Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series

19. Fame By Association?

When I yawned and rolled over, I found myself tucked into a very familiar white bed. At first, I was confused. Why was I in my old room in Luke's house? Then memories of our talk last night flooded into my thoughts, and I was no longer confused. With a slight smile, I pushed the covers off of myself and sat up. I knew for a fact that I had not fallen asleep in this room, and I really appreciated Luke for moving me here instead of allowing me to wake up in his bed. That would have been all kinds of awkward.

Luke, of course, was still sleeping. It was only 9 in the morning, but still. That was late enough that he should be awake. I let him continue sleeping, though. He'd only just gotten back last night, and then I made him stay up late on top of that. He deserved rest.

Liz was in the kitchen, humming softly as she hand washed some dishes. With a smile, I pulled up beside her and grabbed the drying towel from the counter, picking up damp dishes and drying them before putting them away.

"Good morning, Daeyna." She said cheerily. 

"Morning." I replied just as happily. "Luke's still sleeping, but I didn't want to wake him. He's probably really tired." I added. She nodded in understanding.

"I've held off on making breakfast for just that reason. You're welcome to stay as long as you want." She offered. I smiled gratefully, thanking her. I would stay. I didn't have work today, and I'd just refilled October's food dish yesterday night, so I didn't have any reason not to.

While we waited for Luke to finally come back from the dead, Liz and I sat outside and talked. She said she missed having me around, and that the fact that I'd been coming around more often lately really made her happy. I made a deal with myself that if Luke and I ever fought and stopped talking (and I wasn't planning on that ever happening again), I'd still make sure to come and visit his mother. And his dog, of course. Molly made her presence known by coming over and flopping down on top of my feet, whining slightly. Liz and I laughed, and I leaned over to pet the short dog's now exposed tummy.

"You know you have a huge knot in the back of your hair, right, Daeyna?" I heard Luke's voice behind me, interrupting the story I was currently telling Liz about a huge cat we had at the shelter. I turned to look at him, lifting an eyebrow when my gaze landed on his own disheveled appearance.

"And there's a stain on your shirt as well as a red mark on your cheek where your arm was." I pointed out.

Luke frowned, lifting his arms above his head in a stretch.

"Too early for your sass, Dae." He grumbled. I let out a short laugh, glancing at Liz with lifted eyebrows.

"Apparently 10:30 in the morning is early." I quipped, earning a laugh from her. Luke groaned.

"Stop corrupting my mother against me."

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"Oh my gosh, you're Daeyna." I had been sitting at the small table in the back of the coffee shop for over two hours, and up until now, absolutely nobody had bothered me. Luke wasn't due to show up for another hour or so, but I had nothing better to do today, and I decided to sit here and read rather than be cooped up at home.

However, with the excited question thrown my way by the teen in front of me, I almost wished I had stayed at home until I absolutely needed to leave.

Since staying the night at Luke's house about a week ago, the two of us tried to find time to hang out whenever possible. It was almost the end of August, and the band had a tour soon. Come January, Luke and the boys would be gone for around four months. I'd seen my face in more tabloids than I had ever thought possible, and even had some nasty things yelled at me by paparazzi when Luke and I were out. But not once was I faced with the situation I currently was in.