the bucket list | lrh

49 - rebekah leonard

Nearly two full hours of bumper to bumper stormy traffic later, Luke and Valentine had finally arrived in Galveston. It didn't take long before the two were pulling up to her grandmother's lake house, and she was beyond relieved by the familiarity. She almost ran up onto the porch, but instead stayed back to grab her stuff from the backseat with Luke. As the two quietly made strides towards the front door, both of their poor overworked minds were on overdrive.

Valentine had a two hour long drive to contemplate her actions, and settle on the decision of visiting her grandmother at that specific time. She knew it was spontaneous, she knew it wasn't healthy, but she didn't care. She didn't want to deal with everything at home, and this seemed like the perfect getaway with Luke. She could tackle some tasks there with the information her Nana had, and spend some time alone with Luke. It was starting to seem like all Valentine ever did was spend some time alone with Luke.

Luke was worried for a completely different reason. He wasn't concerned about Scout or Kellianne, instead he was thinking rather selfishly. He was terrified of meeting another family member of Valentine's, and he couldn't downplay the severity of the gesture because of the circumstances. He was meeting her grandmother, and that was another step Luke never saw himself taking with the little girl.

For Rebekah Leonard-Jones, she couldn't have been any less worried. Her granddaughter had randomly made a trip in the middle of the night, and sure that was odd, but she was just glad to see Valentine in general. After the girl missed her annual trip, Rebekah thought she'd miss out on her Valentine time for the year.

"Hi, sweetie!" She cheered into the silent night, engulfing Valentine in a hug the moment she could get close enough. The little girl stumbled back a bit before her instincts kicked in, and she almost forgot to hug the kind old woman back. Luke hovered awkwardly beside the pair, reuniting like they had been away for centuries.

"Hi, Nana," Valentine squealed, a little overwhelmed by the immediate physical affection.

"And you must be Luke," Rebekah turned towards the blonde, smile warm and inviting. The woman was quite the welcoming presence, and she was well known for being friendly.

"Yes ma'am," Luke smiled in an attempt to hide his surprise as the woman hugged him as well, after finally stepping away from her beloved granddaughter.

"Well, come in, you two are all rained on," Rebekah laughed, attempting to put some comfort into the tense situation. The woman could tell by the urgency in Valentine's voice when she had called two hours previously. She knew Valentine wouldn't just show up for no reason, she knew the day was going to come. Rebekah knew her grandchildren well, and she knew that Valentine's first stop would be her home. She knew the little girl was hungry for answers, she just wasn't quite sure how to deliver them all without breaking every sense of reality she once had.

"You two go get changed into some dry clothes, I'll make some tea," Rebekah smiled once she had led the two kids into her living space. The cabin-like home was covered in ceiling to floor windows on the back wall, contrasting the dark wooden furniture. It was a lovely mix of modern and old fashioned, Valentine had always loved it there.

"Yeah, okay," the brunette agreed, grabbing Luke's wrist mindlessly and leading him up the stairs, straight down a hallway with several closed doors taunting him.

"Uh... bathroom in there, bedroom in there, bedroom there," Valentine went door by door, giving him a very vague description of each room she pointed towards.

The little girl opened a door to one of the guest bedrooms she'd already informed Luke about, and gestured for him to make himself at home and claim it as his own. He quickly did so, rushing into the dimly lit room. The room was a light shade of blue, and several sophisticated yet comforting art pieces were placed perfectly straight along each wall.