Always For Keeps ( For Keeps part 2)

Fifteen. Luke

Song for this chapter: A Drop in the Ocean- Ron Pope

I struggle with myself as I watch her sleep peacefully in my arms. I could have it all with Scarlett; the life we dreamed, but she doesn't know about Stacey and I don't know how to tell her. Fuck, I don't even know if I really did anything with her.
"Still fighting with your inner stalkerness?" She asks and smiles.
"I like watching you sleep. You're so beautiful."
"Creep." She teases
"Your creep." I kiss her softly.
"Mmm. I'm sore." She says blushing.
"Well maybe we should give the sex a break for a couple hours."
"How will we survive?"
"Maybe we could venture out together."
"And come out of our perfect bubble?" She gasps dramatically.
"We have to eventually." I laugh.
"Well now that it's Summer, you have to protect me from snakes." She shivers.
"I will protect you from any threat; including snakes."
"My hero." She sighs and batts her lashes.
"I do try, ma'am." I say and pretend to tip my hat.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you accent?" She says climbing in my lap.
"You might have mentioned it once of twice while you were moaning my name." I laugh.
"Really? Huh." She laughs as I pull her down on my chest.
"Tell me you're mine." I say as I look into her beautiful eyes.
"I'm yours, Lucas Miller. I've always been yours."
"Since the first day I saw you, I was under your spell. I didn't know feeling so deeply for someone was possible. You have my whole entire heart, Scarlett."
Her eyes search mine, but all too soon, the spell is broken as a knock comes from the front door.
"Ugh. People." She hides under the covers.
I throw on some clothes and laugh at her.

I slowly make my way to the door, dreading who it could be.
When Mandy came over yesterday, she didn't question me, she is staying with Stacey "until I cool down". I hope it's not her.

I open the door and Karianne is standing with hands on her hips.
"Where is she?" She frowns. "I have been calling and texting but nothing from either of y'all." She pushes past me and walks towards the bedroom. When she looks in and finds it empty she opens the other bedroom door. "Scarlett Olivia, get your ass up." She swats the covers.
"No." Scarlett says under the covers.
"I will come in there." Karianne threatens.
"Ugh." Scarlett sighs. "Two things, K. One: I'm naked. Two: don't freak out."
"Why would I freak out?" Kare asks right before Scarlett sits up and pops her head around the covers.
"Good lord! I'm going to kill Cooper!" She yells.
"It wasn't Cooper." I whisper. She turns and glares daggers at me before smacking me in the chest.
"Kare no! It wasn't his fault. He was having a nightmare, he gets them sometimes when he sleeps alone, and I tried to wake him and caught an elbow." Scarlett quickly comes to my side, wrapped in the sheet.
"Fuck." She shakes her head. "I was going to kill you."
"I would never hit her, Kare." I run a hand through my hair. "I've been beating myself up about this." I say kissing the bruise lightly.
"So are you two?" She motions between us.
"Yes." Scarlett grins. "I'm going to move back."
"How'd Cooper take it?" Karianne asks and my heart sinks. Scarlett pales a little.
"I haven't told him yet." She shrugs.
"What about Mandy?" She looks to Luke.
"Well-" I chuckle nervously.
"Okay then." Kare laughs. "As long as your two are happy, I don't give a shit." She hugs us both.
"Thanks." We both say.
"Well I have to get to work. I'm closing tonight since both of my favorite closers are either off or quit." She said pointedly.
"Come over after work." Scarlett says and hugs Kare again.

After Karianne leaves we decide to go to the river for a walk together. Scarlett's makeup skills are insanely impressive as I barely see the bruise on her cheek while I look at her as we drive.
We walk quietly along as she leads me down a dirt path to a lookout over the river. She sits on the worn blue bench and I sit next to her and pull her close.
"I used to come here all the time to think. I would sit here alone and watch the water pass by. I was broken." She smiles warmly at me. "Until this green eyed boy decided I was worth his time. Thank you for saving me." She puts her head on the shoulder and I kiss the top of it.
"You saved me. More than you know. More times than I can count, Scar. Your love means more to me than I could possibly express."
"When I was in New York, I would look at the sky and wonder if you were looking at the same time." She laughs. "It's silly, I know, but I hoped." She shrugs.
"That's not silly." I shake my head. "I know we have had a rocky couple of weeks, but you're my heaven. Every time I doubted myself, my life, I would think of you, and feel like I had meaning. Like the reason I survived that day when everyone else died, was because I was meant to be with you. You're my happily ever after."
"For keeps." She smiles as she wipes a tear off her cheek.
"For keeps." I repeat as I wipe another tear that escapes. "Please don't cry." I whisper.
"They are happy tears." She laughs. "You make my heart whole. When we were apart it was like there was a huge gaping hole where you should have been. Being with you, completes me." She shakes her head. "I'm so glad you survived that day. I don't want to imagine life without you."
"You'll never have to." I tell her and pray it's the truth.

