HYPNOTIC ✗ rucas

1.2; "Hate is a strong word."

L U C A S

'

"Please! Please don't do this!" I heard her scream. Pound. Smack. Grunt. Scream. I just stood in the doorway, as the tears flowed down my little cheeks. The fright in my moms eyes, as my dad hit her. I started to scream.

"Lucas! Run!" My mom cried. My 7 year old self, didn't know what to do. The uncontrollable fear and tears that flowed out of me, I just wanted to save my mommy. I ran as fast as I could towards my dad, pulling on his leg.

"You're hurting mommy!" I cried, using all of my might to try and stop him. He grabbed me and pushed me to the floor.

The sight of how afraid my mom was, the terror in her eyes.

It reminded me of earlier today.

Riley.

'

I sat up straight in my bed, shouting. "No!" I screamed. I panted, before realizing that it was all a dream. That It wasn't happening allover again. I felt the sweat drip down from my forehead, and onto my chest. I was soaked in sweat, as I breathed deeply. I paced my breathing.

"It was just a dream." I whispered to myself. I wiped my face, wincing at the pain from the gashes.

I stood up, pacing around my bedroom. I'm a monster.

Riley was scared of me, just like my mom was scared of my dad. The same fear in their eyes.

It all

looked

the same.

I suddenly felt all the anger build up inside of me. I grabbed a glass and smashed it against the wall as hard as I could, before I suddenly felt a tear roll down my cheek.

I felt all my walls collapse, everything I had built up from that point, they all were crashed down. I sat down on my bed, covering up my face. It was pitched black in my room, except for the moonlight shining through my blinds.

"I can't stand the thought of you hating me." I quietly whispered.

R I L E Y

I sat down in my bay window with Maya. My legs were crisscrossed, as Maya spoke.

"I'm not sure what to tell you." Maya admitted. I looked at her. "You don't have to be sure." I said. "I don't want you to think that I'd ever be mad at you for having feeling—" "I don't have feelings for him, Maya! I just can't. I just don't know what to feel." I pouted. "Tell me how to feel, how should I feel Maya." I retorted, staring at her widely. She looked confused. "I can't tell you how to feel, Riles. You have to figure that out for yourself." Maya patted the top of my hand.

Suddenly we heard a knock at my door. My mom walked in, lightly smiling, while handing me and Maya a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks mommy." I smiled. She kissed the top of my head. "Whatever you're going through, Riley, me and your dad are always right here." She says, giving me a hug. I hugged her back.

"Thanks mom, I know that you are." I gave her a reassuring smile. She gave Maya a hug also before walking out and closing the door.

I took a sip of my hot coco, before looking at Maya. "What does this say about me?" I asked her, quietly. She gave me a half sad smile.

"It's says that you're only human, Riles." She replied. "What do I do?" I ask. She sighed.

"You talk to him." She says.

I suddenly felt my stomach flip upside down. Because I knew that she was right.

>>>>>>>next day, at night>>>>>>>>

I sat in a booth at Starbucks, as I nervously shook my leg. Why did I do this? This was a bad idea. No, I had to talk to him. It's not like I can just ignore it. I fumbled with the warm coffee in my hand, then I took off my beanie and set it beside me. I sighed.

Suddenly a bell rang, and in walked Lucas. He was walking like as if nothing had just happened two days ago. His eye looked better, just bruised. But his lip and jaw were still pretty brutal looking. He had a stern expression, before he reluctantly sat down in front of me. I shifted in my seat. It was uncomfortable to see him like this.

"Hey." Was all he said. I couldn't find the urge to even say hi back. I just looked down to my lap, silently. I just can't look at him like this. "Are we tutoring tomorrow night?" Lucas asked. I nodded my head, as I glanced at my lap. I heard him sigh.

"You have every right to hate me, you always have." He suddenly said. I looked up to him.

"Hate is a strong word." I said. He nodded. "It Is." He responded, looking into my eyes. With the purple bruises and red cuts on his face, it made his green eyes stand out even more. I just realized we had replayed what we said about a month ago to each other.

"You think that I'm just going to pretend like this isn't something that happened?" I asked him. He broke eye contact. "Of course it happened, Riley. But this is who I am." He replied in a rough tone. I shook my head, with a light laugh. "I don't believe that." I said, taking a sip of my coffee. He raised his eyebrow at me, sort of shooting daggers towards me. It was silent for a few moments.

"What changed your mind, Riley?" Lucas suddenly asked. I felt all my nerves shake. "I'm going to get a straw." I said, avoiding his eyes and the question. I quickly got up and started walking towards the counter but I felt Lucas grab my arm, I turned around.

"What changed it?" He asked. I looked around everywhere except for his eyes. Thats when I felt him set his hand underneath my chin, making me glance right into his eyes.

"I was getting pounded and clearly the thought of that made you uncomfortable. So why did you stay, why did you watch? What changed your mind about it all?" He said. I quickly replied. "Because I was worried about you, okay?" I said in a kind of angry tone. All he did was smirk. He moved his hands away from me.

"Thanks." Was all he said to me, with that smug grin, before he started walking away, out the door. I ran outside into the dark, chilly air. "I was worried, why do you even have to hear me say it?" I yelled towards him. That when he turned around, and stared at me, before walking up close to me, cupping my face with his soft, warm hands. I felt my whole body tingle.

His forehead was so close to mine, and I felt breathless. These were the moments I realized I felt most alive in this world.

"Because hate is a strong word, Riley." Lucas says, gazing into my eyes as if he was trying to figure out the deepest parts of my soul. I just stood there, speechless. I felt his forehead touch mine, before his hands caressed down the front pieces of my hair.

"Goodnight Riley." He softly spoke, before walking away.

I just stood there, outside of the front door, speechless. Raveled up inside. I felt every goose bump arise on my skin. I could still feel the warmth of his hands on my cheeks. I was completely mesmerized, you could say.

"Riley?" I heard someone say. I quickly turned around in fright. It was Farkle, standing there holding Isadora's hand. Farkle stared at me in shock, as if I had just murdered a puppy or something. They must of been heading to Starbucks for a date, considering how nice they both looked.

"I—I." I didn't know what to say, how would they know what to say if something like that happened to them. My eyes widened. "Do you know what you're doing there?" Farkle remarked. I shook my head, unwillingly.

"No, no I don't."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Echo - Jason Walker