"We can go to dinner to celebrate."
"My stitches coming out?" I asked.
"Why not?"
We reached the door of the house and Stef stopped me before I went in. I knew what was coming and it made me uncomfortable. He'd done this for the past week. Stood on the steps, Stefan pulled me in towards him gently.
"Mia, can I kiss you?"
When Stefan had first asked, I had laughed but the look in his eye told him it wasn't a joke. I had told him no and Stefan hadn't pushed it. Every time he asked me, I declined but I had begun to wonder if relenting to the request would put an end to his incessant efforts.
"I don't know," I mumbled.
Stefan looked down at me and brushed some hair from my face as he said, "That's not a no."
He didn't move any closer. His comment told me that the ball was in my court. I shivered as the wind picked up and took a small step closer to him.
"We should get inside," Stefan said.
"Wait..."
Stefan looked at me and I knew that if I didn't do it now then I would lose the little bit of courage that I had built. I almost felt like I owed it to Stef for being so caring since the incident. Not a desire but an obligation. Getting up on my toes, I moved my face towards his just as the door opened.
"What the hell?" Dante had his keys in his hand, ready to go home.
I stepped back from Stefan, going red in the face. Dante's expression was unreadable as he looked between the pair of us. Stefan seemed unfazed but I felt guilt creep through me as the reality of what I was about to do hit me.
"Hope you guys enjoy your night," Dante said before he pushed his way between us and towards his car.
"Come on, Mia," Stefan said. "Let's get you inside." He placed a hand on my lower back and guided me over the threshold.
"I think I'm going to head to bed," I said, feeling sick.
"Are you sure?" Stefan asked, disappointed.
"Yeah. Thank you for tonight." I reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, relieved that Dante had inadvertently stopped anything more.
After a long shower, I got into pajamas and laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, sleep evading me as it often did. A million things ran through my mind and I just wanted to switch off, but it never happened with ease and I groaned.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my phone screen light up and rolled over to see Lucas calling me. My heart stopped and I fumbled to answer it.
"Luc?" I was met with silence. "Lucas?" I felt my mouth go dry.
"Hey, princess," Luc said eventually.
The familiarity of his voice made tears sting my eyes. I scrambled and sat up in bed, hugging a pillow while I held the phone to my ear.
"I went out of town for a bit. Trying to sort out the mess I caused," he told me.
"You're coming back soon, right?" I said to him hopefully.
"Mia..."
"It's been a month."
Four weeks. I had spent four weeks without Luc around and it had made me feel lost. At one point he hadn't been a part of my life and then he had been there every single day. The silence on the phone was deafening.
"I need you," I whispered the words he usually told me.
