"What if you became a counsellor?" I suggested out of the blue as we sat at the table and halfheartedly played a game of chess while we finished our Starbucks. Luke glanced up at me.
"Why on earth would I become a counselor?" He asked, sliding his piece over and vanquishing one of my own.
"Because you're freaky good at being patient and nonjudgmental," I said. Luke chuckled, a smirk spreading over his face.
"You know it takes a lot more than that to become a counselor?" He laughed. A blush crept onto my cheeks.
"Of course I know that but-" I thought about it for a second. "I don't know. It seems like you have the right mindset to do it." I defended myself. Luke chuckled.
"I should probably fix my own problems before trying to help someone else fix theirs." He said, a bit more serious.
"Then why would you take me if you still had to work through your own problems?" I asked quietly, quoting him on the last part of my question. Luke thought for a moment.
"Maybe you're what'll solve my problems."
"Luke, you know that's not true." I reminded him gently.
"What if it is?" He asked. "What if you're the reason I'm sane? The reason I wake up every morning? What if it's you?" He asked. I thought about it for a moment.
"What if I am?" I agreed. "But what if you're not giving yourself enough credit for how strong you are?" I countered.
"I'm not strong." He argued.
"Well, you sure as Hell aren't weak." I retorted. "So why did you take me?" I asked again.
"Someone's life or death situation is worth postponing some personal problems for." He decided. "Mr. Rose..." He trailed off in an upset manner. "That man had already caused me to lose my mom because I had to send her off to New Zealand. He made me lose the way I looked at the word 'dad.' My birth dad was incredible. And his memory was lost to Mr. Rose becoming my step-dad. I wasn't planning on letting him cause me to lose you too." He confessed. We both took deep breaths and I nodded. We sat in silence for a while, neither of us knowing how to pursue the conversation.
"Checkmate." I murmured, making my move. Luke looked up at me and we both gave halfhearted smiles.
A/N:
Happy to be back! Let's do this thing!
YOU ARE READING
Stepbrother (Sequel to Stockholm Syndrome)
General Fiction"I just want you to know how terrifying it is to have no control. Like, physically, no control over what happens to you. Nothing. Being at the mercy of someone else's hand." The look he gave me was glazed over with pain. "The thing is, you aren't th...
