"Mhmm." Lucas held his sketchbook close to his chest and returned to Mr. Brennahan's side. He was still pretty unsteady from the concussion, although he'd at least mostly recovered from his episode a few minutes prior. He figured drawing would help him get completely back to normal.
"Alright then," Mr. Brennahan hummed, offering him an arm to lean on if he wanted it. "Do you just want a sandwich for lunch? I don't mind making you something else if you prefer." He stated as they made their way down the stairs, at a careful pace. The awkwardness between them seemed to have started to slowly fade away. Assuming it was due to being home alone together, Mr. Brennahan just hoped Lucas wasn't finding things awkward or uncomfortable.
Lucas was careful with every step he took, his eyes glued on the stairs so he was less likely to fall. "Um… anything is fine, sir. Like I said, I'm really not too picky…" He managed to get down the stairs without falling and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
"Sure thing. You think you can get outside by yourself?" Mr. Brennahan asked him, slowly starting to make his way into the kitchen. If he didn't think so, then he would help him outside first. But if he thought he could, then it was best to give him the chance.
"Yeah, I think so. If you hear a loud thud, I was wrong." Lucas laughed weakly and headed towards the door. He pulled it open, headed out, and managed to get himself settled on one of the porch chairs without falling over.
Chuckling to himself, he listened carefully as he started to make Lucas his lunch. When he didn't hear anything, he assumed the best and finished up what he was doing. Mr. Brennahan plated the sandwich, and carried it outside with a glass of water. "Here you are, young man."
"Thank you, Mr. Brennahan." Lucas smiled softly and accepted the glass and plate. "I didn't fall, so that's good." He glanced up when a car drove by, distracted by the harsh noise. It seemed like a lot of noises could set him off for one reason or another, and he didn't even always remember why.
"That is… you sure you'll be alright, Lucas?" Concern lacing his voice, Mr. Brennahan crossed his arms over his chest as he stood there. "I don't want to leave you, if you don't think so." He insisted, running a hand down the bottom half of his face before supporting his chin on the back of his hand.
"Um… yeah. I think I'll be okay. I really don't want to keep you away from your job too much longer…" Lucas sighed. "I've already wasted enough of your time with this." He looked down at his freshly bandaged arms.
"Hey, it wasn't time wasted. It was me getting to know you, and help you out. That's important, almost more so than my job." Mr. Brennahan insisted, coming up and wresting a hand on his shoulder. "You as an individual are more important. But, if you're sure you're alright, I'll be upstairs. If you need me, you can always hit the doorbell."
Lucas flushed a bit and nodded, staring down at the ground. "Y-Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He dipped his head politely, still struggling to make eye contact. "I will… um… I will do that. Thank you."
"Of course, Lucas. Don't forget to eat, you need all the food you can get." Mr. Brennahan hummed, lightly patting his shoulder before starting to make his way inside. "Melissa is very lucky to have you."
"Y-Yes, sir…" Lucas flushed harder at Mr. Brennahan's parting comment and continued staring at the ground, trying to process what was going on. After a minute or two, he flipped open his sketchbook and started doodling.
Shutting the front door, Mr. Brennahan felt a smile pull up on his lips. He was quiet as he made his way back upstairs. How he was going to explain, he wasn't quite sure. But he'd figure it out, once he got there.
After about fifteen minutes of idly drawing, Lucas remembered that he was supposed to be eating. He set down his sketchbook and picked up the sandwich to take a bite out of it. He watched the road quietly while he ate, following every car that went by with his eyes.
It was oddly quiet, even with the few cars zipping by. No neighbors around talking, or kids playing in yards. But it was probably because it was still the middle of the day. Adults still at work, kids still in school. The only sound echoing around were soft chirps of birds.
Lucas hummed softly to himself as he looked around. When he finished eating, he opened his sketchbook back up and continued drawing.
As he continued to draw, between fifteen and twenty minutes later, Melissa started to make her way around the corner. She was quiet, not really looking where she was going. Though she knew she was getting close.
Lucas was pretty engrossed in his drawing by now, so he didn't notice Melissa coming closer. He hummed softly to himself while he drew, far more relaxed than he was earlier.
Noting her surroundings, Melissa made her way up to the door with a soft sigh. Her gaze trailed over, and caught sight of Lucas sitting there. Smiling softly, she jogged up the front steps and came up next to him. "Hey, Lu." She greeted softly, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Lucas looked up from his drawing when Melissa touched his shoulder. "Oh! Hi, Melissa. How was school?" He asked, closing his sketchbook.
"Eh, alright I guess." Melissa shrugged, giving him a soft smile. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss to his forehead. "How was your afternoon at the house, everything go… alright..?" She asked, beginning to trail off when she saw his new bandages.
"Eh… it was… eventful, to say the least. On the bright side, I think I'm friends with your dad now. We talked a lot…" Lucas sighed, glancing down at his bandages.
Sighing softly, she tried not to think about it. She would ask later. "Are you now? And why's that?" Melissa let her backpack slip off her shoulder, and winced as it pulled on her wrist. "Did you decide while I was gone, it was best to talk about me?" She asked in a teasing tone, setting the bag on the ground.
"We talked about it a bit, but it was mostly him trying to keep me from injuring myself." Lucas shrugged. "When I woke up, I was hungry and didn't wanna bother him, so I decided to go downstairs to make myself food. But then I kinda fell down the stairs, and that was the beginning of the misadventures of the day."
"Oh, Lu…" Melissa sighed softly, keeping up her light smile. "Well, I hope you didn't try to do it again after that." She hummed as she sat in the chair next to him. "Where did the bandages come from? Those weren't there when I came upstairs to get ready this morning."
"I didn't try it again, no… he made breakfast and brought me back upstairs. I fell back asleep and naturally had lovely dreams again, and when I snapped back to reality, I was sitting in the corner, your dad was kneeling next to me, and my arms were bleeding. He seemed worried."
Giving him a concerned look, she reached out to take his hand. "I'd assume so. He hasn't seen you like that before. You're alright now, though?" Melissa asked softly, holding on to his hand tightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to help…"
"I'm okay, Mel. Don't worry." Lucas smiled softly. "He helped me calm down. He doesn't seem to be too familiar with that kind of thing, but just talking to me kept me grounded and stuff. While I was still pretty out of it, I think he helped clean the wounds. Then I wrapped myself up, he brought me down here, and he made lunch. It was nice. I think I might've made him late for his meeting, though…"
"Really?" She asked in soft surprise. "I- I don't know why, but I find that unexpected. He's always working. Not that you're not important, I just… thought he'd be too wrapped up in that to check on you." Melissa said softly, glancing between him and their hands.