home // l.h. // book 4

home

northern california

we made it to the lake house around four in the afternoon and it was more beautiful than i remembered. calum and julia had dropped the four of us off as they were headed to napa valley to pick up the wine for the wedding.

ariella and liam quickly chose which room they would be staying in and of course, they chose one of the largest rooms. it was fine with me because luke chose the room with the best view.

my breath was taken away as i stood in front of the glass window. the window overlooked the lake and the mountains were in perfect view behind the crystal water.

"it's more beautiful than i remember." i sighed, turning to luke who was smiling at me. "what?"

"you're more beautiful than i remember." luke cheekily commented. my cheeks flushed and i rolled my eyes. we'd been together for nearly six months and butterflies still roamed my stomach when he complimented me.

"shut up," i smiled before playfully hitting his chest.

we both unpacked our bags and placed our clothes into the dresser for the weekend. once we finished, we met ariella and liam in the living area. naturally, they were cuddling close and i just had to roll my eyes and smile. at least she was happy.

"so," ariella stated, turning to us and breaking up their cuddling, "tomorrow liam and i are hiking and canoeing and we'll hopefully be back before dark."

it made me happy knowing that even though the four of us are at the lake house together, we're planning to do different things. luke and i nodded in response and we finished our evening with wood fired pizza and movies. it was the most basic thing to do, but it was relaxing and exactly what i needed after a long day of traveling.

luke and i were currently laying in bed as he played with my hair and i lazily drew patterns on his hands. we were currently watching a marathon of the fast and the furious and enjoying each other's company. i always felt so content and at peace when i was in luke's arms.

i softly sighed as a small smile played on my lips thinking about how good he made me feel. he wasn't doing anything other than holding me, but it was enough.

i leaned up and planted a soft kiss on his cheek before turning back to the movie. he hugged me closer to him and we both sighed in content.

"you make me so happy luke." i said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"i know."

"i'm serious, luke." i said seriously, pushing myself up so i was sitting up now. "for the longest time i was so lost and just kept running from everything. i didn't feel happy or content with my life, so i kept leaving everyone and everything."

i took a breath as luke sat up to be more level with me. "but then you came around again and i became more grounded. i started smiling more and i didn't feel so alone. you changed my life, luke."

luke's gaze was soft and his eyes looked like they were pooling with tears. he slowly leaned in and placed the softest kiss to my lips. he quickly hugged me close and when i melted into his embrace, i lost it.

for the longest time, i wanted to run. i think i kept running from myself because i knew what i was capable of after ashton passed. i was terrified and i didn't know what else to do.

being in luke's arms made me feel whole. i felt like i didn't have to run or hide. i was myself around him.

luke softly pressed his lips to mine and my body bloomed with butterflies.

...

the days spent at the cabin quickly flew by and before i knew it, we were packed into calum's car and headed back to the city.