Two Young Hearts

Chapter 19

"Is the tattoo new?" Lucas asks once we are in the car. "I've never noticed it before."

"Oh... No, it's not new actually. I got it a while ago, when I was younger." I said.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo. What does it mean?" Lucas asks.

"It's actually for my mom. Sarah and I got matching ones when our parents split up so we would always know to stay with her, now that she's gone it's a way to remember her." I said, tearing up a bit.

"Oh, Maya, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize. I didn't know you had a tattoo for her." Lucas says, stopping at a red light and wiping my eyes with his thumb.

"It's okay, Lucas. I don't really like to talk about it much. It's a personal thing for me." I said, feeling ashamed.

"I understand. I just wish that you had told me earlier. I don't want to invade your privacy, but it took me by surprise." Lucas said, putting his hand on my thigh, in a comforting way like after the hypnotism with Griffin all those years back.

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I should have mentioned it before. It's just that when dad found out about it he found Sarah and I after school and beat us for it, it caused way more tension between us." I said, wincing at the memory.

"I can understand why it's a sensitive topic for you. I'm here for you, Maya, and I support you. I think it's a beautiful tribute to your mom." Lucas said, smiling.

"Thank you, Lucas. That really does mean a lot to me. I didn't mean to keep it a secret from you. It's just not something I share with people." I say.

"I know and I want you to know I'm always here for you, and I support you. Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share this with me, I hope over the years I have proven myself trustworthy." Lucas says, still smiling, but more gently now.

"Thank YOU, Lucas. You mean so much to me and I promise to stay open and honest with you always, I love you so much." I said, smiling at him.

"I love you too Diamond." Lucas says, kissing me at the next red light.

The next week it was Lucas's birthday. I made a collage of some photos of Lucas and I and posted it on my Instagram, wishing him a happy birthday. Then I made a charcuterie board for his party. He said he didn't want any gifts, but did that stop me from getting him a cable chain tag locket with a picture of us inside. I tucked it into a little box and put a card over it to hide it from him. Then I heard him turning his key in the lock so I quickly slipped the box in a kitchen cabinet. He came in and helped me set up the last of his things for the party, then we went to the college campus to meet everyone. While we waited we sat on the stairs and I decided to take another photo with Lucas for his birthday. I set the camera up and tried to take a cute photo with him but neither of us could keep a straight face and all the photos were just of us laughing. But I feel that's more realistic of our relationship than just cute smiley photos all the time. So I posted it anyway. 

Then people started arriving so we went back to the house together. We play all sorts of games like Roxanne, and Paranoia. Since it was my first time drinking, I should admit, I got very drunk. Lucas noticed and tried to calm me down but nothing worked. I was running laps of the room and he had no idea how to stop me. Then suddenly I heard the Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack comes on.

"How did you know?!" I shouted, running over to the couch and throwing myself over the back next to Lucas.

He laughed.

"Lucky guess," he said, before adding, "and on your Spotify you have a playlist called if I get too drunk play this. So I guess that helped!"

I totally forgot I made that! Although I'm not surprised because I can't remember much of anything.