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“Yep, I picked it up on my lunch break.”
He gave me a soft, shy smile before pointing a spoonful of ice cream toward me. I obediently opened my mouth and slurped the ice cream, making Luke giggle again. God, I loved that sound.
“Did you know my therapist is Mama D’s childhood friend?”
“She is? I didn’t know that. I mean, I did ask her if she knew any good female therapists, but I didn’t know they were close friends.”
“Well, I was relieved when she told me that. It made it even easier to trust her.”
After Luke was done with the ice cream, he cuddled closer to me, his head coming to rest on my shoulder. I pressed a kiss to the top of his head as I held him tighter. After a while, he turned around in the circle of my arms so he was facing me and buried his face in the crook of my neck. I held him as close as I could without squishing him, hoping he was feeling better. I wondered if I should ask him how the appointment went, but I knew he’d tell me if he wanted to, and I needed to respect that.
I was almost sure he’d fallen asleep, and I was feeling pretty comfy and sleepy myself, but just as I closed my eyes, Luke said something in a soft voice that I didn’t quite catch through the sleepy haze I’d fallen into.
“I’m sorry, babe. What did you say?”
“I said his name was Marcus.” Luke’s voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard him clearly. I also knew perfectly well who he was talking about.
“Monica told me that I shouldn’t shy away from saying his name…that I was only giving it more power to hurt me by doing that.” He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. “I’m sorry. You don’t want to hear all that.”
“Luke.” My firm voice made him look up, and I held his gaze as I spoke, making sure he could see the sincerity in my eyes. “I’m here for you, and I will gladly listen to anything and everything you have to say, okay? I don’t care if you’re talking about Marcus,” Luke flinched at the name, and I rubbed his shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head before continuing, “or if you’re telling me about your new favorite book. I’ll always want to listen to you, okay?”
Luke nodded before biting his lower lip and burying his face in my neck again. I held him close to me as he took a few deep breaths, his arms tight around my neck.
After a few minutes of silence, Luke spoke again. “She told me a few sentences I should use his name in, so I can get used to saying and hearing it and not be scared of it anymore. They’re pretty fun.”
“Yeah?”
Luke nodded before looking up at me with a small grin on his face, “Marcus is an asshole. Marcus deserves to burn in hell. Marcus is a fucking bastard.” His voice got quieter as he continued, and it was almost a whisper when he said the last two sentences. “Marcus doesn’t own me. Marcus can’t hurt me anymore.”
He buried his face in my neck again, and I had a feeling he was doing it to center himself. I gave him a comforting squeeze and rested my chin on top of his head, holding him as close to me as physically possible.
“Hey, Luke?” I asked after a minute of silence.
“Yeah?”
“Will you move in with me?”
Luke pulled back to look up at me, brows bunched up in confusion, and I smiled at how adorable he looked. “Er, don’t I already live with you?”
“I meant, will you move all your stuff into my bedroom and officially make it our bedroom? We can turn your room into a guest room or something.”
A wide smile spread across Luke’s face, and it was so rare to see him smiling so freely that I knew I’d always treasure this moment.
“Are you serious?”
I nodded, and even though I was pretty sure he’d say yes, my heart was still thundering in my chest.
“I’d love to move in with you, Scott.”
I grinned before pulling him in for a soft kiss and hugging him close. “I love you, Lu.”
“I love you too, Scott. Thanks for always being there for me and taking such good care of me.”
“My pleasure, Lu.”
25
Luke
