Thank you @pinklemonxade for the romantic poster!

Shoutout to @estesmerlot for your comment in the last chapter and for coining the phrase "RTF" (Raccoon Task Force) to rescue Millie. Love it.

Chapter 71: Small Town

The cold air came in through my broken window. Luke and I stood in front of shattered glass. We were safe, but the intruder was gone.

I know I should've been thinking about their identity, their motive and how I was going to catch them, but all I could think about is how Luke was safe.

Luke was looking out of the window and abruptly said, "He's slow. I can get him-"

"No!" I exclaimed, watching Luke's hand already on the windowsill to jump out, "You don't have shoes on! You don't know if they're unarmed! We should call the police!"

He was shirtless in this cold winter night and bare foot. The only thing he was going to catch right now is a cold.

Luke returned to me, choosing not to throw himself out of my second-floor window. With a serious look on his handsome face, he said, "You're either moving house or we're getting a damn lock on that door."

"The second option?" I suggested, not sure if I could promise either. It was entirely my mom's decision, wherever in the world she was.

The right words were difficult to find, but I wanted to say something that would convey my gratitude, my relief, my overwhelming-

"I love you."

That sums it up.

The words roll easily off my tongue now. Love for Luke feels so natural, and after saying it the first time, I couldn't stop saying it.

What else can you say to someone you love who comes running to your rescue in the middle of the night? It was selfless – especially coming from someone often branded as selfish.

Luke is so much better than his reputation allows him to be.

Luke wordlessly kissed me. He kissed my lips and my forehead, and his body felt cold to my touch. It was so cold tonight and he was barely dressed.

"I love you," he whispered back, pulling me close, "I love you so much."

Why did I hear a hint of fear in his voice? I hugged him, and my hands rubbed his back, trying to create some warmth for him.

"I was scared something was going to happen to you," he admitted, exhaling in relief.

I was so relieved that he was safe. Tonight could have ended so differently.

"Thank you," I told him, finding it so hard to not break into tears, "You came for me."

I don't think he'll ever know what if feels like to be so alone before we met.

I wasn't used to this. Luke is different to any relationship I've had before – including that with my own family – but I'm still learning what that means.

It was pure luck that I had been on the phone with him when the intruder broke in. I don't know what would've happened if I hadn't called for help. If we weren't already on the phone, I probably wouldn't have had the time.

Luke pulled away from me, and looked me up and down, his arms holding mine, "Are you OK? Are you hurt in any way?"

"I'm fine," I said, my face contorted in some strange expression as I tried to stop myself from full on crying.

I just wanted to be back in his arms. He pulled me into his embrace and his caring hand stroked my hair.

"Thank you," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as tears escaped them.

I kissed his bare neck. I was so scared knowing that someone out there wanted to hurt me.

"I'll always be here for you," he whispered back.

You... and coffee

**

Our phones were still on a call with each other.

Throughout this entire ordeal, we hadn't hung up on each other. Luke pulled his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants and hung up now. He then dialed three digits.

I needed time to recollect my thoughts, my rational thinking, my heartbeat. All the things that had flown out the window the moment I felt scared for my life.

It's not the only thing that flew out the window tonight...

I'm going to find that blackmailer turned home invader. 

I didn't want to step foot in my room. It felt like it belonged to a stranger's now.

**

Luke walked up to me and I stared into his crystal blue eyes. His expression was worried, and I felt guilty for bringing that on him.

"The police will be here in thirty minutes," he said.

Earlier today we were innocently saying I love you for the first time and now...

I nodded sadly and heard my own voice sound weaker than usual, "You look like you're freezing, Luke. You should borrow one of your sweatshirts."

"Nice, Minnie," Luke smirked, "You'll let me borrow my own clothes."

I smiled, happy that I made him smile in such a dark moment. 

With a deep breath, I faced the cold interior of my bedroom. I tried not to look at my bed or the vinyl collection that I had hidden behind. Luke slipped his hand in mine as a sign of solidarity and I walked to my clothes.

I loved wearing his t-shirts and old sweatshirts. I've started collecting them. I handed him a gray one from the top drawer of my cupboard.

He took his shirt from my hands and our fingers touched in the exchange. I watched his upper torso as he pulled it over his broad chest and covered his eight pack. He must've been so cold.

"Did you see who it was?" I asked him, wondering what happened after he ran out of my room.

"No, I thought the sound came from your mom's room, so I was in there when he smashed the window."

