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8

*Elena*

The car ride from Noah's house only takes around 10 minutes before Lucas pulls into my driveway. 

The subtle rumbling of his car engine comes to a stop once he takes the keys out of the ignition, now looking over at me for the first time after we didn't speak the entire ride.

I don't know exactly how to feel right now. 

Part of me missed him at the party, but I also can't ignore the undeniable feeling of relief that washed over me when I read the text that he wasn't coming. 

Something has definitely shifted in the last few weeks between us.

Lucas nervously rubs his forearms, taking in a deep breath before he speaks. "Can we talk?"

The alcohol still coursing through my system gives me an edge and I nod confidently despite the uncomfortable tension in the air. 

I peer up into his basic blue eyes. I remember the first time I looked into them, things felt so different then compared to now.

"So you didn't really text me much all night. And you didn't tell me what you were wearing. Did you leave your phone somewhere or something?" He asks, trying to hide the jealousy and suspicion in his voice but failing miserably.

I keep my voice calm, not wanting to fuel a fire before it even starts. "Lucas, you don't need to know what I'm wearing. We've had this argument what, 50 times now? I am loyal to you and will stay loyal to you, you know you can trust me. And I already told you I accidentally put my phone on silent, so why can't you drop it?"

Is this a normal thing couples argue about? I've never really experienced anything different. 

When we're not fighting, it's great, he makes me feel loved and supported. I don't get why things have had to feel so complicated recently, why can't we just be happy like we used to be? 

I glance out at the trees that are grown on the edges of my house, their branches are spread 100 feet all around the base, swinging freely in the midnight air. I suddenly find myself jealous of them. 

Sometimes Lucas makes me feel so stuck.

He replies to me after a couple of seconds of silence. I am surprised by not only the tone of his voice, but the question he asks, completely disregarding everything I just said.

"Did you talk to Blake tonight?" 

His face is expressionless but his eyes are angry, almost reminding me of a psychopath or something.

I freeze, trying to decide in my head if I want to be truthful or not. It's not like anything happened, we both hate each other and Blake made that painfully clear tonight.

Trying to avoid the question all together, I come up with the only response I can think of. "Why does it even matter? We hate each other."

"I saw him on the porch tonight when I was picking you up. Why was he out there if it wasn't to talk to you? You turned around at one point, what did he say to you?"

Still not looking at him, I try to sound as confident as I can in my words. "He was smoking, didn't you see his cigarette?" 

I suddenly remember that I didn't see it lit, but knowing that Lucas probably didn't notice, I decide to leave it out. Maybe the wind was too strong or something, I don't remember now how it felt when I was leaving.

"Stop avoiding the question! What the fuck did he say to you when you turned around!" He yells angrily, causing my head to snap to him. The sight I am met with is terrifying, to say the least.