Home Part 2

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         Falling asleep was a feat that proved to be easier said than done for Lainey. As soon as her head hit the pillow in the dark, an overwhelming sense of panic took refuge in the pit of her stomach. Even though Luke was there, and Lainey knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, she still was terrified that somehow Remy would find her and rape her during the night. Lainey finally did fall asleep, an hour or so later, and it was a nightmarish slumber that had her whimpering. Luke, who hadn't fallen asleep yet, heard the pitiful noises coming from Lainey above him. He rose and sat on her bed, clad in smiley-face boxer shorts. The tortured sounds didn't stop. Luke was about to wake her when she bolted up and screamed, "NO!! DON'T DIE AND LEAVE ME HERE! MOM! DADDY!" Then she broke down into sobs, blindly finding Luke's body in the darkeness and holding on for dear life. Luke thought that she was going to knock the wind right out of him with the force of her hug. Her tears scalded their way down his chest as she buried her face into his shoulder. Her nails scored his back as she clung to him, but Luke didn't even notice. All he wanted was to comfort Lainey, and to make her feel better. He knew that a tragedy had brought Lainey to Maynard, but he hadn't known exactly what it was until he had heard Lainey's tortured voice scream to her dead parents. Finally, she stopped crying and looked up at Luke. Her eyes and nose were red and blotchy, and her lips trembled. Still, Luke thought he had never seen anyone more desirable or beautiful.
         "Oh, God, Luke, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?" she asked as she sobbed. "I can't handle life without them. I can't do it. It's too hard."
         Luke couldn't find the words to say. After all, he had never lost anyone that close to him. He'd never even lost a pet. All he could do was hold her until her sobs subsided and her tears ceased to flow. "It's going to be okay, baby. It's gonna be okay." He kept whispering this to her as he rocked her. He held her like a child in his arms, aware of her fragility and vulnerability.
         "If my parents were still alive, I would be in New York now, and not afraid that some asshole was going to find me and rape me," she whispered, her hands balling into fists on his back. "Remy would never have attacked me, and I would have everything I wanted. It would be so...perfect."
         "Oh, Lainey. What can I do to help you?" Luke pleaded. He felt so inadequate just sitting there next to her without being able to ease her pain.
         "Just your being here is helping me immensely, Luke. I wasn't expecting to meet someone like you when I moved here. I haven't even known you a day, but I feel like we've been friends all of my life. How can that be?"
         "I don't know, but I feel the same way." A short silence ensued. "Laine, I think you should get some sleep."
         Horror crossed over Lainey features. "I can't. The nightmares haunt me, Luke. I hate going to sleep. I dream about them every night."
         "You need to sleep, Lainey. You can't go without it forever."
         "Will you sleep with me, in my bed? I will feel better knowing that you're right next to me. I know you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me."
         Luke didn't think sleeping with her was such a good idea. He could hardly control himself when he was standing five feet away from her. How was he supposed to control himself when she was almost pressed against him? But Luke knew he would if it would make Lainey happy. "If you want me to, then I will."
         Luke was rewarded with a smile as radiant as the sun. "Thank you so much, Luke!" Lainey threw her arms around Luke's neck. "I appreciate it.
         "I'm happy. Now, let's try to get some sleep," said Luke.
         A feeling of trepidation swept over Luke as he settled next to Lainey in her bed. He knew that being this close to Lainey was a bad idea. What if he touched her because he couldn't control himself and she thought he was just like that Remy bastard? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if she hated him; that was the one thing he knew for certain.
         Lainey tightly shut her eyes, trying to block images of a disheveled Luke from her head. He had no idea how sexy he'd looked standing over her, his hair tousled and his eyes slumberous, none at all. It made her feel safe being tucked in beside him. She knew that he would protect her, no matter what. So what if she had only known him for a day? That wasn't the point. She could read inside of his heart. He wouldn't intentionally hurt her.
         The rest of the night passed uneventfully for Lainey. It was as though the nightmares that haunted her knew that Luke protected her. Luke, on the other hand, had lain awake for hours, just staring at Lainey as she slept. She was everything that he'd ever wanted and more. Smart, funny, drop-dead gorgeous, interesting...the list just went on and on. When he finally did fall asleep, his dreams were filled with Lainey.
         When Lainey awoke the next morning, she was confused at the weight that dipped the mattress next to her. Groggily she truned over and found herself staring into Luke's whiskey-colored eyes. She was surprised to see him awake and just lying there staring at her. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
         "Watching you."
         She paused and then slowly stood up. She wished he hadn't said that. She was already feeling too much for him, and she was in danger of losing more of herself in the depths of his eyes, his heart. "You shouldn't tell me things like that, Luke. You barely know me."
         Luke's eyes went cold. After some of the things she'd said to him last night, Luke thought he had no right to say he barely knew her. He might not have known her for very long, but he could tell this girl would become very special to him. "Fine. Sorry," he said brusquely, standing up and looking for the jeans he'd discarded the night before. When he found them, he jerked them on and stalked toward the door.
         "Luke?" came Lainey's husky voice.
         He turned toward her. "Yeah?"
         "Here's your shirt. Listen, you don't have to leave yet. Why don't you stay and have breakfast with me?"
         He knew this was a peace offering, but unfortunately he couldn't accept. "I would love to, but I have to get home and do some work on the farm. How about tomorrow?"
         "I guess that'll be okay. See ya later."
         He looked into her bottomless emerald eyes, trying to read her mind. He would've given his eyeteeth to know what she was thinking. "Yeah. Later." And with that, he was gone.
         Inwardly Lainey cursed herself for driving Luke away with her harsh words. It was just that she felt way too much for him. She never wanted to feel like that. She never had before. It was terribly frightening and exhilirating at the same time, and she didn't know how to deal with it. She liked situations that had a simple, clear-cut solution, but this one obviously didn't and that irritated her. She wasn't angry at him, but she was most definitely angry at herself.
         Lainey despised being alone, especially in this God-forsaken place. Yeah, it was pretty, but why did everything have to be so far away. In search of some form of entertainment, Lainey dressed in tight old jeans, a plaid shirt and sneakers. There has to be something interesting on this old farm, she thought, and I'm going to find it today.
         The fresh air was cool for a summer's day, and it refreshed Lainey better than anything else could have at that particular moment. Her eyes scanned the horizon, and she was surprised to learn that the property was adjacent to woods in the back. There's gotta be something worthwhile back there, she said to herself, and set off on the adventure of stumbling across it.
         And stumble she did. Right into what she didn't know she was looking for.

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