We finally walk back to my truck, hand in hand, and I push away all the bull shit that's happened. These moments with Scarlett, the little ones, are the ones that matter the most.

We spend some time with Kare and Brett when we get home. The girls plan some wedding stuff, while Brett and I sit in the living room and bullshit with a bottle of beer. I keep watching Scarlett, I can't take my eyes off of her. She smiles at me from across the room and my heart finally feels at home.

We head to bed later that night and I have never felt closer to her. There was no sex, just us side by side. Scarlett sings along to a song on the radio that I've never heard, but the words hit close to home and I smile as A Drop In The Ocean (she tells me) ends and I mentally tell myself not to forget to buy the song.
I try to stay awake as long as I can, but eventually I succumb to sleep. I know it's because of her, but I don't have one nightmare.

I startle awake and look around the room. Scarlett sits up next to me and looks around.
"Did you hear that?" She asks.
"No." I say before I place a chaste kiss on her lips. She smiles briefly, but it fades as both of our eyes look towards the door as it opens.
"What the fuck." Mandy yells. Scarlett pulls the covers a little then smiles at me when she realizes she's fully dressed.
"Scarlett's back." I say and smile.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mandy glares.
"Does it look like we are kidding?" Scarlett teases.
"You have some nerve!" Mandy says angrily. "How's your husband going to feel about this?"
"Well he probably won't be too happy, but he will understand." Scar shrugs.
"Well I'm never going to let my son around. You'll be the reason why he grows up without his dad!"
"Then I'm fully prepared to take legal action so that doesn't happen. I'm not going to let you bully me or Scarlett any longer. I love her, only her and I'm not letting her go again." I say standing and pulling Scarlett to my side.
Mandy raises her eyebrow and and grins. "Hmm. This should be interesting." She huffs angrily before leaving the apartment.
"That was weird." Scarlett says.
"She's weird. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It was bound to happen." She shrugs.

We eat breakfast and Scarlett and I make plans to have lunch at the hospital. I unwillingly leave her to head to work. The entire way there, I can't shake this uneasy feeling building inside me.

Work is busy, but slows down by noon. When Scarlett walks through the sliding doors, I have to remind myself to breathe.
"Lucas Miller, you can't possibly still get this affected by me." She laughs as she searches my face.
"I still do." I feel my face flush. "Is that bad?"
"No." She shakes her head. "But if you keep looking at me like that, we are going to have to break your truck in." She whispers and winks. My eyes widen as I think about it.
"Who needs to eat?" I say and grab her hand.
We briefly talk to Kare and Brett, before heading to the cafeteria together. I buy her food and she shakes her head.
"Hey, only one of us is employed. Besides, it was my turn."
"You think you're funny. Some of us have been on a billboard or two and don't have to work." She sticks out her tongue.
"Excuse me Princess, shall I carry you to a seat?" I tease.
"Well I am feeling a little weak." She says as she puts a hand on her head in mock exhaustion.
"I'll do it." I laugh as she quickly moves to an open table. Our table.
"Do you  realize this is the table where you agreed to be with me?"
"Of course. How could I forget?" She reaches out and caresses my hand.  "Look, I know a lot has happened, but you need to know how much you mean to me. You always have my heart. No matter what. I could never stop loving you. This week has made me realize how empty I am without you."
"What would I do without you?"
"I don't know. Hopefully we never have to find out." She laughs and my heart sinks.

Lunch goes by too quickly, and I take an extra couple minutes to walk Scarlett to her car.
The sun is warm on my skin and I wish we could go out and do something together, instead of me going back to work.
"Thanks for lunch, babe." She says kissing me.
"Anytime, babe."  I tuck a wavy piece of hair behind her ear and I instantly wish I didn't have to go back.

When I'm with Scarlett, nothing else matters. No other person compares. We could be in a room full of people and they would all disappear.
But at this moment, I wish she wasn't all I could see; because as her face falls and blonde hair appears in my peripheral vision, I know something bad is about to happen.