"I was so close," I whispered, breaking the silence, "I should've seen their face, but they had a hoodie and..."

It had all happened so quickly. Why didn't I get any more useful information?

"Don't blame yourself, Minnie," Luke told me, sympathetically, "We'll figure this out."

**

After this scarring experience, there was only one thing left to do. Drink coffee.

A police car parked outside my house and two officers walked up the front steps. I stood behind Luke, afraid to face any more strangers. The cops were intimidating, and I remembered that my last encounter at the police station hadn't gone well.

I sipped my coffee while Luke spoke with them, handling the situation much easier than I could. My mind was in a jumbled mess - scared and tired - after tonight's events.

They asked me where my mom was, and I had to lie about that.

"We'll need to inform her of this," an officer told me, asking me to write down her number on his notepad.

Good luck with that call, I thought.

The second officer asked us, "Can you show us where the break in occurred?"

I pointed at the door behind them, "They broke in through the front door."

Luke corrected me, "They strolled in through the front door. It doesn't lock."

"Does it count as forceful entry if no force was applied?" I asked.

"Please ma'am, let me ask the questions," the officer said, "We're going to need you to recount exactly what happened."

Ma'am?  Me?!

The second officer left a message on my mom's voicemail. He then asked Luke to speak with him, while I was left with the first officer. It made sense what they were doing – they wanted our separate versions of the night so they could compare notes after.

I glanced over at Luke who was looking at me. He smiled comfortingly back. We were in this together.

"Is that your boyfriend?" the officer asked, pen in his hand.

I nodded. I knew the officer was just doing his job in establishing our relationship, but I couldn't help but think of everyone at school who asked me the same thing.

"Yes, he's my boyfriend."

The next question surprised me, "Does he play basketball? My son is a freshman at Preston Oakes and he talks about this guy a lot. Small town, huh?"

**

After they took notes of our versions of the story, we took the officers upstairs and showed them the broken window. 

"Did you see anything at all when you ran up the stairs?" the officer asked Luke again.

"No," he said, "I was just focused on getting to her room."

"OK and you were in your room when the suspect fled?" the officer asked me.

"Yes," I confirmed that part again, "They fled my room when they heard Luke's voice and I think they hid in my sister's room when he came up the stairs-"

"Why do you keep saying they?" the second officer asked me, "Do you have reason to believe there was more than one?"

"No," I shook my head, "I didn't want to assume gender."

The officers took their time inspecting the house, my room and the tree outside the window that the intruder climbed down. 

Then they helped us cover the broken window with a trash bag that we duct taped over the wall. I swept the broken glass up.

"It's getting late, but we'll file a report tonight and we'd appreciate if you could come to the station tomorrow," the officer said.

I realized Just as they were walking out the door, I realized something, "Oh! My vinyl! One second please."

I heard the officers ask Luke what I was talking about but didn't hear his response. He was used to me by now.

I ran up the stairs and into my cold bedroom. The police had taken photos of everything here. How did we miss the-

I looked around but couldn't see it. Then I crouched under my bed and found what I was looking for.

**

"Here you go," I said, wheezing upon my return downstairs. All this unplanned exercise...

The officers looked down at the broken vinyl record, not sure what to do with a useless gift.

I realized I hadn't explained anything, so I tried now, "I threw this at the intruder, and it landed into their leg. They pulled it out before they ran away. Maybe you can trace the DNA?"

I raised the broken vinyl up so they could see it better in the hallway light. A small amount of blood was on one end.

They bagged the vinyl and labelled it, repeating their request for us to come to the station tomorrow.

"Well done to both of you for staying safe and calling us," an officer told us.

Luke had his arm draped over my shoulder as we watched them get into their car. This had turned into a very long night. Now that they were gone, I had no orientation for what to do next.

"Why don't you stay with me tonight," Luke said, extending the same invitation I had wanted to give him earlier - before all of this went down.

"Thank you," I answered, curling my arm around his waist.

If there was any chance of me actually sleeping tonight, it would be in his arms.

Luke smiled down at me and his blue eyes glittered slightly under the hallway's harsh light. Suddenly, the front door swung open. I jumped out of terror and turned to the front door. Someone stepped inside.

"Jake?!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"

My heart was not ready for another shock.

Jake raised his hands in the air, not expecting such a tense reaction. He was in a cozy white sweater, which reminded me of the life outside of this craziness. I'd missed him though.

"You both look like you've seen a ghost," Jake said in his soothing singer's voice, "Relax, it's only me."

"We were relaxed," Luke said.

