Protector | Sequel to Protected

Words

We had only been driving for an hour, but it felt like a year. 

Lucas was sitting, stony silent, still driving. He had barely looked at me the whole drive. I wanted to make him feel better, but I didn't know how. I know how much he loved that house. It was his home. He had the secret room, where he kept his poetry and his photos, and where he used to go when things were rough. He had been in that house longer than any of us, and he would probably miss it the most.

Isabella and Connor were both asleep. Sighing inaudibly, I picked up Scarlet and set her on my knee, facing me.

"Were-wolf" I said slowly, "Can you say were-wolf?" I glanced at Lucas and saw a smile ghost his lips.

"Woo-woo," Scarlet said.

"Were-wolf" I repeated.

"Woo-woof," she said.

"Yaaaayyy!" I cried, clapping her hands.

"Woo-woof!" she shrieked, laughing.

"Were-wolf," I said.

"Wool-woof," she said.

Lucas smiled at us, laughing quietly.

"Daddy's a were-wolf!" I cried.

"Dada a weer-woof?" she asked.

"Daddy's a were-wolf!" I said.

"Wewoof," she said. I laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

"Ma-ya," Lucas chimed in, "Say Ma-ya."

"Ma-ya," Scarlet said immediately.

I gasped, and Scarlet clapped her hands, shrieking with laughter.

"Say Lucas," I said.

"Woo-cas," she said.

"Say Pink,"

"Say lake,"

"Purple,"

"Apricot,"

"California,"

"Pretty,"

"Narnia,"

And we went back and forth, each saying a random word. Scarlet looked from Lucas to me and back to Lucas, squealing with laughter. Pretty soon, Lucas and I were laughing, too.

I touched my finger to his lips.

"There's that smile," I said.

"You've always been able to get it out of me," he said, shrugging. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"What are you going to miss most?" he asked. I was surprised he was talking about it, but I seized the chance so he wouldn't go cold silent again.

"About the house, or about the town?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, "Both."

"I'm going to miss the library and the secret room the most about the house. I'm going to miss the house the most about the town," I said. He smiled sadly.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm going to miss the game room and the secret room most about the house. And yeah, I'm going to miss the house most about the town," he said.

"When did you build the secret room?" I asked.

"A year after I joined the Pack. Corey already was angry and cruel. It just took a year for me to realize what I needed: A secret spot," he answered.

"How did you know about what happened to Corey? He doesn't seem the caring-is-sharing type," I said.

Lucas shook his head, "He isn't. He got drunk once and told us everything, though."

I nodded, "Yeah. I guess that makes sense."

We were silent for a few moments.

"What's the surprise?" I finally asked, and he burst out laughing.

"No telling," he said, making a show of zipping his lips and throwing the key out the car window.

I looked down and noticed that Scarlet was asleep. I gently deposited her next to Connor. She stirred, yawned, then slumped down onto Connor's shoulder.

When I looked back up, Lucas had lapsed into another stony silence. I knew better than to try to break this one.

At least I got him to smile.