waitress // lrh

29 // kink

// luke //

As I slipped into the drivers side and Catie relaxed against her seat after our long shifts, Cate placed a hand on my arm.

"Hm?"

"Thank you," she mumbled. "For just...you." She blushed at the words, and I hid a smile.

"Nothing less than what you deserve, princess," I told her softly, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Cate smiled gently, leaning against my shoulder as I shut the door.

She leaned on my shoulder the whole way home, listening to whatever station my car had turned on whenever I started the ignition. It wasn't as if I listened to the radio a lot, but sometimes background noise was comforting.

When we reached the house, I opened her door, scooping the tired girl into my arms. She was absolutely exhausted, and I couldn't blame her one bit.

"Baby,"

"Yeah?"

"If anyone asks, you tripped over the curb and that's why I'm carrying you."

"Kay."

She snuggled her face into my chest, and it was all I could do to not snort at how precious she was.

I was about to enter the house when I noticed the marks on her neck. Quickly, I pulled her collar up higher and shifted her hair to cover them. Cate giggled at the feeling.

We got up to her room without meeting anyone thankfully, so I was able to lay her on the mattress without my heart racing a million miles an hour.

Carefully, I slipped her out of her stiff uniform, grabbing a large t-shirt from her dresser and putting it on her instead.

"Baby, I'm going to go wash up; I'll be back in a moment, okay?"

"Mhm," she mumbled, gladly curling up under the covers.

I quickly brushed my teeth in the mirror, aware of the dark circles and how tired I looked. I looked much older than I was, maybe thirty. This wasn't good.

But I did look better than I had months before. I supposed I owed it to the little girl waiting patiently for me in the bedroom. Speaking of which, I heard her shuffling across the carpet floor into the bathroom.

Catie walked over to me, wrapped in a blanket.

"Something wrong?" I raised an eyebrow, amused.

"You were taking too long," she mumbled softly, pressing her face against my chest.

I chuckled, pressing my cheek against the top of her head. "Baby, it's been a minute."

She just mumbled incorrectly, her arms wrapping around my waist.

I finished brushing my teeth, rinsing the brush off in the sink and setting it in the holder on the side before scooping Catelynn up into my arms. Her leg wrapped around my waist, chin resting in the crook of my neck as I carried her carefully to her bed.

I was so glad that she had seemingly gotten better since the last day and a half. I wasn't sure why she had been so sad- maybe it was just one of those days- but nevertheless Cate seemed cheerier.

Her fingers intertwined into my hair again as we laid there in her bed, and I smiled. I think I was getting to learn that touch was how she showed affection. It wasn't as if I minded at all; I loved being able to cuddle her and play with her hair.

"Night, Luke," Cate murmured quietly.

"Night, kitten," I mumbled back, my voice scratching against my throat.

I tugged the blanket over us even more, enjoying the time I got to spend with her.

She was perfect. She was everything I needed, and I couldn't bear the thought of having to lose her.

- -

uh

heyyy y'all

i feel like it's only been a week since i've updated but i'm pretty sure it's been a month

sorry lmao

love you all loads and thank you for almost 2k reads :)) there have been a lot more people reading this and it's making me really happy :))

cal <3