"Don't go yet… wait until you're in a more stable place." Melissa whispered, continuing to kiss him and play with his hair. She was doing all she could to calm him. "At a time when you won't get so stressed so easily."
"Maybe… m-maybe he'll be better, yeah?" Lucas asked weakly, not seeming to really hear Melissa. "I-I mean, he doesn't have access to alcohol in prison, I don't think, so he theoretically wouldn't be drunk when I went to see him… maybe he'd realize what he did was wrong, and… and he'll be better…"
Melissa didn't bother to try and make her former statement heard, giving Lucas a gentle smile. "Yeah, maybe he will be. There's always the chance." She hummed softly, relieved he wasn't going on the pessimistic side of his situation. "Maybe things will be all better."
"M-Maybe he'll get better in prison, and… and when he's out, he can be my dad again…" Lucas whispered weakly. "Maybe he'll care again, like… like he used to when Claus and I were kids… and h-he'll know who I am, and he won't hurt me anymore, and he'll be good…"
"Maybe…" Melissa whispered, still smiling gently. She hummed softly, listening to him talk. She didn't want to interrupt as long as his thoughts weren't going in the wrong direction.
"I think he'll be mad at me for getting him arrested…" Lucas sighed weakly and closed his eyes. "I… I-I hope he can forgive me for that… I don't know whether or not I've forgiven him for everything he's done yet."
"There's the chance, but I mean he was doing things to get himself arrested. It's not your fault exactly." Melissa mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder.
"But I called the cops and gave them the evidence… I know he's gonna blame me…" Lucas sighed again. "My dad's just like that…"
"Mm, but he did the illegal stuff. So you need to remember not to blame yourself." Melissa mumbled, nuzzling again him with a soft sigh.
"I know… it's hard sometimes, though… he always told me that everything was my fault…" Lucas looked away.
"Yeah, I understand… that's why I'm telling you it isn't your fault." Melissa continued to talk softly, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Lucas nodded weakly, keeping his eyes closed for the time being. "R-Right… um… sorry, Mel…" He murmured.
“Don’t be sorry baby…” Melissa hummed softly, playing with his hair still. “It’s nothing to be sorry about.”
Lucas flushed at the nickname and buried his face further into Melissa's shoulder, curling in on himself a bit more. "B-But still… I feel bad…"
Melissa kissed his forehead with a soft hum. "Well, you don't need to." She hummed, nuzzling against him. "What can I do to make you feel better about it?"
Lucas shrugged a bit. "I dunno… I just need to stop being stupid. It's not your fault, Mel…"
“I know right now it’s not my fault, but I wanna help.” Melissa insisted, starting to pull away. “And you’re not stupid.”
"I am stupid, though… look how stupid I'm being…" Lucas huffed a bit and held tighter to Melissa.
“You’re not. You’re not stupid, don’t say you are.” Melissa insisted with a weak sigh.
"But I feel stupid right now, Mel, and that's the problem…" Lucas sighed softly.
With a light sigh, Melissa kept running her fingers through his hair. "Darling, you're so many things, but you're not stupid. On occasion, there are some things you're not smart about, but that doesn't mean you're stupid."
"Mm…" Lucas held tighter to Melissa. "How do you know though?" He asked weakly. "What if I am stupid?"
“Do you trust me, and my judgment?” Melissa asked softly, holding onto him still.
"W-Well, yeah, but I…" Lucas stammered weakly, not really able to come to with a good retort.
“And did I just say I thought you were smart?” Melissa asked, still just as gently as before. “Because that’s what I thought I said.”
Lucas flushed a bit and looked away. "Y-Yeah, but… but I… y-you could easily be lying to make me feel better, right?"
“Would I really lie to you, though?” Melissa asked softly, giving him a weak look. She felt awful if that’s what he really thought, but tried not to make a big deal out of it.
"You've done it before, haven't you? I-I mean, not with malicious intent, obviously… you just want me to feel better, s-so…"
“I- not about you. I- I mean, I’ve lied about things about myself but not about you.” Melissa whispered, guilt starting to build up “I- I swear, I’m not lying to you… I- I wouldn’t.”
Lucas looked away, feeling guilty as well. "I… I-I'm sorry, Mel, I… I guess I'm just… s-so used to being lied to, that I just assumed that you would as well… you're really the only one who's ever cared about my feelings and stuff, s-so it would make sense, um…"