You just met him,a logical part of my brain says. My heart tells it to shut up.
My nails accidentally scratch the back of his neck where I'd been running my fingers through his hair and he shudders in my arms. Oops.
Luc takes a deep breath and exhales.
"I'm sorry," he mutters, his voice deep and slightly muffled. “I don’t—fuck, I don’t normally break down like this.” He seems truly shocked and…a little bit afraid.
"It’s okay," I whisper. He takes a few more steady breaths before he pulls back. I drop my hands to my lap. He looks exhausted, his eyes red-rimmed. Luc opens his mouth tosay something then hesitates. Something guarded comes over his face and I feel him pull away without having moved.
"It's okay," I tell him. "You don't have to tell me."
He nods slightly. I put my hand on his knee and his hand grips mine.
"I guess my grandmother got her wish." He gives me a lopsided smile. "I did meet her Butterfly."
. . .
Luc helps me into the kitchen. I sit down on one of the wooden stools at the island counter.
"Can I get you anything?" He asks, his back to me.
"Got any drugs?" I joke but Luc's head whips around, horrified. His chest heaves as he sucks in a breath. "I'm kidding!" I rush out. His relief is evident as he sighs heavily. What happened for him to think I was being serious?
He mutters something to himself and shakes his head as he searches the cupboard for something.
He pulls out a box of ibuprofen and pops two from the packet. Luc hands them to me and fills up a glass of water. He slides the box into his pocket.
I've never been good at swallowing tablets but eventually, I get them down.
Luc gets a carton of eggs out of the fridge and turns on the stove.
"You hungry?" He smiles, waiting for the pan to heat up.
I hesitate but he gives me a reassuring look and I nod. He seems almost proud.
Luc goes to crack an egg before setting it down on the bench. He rummages around the fridge and gets a packet of bacon.
We chat while he cooks breakfast and I wash the blood from my hand in the sink, cringing. I must look like a mess.
"Where are your friends?" I ask, sitting back at the counter.
"School but one of them won't be back till tomorrow. He went home to get some of our stuff." I nod. Luc smiles, reassuringly. "Don't worry about them, Butterfly. They'll love you, I know they will." He flicks the kettle on. "Tea, coffee or hot chocolate?"
"Tea, please."
Luc busies himself making our drinks. "It might take them a bit to get used to having a girl in the house. They can be a bit…much."
Something tells me I already have some idea.
He hands me a cup and I murmur my thanks, fiddling with the tea bag string.
He leans his forearms on the bench, his cup in his hands. "I want you to feel at home here, Butterfly. You can tell me if you need anything," he says softly.
"Thank you, Luc. For everything," I tell him. He puts a hand on my arm for a brief moment before he gets back to cooking.
Something dawns on me. "Shit. I'm supposed to be at school." I look at the clock on the wall and realise it's almost lunchtime. Well damn.
Luc chuckles as he slides our bacon and eggs on two plates. He sits mine down in front of me.
