Fighter | l.h.

29

Luke POV

So this was it. I could finally go home from the hospital. Christine had told me that Betting was going to prison for thirty years, how he paid off our college already even though we both got in with scholarships. How we reminded him of his relationship with Catherine.

"Luke? Are you ready?" Catherine asked as I stood over my bed, poking at my duffle bag that had clothes Jack brought for me to change.

"Yeah. Are you sure you want Christine staying with me until school is over?" I asked as I put the strap on my shoulder and walked around the bed. It felt so nice to be in my own clothes again and not some set of hospital scrubs.

"I'm positive. You two have been through a lot. You two need each other," she said touching my shoulder and smiling up at me.

I leaned down and hugged her, remembering how I would hug my own mother like this...before the accident happened. "Thank you Catherine," I said pulling away.

She nodded and looked across the hall at the shut door. "She's in there you know. All you have to do is open the door."

"Okay," I said, walking across the hallway and to the door. I knew that Catherine wasn't with me anymore because if she was then she would have been right next to me. "Okay," I said again, this time under my breath. I pushed in the door and stared across the room at my girlfriend.

She sat on the edge of the window, looking out at the city. She was wearing a pair of sweat pants, an old hoodie and her hair flowed down the side of her body as I was only able to see her profile. Her hands sat in her lap as she twisted them around before running them through her hair.

"I know you're there Luke," she said not even looking away. I came inside the room and sat on the bed, looking at her. "Valentines day is in two days."

"It is." I said, looking down at my hands.

"The last two Valentines days have been really sucky, you know that?" She said, turning to look at me. "First one, Teddy. Last one remembering I had no one to celebrate it with."

"Well it's gonna be different this year then. You know why?" I said opening my arms for her. She got off the ledge and walked over, sitting on my thigh. "I was talking to your mom and her and I agreed on you moving in with me." I bit my cheek and looked down at her, anticipating a response.

"Move...like I live in your apartment and stuff?"

"Well when we go to college we're obviously gonna have to move closer and I mean this could help us getting used to living with each other, y'know?" I said running a hand through her hair, subconsciously twirling it around my fingers.

"I...I just thought we were gonna move in when we started college, that's all," she said looking at the wall with a blank expression.

"Well? Are you excited? Nervous? What?" I said turning her around slightly and looking at her.

"I...Are you sure you want me living with you Luke?" She said putting her hands on my chest. "I mean after everything that's been going on, are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have went to your mom a month ago and asked her if I wasn't serious about it, Christine." I looked at her slowly healing face and was for a brief moment filled with sadness. "It's because I love you. Like a lot."

"Okay. Okay, lets go home I guess," she said smiling at me. I couldn't help but hug her tightly, causing her to wince. I had to keep reminding myself that she had been shot through and just got the stitches taken out of her from when she had the lung surgery.

"Sorry, sorry. Now, lets go home," I said taking her hand and her bag that her mother had brought for her. She told me that later in the week she would bring over the rest of Christines things so we could get settled properly. But what I didn't understand is that right after we would have gotten settled we would be just back to moving in June because of school. Jack was already down there, looking for apartments near by and I couldn't help but feel that if Betting took care of both of our colleges, he would have taken care of a house or something.

"Did your dad mention something about a house when he visited you?" I asked as we went into the elevator to meet Catherine in the lobby of the hospital.

"Uhm, he might have. He said he'd send me stuff about it so we know what's going on." She looked at me and poked my cheek. "Everything is gonna be okay, alright?"

"Alright. I'm just glad that this is all over. The whole thing with your dad, the drugs, the fighting."

"We're still gonna need jobs when we get down there Luke."

"You could work at a restaurant down there and I could work at a gym down there."

"That's what we do now though."

"It's something though isn't it Christine?" I said as the elevator dinged open. We went outside and saw Catherine talking to the man behind the front desk.

"I'd like change but if that's what you want to do," she mumbled as her mother walked up to us.

"These are for you. Take them when you wake up for two weeks, okay?" She said cupping her daughters face in her hands.

"Yes mom. You're hurting my face," she said in a muffled voice before Catherine pulled away and pulled her into a hug. "Mom, stop it."

"I just love you so much and I'm glad you're with someone I actually like," she said kissing Christines head over and over again. "I really hated Teddy."

"He's been dead for two years today, you realize that right?" She said as she backed up into me. "But I hated him too, I guess."

"I know you did. I can see the difference with how you look at Luke and how you'd look at him. You're so much happier," she said pulling at the hair that laid over her shoulder. Christine turned her head and looked up at me, smiling.

"Yeah a whole lot happier," she said grabbing my hand. I smiled down at her and looked back to Catherine.

"So, we'll see you later this week, right?" I asked as Christine took the medicine from her mother and dumped it in her bag.

"Yep. Probably Friday. I'll bring your stuff with me, okay Chrissie?" Christine nodded and Catherine pulled the both of us into a hug. "I just love you two so much," she said rubbing our backs. "Be safe okay?"

"I'll try mom," she said patting her moms arm. "We'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too," she said as we began to walk out of the hospital. Catherine had given me the keys to the car and I don't think a motorcycle would be safe for either one of us, especially Christine in her condition.

"I have some big plans for us on Valentines day babe," I said once we were in the car and on the way back to my apartment.

"Oh really? Like what?" I could hear the smirk in her voice and I knew she was looking at me with those big green eyes that I couldn't resist.

"It involves a bedroom, that's all I'm gonna say," I said laughing and biting at my lip ring.

"Oh...oh that's...Luke you better make it romantic," was all she said before turning up the volume on the radio, blasting 'Female Robbery' by The Neighborhood.

"It's gonna be romantic, just trust me on it okay?" But in all honesty, I had no idea what to do. I really had no idea what Christines idea of romantic was and that meant one thing: I needed to talk to Kirsten.