Collision Course(37)
Author: S.C. Stephens

I jerked awake before the words fully left my mouth.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing sleep to take me, willing my dream to return, right where I’d left off, desperate to finish telling Lil I loved her – to finally get that off my chest. I couldn’t though. I was awake and sleep eluded me. I gave up and opened my eyes, looking around at my reality. Being cold was the first thing I noticed. Even though a blanket was over my dressed body, a chill went through me. A chill that said this is real, Luc. That was fake and this is real.

I clutched the blanket and brought it farther up my chest. The second thing I noticed was that it was dark out. I gazed out the window, not able to tell if I’d only taken a long nap and it was early night outside, or if I’d completely zonked out and it was pre-dawn. A quick glance at my clock confirmed that it was the latter. I’d fallen asleep in Sawyer’s arms and stayed asleep all night. My hand went to the spot on the bed where Sawyer had been comforting me. I wondered how long she’d stayed…and if she’d gotten in trouble for it.

I sighed and curled myself into a ball, feeling cold and alone and tired from too much sleep. My dream had started out so comforting but had turned on me and a pit of ice was firmly settled in my stomach. If Lil turned her back on me…I wasn’t sure how I’d get through my life then. I couldn’t imagine night after lonely night without ever seeing her again. I didn’t even want to imagine it.

The sounds of someone else awake, prodded me into movement. I stood and wiped the sleep from my eyes, yawning and stretching, all at the same time. I shuffled out into the living room and noticing the kitchen light on, made my way there.

I smiled as I watched my small mother, dressed in her bathrobe and fuzzy pink slippers, preparing a turkey to put in the oven. Her hands moved with practiced ease over the large bird, as she filled one end of it with stuffing and then shoved it in an oven bag. With everything I’d been feeling lately, I’d completely forgotten that today was Thanksgiving. Mom always had to work at the diner in the evening (it was a busy night for the restaurant, as those without a family to go to came in for some good food), so Mom always prepared our dinner early, always making a huge bird, so we’d have leftovers forever. I think my mom felt guilty about my Hot Pocket dinner habit.

She looked up at me when she noticed my entrance. She cocked her head and glanced at the clock. "Morning, honey, you’re up early?"

I shrugged and walked over to the coffee pot to start a batch. "I guess that’s what happens when you go to bed in the afternoon."

She blinked before returning to her bird prep. "Afternoon? You were deep asleep when I came home, but you were still dressed, so I covered you up." She paused before lifting the heavy bird to put it in the oven. "You fell asleep in the afternoon? Are you feeling okay, honey?"

I shrugged again and nodded. "Yeah, I’m fine, Mom. Just tired, I guess." She looked about to say more on the matter, but I distracted her by opening the oven door and commenting on her turkey. "I know you love turkey, Mom, but that bird is huge."

She grinned as she slid the heavy tray into the oven. "Well, I have a confession." I closed the door and she wiped her hands off on a towel draped over the handle. Her face looked excited and guilty, and I raised an eyebrow at her. "Don’t be mad…" she started and I frowned; when people started sentences that way, it usually never ended well.

"What did you do, Mom?" I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the counter, waiting.

She bit her lip, but smiled. "Well, I didn’t want to say anything, because I was sure it wasn’t going to happen." She shook her head. "In fact, I was positive it wouldn’t, until I got a call last night at the diner." She grinned and her entire face lightened; for a moment she looked ten years younger.

I tried to keep my scowl, but smiled at seeing her so happy. "What are you talking about?"

She put a hand on my arm. "I invited Sawyer and her parents to dinner." She laughed softly. "They said yes."

My smile dropped. "You what?"

She scrunched her brows at my reaction. "I invited… I thought you’d like that? The two of you seem so close…"

I shook my head, trying to understand what had just happened. Sawyer’s parents had firm rules, and didn’t seem to like me at all. They’d agreed to come over? Come over… I’d get to see Sawyer today. I’d prepared myself for a long weekend without her, and here I’d get at least one more day with her, parents or not. I finally grinned widely and hugged my mom, who giggled like she was ten years younger. "No, I’m happy, really happy. I’m just shocked, I guess."

I pulled back and eyed my wonderful mother appreciatively. "Thanks, Mom." I shook my head in disbelief. "I can’t believe you did that for me."

She shook her head and patted my cheek. "Oh, Luc…there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, you know that." She went about prepping dinner and I smiled softly at her before finishing my task of making us coffee. She glanced back at me over her shoulder. "It wasn’t easy though. Her parents were very…resistant."

I sighed as I filled the pot with water. "I don’t think they like me."

She frowned at that. "They don’t even know you."

I avoided her gaze and poured the water into the pot. "The rumors are everywhere, Mom. I’m sure they’ve heard them." I whispered that and studied the flowing water, like my life depended on me watching it enter the machine. Mom and I didn’t usually discuss the torrent of gossip that surrounded me. In fact, we generally ignored that subject, a lot of subjects actually.

