Mrs. Brennahan rolled her eyes, resting her hands on her hips. "Oh please. Everyone says that, and rarely ever means it. What makes you so different, and special? Tell me that, huh?" She continued to keep a scowl up, glancing over to Melissa. "She's nothing special, so why would you really care?"
"Melissa is the only one who's ever truly cared about me. We've been friends since we were kids and she stuck with me through everything I've gone through. She's still sticking with me even through all the problems I have from the way I was brought up. We both care about each other a lot, ma'am. You may not believe me, but I really do love your daughter."
"Love is for children." Mrs. Brennahan snarled a little, still standing over them. "You two are clearly to immature to know the first thing about a relationship. You both need to grow up, and realize what's actually going on in the world. You're both just idiots-"
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Brennahan snapped her gaze upwards, and froze. Standing down at the bottom of the stairs, was Mr. Brennahan. And he didn't look happy in the slightest. "I- Henry… I thought you… I thought you were upstairs." She stated softly, seeming to shrink from her previous attitude. All of her anger diminished, as she stood there in silence. "I came downstairs to get a drink. Turns out, I'm about to get a lot more than I came for. We need to talk. Now."
Lucas exhaled shakily and closed his eyes again, beyond relieved when Mr. Brennahan came downstairs. He was noticeably trembling now and held Cody close to himself. He was still very pale and felt queasy from all the stress.
When directed, Mrs. Brennahan walked up to Mr. Brennahan and started up the stairs. Following behind her, he stopped and looked over to the two on the couch. “Will you two be alright?” He asked softly, only receiving a nod from Melissa.
Lucas nodded weakly as well, keeping his eyes closed. Once Melissa's parents were gone, he rested his head against Melissa's shoulder with a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry, Mel…"
Melissa didn’t respond, trying to choke down the tears. After a couple of seconds, she contained herself enough to speak. “It’- it’s fine.”
Lucas hugged Melissa tightly and sighed again. "H-Hopefully your dad can talk some sense into her… I know he's okay with us being together…"
“I- I don’t know Lucas. She didn’t believe me when I told her that my dad knew…” Melissa replied in a soft tone, leaning in to him. “You… you really meant what you said- right?”
"Of course I meant it, Mel… you know I'm a horrible liar. And I don't think he heard that part of the conversation… she might believe it if she heard it from him."
“I- you’re probably right.” Melissa nodded a little, sighing shakily. “She’s just… she use to do this all the time- normally worse than what you heard. My dad was always too busy to hear her, though.”
Lucas nodded a bit, pulling Melissa closer. "I'm sorry, Mel… I'm really sorry…" He sighed quietly.
Curling up closer to him, she felt tears coming back. “Can… can we go outside? In the backyard, with Cody?” Melissa asked softly, pulling back a little.
"Yeah, of course, Melissa… whatever you want." Lucas gently kissed Melissa's cheek and stood up. He picked up Cody and held out one hand to Melissa.
Taking his hand, she barely pulled up a smile as she stood. “Thank you… I love you.” Melissa told him softly, wiping the remainder of her tears away.
"I love you too, Melissa. Don't listen to your mother." Lucas lightly kissed Melissa again and led her outside into the backyard. He set Cody down and sat on the stairs with Melissa.
Scooting close to him Melissa leaned up against him and sighed softly. "I'll try my best, but I doubt it's that easy." She told him softly, keeping close to him.
"I know how it feels, Mel… you just have to keep telling yourself that she's not telling the truth. If she's ever making you doubt that I love you, come and let me know."
"I can do that." Melissa responded in a light tone, taking his arm and wrapping it over her shoulders. "Though I'm hoping it won't be much of a problem anymore."
"Hopefully not… your dad seems to be the only person she listens to." Lucas sighed softly, pulling her close.
“Yeah… I think it’s in her morals or something. She’s always listened to and obeyed him. It’s weird, but I don’t really question it.” Melissa shrugged a little, smiling softly when he pulled her close.
Lucas shrugged a bit, turning his eyes back to Cody, who was rolling around in the grass. "I think he'll get through to her…"
"Fingers crossed." Melissa hummed a little, starting to relax in his arms. "Y'know, I'm kind of itchy from lying in the grass at the park. That was probably stupid of me."
"Eh… just shower tonight and you should be okay." Lucas kissed Melissa's cheek softly and closed his eyes.
Melissa nodded, glancing out at the puppy running through the yard. "Mhmm… I still should have thought that through… you wanna grab the toys for Cody, so we can play?"
"Oh, right! Yeah, I'll be right back." Lucas got up and headed inside to grab the dog toys for Cody.
When Lucas left, Melissa had gotten up and made her way out in the yard. "Hey, Cody. Come here, boy." Melissa called out, patting her knees.
Cody barreled over to her, panting and licking at her hands excitedly. Lucas soon returned with the dog toys.
Melissa laughed a little, reaching down to ruffle Cody’s fur. “You ready to play with toys? I bet you are~” She cooed, glancing back at Lucas.
Cody ran up to Lucas when he came out. "Hey, hey, careful bud." Lucas grinned, sitting down on the grass and letting Cody tackle him.