Lucas ✔️

Thirty

"Does it hurt?" he asked, his hand lifting slightly, pulling the cloth with it as he eyed the wound on my cheek.

"A little," I replied honestly, my eyes roaming his face as I tried to spot a difference between him and Lucas. His eyes caught mine and a small smile tugged at the edge of his lips before he let out a sigh.

"I am really sorry about this. I don't know what Madeline was doing," he commented, pushing the cloth back down and keeping the pressure. I eyed his blonde hair, analysing the colour. If Lucas' black hair swallowed all light, then this blonde hair reflected it all. It was so shiny and smooth that I felt a little miffed that my hair looked flat and dead in comparison.

I shrugged and looked away, furrowing my eyebrows in discomfort. He looked so much like Lucas, but he wasn't him. I spotted Janie through the glass doors on the phone, pacing left and right as she talked quickly before throwing one hand in the air. She had called Cole to tell him what happened, but it looked like the conversation had turned into something less Lilith-related and more relationship-related.

"What's your name?" His eyes were bright blue, deep like the ocean I hated, so I avoided his gaze and bit my lip.

"Lilith." My voice was rough and nervous, causing me to cough. He suddenly felt too close, like learning my name made him more than a simple waiter in a café helping me out. "It's okay, I'll do it." I grabbed the cloth, keeping it held tightly to my face, and he moved his hand away quickly. He wasn't quick enough, though, and I felt it.

He felt normal, soft, warm, human. He didn't feel like Lucas did – like nothing. Somewhere, deep inside, I felt both relieved and disappointed. Even if he had felt the same as Lucas, what would that have meant? I didn't have the slightest clue.

"I'm Uriel." I looked at him for a brief moment before nodding my head. His eyes bore into mine as though they could see into my mind, into my soul, into my very being.

"I didn't ask," I said defensively, trying to shut him out again, shuffling slightly as he moved away from me and towards the sink to wash my blood from his hands.

He chuckled slightly as he turned the tap on. "I know."

We fell into a silence which made me more uncomfortable with each moment that passed. I begged Janie to come back quickly, but I could see her talking on the phone, her face scrunched in worry and confusion as she glanced at me, a sign I took that meant their conversation was back to talking about me.

I held up a weak thumb, showing I was fine and she smiled back slightly. I could already tell that Cole and Janie would be at my place tonight, ready to stay and take care of me. With the way she was acting, you would think I had been hurt a lot worse than a simple cut. Uriel turned to look at me, leaning slightly against the sink as he watched me.

"Are you going to ask?" he probed, cocking his head to the side as he dried his hands on his apron.

"Ask what?"

"I suppose not then," he hummed, dropping his apron. "The ambulance shouldn't be too much longer. Are you sure you don't want something for the pain?"

"I'm sure," I muttered back, looking away from him and thinking over his question. After another moment of silence, I spoke up, "What should I be asking?"

"Surely you already know the answer to that." His voice was soft, musical, just like Lucas', except he was missing the dark undertone that made me shiver. Uriel's way of answering questions with cryptic words was as similar to Lucas as his looks were, and both were starting to get on my nerves.

"I don't care enough to ask."

My statement was strong and completely false. His raised eyebrow told me he knew it, but he didn't call me out on it. There was something about Uriel that made me want to run away, to hide, to protect myself from his inquisitive gaze that told me I had no choice, no say in the matter. I didn't even know what choice I was missing out on, but I felt like I needed it, but Uriel was here trying to steal it away.

"Ah, look, here's the ambulance," he said, looking out the window at the flashing lights coming down the street. "Let's get you to the hospital."

I nodded my head and jumped from the counter, moving towards the door as Janie turned to look at me through the glass, gesturing wildly to show me the ambulance was here. I nodded at her with a small smile, watching as she ran down the steps to hail the ambulance in her direction.

"Thank you for your help," I said quietly, twisting the door knob to leave. His hand reached out and touched mine lightly, his touch feathering across my knuckles as though he were afraid to touch me.

"Lilith." My breath hitched in my throat and I looked at him, getting lost in the seas of his eyes, the colour bringing up horrible memories of Dad, his dead body thrashing in the water as he decomposed. I shut my eyes tightly, not looking at Uriel as he spoke, "If you need guidance, you know where to find me now."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion but nodded my head, mumbling an awkward, "Okay, then," before heading out the door and running toward Janie as fast as I could.

"Whoa, hey, slow down," she said, grabbing me. "You'll bleed more."

"Come on, this way." A woman jumped from the ambulance and helped me in the back, sitting me down on the bed.

"I'll drive the car and meet you at the hospital," Janie said with a small smile, that I think was meant to be reassuring. I nodded my head and she passed my phone to me, curling my fingers around it tightly. "I'll be right behind you."

The lady shut the door and the ambulance took off as she instructed me to sit back further before pulling the cloth from my grip. I winced as she inspected the cut, pushing lightly at the sides.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"For what?" she asked back, throwing the soaked cloth into a bag and grabbing clean wipes as she began cleaning the blood from my face.

"For wasting an ambulance. I told them I didn't need one, but they wouldn't take no for an answer." She laughed at me slightly and shook her head, sending me a disapproving look.

"You might not have needed an ambulance, but you definitely need the hospital. Don't worry about it, though. It's our job."

I met Janie outside the hospital, looking more banged up than I thought I would after a morning brunch. She was sitting on a bench, looking as perfect as she normally did, but I could see the dried tears stuck to her face. With a little sigh and a painful wince, I made my way over to her, wishing I had never left the house this morning.

"Lil, are you okay?" she asked, running to me quickly and pulling me into a hug.

"Yeah, just had a few stitches." Janie looked upset, so I grinned at her. "It's honestly not a big deal."

"God, why did I even take you there?" she cried, gripping her hair as we weaved our way back to her car. I shrugged.

"Beats me, but it's not your fault."

She eyed me for a moment before sighing and unlocking the car, hopping in. When I was buckled in, she turned the car on, leaving it idling for a moment before she whispered, "Will it scar?"

I looked away from her eyes, teary and filled with regret, taking in the scenery of the dreary hospital I never wanted to see again. My silence seemed to answer her question, and she pushed the car into reverse, taking off as she cried softly, whispering a barrage of apologies the entire trip home, no matter how many times I told her it wasn't her fault.