Mr. Grey

Chapter 9

***DANNI'S POV***

It was weird seeing Lucas back at school. I had gotten used to the sub that didn't know math and would just show Khan Academy videos the whole time. Although it was annoying not being able to see Lucas at the hospital ever since he was at home resting, I was glad he was getting better. The longer the wait, the better it was to finally see him again. He was still pretty tired so his personality wasn't the same but it was still him. 

I had gotten used to driving my dad's truck so I was always arriving at school later than usual since I didn't have to stress about being late when I was walking. I hadn't gone to Lucas' room in the morning ever since he came back from the hospital. I always told myself that I would the next day but I never did. 

"Hey, Danni." Lucas greeted me as I came into his class. We were the only two in the room. Just because I wasn't coming in the morning didn't mean that I couldn't be the first one there. 

"Hey, Mr. Grey." I also hadn't called him Lucas yet. 

"So, how have you been?" His voice sounded tired. 

"Obviously better than you. Has everything been ok?" I asked. It was nice to have a normal conversation and not him telling me how to do stuff that I already knew how to do. 

"Honestly, not bad. I'm tired but that'll go away. It's hard to get back into the game after you've been resting for a while." He sighed. "I missed you." My heart skipped a beat. He always has that effect on me, no matter what state he's in.

"I've missed you too." I blushed. The bell rung and our relationship went back to teacher and student. I sat down at my desk and waited for the class to start.

~~~~~~

Mrs. Rose hadn't been at the library in a while. She was usually there in the morning but she would always leave before my shift. There was always a note saying that she was going to visit her sister but I had a suspicion that she wasn't feeling too good herself. 

I had never seen more than four people at the library at once but today there was an author visit of some kids book so the library was packed. Everyone was checking out books by the author, kids were making a mess, and I was the only person there. 

"Need any help?" I knew that voice. I turned around from picking up piles of books on the ground to see Lucas standing behind me. 

"What are you doing here?" I stood up and put the books back on the shelves. 

"Well I was going to pick up a book but it seems that you got a lot on your plate. Do you want any help?" He smiled and showed off his bright white teeth. He knew that I couldn't say no to him. 

"Do you know how everything works?" I led him over to the desk. He nodded, 

"I used to work here when I got out of college." He sat down at one of the chairs and begun checking people's books out. I forgot that he lived in this town for his whole life. 

"Thank you so much," I yelled at him as I was on my way to go clean up an apple juice spill. The kid's parent acted as if I was their butler and didn't apologize once for the mess. All she did was complain that someone had already checked out the book she wanted and that we ran out of donuts. I was constantly checking my watch to see how long it was until closing. I looked over at Lucas and he was just as tired as I was. I felt bad that he was working this hard on top of school and on top of the fact that he was still recovering from the accident. 

I needed Lucas' help to get all the people out of the library during closing. It was like trying to get college kids on spring break out of the house. *Drake and Josh reference :)* When we finally got the last angry mom out, Lucas shut the door and we both let out a huge breath. 

"Come here." He smiled and opened his arms and I fell right into them. His grip was so strong but gentle like he was protecting me. 

"I can't thank you enough," I said when we separated. I went and turned off all the computers and made sure there were no more piles of books everywhere. 

"No problem. It was fun." He smiled and shut down the desk computers. "Do you need a ride home?" 

"Do you mind?" I looked outside and saw the rain pouring down. I grabbed my bag from the storage closet and we made our way to his truck. "You know the way, right?" 

"Of course. How could I forget?" He grinned at me and I got lost in his gaze. The start of the engine broke my trance and we headed off to my house. "So, any plans for Thanksgiving?" His question threw me off. I had never had a traditional Thanksgiving (Or Christmas for that matter) in years. Ever since my mother died and my dad turned for the worst, I never kept track of the holidays. 

"Not much. Might treat myself to a frozen meal or something. Not sure yet." I tried my best not to sound pathetic but I liked it when Lucas felt bad for me. It showed that he cared. 

"Really? You don't have any family that you could spend it with?" I shook my head. The only side of my family that is sane lives halfway across the country. 

"I don't really like them anyways." That part was true. They always tried to convince me to live with them in the city and they were in denial that my dad was a junkie. 

When we arrived at my house I saw the lights were on and a figure was moving around. "Were you expecting anyone?" Lucas asked me. I kept my eyes fixed on the window and saw the figure move towards the door. It couldn't be a thief, we had nothing to steal. The door opened and I saw my drunken father stumble down the stairs. We made eye contact for a split second before I asked Lucas to keep going. 

"Just drive. Anywhere but here." I told him when he questioned me. He obeyed and we drove for about 15 minutes until he pulled into a driveway.

It was his house.