Pure of Heart / l.h ✔️

16

~Seraphina's POV~

I walked into the house after school and my attention picked up on the two familiar voices in the living room as Chester came running down the stairs, but my attention was focused on the voice in the living room. I shut and locked the door before I headed into the living room, my lips pulling into a bright smile when I spotted my mom sitting on the couch with Luke.

"Mom?" I said, surprised at her presence. I hadn't seen her in a about a week, because her work schedule was so hectic and all over the place. I wasn't expecting to see her here at home so early. She usually didn't come home until after eleven PM and then would leave for work right before six AM. Mom looked up at me and away from Luke, her brown eyes lighting up. "Hey, baby!" She grinned, excited to see me. I felt a sense of warmth in my chest at the sight of her smile, running over to lean down and wrap my arms around her in a hug. "What are you doing home so early?" I asked curiously, feeling her thin arms slip around me to return my embrace. Both my mom and Carmen were thin and just a little taller than me, making me the odd one out.

When I pulled away, she grinned up at me and pulled me down onto the couch between her and Luke, who shifted a little when my thigh pressed against his. "What?" She teased, nudging me with her elbow playfully. "You're not excited to see me?" She snickered, making me smile. "No, I am. I've missed you, but I wasn't expecting to see you home so early. That's all." I explained, pushing my hair out of my face. Mom smiled again and glanced at Luke as he sat beside me, observing our conversation quietly. "Well, your sister gets off of work at six thirty. I was thinking that I could take you all out to eat at a restaurant." Mom said, looking down at me again.

Taken aback, I blinked and she grinned in excitement. Beside me, Luke smiled and I felt his fingertips brush against my bare thigh when he laid his hand out on top of his own thigh, looking at my mom. "I think that's a great idea. Nina won't have to cook and both her and Carmen get to spend time with you." He said positively, making my mom smile wider. She nodded her head and patted me on my thigh. "See? It'll be nice!" She chirped, standing up off of the couch. I looked up at her and watched her head upstairs, leaving Luke and I alone on the couch. It was silent for a while as mom's footsteps faded off into nothing, neither of us moving or speaking. However, I eventually turned my head to look up at him, having to tilt my head up just a bit to meet his gaze.

"So," I began softly, biting my lip. "What did you and mom talk about?" I asked, curious. They had been talking pretty comfortably before I entered the room, which was nice. That meant mom liked him, which was definitely something that would please Carmen.

Luke paused as he stared at me, biting his full bottom lip. "Uh..." He muttered and lightly shrugged his shoulders. "We were actually talking about you." He admitted, surprising me. That was probably the very last thing I would've expected him to say. I would've thought they'd been talking about Carmen, if anyone. "Me?" I echoed quietly, blushing slightly. Thankfully, he couldn't see the color that filled my cheeks because of my makeup. Even so, I think he somehow still knew that I was blushing because his lips twitched up into an amused smile and he nodded his head. "Yeah, you. That's what I said." He chuckled, his pretty blue eyes glinting with amusement as he peered into my eyes.

"But...why?" I asked gently, confused. I didn't quite understand why I would've come up in their conversation, or what they would have said to one another about me. He looked away for a second and gently shrugged his shoulders again, staring down at the place where our thighs touched lightly. "She was just asking when you would get home at first, and then we started talking about...other stuff." He mumbled, a little bit of a pink tint staining his cheeks. I had never seen him blush before, so I was taken aback, just staring up at him with curious eyes and furrowed brows. "What other stuff?" I asked, my curiosity breaking through. I usually wasn't so nosy or concerned about things like this, but I couldn't help but to be curious.

A harsh breath left his full lips as he looked back down at me, his eyes swirling with some sort of inner dilemma. "I just told her about how you and I have become good friends, and about how much I like you. I told her that she raised a beautiful young woman and that I'm glad to have her in my life." He murmured, and I naturally assumed he had been talking about Carmen being the young woman that he was glad to have in his life, making me smile softly. "Well, Carmen is certainly glad to have you in her life, too." I said with a small smile, earning a slightly confused look from him. "I was talking about you, Nina." He stated, shaking his head.

My lips parted and I felt a wave of intense embarrassment pass through me. "Oh." I whispered, looking down at my lap awkwardly. Sometimes I couldn't believe how clueless I could be.

"Nina?" Luke said after a moment, making me look up at him. Our eyes met and he looked at me for a few moments, never saying anything or breaking our gazes. Then, he cleared his throat and blinked a few times like he was snapping himself into the present or something. "And I told her that I really, really admire you. I...I think that Enzo or any other guy is...lucky to have your affection." He added finally, his blue eyes staring so intently into my brown ones that I had to look away. "You truly think that?" I asked doubtfully, my voice small and uncertain. I often thought that perhaps Enzo didn't love me as I loved him simply because I wasn't worth that much. It wasn't good, but occasionally my brain was something I had no control over.

"Yes, sunshine. I believe that more than you could know." He hummed, making my lips pull up into a small smile. "Carmen is lucky to have you. You're a good man and I know you love her." I smiled up at him, some part of me wishing that some day I would have that as well. Maybe I had said something wrong because his face fell and he looked away, pursing his lips. "Yeah." He sighed softly, frowning. "Do you think that you could end up marrying her?" I asked without thinking, which seemed to completely set him off. He tensed up and grabbed me by the chin, a gasp leaving my lips as he tugged me forward until I felt the warmth of his breath fanning my face.

Wide eyed, I placed one hand on his arm and the other on his thigh, looking up at him. "I don't want you to ever ask me a question like that again, Nina, because I won't answer." He snapped. "Do you understand?" He asked firmly, eyes staring into mine. When I lightly nodded my head to show that I understood, he released his hold on my chin and I leaned away, still embarrassed and confused. I hadn't meant to make him upset or feel pressured or something, and I wanted to apologize, but I felt too bad to find anything to say in that moment. So I just clasped my hands together in my lap and simmered in my own feelings, a small frown on my lips.

I didn't say anything else about Carmen, thinking that perhaps I had said something wrong that I shouldn't have. We both just fell silent and I stared down at my thighs, wondering what I had said wrong and why my question upset him so much.