THIS LOVE | luke hughes

xxxviii.

"DO YOU REALLY HAVE to go back to New York?" Luke asked as he laid on the girls bed, fingers tracing on her comforter while she packed her suitcase.

"Unfortunately." Penelope sighed as she brushed her hair behind her back for the thousand time.

Luke groaned as he rolled onto his stomach, chin resting on the bed as he looked at her. "You could just stay here. Go back to Jersey with me in September." He told her, shrugging lazily.

She could've snorted at that, her eyes playfully rolling. "And what," She stood up from the hardwood floor, deciding to take a break. "Be your trophy girlfriend?" She asked while walking over to the bed.

"I wouldn't complain." He grinned as he leaned up on his elbow, looking up to Penelope as she sat down next to him. "You can live with me and Jack and go to all our games. Be our mascot." His tone was joking, but his face was serious.

"Oh, yeah? Be your mascot?" She parroted with a nod, laughing. "I don't think Lindy Ruff would like that. Or Devil." She joked, gently pushing his arm.

"Fuck Lindy Ruff." He groaned, flopping onto his back. "I'm not ready to have to deal with him." He muttered, grabbing her hand and pulling her down.

She sighed, lying down next to him with her head rested on his arm. The pair stared up at the ceiling, their breathing falling into synchronization. "I can always go to Newark and yell at him," she suggested, feeling her chest warm as he threaded their fingers together. "Tell him to stop being a dick."

"That'd be great." He chuckled before the two fell into a silence.

Penelope pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, the skin turning white as she bit down gently. Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought quickly, but not smartly. Before she could think her words through, they were slipping past her lips.

"Do you think everything going to be okay?" She asked abruptly, her breath drawing short as she registered her own words.

Luke hummed in confusion, his hand slipping from Penelope's while he looked down to her. "What do you mean?" He questioned, eyebrows pulling into a furrow.

Penelope returned his look, shrugging as she turned to her side. "I don't know," she whispered, her eyes lowering before closing. "Like, between us? And between my mom?" Her tone was questioning as she tried to find the answers by herself.

Luke let out a small sigh, bringing his other hand to the girls face. His fingertips rested on her chin, lifting her head slowly. He smiled on instinct whenever her eyes opened again, meeting his.

"We're going to be okay. Mia's going to be okay." He whispered softly to her, hand reaching up to brush the fallen tendrils behind her ear. "It'll be okay." He said, leaning forward to press his lips to her forehead. "We'll work through it. No matter what. I promise." He said with a soft kiss.

Penelope let out another sign, feeling herself melt in his touch as one of her arms moved to rest over his torso. She trusted him and his words. They'd work through it, no matter what.

—

New York had been a place Penelope had loved ever since she was young. Something about the state interested her even at a young age.

From the liveliness of the busy streets that never got a break to the tourists that spent every chance they could visiting sights they had only seen in movies. It all pulled her in.

"What floor are you on?" Luke asked as they entered the elevator, looking at the buttons.

"Uh, this one." Penelope said, leaning forward to click the fourth floor. The elevator dinged before the doors slid close.