"It is true, Lucas. Your actual needs in life are really way more important than my wants. I can survive without what I want— you probably wouldn't have um… made it, if you hadn't gone. Something worse could have happened to you, and I couldn't stand to know it would have been my fault if I kept you from what you needed." Melissa continued to mumble as she slowly pulled back from him.
Lucas sighed softly. "I-I don't mean like that stuff… I mean… if you didn't want me living here, or… I dunno… if me being here makes you uncomfortable, you shouldn't ignore that just because you don't wanna upset me."
"Lu, having you here is honestly a benefit for me. It's so lonely and quiet without someone being here." Melissa whispered, gently starting to play with his hair. "I love having you here, and would never push you away."
"But sometimes I can't help but wonder if you get sick of me being around all the time… don't you want to be alone sometimes?" Lucas asked softly, leaning into Melissa's hand a bit.
"I was alone for three months, Lu." Melissa stated softly, trying to bite back any bitterness in her tone. She didn't want to come off as snarky. "Just ask Gabriel, I really don't like being by myself. I like my people, and I want to be with them as much as possible."
"I know, I know, but surely you like to get some time to yourself every once in a while. I mean, you wanna go on a walk by yourself."
"I mean, sure, but that's normally when I'm feeling kinda- um well you know. When um…" Melissa trailed off, mumbling under her breath as she leaned back in to rest her head on his shoulder.
Lucas sighed softly. "You're sure there's nothing I can do to help? Do you really want to be alone or do you just not want to bother me?"
“I- um… I don’t really know.” Melissa mumbled weakly, burying her face in his shoulder. “I- I just… I think I want to go by myself? I- I mean, I just… maybe I shouldn’t…”
"You can go alone if you want to, Mel. I won't stop you. I'm just worried about you, yeah?" Lucas smiled weakly.
“I- um… well I don’t know- I just…” Melissa let out a weak sigh, leaning into his arms even more. “I’m worried you’re going to start finding me annoying. I- I wanted to give you some space…”
"I don't find you annoying, Melissa. I rather enjoy having you around, you know." Lucas kept up his weak smile. "You know I get lonely, and I'm always happy to spend time with you, but I don't want you to feel like you're forced to spend every waking moment with me."
Melissa sighed softly, letting out a weak sigh as she curled up closer. “I don’t, darling. I enjoy spending time with you too, and I um… I’m really lucky to have you.”
"I'm the lucky one, Mel." Lucas gently kissed Melissa and held her close to himself, content to ignore his homework for a few minutes.
“You say that, but I don’t really know if that’s true.” Melissa mumbled, looking up at him with tired look. “You only got me, I don’t really see how that’s lucky.”
"Because you're great, Mel. Considering what little I had before, and all the wonderful things you've done for me, I consider myself very lucky."
Melissa sighed before nuzzling up against him even more. “I guess so… it just doesn’t feel like I’ve been much help to you. I feel like I’ve only really made things worse most of the time.”
"Mel, you've helped more than you seem to think." Lucas smiled weakly. "You got me out of that house, and you got me help, and you're letting me live here, and you helped me get my dad arrested… and even more than that."
“But… but that just feels normal. It would feel so wrong not to try and help you. Especially in that instance.” Melissa mumbled, glancing up at him. “I’d be an awful person if I hadn’t helped you at least a little. I- um… yeah.”
"But still, Melissa. You've gone above and beyond." Lucas smiled weakly. "I'm lucky to be out of that situation to begin with. I never thought it would end."
Melissa nodded just a little, letting out a soft sigh. “You really think I helped?” Melissa asked softly as she leaned into him.
"Of course, Melissa. I don't have to be scared all the time anymore. I don't have to live in a house that constantly reeks of alcohol with my dad, who I never knew whether or not he would hit me that day."
Melissa let out a soft sigh, nodded as she curled back up in his arms. "Alright, well um… I'm glad I was able to do something." She mumbled, gently tracing circles into his shoulder.
"Of course, Mel. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Lucas asked softly.
"No not really…" Melissa looked up at him, sighing softly. "I- just… it's going to be one of those days, and I'm sorry. I'm gonna be extra needy, which isn't fair to you…"
Lucas nodded a bit. "Well, you're welcome to stay with me while I'm working if you want to. I don't mind you being here."
"You're sure?" Melissa asked softly, looking up at him. "I don't want to bug you when you're working…"
"I'm sure, Mel. You won't be bugging me." Lucas smiled gently and started writing down answers again.
Melissa nodded a little, curling back up in her seat with a soft sigh. "Let me know if I can do anything for you…"
Lucas nodded and continued quietly with his work. He occasionally would hum softly to himself, but was otherwise silent.