"Sounds good to me, Melissa. You told him everything?" Lucas asked as he pulled himself to his feet. "About the puppies and the park and the time and such?" He held out his hand to take Melissa's. "And are you ready to go?" He stepped closer to Melissa and kissed her softly on the lips.
Nodding some, Melissa took his hand in her own. "Yes, yes, and yes." Melissa hummed a little, kissing him back. "If I missed something, then I don't know what it was. I didn't give him the address, but I thought we'd do that when we actually went to leave."
Lucas nodded as well and laced his fingers with Melissa's. "Alright… cool. We should head out now, then." He smiled gently and pulled Melissa out the door. "It's a lovely day outside, don't you think?"
Melissa smiled, and nodded. "Yeah, it is. It's kind of chilly, but it's nice." She hummed in reply as he pulled her along. A soft look was displayed on her face, as she started to sink into her thoughts.
Lucas sighed happily and looked around as he walked, a gentle smile lingering on his face. "I think it's nice. Cuddling will help, though."
"Mhmm…" Melissa responded numbly, not really paying much attention. "Sounds like a good plan…"
"You alright, Mel?" Lucas asked, looking over at her after a moment or two. "You're a bit distant, darling."
After a couple of seconds, she glanced up at him seeming completely lost. "I- sorry, what?" Melissa asked softly, trying to remember what he had said.
"I asked if you were alright because you're quite distant at the moment, darling." Lucas looked at her worriedly.
"Oh- yeah, I'm alright." Melissa chirped a little, giving him a smile. "I was just thinking."
"What're you thinking about, Mel?" Lucas asked softly, still looking pretty worried.
Melissa paused, deciding she wanted to tell him. "My dad. Well, I guess more my parents. But- um… I'd rather tell you in a more private space, exactly what about."
"Alright, Mel… will you tell me in the clearing?" He asked. "Is it too bad? Should I be worried?"
"No, you shouldn't worry. I'll tell you when we get to the clearing, if you're up for it." Melissa replied softly, trying not to think anymore about it. "It's… it's kind of an explanation, I guess."
Lucas nodded tentatively. "Alright, alright… I'll try and relax a bit, but no promises." He laughed weakly, approaching the park.
"I promise, you really don't need to worry. It's nothing bad." Melissa hummed lightly, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
"If you say so, darling…" Lucas returned the kiss and soon turned into the park.
As they made their way through the park, to the clearing, she kept quiet. She was trying to figure out how to tell him what she was thinking. It wasn't the hardest thing in the world, yet she was completely overthinking it.
Once they reached the clearing, Lucas led Melissa over to the willow tree and sat down. "Are you ready to tell me what's going on, love?"
"Yeah- I guess so." Melissa hummed lightly, sitting down next to him. "I- I just don't know where to start, with my train wreck of thoughts."
"Take all the time you need, Mel. We're in no rush. I want you to be comfortable." Lucas kissed Melissa's cheek softly.
Nodding a little, Melissa leaning into him with a light sigh. After a couple minutes, she finally managed to sort her thoughts. "Well… you remember when all of this started? A couple weeks ago, when you came over while my parents were out of town?"
"Yeah, I do… what about it, Mel?" Lucas asked quietly, quickly beginning to grow worried again.
"To be more specific, you remember when I told you about my parents wanting me out of the house?" Melissa asked softly, looking up to him.
"Yeah, I do… they're not kicking you out, are they?" Lucas asked worriedly. "They wouldn't do that, would they?"
"No- no not that. And it wouldn't actually be they." Melissa replied softly, reaching up to play with his hair. "It would just be my mom."
"Well, I don't think your dad would let her, would he?" He leaned into Melissa's hand, but didn't seem to be much consoled.
"Exactly." Melissa hummed, still playing with his hair. "So with that said, I started to realize I was wrong. It wasn't my parents. It was just my mom. My mom was the one who wanted me out of the house. She's the one who is so desperate for me to leave. The whole time, I lumped them together. But thinking about it, before you came along, I hadn't really talked to my dad in about seven years. We were never close, and rarely ever talked. I just assumed he was in on this, because he never tried to stop my mom."
Lucas nodded a bit, listening attentively to Melissa. "Well, your mother is a bitch. Don't listen to her, darling. She doesn't know how much you're worth." He kissed Melissa softly and sighed.
"I know that…" Melissa whispered, smiling over to him. "You've shown me plenty I'm worth more than she says. Though oddly enough, with you around she hasn't tried anything. Especially with my dad around. I've barely seen her around the house." She continued to ramble a bit, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger. "I still don't understand why she is so against me. I mean, I know we've never gotten along, and I'm her only daughter. But still."