be your mate.â
âSure and maybe this infamous mate of yours will be there and I can finally meet him.â
She laughed, blushing at the thought of seeing Lukas again. Well, in person. Dreams were different. For as much as they felt real in that moment, they werent. When he took her flying, she wasnât left exhausted. When he touched her, her panic was very scarce. She was confident in her abilities to control everything. In reality, she couldnât, but that still didnât scare her. She had come to have a fragile trust with him again that she hoped wasnât misplaced.
âSure,
with you. Who wouldnât want to see this handsome face?,â he teased.
She giggled. âThatâs a face only a mother could love.â
She grabbed her bag and dashed off as he stood in place, pretending to be hurt. The day flew by and to Lilyâs amusement, Kenny joined them for lunch, sliding back into the group like he had never been gone. The whole lunch period he had cracked jokes and flirted with all of them. Last period he walked in and stopped to glare at the guy sitting next to her until he got up. He had passed her a note and when she opened it, she had been in awe at the sketch she had drawn and thrown away. She looked up at him.
âYou took this out of the trash?â
He nodded. âShouldnât throw your stuff away, Lily. Iâve already talked to the group. Theyâve agreed with me that you donât have to draw us secretly. We will sit for you.â
She ran her fingers over the scene at the cafeteria table. She had drawn it months ago so that if something happened to her, her family would know exactly who was responsible. She crumpled it up in her hand, before smoothing it out, signing it and handing it back to him.
âFor when I become famous and I would love to paint us. This weekend at my place.â
âPerfect.â
Chapter 70
âJust say youâre welcome.â
He rolled his eyes. âFor what?â
âThis project is on King Lukas and 1 live with his sisters,â
He chuckled. âGood, you do it. Iâm gonna find me a hot date,â he said, eyeing the boy he had made move.
Lily giggled. âHomy much?â
âAlwaysâ
Lily started the project while Kenny chatted up the boy. The hell rang and Lily showed her stuff into her bag. 1
on the cheek.
He walked her out, before giving her a kiss
âI have a date on Friday.â
Lily playfully showed his shoulder and smiled at Sommer who was waiting beside her hand me down black charger. Lily walked over to her giddy cousin.
It came in,â she squealed. âNext time I see your mate, Iâm giving him a big fat kiss! For as old as this car is, it only has 13 thousand miles on it.â
Lily climbed in the passenger seat and
eat and
nd nervously clicked the seatbelt in. She gripped the door and braced her foot on the dashboard.
âOkay, Iâm ready. Go.â
Sommer glared at her. âIm not that bad.â
She took off and Lily was thrown to the side, screaming for all to hear in terror. Sommer braked at a light and Lily was thrown forward. She lifted her arms in front of her face, but thankfully only lightly smacked her face on the windshield.
âFor Goddessâ sake, Sommer. Learn how to drive.â
She reached for Lukasâs link. Two things. First thing, did you know Dad has a crush on someone?
âYes, but I wasnât sure who, And hey, Lils, he answered, his voice softening on her name.
Her heart started pounding. She didnât know if it was fear or excitement, but she knew she wanted him to keep talking.
If I know who it is, would you care if I tried to get them together?
Do you?
âYes, I think so.â
Go for it. He deserves to be happy. Who is it?
Sommerâs mom.
Toy?
Oh thatâs great. I adore her. Sheâs a good woman.â
I know. Have a good day, Lukas. You sound distracted.â
Itâs just a meeting. They can wait.â
Chapter 70
âOur people, Lily. What was the second thing?â
Oh, that,â she giggled. Sommer wants to give you a big kiss for this car you gave her that she has already tried to kill me in. So, thanks for that.
He chuckled. No thanks, but Iâm glad she likes it. Be safe.
She knew he wanted to say it, but didnât want to upset her. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.
I love you, Lukas.â
I love you, too, Lily, he murmured, his excitement very evident,
She jumped out of the car as soon as it was in park and kissed the ground.
âOh, Goddess, land. Unmoving land. Iâve never been so happy t
to see you.â
Sommer rolled her eyes as she walked passed. âBitch,â she called fondly over her shoulder.
Lily giggled as she went over to sit beside Joy to watch her garden.
âHey, Mom.â
âHey, sweetie. How was school?â
âGood. We learned about picking a mate after losing a mate today,â she lied.
âHnim?â
Lily laid back to stare at the sky. She picked a blade of grass and began to chew on it. I think that the ability to love after losing your mate is something so incredibly strong that itâs almost superhuman.â She rolled to face her. âWhat do you think?â
âI think that if you
if you have c
childrenâ¦
â¦your focus should be on them,â she replied slowly, calculating every word.
âBut itâs okay to be with someone. Caring about someone doesnât belittle the bond, especially if both of you have lost mates. Thereâs something so romantic in the thought of two halves becoming whole again, donât you think?â
âAnd what if there are two people that someone cares about? What about then?â
âI think that if thereâs two, talk to them and see. Itâs not for everyone, but it could work. Anyways, I have homework I have to do. I hope you find someone you can be with. I want that for you, Lily told her as she got up.
She bounded into the house and ran into Sasha and their father.
âOh, Lily, perfect. Casey wants to come visit tomorrow.â
âReally? I havenât seen her in years. Sheâs been too busy to visit. Her boss must be a slave drive
âTomorrow at about 1,â her father said.
âOkayâ
âDad will have to greet them. I will be in meetings on and off all day.â
âThem? Is Papa Slansky coming, too?â
She nodded. Lily did a little dance, before stopping sadly.
âWhatâs wrong, honey?â
âWeâd almost be complete again,â she whispered. âAll weâre missing is Lukas.â
When will she get here?â
Chapter 70
she could immerse herself in painting. That always seemed to relax her and after doing this with Lukas, she was going to need it. She just hoped she could handle this dream.
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Astylynn
he he..
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