the bucket list | lrh

48 - skipping a step

"You know... we were supposed to go to Pensacola first, we're skipping a step," Luke laughed quietly as Valentine hung up the phone, having just made her grandmother knowledgeable about her soon to be presence.

"I think we both know that by now, it's not for the list," Valentine joked back as the two loaded their belongings into the backseat of Luke's truck. The rain had stopped a short while after they had found themselves inside, and Luke wanted to take a shower before they set out on their spontaneous and reckless journey out of town. He was starting to wonder if she wanted to kidnap him, because it seemed they spent less time in their own town than anywhere else.

"Plus, I need someone from the outside to explain things to me. Someone who lied a lot less," Valentine elaborated. "Plus, I'm sure she'll love to meet you. She loved Adeline, she'll think it's so cool that you knew her," she explained even further, proving her best case on why the two were justified in avoiding their problems. And that's all Luke really needed, because he would've done anything to make the brunette happy, irresponsible or not. He didn't care that he was assisting the girl in avoiding her family's issues, he was more focused on doing whatever she wanted regardless of the consequences.

"Fine, but does she even know who I am?" Luke asked, genuine curiosity tangled up in his voice. "Of course! She's my dad's mom, she hears about everything!" Valentine joked, throwing her head back as the two finally climbed into their seats and got comfortable for the third road trip that summer.

"Everything," Luke echoed his girlfriend, metaphorically leaning into her words as she spoke. Even while driving, he had his ears on high alert so that he could give her as much attention as possible. He always wanted to sneak glances, but he thought it insensitive considering what happened when Adeline did that.

"Okay, well definitely not everything. But I'd be shocked if my dad hadn't said anything about you yet," Valentine joked back, feeling particularly talkative. Luke had his eyes grilled ahead, but she wore a proud smile as she shamelessly stared at him.

"Do you want to talk about things, Valentine?" The blonde caught her off guard, offering his best comforting voice before it would begin to border pity. He never wanted to overcompensate, but he just wanted to assure her that he was there.

"You know, I probably should," the girl joked, a little laugh slipping past her lips. She had been so gloomy for so long, the slightly upturned lips radiated throughout the car, because Luke felt it. He could feel her humor, and how lighthearted she really felt at the time. He could tell she wasn't putting on an act for him, and it was so comforting to hear.

"You don't have to, but this is a big deal and... I want you to know I'll listen," Luke rambled mindlessly, trying to cushion some blow that Valentine didn't really understand.

"No, you're right. I should talk, right? There should be something for me to say, huh?" Valentine thought aloud, letting Luke in on her thought process first hand. It was moments like such where she was at her rawest, her most authentic. She rubbed her temples lightly as she thought, reaching down for the coffee she had slipped out of Luke's fridge.

"Do you have anything to say?" Luke urged her on, not quite sure where she was headed with her current helpless state of rambling.

"I should. I should be fuming, you think so? I bet Mary is fuming," she continued on, still avoiding her own feelings on the subject matter.

"She looked pretty mad," Luke included himself, still waiting for the girl to finish a thought. She didn't really have a direction in which she was taking her words, they were just listening to each other, and it was a beautiful moment when zoomed out of. Minus the reveal of Kellianne's motherhood, and the many ripples that caused in the universe, Luke and Valentine were bonding. They had gotten so casual to be able to just talk, and they would've treasured it had they known the storm to come.