[ Elera’s POV ]
“ I have no reason to get out of bed.” I said into my pillow, laying on my stomach. I groaned as the end of my bed dipped down, signaling that he had sat down on the corner of my mattress.
“ Elera, You know I’m not good at this stuff…” Lucas said softly “ That boy has a lot coming to him. What he did was messed up. He’s going to regret hurting you like that.” His voice grew a little darker, but that quickly went away with his small sigh.
“ But right now I’m worried about you. I didn’t want to bother you yesterday about getting up, I don’t know what you’re going through and I’m not going to pretend I do, but I just want you to be okay.” He put a hand on my back gently “ We’re making you breakfast. We’re still in Alabama. I think you should come out when you get a chance.”
I sat up slowly in my bed and looked over at the mirror across the room, seeing how puffy my eyes were from crying all day yesterday. Lucas looked at me with concerned eyes, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a hug. “ I’m so sorry.” he whispered, squeezing me gently. “ I promise you it’ll get better. I’m going to do everything I can to put that beautiful smile back on your face.” He smiled wide, moving to be kneeling in front of me.
“ Chin up, Okay?” He asked, raising my head gently. I couldn’t help but smile at him. Lucas might look big and intimidating but the boy was a huge softie. He loved me and let me know if every second he could. I nodded slowly, running my hands over my face and holding my cheeks for a second. “ I’ll come out for breakfast.” I said softly, watching his smile widen even more than it was.
“ Good. We should be done in ten. We’re having a feast this morning!” He laughed, standing up and walking towards the door.
“ L-Lucas!” I stopped him, standing up quickly. He glanced over his shoulder with furrowed eyebrows, turning around to face me. I ran over to him, wrapping my arms around him and hiding my face in his chest for a second. “ I love you…” I mumbled. His body shook against me as his chuckle echoed in the room.
“ I love you too.” He ruffled my hair, stepping back and exiting the room after pulling away. I grabbed my makeup bag and took a minute to mentally force myself to get ready for the day. My chest still hurt at the thought of everything that had happened, but deep down I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. As much as it hurt, I needed to move on. People leave your life for a reason and Jungwoo wasn’t meant to stay in mind.
I had to accept that.
I did my makeup and brushed out my hair, throwing it into a high ponytail. I put on a pair of high waisted denim jeans and a white tank top before walking out of my room. Distant music played from down the hall and the windows were open, letting the sound of the waves drift indoors. I froze at the end of the hallway, looking at Mark’s back. He stood in front of the stove, making pancakes in nothing but his swim trunks. I quickly looked away before I could get caught staring and made my way to the fridge beside him. “ Good Morning” I said softly, causing him to jump slightly.
“ Elera?! Morning!” he smiled wide. “ I hope you like pancakes, Lucas insisted we use the entire box of batter even though I explained to him that that would make...A lot of pancakes.” I followed his eyes to numerous plates full of stacks of pancakes and bit my lip to contain my laughter.
“ That doesn’t surprise me on bit, just put some plastic wrap over the bowl of batter and we can make more later if we want some. We can put it in the fridge.” I said, pouring myself a glass of orange juice.
“ How are you feeling?” He asked gently, looking for come cling wrap in the somewhat already stocked kitchen. I shrugged my shoulders, holding my glass with both my hands and looking at the orange liquid inside it.
