Sneaking Out

The 'L' Word

**Ashley's POV**

To say I was surprised was an understatement. I was blown away. I've never heard those words from a guy that I was actually falling for. It didn't exactly happen a lot, which made me even more surprised then I already was.

"Luke, I don't understand-"

"What's there to understand? You should just understand that I'm in love with you, I've been for a long time. You should understand that I care for you. I will never let anything bad happen to you. Just understand!" I was taken aback by this. We've never been this close before. 

"Luke, I think I love you too." I just needed to say it. I didn't know how exactly Luke felt but I knew, I just knew that I thought about Luke everyday. I also knew that I didn't want him to leave me. I was willing to go through hell and back with him, even if it meant putting me life in danger, like Nikita and Micheal from Nikita.

"Ashley, don't make yourself say that if you don't truly mean that." Luke said to me as he slowly approached me. I gulped and backed away from him. I started to get very nervous and overwhelmed by this sudden exchange of feelings. Before he could finish speaking, both of the girls came into my room, looking shocked.

"Is everything okay?' Clara said as she slowly made her way behind Shelly.

"Yes. Everything is alright. Just please wait in the hallway. Okay?" I spoke sternly to both girls. At first they looked confused, but ended up getting glared at by me.

Luke then closed the door after the girls left and stalked over to me.

"Ashley," He took my hand and placed it together with his. I stared at our entwined fingers and a tingling sensation covered my whole body. "Listen, I love you. That's all I wanted you to know, that no matter what we've been through, I still and will always love you. Don't force yourself to say anything that you don't mean."

"But Luke-"

"No Ashley, I know that the feeling isn't completely mutual, I can tell." Why didn't he just understand that I loved him too?

"For christs sake Luke! Let me talk! I am, and completely, in love with you! Why don't you understand? I will always be there for you. I think about you every second of my fucking life! Yeah, it scares me sometimes, but it feels good to be scared. It feels good to know that that scare is a good scare and not a bad one like the numerous times you were in the hospital! I wake up everyday thinking that you will get hurt and that I have no way of protecting you. I kills me Luke, but I am willing to give up anything and everything to be with you and keep you safe." It felt good to finally let everything out. 

I then looked up into his eyes. All I could see was one emotion; he was shocked, surprised, taken aback, etc. , any word that meant the same thing as surprised. Before he could speak, I crashed my lips to his. At first, I led the kiss, but Luke then quickly dominated and pushed me onto my bed. Thoughts were swirling through my mind at what was about to happen.

"Ashley, Ashley! Stop! This isn't happening like this. Not now." He then hopped off my me and sat next to me as he grabbed my arms and pulled me into a hug. "Come with me, I need you." Not knowing where he was taking me, I realized that Shelly and Clara were still waiting for us in the hallway. I hope they didn't hear anything.

"Hey, before we go...maybe we should tell them to go home." I spoke to Luke as I pointed to my bedroom door. He then nodded and went out into the hall, closing the door behind him as he left me inside my room. I then sat on my bed and took a deep breath.

After a couple minutes, I heard the girls say there 'goodbyes' to Luke and leave. I was grateful that I didn't have to explain what was going on, I was not in the mood.

"Hey, the coast is clear, Sugar." I groaned at his use of names and pushed myself off of the bed. Luke told me we were going out, so I slipped on a pair of shorts and a light jacket. It was almost summer, so the weather was warming up. Slipping on a pair of flip flops, I grabbed my phone and followed Luke outside the door.

As we made our way outside, Luke grabbed my hand and pulled me towards his bike.

"Where are we going Luke?" I whined to him. I was not up for any surprises.

"Just wait Sugar. You'll see." I then hopped onto his Harley Davinson and I wrapped my arms around his waist. It felt good to have him so close to me. I felt safe.

Minutes after driving around, we stopped in front of his house. Oh, I was not expecting this. We hopped off Luke's bike and he tugged on my hand again. It felt like my hand was set a flame. I've never felt this way before.

"I know I told you that I couldn't face being here without breaking down, but you being here with me would prevent that from happening." A small, sad smile crept up onto his face and I leaned up to him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"It's okay Luke, I'm here, always." He smiled and he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I love you, Ashley Tanner." Butterflies entered my stomach and decided to have a party.

As we entered his house slowly, I could tell that Luke was hesitant. I shoved him inside and stared at him.

"Luke, you can't avoid this place forever." He then nodded and went off into the house, forgetting me. Before I could yell for him, Skylar came into view and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Stepping further into the house, I spotted a couple of pictures of Aiden laying around a dirty coffee table, funeral brochures were resting right next to his pictures. I was guessing his mother was planning to say her goodbyes. Sadness slapped me in the face and tears started to well up in my eyes. I didn't really know Aiden, but I could see the hurt in Lukes' eyes whenever he spoke about him.

"Why'd you bring her here?" Skylar asked Luke as we walked in. I was shocked to see her there, chips and soda in hand. "Just because you saw the nice side of me, doesn't mean you'll see the bad and real side of me." Skylar glared at me. I was scared as she approached me quickly.

"What are you talking about?" I said quietly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." I was shocked by her sudden, but quiet outburst.

"You need to suck it up. Don't think I was nice to you at the hospital because I was actually starting to like you, I did it for Luke I couldn't have you going in there like an emotional wreck. Stop crying and look on the bright side.  You'd be dead if it wasn't for him. Dead. Just like Aiden and Josh," I supposed Josh was Luke's other brother that passed away. But, going back to the real problem, Skylar was starting to scare the living daylights out of me. Like always, Luke came to the rescue.

"What's going on Skylar?"

"Oh nothing, just teaching your helpless girlfriend here a lesson." Thinking that either Luke or I would correct her, we didn't. That party in my stomach was in full swing now.

"About what-"

"Oh nothing Luke, I hope you and your girlfried RSVP to Aiden's funeral. At least you'll be there. Dad's nowhere to be found." Skylar spoke sarcastically and evilly. She then sauntered up to her room and slammed the door. I'm guessing this was her way of dealing with loss. 

"Are you alright? She's such a bitch sometimes."

"No, no. I'm fine. So...what are we going to do now?"

"Well, Mom's nowhere to be found. She's probably looking for Dad. God, why doesn't she forget him? He's a worthless asshole. I can't believe I called him my father." Luke spit out. I calmed him down a little by placing a hand on his shoulder and he pulled me in for a hug.

"I just miss him so fucking much Ashley. I wish we could do something to the gang. They need to pay." And just like that, an idea popped into my mind.

A/N

Sooooo...what do you think she has in store? I have some tricks up my sleeve. I'll give you a hint...it has to do with Ashley's dad. Have you thought yet?

It seems like I haven't been getting a lot of reads lately. I'm sad :( PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU'RE A TRUE READER SO I KNOW TO KEEP WRITING THIS STORY. Sometimes it feels like it's not worth....

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2 Years Later: ^^^damn i'm sad lmfao. some minor changes here and there.