@Fraust
"You can do whatever you want, Mel… if you wanna talk, that's fine… jus' don't wanna bother you any more than I already have…"
"You can do whatever you want, Mel… if you wanna talk, that's fine… jus' don't wanna bother you any more than I already have…"
"You're not bothering me, love." Melissa hummed softly, glancing up at him. "Please, I want to help you, you don't have to push me away."
"I-I'm not trying to push you away, I just… I don't want you to get annoyed with me for being too needy…" He whispered weakly.
"You're not annoying me, love." Melissa insisted, nuzzling her face into his shoulder a bit. "For all I care, you could 'annoy me' until the end of time."
Lucas sighed and held tightly to Melissa's hand. "But you shouldn't have to deal with me, Mel… this is too much for me to reasonably put on you. You deserve better."
Melissa gave a gentle huff as she reached over and lifted his chin. "It's really alright, love. You don't need to struggle by yourself, I want to help you." She insisted, kissing his cheek.
"I know you do, it's just… it's hard to put you through all of this. I know it's hard for you too, not just for me."
Nodding a bit, she dropped her head on his shoulder with a soft sigh. "I guess that's fair… but I'm going to be fine. I want to focus on you right now."
"I know, Mel, but you can't neglect yourself… your feelings and your wellbeing are important, okay? I want to help you too."
"But right now, you're the one that needs it. I promise you, you don't have to worry about me right now. I can take care of both of us." She insisted her voice on the softer side as her father pulled into the driveway.
"Melissa…" Lucas sighed, looking up at Melissa with a soft expression. "You shouldn't have to. It's too much for one person to do all on their own."
Melissa only looked up at him for a couple of seconds before getting out of the car when they were parked, letting out a weak sigh. "I'm fine, Lu. I can handle it for a while until things start to settle."
"Mel…" Lucas got out as well, seeming uneasy. He really didn't want Melissa to be neglecting herself for his sake. "I-I just wanna help. I wanna make sure you're okay too."
Melissa let out a weak sigh, glancing back at him. "I know you do, but you need help right now." She insisted, hanging her coat up by the door when they were inside. "You don't need to worry about me."
"I do, though. I can't just let you take care of me all the time and never do anything in return." Lucas took Melissa's hand and moved a bit closer to her.
"Well right now, I don't want you to worry about me. You've got enough stress, and I don't want to add to it." Melissa continued, offering her free hand to take his coat. "Now please, don't worry about it. I'll be fine for the time being."
Lucas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, reluctantly allowing her to take his coat. "I can't just stop myself from worrying about you, Mel. I'm always going to worry."
"But you don't need to right now." Hanging up his coat, she turned back to him, her demeanor a lot less perky than it had been that morning. "I want you to focus on everything that you're having to worry about. I don't want you to put any excess stress on you."
"Mel, I'm not a little kid. I can take care of you too, even if I've got other stuff, because you're doing the same. You've got things to deal with and you're still trying to help me. I want to help you."
Shoulders dropping, Melissa let out a heavy sigh before resting her head on his shoulder. "I just don't want to be the reason you're so stressed out. Please, I can take care of myself, you just need to let me for a little longer." She insisted, slightly leaning against him.
"You won't be, Mel. I promise. I'll be more stressed if I can't help you than if I can." Lucas hugged Melissa tightly and kissed the top of her head.
Melissa leaned into his arms, loosely wrapping hers around his waist. "You're sure?" She asked softly, relaxing the longer they stood there. "Because I don't want to make this about me… which by trying not to, I am, aren't I?"
"I'm sure, Mel. I really wanna help." Lucas held Melissa close to himself and sighed softly, nuzzling into her hair. He shrugged at the second part. "Dunno. But I don't mind either way. I don't want everything to be about me."
"Right… if you say so." Melissa murmured, looking up at him with a ghost of a smile. "You want to go sit down? Or… go outside, or something?" She hummed, pulling back just enough to look up at him.
"Mm… we can sit outside, I guess. Hopefully all of this will blow over soon…" He sighed softly, leading Melissa out the door.
"Yeah, hopefully…" Melissa hummed softly, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked towards the back door. Leading him over to the deck stairs, she sat down and looked up at him.
Lucas sat beside Melissa, linking his fingers with hers. "Mmm… I love you, Mel…" He murmured softly.
Melissa gave him a weak smile and kissed his cheek. "I love you too… so much." She hummed, scooting closer to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder.
Lucas rested his head against Melissa's, closing his eyes with a soft sigh. "Mm… I'm tired." He said softly. "But I'm always tired, so I guess that doesn't mean much."
Melissa laughed weakly, staring out into the snowy yard. "Yeah… but I'm kinda tired too. Haven't slept great the past couple of days, if I'm being honest." She hummed, saying it as if it didn't matter.
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