Facing Reality

Chapter 4

    I couldn't have asked for a better protector than Luke Gage. He didn't push me for answers, and that I was thankful for because I knew I wasn't ready to open up to anyone about my past yet. He helped me with all my cuts and gave me some ice for my side along with a couple of pain killers. He made up the guest bed for me and gave me an extra shirt and pair of sweats he owned. When all was said an done, he sat with me on the couch, sharing a packet of cookies with me as we watched some cheesy romance movie that was on TV.

    I couldn't help the smile on my lips, knowing he didn't like romance movies. I knew it was his way of trying to distract me from everything that had happened tonight.

    Halfway through the movie, Luke was fast asleep, his head resting against my shoulder. I couldn't pay attention to the movie with my eyes wandering to his face every two seconds, and soon it was over.

    As I sat there in the silence, my mind wandered. I didn't deserve his friendship. If anything, I deserved for those men to find me and kill me. I didn't want to endure the torture that they would most likely inflict on me if they found me, but I knew I probably deserved it. There was too much blood on my hands.

    Which was one of the reasons I couldn't tell Luke about my past yet. If he knew what I had done, he would never look at me again. Heck, he might just hand me over to them himself.

    Luke groaned and flinched against my shoulder before stilling again. I could see the nightmare flashing across his face.

    "Luke," I whispered, trailing my fingers across his neck. "Luke, wake up."

    He mumbled something in his sleep, and his eyes fluttered briefly before closing completely again.

    I rubbed his shoulder, trying to sooth him. "Luke..."

    His arm twitched, and his hand traveled down to where I knew he thought his gun was in his nightmare.

    "Snap out of it," I murmured, grabbing his hand.

    His eyes flew open, and his free hand was suddenly against my neck, tight enough to feel uncomfortable but not enough to bruise.

    I didn't even flinch, knowing exactly what he was going through.

    "It's just me," I told him in a soft, even voice.

    He blinked as if to rid himself of the terror he had just experienced. "Riley," he said quietly, his hand dropping. "I..." He stared down at his hands.

    I reached over to him and tilted his chin up. "You're forgetting I get them too. There's no need to apologize. You weren't in the present when you woke up."

    Relief cross his features. "You don't know how much it means to me that you understand."

    I smiled. "I think I can guess."

    We both agreed that we weren't going to get any sleep that night, knowing someone was after me and knowing there would be nightmares if we so much as dozed. So, instead of crawling into our own beds, we opted for making some coffee and sandwiches.

    "Can I ask you something?" Luke finally said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over us.

    I glanced at him cautiously. "I may not give you an answer."

    He nodded like he thought as much. "I'm only wondering about your family. You told me and Sarah that you had family over in Ohio. Aren't you scared for their safety while you have people after you?"

    I shook my head. "Luke, a lot of what I told you two... as much as I hate to admit it, was lies. I don't have any family. My dad ran off when I was little, taking my older brother with him, and my mom disowned me when I was sixteen. I've been alone ever since."

    There was a moment where neither of us said anything.

    "I know sorry doesn't mean anything when you've been through that," Luke said slowly. "I know it's worse than having your family dead, because they made a choice to leave you..."

    I nodded my head slowly, a deep bitterness lodging itself in my throat.

    "But I want you to know you have a family in me and Sarah. We might not be blood to you or to each other, but we all have our stories- stories that brought us together."

    I stared into his eyes, searching for any insincerity and finding none. "You don't even know about my past," I said softly.

    He grinned at me. "I don't need to, because I know the person you are now."