Mafia: Neo Zone ► Lucas Wong ◄

Chapter 10 - Day Dream → Wakey-Wakey ✔

 It was sunny outside, and I wanted nothing more than to lean back in my chair and close my eyes to enjoy the warmth. The classroom was empty save for my desk, and I could faintly hear the sound of my classmates enjoying the nice weather, but I'd received lower marks on my last test. My father had raged for hours when I brought my score card home, and I'd had no way to tell him that the cause of the decline was due to the mention of my eventual marriage to Kim Poongho. The stress of that announcement from my father had made my already sleepless nights all the more fraught with anxious thoughts and feelings.

"Still studying?" His voice was a soft murmur, and I didn't look up as he crossed the schoolroom to stand beside my desk. "Wanna go somewhere with me?" He straddled the chair of the desk in front of me, leaning on the edge of my desk and looking up at me with a fake pout.

"I can't." I said reluctantly, trying to focus on my studies. "I'm busy."

"Hmmm." He hummed without moving away. "I could keep you busy, too, but it'd be a more fun subject."

I sucked in a sharp breath, turning to look around to make sure no one was listening. "Lucas."

"What?" He said, his eyes widening innocently. "I was talking about going for a bike ride and then watching the sunset. What were you thinking about?" He smirked.

"I have to study." I attempted to shift my focus back to my work again, but he slid my notebook away from me. "Lucas!" I reached out, trying to snatch the book away from him.

"What?" He neatly dodged my attack, getting to his feet. "If you want it, come and get it." He shrugged, waving the notebook in front of his chest.

"I'm being serious. I need to work." I got to my feet, reaching out for the book again, but he slid away from me, grinning mischievously.

"So come get your book, and get to it!" He made a face at me and began swaying back and forth as if he were dancing and my notebook was his partner.

I couldn't stop the smile tugging at my lips. "You're so bad."

"Oh?" He raised a suggestive brow. "I guess I'll have to let you discipline me then."

"Lucas! Someone is going to hear you!" I hissed, moving toward him.

He laughed, moving backwards. A man in a black suit entered the schoolroom with a knife in his hand. My body was trapped in slow motion while the rest of the world sped up, and my scream caught in my throat as Lucas turned just in time for the man to ram his blade into Lucas's chest.

My eyes snapped open immediately, and I gasped for breath. I tried to sit upright to clear my mind, but Lucas's arm was banded across my shoulders, holding me down. Reality came crashing back over me as my sight cleared, and I took in the dimly lit, little room.

There was no way to know how much time had passed since I'd fallen asleep, but beside me, Lucas's breathing was slightly uneven, and I could see his blood had seeped through his bandages. I should change them, I thought to myself, trying to slide away from him while causing the least amount of disturbance to his sleep as possible. His arm, however, moved to stop me, and his eyes half opened.

"I need to change your bandages." I explained.

"No, don't go." He murmured, and his grip tightened on my arm. "Don't leave me. I'm so sorry, Cass. I should never have left you all those years ago, but I didn't know what else to do. You don't know how many times I've wanted to come back for you, but I couldn't—I—"

His eyes were shimmering slightly, and I realized it was the first time he'd been so open with me since we'd met back up. He'd played the stoic, angry mafia boss with perfection, and I had begun to believe he'd changed drastically from the carefree joker he'd once been, but lying next to him now, I could see that he was still the same underneath that façade. The ten years hadn't been easy for either of us, and he'd had to adapt to a world he'd wanted to escape from more than anything.