"First off, hi Millie. Good to see you again. Dubai looks good on you," Jake said, ignoring his brother, "And secondly, why was the police here?"

"Someone broke in," I said quietly. I could barely vocalize it.

"Through the unlocked front door?" Jake asked and added, "I can't say that's shocking-"

"You can leave," Luke invited him out the very door he came in.

"Like I said, I'm not surprised," Jake repeated, and his tone changed. "I saw Luke run to your house, possessed. A few seconds later I heard the crash and then I saw a figure run out of your backyard. So I took a photo."

"You did?!" I exclaimed, my heart souring at the unexpected witness.

He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. Then he pulled up the last photo on his camera roll. We leaned in to inspect it.

"What is this?" Luke demanded.

"It's pretty grainy, Jake," I said, zooming in on the darkness.

Jake had taken the photo from his living room window, so the lightest thing about the photo was his own reflection in the glass. Grainy was an understatement. We couldn't see anything.

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Luke confronted his half-brother.

"He's trying to help," I said, giving up on even seeing a shadow.

"How does this help?" Luke asked, "You know what would've helped Jake? If you f*cking ran after him."

I sighed, realizing that the situation between the two brothers had not warmed at all. They were both trying to help, but this was not it.

**

The three of us walked across the street. It was still too early for the sun to rise, and I was looking forward to some light in this darkness.

The Dawson's home was a warm and well decorated place, nothing like the state of the house we had just come from. We took a right turn into the kitchen and Jake flicked on the light switch.

"How about some hot cocoa?" Jake offered, turning the kettle on.

He opened a cupboard full of mugs and picked out a festive red one for me. He chose a Rudolph themed one for himself.

Luke leant back against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest. He was staring through the window, at my home.

"I think we even have marshmallows," Jake said, pulling out a bag of mini marshmallows.

I smiled as he poured in the cocoa powder, hot water and finished it off with a handful of marshmallows. I didn't even know how much I needed this until the hot drink touched my tongue and gave me life.

"Luke, do you want a sip?" I offered him my mug since Jake hadn't made enough for three.

"What were you doing in the living room tonight?" Luke asked suddenly.

"I was working on a song," Jake answered, a bit confused by the question.

"On your guitar?"

Jake nodded, but before he could respond, Luke walked out of the kitchen. We followed him into the living room and watched as he walked up to Jake's guitar on the couch.

"Who else was here?' Luke asked, turning to Jake with a cold look. Why was he so suspicious?

"What do you mean?" Jake replied, and when he realized Luke was not about to entertain any questions right now, he answered. "No one."

"You light candles for yourself?" Luke pressed, pointing at a candle burning on the coffee table.

I leaned forward to read the label: gingerbread scent. Festive choice.

"Charlotte lit it before she went out tonight," Jake replied, "She knew I was stressed about this song and said something about creating a calming atmosphere."

"Why are you stressed about the song?" I asked him, "I've sent you so many lyrics."

Luke pulled out his phone and called his sister. He was obviously not going to let anything slide by tonight. I knew he was worried for me, but I really didn't think his family was responsible for this.

No way.

**

"We should sleep at my place," I said as I washed my empty mug in the kitchen sink, "As much as I hate to go back, we shouldn't leave the house empty. There may be valuable clues the intruder left there. This marks the first time their plan was foiled and they left in haste."

Why do I sound like I'm in Sherlock Holmes?

The delicious hot chocolate warmed my stomach and gave me some courage to return home.

"No," Jake said, downing the rest of his drink, "Let me sleep there. You shouldn't have to go through that again. It's safe and warm in this house."

"How do you know it's not warm over there?" Luke asked.

I wanted to glare at him. Why was he making life so difficult for his brother?

"Because I was just in there with you," Jake reminded us, "But hey, I'd rather sleep in my own bed so no worries if-"

"It's really kind of you, but you don't have to," I said, shocked by the generosity of his suggestion.

"You guys have been through enough," he smiled warmly, "Besides, I'd rather not be able to hear you two tonight."

He walked to the living room, where he blew out Charlotte's candle and picked up his guitar. His guitar has really gotten him through some dark times.

He walked to the front door when Luke stopped him.

"Hey," Luke said, and surprised us all with his next words, "Thank you."

A/N: Wondering where the inspiration for Millie's coffee addiction comes from?  I just posted the answer on Instagram (@NatalieInACorner) 

Please vote <3

Next chapter is this Thursday and I'm already excited to get writing!  I have a feeling you'll like it...