It's better to feel pain, than nothing at all.
           -Stubborn Love by The Lumineers.

  -Maggie-

   I have no idea how long I was asleep, but now that I'm awake it's safe to say I feel refreshed. Now I'm just staring at my ceiling trying to find out what decade I'm in just like I always do after every nap.

Last thing I remember is Luke telling me to get some rest while he watches Graham- or Gray, the new nickname he gave him. I stood up from my bed and put my hair up in a ponytail, already making my way downstairs slowly. No one was in the living room where I left them, so I opted for the kitchen next. When I entered Sarah was leaning against one of the countertops, talking to mom about who knows what while Luke was sitting down on one of the stools, watching Graham eating some baby food while sitting in his high chair. Dad was nowhere to-

Hold up.

I whipped my head back towards Luke and Graham, completely flabbergasted. Luke was feeding Graham baby food, and Graham was eating it without even spitting it out. "You have got to be kidding me." I said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Everyone snapped their heads towards me, Luke being the first to speak. "What's wrong?" I pointed at Graham as he took yet another spoonful of baby food. "Do you know how much I struggled just to make him keep that food in his mouth for at least five seconds? Trust me, I have never changed shirts so many times in a day; yet here you are managing to feed him a whole bottle! How in the world?" Luke glanced at Graham and shrugged.

"I just gave him the spoon and he tried doing it himself a few times before letting me feed him." I gaped, not hiding my frustration. "I can't believe this. All I had to do was give him that spoon." Sarah and mom started to laugh as I walked towards the other stool, sitting down on it and placing my head on the counter.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked. I sighed and rested my chin on the counter as I looked at her.

"Much better after that nap. Where's dad at?" I asked, noticing he still hasn't appeared. Mom sighed and clasped her hands together. "Well, our lawyer isn't going to be able to testify for us so your dad is speaking with Luke's uncle after he gave us the number." I lifted my head and turned my head to look at Luke.

"You did that?" He nodded his head nonchalantly, paying attention to Graham as he fed him. "Yeah, my uncle is a pretty good lawyer and I'm sure he'll help." I smiled and nudged his shoulder. "I owe you big time." He chuckled and shook his head, not saying a word as he continued feeding Graham. I noticed he was wearing different clothes, my dad's old clothes actually; but decided not to mention it right now.

    "Are you hungry? We're all about to eat." My stomach grumbled quite loudly, answering my mom for me. Luke smirked, obviously hearing it as we all started to head to the table. I made a move to grab Graham from his high chair but Luke lightly smacked my hands away, giving me a warning stare. "You can't carry him while standing up. Go sit and I'll put him on your lap; deal?" I sighed in defeat and nodded my head, walking past him to the table. Dad shortly came to the table, greeting me with a smile. "Did you sleep well?" He asked. I nodded my head as mom started serving the plates with Sarah. She had made chicken pasta salad, one of mine and Sarah's favorites. Luke gently placed Graham to sit on my lap and took the seat beside me, unintentionally earning a slight glare from dad. I blushed slightly, remembering how he caught Luke and I kissing earlier.

I felt my blush growing more just at the thought of the kiss. Thankfully no one noticed as mom and Sarah sat down.

***

   Dinner was going pretty great; we didn't talk about the case, wanting to clear the sad tension, but we did talk about times when Sarah and I were little. Well, mom and dad did. Sarah looked like she was about to strangle dad when he told Luke about her unicorn phase, and I was currently praying a demogorgan would come so I could disappear in the upside down forever as Luke laughed like crazy while my parents are telling him about the time I went to my grandma's house and flooded her bathroom by accident.

    Now, Luke and I were in my room with Graham, the door wide open- dad's orders- and my laptop in between us as we watched Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I'm obsessed with the show and when Luke suggested we watch it I absolutely freaked out. We watched all the episodes from the first season to the last, it being completely dark by the time we finished. Graham was fast asleep on Luke's lap and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of his cheek squished on Luke's chest. He stood up and took Graham to the crib, making me stay so I wouldn't have to stand up and stress even more. Had Graham been awake I would've argued with him, but I didn't want to wake him and I have to admit I was a bit tired myself. About two minutes later Luke came back in my room and plopped down beside me.

  "This has been the longest day ever." I said mid-yawn. Luke laughed and turned his head towards me. "It was interesting though. You should've seen your dad tackle that dude. He took away my chance to be your night and shining armor." We both chuckled as a blush rose up my neck. Thank lord it's dark or else I wouldn't have heard the end of that. Suddenly it went quiet as my eyes drifted a bit lower from his eyes. My mind drifted to how his lips felt against mine, soft and warm but firm at the same time. How would they feel now? Next thing I know our foreheads are pressed against each other's and our noses are bumping.

    All I could focus on was the sound of our calm breathing and my heart pounding. It felt like someone was playing drums inside of me. Next thing I know our lips are molding together and Luke's hand is weaving through my hair. My stomach instantly lit up and I felt my eyes flutter shut. I didn't feel stiff, not with Luke. Instead I felt comfortable and safe, which was good. I didn't need to worry about him judging me and this moment felt right. But somehow, I freaked out when Luke pulled away. "Wait," he breathed out. Our breaths came out in puffs as he removed my hands slowly from either side of his face. My heart dropped, a lot of doubts coming to mind. I leaned back, sitting up straight. It was dark but I noticed him staring at me. The problem was I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "Did I do something wrong?" I asked. Luke grabbed my hand with one of his and tucked my hair behind my ear. It was a small action but it cheered me up some.

"Of course not. It's just- I want to talk to you about something." Finally I looked up at him. He sighed and leaned his back against the headboard. "You told me your story, and now you deserve to hear mine." My mouth slightly dropped open in realization. Luke nodded once seeing my face, the light from the hallway helping a bit.

"I'm going to tell you about Thalia."
———

Thalia and Luke's story is coming up......... what happened and how important is Thalia to Luke??????