the bucket list | lrh

32 - not the right dream to chase

Before passing out while Valentine drove, Luke entered a specific address into his GPS they were using. He hadn't elaborated on where exactly it was, but about an hour and a half later, Valentine had pulled up to a house that very well could've been out of a movie. The beach was not far down the street, and the home looked like it could've belonged to three surfer dudes. Valentine silently hoped that wasn't the family he was talking about when he lied to Scout about their reason to go to California.

"Luke?" She whispered, leaning over the center console to shake the boys arm a little and break him from slumber. She had parked the car in front of the house, not wanting to have to walk far in the rain that seemed to be cutting the day short.

"Luke," she called out again, shaking the blonde one last time before he shot up as if out of a bad dream. He quickly examined his surroundings and remembered the past forty eight hours, relaxing a little at the familiar neighborhood in front of him.

"Where are we?" Valentine nearly whispered, not wanting to hurt Luke's head if it was sensitive from just waking up.

"An old friends house... consider it family, really," Luke shrugged, not giving much more information on the matter as the two scrambled to grab their bags from the backseat. "I can come back for our suitcases in the morning, unless you need it tonight," Luke mumbled, dangling the girls backpack for her to grab.

"It's only six," Valentine chuckled, admiring how cute Luke looked with puffy cheeks and sleep hair. She hadn't really seen that side of Luke, and she found it to be just as adorable as everything else he did.

"Really? Damn, it feels like... so late..." Luke gestured to the gloomy sky ahead of them. The rain wasn't too heavy, but dark clouds blocking the sunlight above indicated that a storm was coming, and being so close to the beach probably wasn't Luke's best idea. He cursed himself for failing to do something so simple as checking the weather, but he didn't have much time to sit in agony before Valentine laughed out like she had just heard the funniest joke in all of eternity.

"You're an old man," she giggled, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and moving to turn the car off. "I'll just come back later tonight and get them, then," Luke grinned at the girl, ignoring her joke. She had been convinced that she got away with it before she turned to open the door, and was greeted by a firm grip around her wrist.

"Hmm?" She hummed in question, fluidly turning towards him in one quick movement.

"You think you're funny?" Luke asked, humor lined within his words. They both know he was far from serious, but the moment was enough to get Valentine's blood pumping.

"Yes, I do," she boasted in response, testing the boys temptations as he nearly smirked at her.

"Mmhm, come on. Save that energy, you'll need it," Luke grinned, letting go of the girl and climbing out of the car without so much as an explanation until the two had practically sprinted to the porch of the strange house. Valentine examined the blue sliding, as well as the overgrown plants littering the front yard. She figured whoever lived there was not a botanist, but that's all she really knew about their current location.

"What did you mean when you said I'd need it?" Valentine asked, shaking the water off of her hand. The rain had already gotten heavier since they had exited the safety of the vehicle, and Luke wasted no time pounding on the door so that they wouldn't get any wetter.

"Mariam... she's—" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before the devil herself screeched at the sight of Luke Hemmings standing on her porch, along with a little girl that looked eerily like Adeline.

"Luke!" Mariam squealed, pulling both of them by their arms into her home, slamming the door, and practically jumping on top of the blonde who was anticipating that very reaction.