Secrets In The Garden / l.h ✔️

55

~Ophelia's POV~

Luke came knocking on my door the next day, which was Christmas day. I opened the door, dressed my pajamas still since it was only ten AM, and I also hadn't planned to be going anywhere so I didn't see the point in dressing up all nice. I liked being comfortable at home.

I opened the door and blinked in surprise when I saw him standing there with bag in his hand, not expecting to see him here. Sure, we'd said we'd hang out over the break and we had been, but it was Christmas. Were his parents really not home to spend even Christmas with him? He must've gotten so lonely by himself...

"Hi." I greeted him, a little bit confused. He gave me a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey." He mumbled. "Um, s-sorry to just come barging over here like this. You're probably busy, huh?" He asked, frowning slightly. I shook my head in a hurry, not wanting him to think that I didn't have time for him. All I'd really been doing was watching Christmas movies with my mom and granny, so I certainly wasn't busy or anything. "No, it's okay. I was just watching a movie with granny and mom." I said, smiling up at him. He froze and suddenly looked nervous. "Your mom is home?" He whispered, eyes wide. Like he'd been when he first met granny, he was a nervous wreck.

"Mhm." I nodded, trying not to smile. It was weirdly cute he nervous he got at the idea of meeting my mom. "Did you wanna come in?" I asked him, cocking my head to the side. However, just like I thought he'd do, he nervously shook his head, biting on his bottom lip. "Well, uh, I wouldn't wanna intrude or anything. Maybe I should just go home instead." He said stiffly, beginning to take a step back. I knew what he was doing, though. He was just trying to get away because he was nervous at the idea of seeing my mom. "No, no. You wouldn't be intruding. Plus, my granny has been asking me about you a lot, so I'm sure she'd like to see you again." I assured, gently grabbing his arm before he could get too far and tugging him into the house.

He stayed close to me, very reluctantly following me when I headed back into the living room after I had shut and locked the front door. We entered the living room and my mom looked over, not taking long to realize that I had brought someone inside. Mom raised a brow while granny smiled at Luke and waved. "Hello, dear." Granny said to him, and he quietly greeted her back.

My mom glanced up at me from where she sat on the couch, a brow still raised. "Baby, who's this?" She asked, a confused frown on her lips. I smiled and glanced up at him, grasping him arm to pull him closer. "This is Luke," I said, and my mom looked over at granny, who had told her a couple of times about him now. Like I said, granny really liked him. "This is Luke?" Mom asked, surprised. She looked back at Luke and I and pouted. "Why'd nobody tell me how handsome he was?" Mom huffed, making both Luke and I blush—me out of embarrassment that she'd just said that and him probably because he was feeling flustered.

"Mom!" I exclaimed, sending her a pleading look that said please stop. She laughed and waved it off, an amused glint in her eyes. "Okay, okay." She chuckled, smiling. "So, what's he doing here? Aren't you spending Christmas with your family?" Mom asked him, cocking her head to the side slightly.

Luke shook his head, standing close behind me still. "They're working." He answered, his hand brushing mine gently before he discreetly tangled his fingers with mine, holding my hand. However, evidently he wasn't discreet enough because my mom looked down at our intertwined fingers and raised a brow. "You guys dating?" She asked, glancing up at us and away from our hands.

The question made me freeze up, as he and I hadn't exactly spoken about that yet, even though we'd exchanged I love you's several times by this point. We just had not gotten around to it yet, I guess, and I didn't want to make Luke feel pressured to become an item with me when he was already being a lot more open and honest with me than he had been with any other girl before. I was scared if I tried to push too much, he'd get scared off, so I hadn't asked that question. However, I'd be lying if I wasn't a little curious as to what he'd say, at least first. I opened my mouth, going to say that no, we weren't dating, but Luke beat me to the chase.

"Yeah." He blurted, nodding. "We're dating." He announced, glancing down at me to see my reaction.

At first he seemed a little unsure at how I'd react, but when I smiled up at him, I could visibly tell by the look on his face that he was relieved. His lips pulled up into an adorable little smile and he looked back at my mom, no longer seeming as anxious. I liked to think it was because my silent agreement had made him happy, but who really knew.

"Opie!" Granny exclaimed, pouting at me. "You told me you guys weren't dating." She said with a little frown, upset that I hadn't told her about his and I's relationship. Obviously I couldn't tell her we'd only just begun dating literally a few seconds ago, so I just smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, granny." I apologized weakly, scratching the back of my head. My mom grinned and then chuckled, leaning her elbows against her knees. "That's so cute. Good for you, Opie, for snagging a handsome one. Now I just gotta see if he treats you right." Mom said, eyeing Luke with narrowed eyes.

He shied closer to me a little. "Do you treat her right?" Mom asked in that protective mom voice, looking at him in a way that almost dared him to say no. "I-I like to think I do, yes, ma'am." He answered awkwardly, squeezing my hand. I rubbed the back of his hand and sent my mom a chill out look, not needing him to be scared off by my mom's protectiveness. She smiled a little and nodded her head. "Okay. Then you're welcome to stay here with us if you'd like. I'm sure Opie would be glad to have you around." She said.

The nickname made me cringe. "Mom!" I complained. "Please stop. You know only granny is allowed to call me that." I pleaded, making her laugh.

"Honey, I birthed you. That means I can call you whatever I want." She sassed.

Beside me, Luke chuckled and I huffed, turning around as I began to tug him down the hall. "Keep the door open! I don't want any grandchildren just yet!" Mom yelled as we walked down the hall, making me blush bright red as I pushed him into my room. "Mom! Stop it!" I yelled back, mortified. She just laughed loudly as I entered my room, leaving the door open like she said to. Even though she'd been teasing me, I knew she was serious about wanting me to keep the door open.

I sat down next to Luke on my bed, glancing down at the small bag that he'd been holding onto since he got here. "What's that?" I asked, curious. He held out the bag and then set it in my lap, making me furrow my brows in confusion. "Merry Christmas." He said, biting his lip gently. I paused and looked down at the bag, trying not to smile. "You got me a present?" I asked, gently pulling the light green tissue paper out of the purple gift bag. It was a rather tiny bag, maybe a little bit bigger than my hand, but it still managed to fit a small black box inside.

Curious, I pulled the box out and then popped the lid off carefully, peering down at the necklace that sat inside. The chain was gold and there was a cute four leafed clover pendant dangling from the chain, with pretty green peridot stone as the leaves on the clover. It was really pretty. "I love it." I said softly, being gentle when I took it out of the box.

Luke perked up. "Really? I wanted to get something that I thought you'd like and that was like your favorite color, but I had to look up what the fuck color early spring green was because I didn't know, and peridot was the closest I could get to as a match. Sorry if you don't like it. I mean, it's not much..." He rambled on, only stopping when I gently sealed my palm over his mouth. I couldn't help but to grin at him. "I wouldn't say I love it if I didn't. It's perfect, really." I insisted, slinging my arms around him as I kissed his lips gently.

He helped me take off the necklace I was wearing and put on the one he'd gotten me, a smile on his lips when I turned back to him. "It looks even prettier on you." He hummed.

I giggled and shook my head, playing with his fingers as a thought occurred to me. "I didn't get you anything." I said with a frown, now feeling guilty. I'd debated it, but I had eventually decided against it because I didn't think he'd be getting me something and I didn't want to be the only one to do it. Now, I was wishing I'd bought something, anything at all.

He grinned playfully. "Give me another kiss and I'll consider it as my gift."