never be » lrh book one

Chapter 29

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Sam's POV

The next morning, I wake up beside Luke on the floor in my living room, safe and sound. I look around, an uneasy feeling in my stomach from the previous night. None of the other boys are awake when I wake up, but the second I move, Luke is protectively pulling me back close to him. I look down at him, a bittersweet feeling in my heart.

When I lay down back in Luke's arms, he kisses my cheek and whispers so he doesn't wake up the other two boys. "So, I was thinking we could go into town today. I still haven't gotten to show you all the really cool places I like to go. On a date or something, I don't know."

"That sounds amazing, Luke." I inform him, pecking his lips and resting my head on his shoulder.

"You wanna go now?" He asked quietly. "I'll just put on a hat. You can put your hair up. We're fine in every other way."

"Okay, sounds good to me." I respond, a wide smile on my face. And with that little agreement, we hop up and tiptoe around the two other boys. I tie my hair up while Luke leaves my house to go grab a hat from his. While he's gone, I write Calum and Ash a note, letting them know where we went and telling them they can stay for as long as they want to. We should be back soon.

I meet Luke outside in the front yard. It's still fairly early in the day. Peaceful Saturday mornings are something I haven't experienced since I was a little girl before my dad was abusive and my mom stopped caring.

He pulls me into a hug, kisses my forehead, and then let's go of me and climbs into his car. "C'mon, Sammy Wammy." He says in a baby voice, making me laugh. What a dork.

I climb into the car and he pulls out of my driveway, rolling down the windows as we drive down the street. I look around outside to see what an actual Saturday morning looks like. Everything is the same. A car follows us down the street and down the next. All the way into town. I don't really find it peculiar until they follow us into the same parking garage.

When we get out, I notice a figure climb out of the car. A hat and sunglasses hides their face from me, but I try to just shrug it off. That peculiar feeling comes back in my stomach. I just grip Luke's hand, knowing he wouldn't let anything happen to me. He protected me last night, and he'll keep me safe from my stupid little worries. This is probably just a coincidence.

We walk out of the parking garage and down the street. It's a long walk down the road. I think Luke notices my constant glances behind us.

"Everything okay?" He asks quietly, holding the door open for me and looking around outside before following me into the music store.

I walk in, smiling at the person behind the counter and walking down one of the aisles to browse the music selection. Vinyls, CDs, iPods, and more greeted my eyes. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Doesn't seem like it." Luke responds, not even bothering to look at the things we actually came into the store for. I glance over his shoulder and see the figure leaning against the building across the road, amiling a cigarette. It's too far to get a good look at him.

"That guy's been following us since we left my house. He drove behind us all the way here and followed us down the street." It call came pouring out of my mouth. Instantly, Luke turns around.

"Guy smoking a cigarette outside the pub?" He asked, turning back towards me and raising his eyebrow.

"Yes. Don't you find that suspicious? I've never seen his car in our neighborhood before, and to top it off, it's like he's hiding his identity." My voice is nearly a whisper.

"If he follows us to the next store, I'll go and ask." Luke responds, grabbing my hand and tugging me back towards the exit. He mumbles a quick bye to the person behind the counter and holds the door open for me.

We walk back out onto the street and I force myself to not look back at the guy to see if he's following. The thought of what could happen scares me so much I could throw up right now.

As we walk down the street, I get less nervous and I can physically feel myself calm down. Luke smiles up ahead and we make small talk. He tells me about all his memories of the big city he has had as we walk towards a little coffee shop, one that's actually familiar to me.

Right when I see it, I know we just have to go there. It's the place Luke and I first saw each other, the first time I heard him sing. Sure, I wasn't there for him or anything, but now I know that this little coffee shop will mean a lot to me forever.

Luke leads the way in, a familiar ding ringing through the shop. I follow in after him, finally looking behind me to see if the odd man is following. To my luck, he isn't. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as Luke and I sit down at a table.

"This is where I sat when Ash brought me here and I looked at you for the first time." I announce, smiling at Luke from across the table.

"I remember. You and Ash came in while I was setting up. You only stayed for a few songs." He laughed, "I was kind of embarrassed because I'm a six and you're a ten."

This little comment caused my face to heat up. This moment with Luke was one I'd never forget. He looked so cute, with his white graphic t-shirt and his black dad hat, some of his hair poking out. He was just adorable in general. Just as we were laughing, a ding rang through the shop again. My head turned, and the mysterious man walked in. My heart sank. Luke looked at me and frowned, I knew the color had drained from my face.

Immediately, Luke gets up, grabs my hand, and pulls me past the man, scowling at him. We walk outside and Luke moves so fast I'm basically running after him.

"Luke, slow down," I beg, stumbling over myself, keeping a firm grip on his hand.

"I'm getting you the fuck out of here. From now on, you're not going to be alone." He snaps, slowing down slightly and slinging his arm across my shoulders.

"Thank you," I speak softly. Surprisingly, it doesn't take us long to reach the parking garage. I fucking hate that this person ruined our date. Even if it was all just a coincidence.