Speak Now

Chapter 13

Caroline was poking at Luke's face, checking the swelling and bruising. He had fallen off he bed at about nine in the morning. It was now half past four and Luke had been having what seemed as if a nightmare. Caroline had been reading See Me next to him.

Luke opened his eyes as Caroline lightly pressed her finger on his lower lip. "Ouch," Luke mumbled and poked at his lip himself. "What happened?"

"You fell off the bed this morning. You rolled over to grab me, but you rolled off the bed instead of next to me. Oh, and I put some sweats on you when I got dressed."

Luke sat up. "Why, thank you. What time is it?"

"Four thirty. Why?"

"Shit! I was suppose to meet Kerri at three today. I'm super late! Caroline, I'd love to chat, but I got to go!" Luke quickly got up and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. He leaned down to kiss Caroline before running out the door. Caroline sighed. She wish he told her sooner. She looked at the words on her book. See me as I see you. Yeah, although creepy, considering the circumstances in the book, they were nice words. So, why was Luke so quick to leave?

She got up and sent a text to Leah, asking her to come over to her place. She needed to figure out what's wrong with Luke. All he seems to do is sleep, and that's not healthy.

What kind of an excuse was that? Kerri would have called if he really was late for work. Luke just wanted to avoid the inevitable. The talk about his dream. Lizzy and Nathan had Luke paranoid, and now he was dreaming up crazy scenarios that would most likely never happen.

Why didn't he want Caroline to hear about the whacked up dream? He just didn't want her paranoid too. That was the last thing he needed. He couldn't handle it anymore. His new life, what was he thinking? Being with Caroline was gonna cause problems... but. Luke would do anything for love. Protecting Caroline from himself was something he'd have to do. Even if he wasn't gonna hurt her physically, he was going to mentally. By not telling her things, her trusting in him. Luke didn't want trust issues to form. Maybe it would be best to tell her. But when?

Luke watched as a young couple shared a kiss under the now darkenig sky. They had a picic blanket out with red wine, cucumber sandwiches, and what looked like chocolate covered strawberries. The man spotted Luke and waved him over.

Luke ran up only to discover his good friend, Michael Monaco, or Black Mike and his girlfriend, Kenlea. Luke smiled wide. "Hey, Mike!"

"Hey, Luke. Why aren't you with Caroline? I thought you were going to ask her out or something tonight. Didn't you tell me you were gonna make it official wih her?"

Luke glared at him. "I did not and thanks, now Kenlea knows I have a thing for Caroline."

Kenlea's jaw dropped. "Actually, I thought Mike was joking. You're serious?! You have a thing for Caroline?!"

Luke blushed. He tried to hide his cheeks, but it was no use, Kenlea and Mike already saw them. "Dude, why aren't you with her?"

"I'm avoiding her. Right now, I'm really stressed out. I don't want to pass my stress down to her."

"I get that, Luke," Kenlea started. "But Caroline's a girl. She'd be worried about you. She wants you to hold her and kiss her. She is most likely scared right now. You disappeared. I'd be scared too."

Luke nodded. Maybe he should go back home to her and tell her. No need for him to be the only paranoid one, right? Or maybe Caroline will help him get through it and not stress about it at all. So, it was settled. He thanked Mike and Kenlea and went on his way. Caroline needed him, no matter what, she'd always love him.

"I just don't understand him," Caroline huffed. "He so, I don't. All he's basically doing is sleeping when he's with. And then when he is awake, we either get tangled in the damn sheets or he takes off."

"You only been with him a day, though," Leah pointed out.

"I don't know. Before this, all we did was fight. Do you think he's a bad guy? I mean, I known him forever, but I've never known him like this before."

"I think he's perfect for you. It's more like a problem with trust. He's not saying something here, he's keeping something from you. That's a problem."

"Leah, I love him, but I feel like he doesn't feel the same, you know?" Caroline said, looking up.

"He loves you, Caroline, I know that for a fact," Leah assured her. "You're just being paranoid."

Caroline heard the door open and closed, followed by the clickimg of boots and the jingle of keys. Luke was home. "God, I hope you're right."

Luke walked over to Caroline, wrapping his arms around her. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead. "Hey, baby. I should tell you why I left. The truth."

Leah took that as her cue to leave and left the room. She sat on the couch, still able to hear what they were saying, but not in their way.

"What's that?" Caroline questioned.

"It's about Lizzy and Nathan," Luke said, looking down.

"Our exes?"

"Caroline, I'm worried. What if they are planning something or-"

Caroline shook her head and placed her arms on Luke's shoulders. She kissed his cheek before hugging him. "Oh, Luke. I thought his was about something more. That you might still have feelings for Lizzy or something. Don't worry about them, baby. They aren't worth your time. I thought you were ending it with me, or planning to. But here you are being paranoid about an ex. Luke, they won't do anything. I knpw about your dream last night. You talk in your sleep you know."

Luke chuckled, pulling away from Caroline. "You don't know how much better you make me feel. I love you so freaking much! Don't you ever leave me."

Caroline giggled and shook her head. "It's hard to leave someone when they haven't even asked you to be with them."

"Fine," Luke laughed, getting down on one knee. "Caroline, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Er, no," Caroline back away. Luke stood up and grabbed on to Caroline, kissing her passionately. After about a few minutes, they pulled away and Caroline shook her head. "Fine, yes."

"Well, it's about time. I thought y'all were gonna eat each others faces," Leah giggled.

"Haha, very funny, Leah," Luke rolled his eyes.

"But seriously, you're fianlly a couple. When will I be expecting a baby?"

Caroline's jaw dropped and Luke shoom his head. "Leah, no! I'm not getting pregnant!"

"You sure? Use this man well you got him, Carol. Damn."

Luke stuck his hands up. "Okay, that's enough. No, Leah, you can't have me too. Go back to your husband."

"But he's used!" Leah complained.

"Leah! Quit hitting on my man!" Caroline shouted at her.

Leah laughed and pat Caroline's shoulder. "I don't want your man, Carol, I'm teasing."

"You better be," Caroline muttered.

Luke just shook his head. Being Caroline's boyfriend was definitely going to be fun. Especially when she's got a friend like Leah. You never can predict what comes out of that girl's mouth and maybe that could be a good thing.

_________________________________

A/N: So, the last chapter was just Luke's dream. Damn does that man sleep a lot. Anyways, what sort of conflicts could happen later down the road for Luke and Caroline? Will there be any more date nights? What was Mike and Kenlea's advice to Luke? What about Leah? What did she tell Caroline to calm her down? Did Luke do the right thing by telling Caroline that he's worried about their exes or is he just paranoid for no reason? Let me know! ~Kelsea