Her hand touched my arm. "Luc…look at me." Briefly closing my eyes, I turned my head to see my exact shade of eyes warmly absorbing me. "We’ll just have to convince them that the rumors are just that…rumors." She patted my arm and then brought a hand to my cheek as my eyes misted. "You’re a good boy, Lucas. Sawyer is lucky to have you, and they’ll see that. I promise."

I sniffed and shook my head, smiling a little to release the emotion building. "Yeah, sure, Mom." She patted my arm a last time and then went back to her meal prep. I finished making the pot, ignoring the emptiness of her promise and focusing on the sentiment instead. For a moment, I wondered why my mom was still alone. She was wonderful and warm and so open to loving someone. As I watched her from the corner of my eye, I hoped that her own loneliness wasn’t because of me.

I helped my mom in the kitchen for the rest of the morning with the things that she felt my inexperienced hands couldn’t mess up – mainly peeling potatoes and opening the can of cranberries. We worked in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company without feeling the need to fill the space with chitchat. We got dressed and cleaned the house, putting on some cheerful music in the process. Time passed and the kitchen filled with an aroma that made my stomach rumble. Mom laughed at the loud sound and popped a giant-sized cookie in my mouth, just as the doorbell rang.

Smiling around the edge of the huge snack, my empty stomach suddenly felt full of swarming butterflies as I realized who was here – Sawyer. I took the cookie out, taking a large bite, and eagerly made my way to the door. I opened it with my cheeks full of my treat and started laughing softly in my anticipation.

Sawyer’s pale gray eyes were the first thing I noticed, followed by her huge grin and that straight, super dark hair, held back from her face by two silver clips that gleamed in the noon sunshine. Then I flicked my gaze down at her hands, outstretched in front of her and holding a pumpkin pie. "Hi, Lucas! We brought dessert!" She giggled adorably, seeming to be as excited to see me, as I was to see her. I grinned and took the pie from her with one hand, while wrapping my cookie hand around her waist, pulling her in for a tight hug.

That was when I noticed she wasn’t alone. A deep voice cleared their throat behind her and I opened my eyes, that I hadn’t even realized I’d shut, and looked up at Sawyer’s father scowling at me. Oops. My getting handsy with his daughter was probably not the best way to make him feel at ease with me. I immediately dropped my hand from around her waist and straightened. With my "grownup" face, I handed the remainder of the cookie to Sawyer (who took a big bite with an even bigger grin on her face) and extended my hand out to him.

Swallowing the last of the cookie in my mouth, I said, "Hello, sir, I’m Lucas West." My seriousness faded as delight broke over me. "I’m so glad you came."

Sawyer’s dad was intimidating. He seemed like he’d be right at home chopping lumber deep in the forest and I wondered briefly what he did for a living. He was a good five inches taller than my six-two and much wider than me. His hair was a sandy brown and his eyes were a blue-gray color that complimented Sawyer’s. I felt my grin slip as his lips twisted into a not amused look, and I took a step away from Sawyer, just to be on the safe side. He harrumphed some sort of response and instead of shaking my hand, placed his on Sawyer’s shoulder protectively.

I swallowed and felt like taking a step back until a voice beside him spoke. "We’re delighted to be invited. Thank you, Lucas."

I glanced over at Sawyer’s mother. I’d always pictured her to be an older version of Sawyer – super dark hair and beautiful gray eyes – but she couldn’t have been more different. Her eyes had a slightly more noticeable almond shape than Sawyer’s and were a light golden brown, her hair, a tawny color, that, aside from the straightness, looked nothing like Sawyer’s. But her smile…that was an exact match.

She extended her hand out to me and I shook it lightly. "It’s nice to finally meet you, Lucas. Sawyer has told us a lot about you." I glanced over at Sawyer; she looked beyond embarrassed, and was attempting to shake her dad’s hand off her shoulder.

I suppressed a grin at Sawyer’s irked face and stepped back, indicating inside. "Please…come in."

Sawyer’s mom smiled and grabbed her husband’s hand, urging him across the threshold. He seemed to follow her reluctantly, still skillfully keeping his hand on Sawyer, his message coming across loud and clear – don’t touch. I ran a hand through my hair as I shut the door behind them.

I caught Sawyer’s eye as she ate the rest of my cookie. She rolled her eyes at her dad’s firm grip on her and then gave me that wry smile I loved. While her parent’s quickly eyed my home, I glanced at her outfit. I generally didn’t notice what she wore, but I couldn’t help but notice today, it was such a change from her standard jeans and t-shirt. Today, she was wearing a dress. It was simple, green and long-sleeved, but combined with her dark hair and light skin, it was beautiful. I grinned and mouthed, ‘I like your dress’.

Sawyer and I were good at lip reading, doing it a lot during class, and she smiled and flipped up the knee length hem in a quick curtsey. I started to laugh and her dad immediately swung his attention back around to me. Seemingly on autopilot, his hand pulled Sawyer back to him and she squeaked at the sudden movement. She turned her head to glare at him, just as my mom came out of the kitchen, swiping her hands on her slacks.

"Oh good. Mark, Pam, you made it." My mom extended her hand out to the pair.

Sawyer’s mom, Pam, took my mom’s hand in both of hers and warmly shook it. "Well, it was very generous of you to invite us, Victoria. How could we say no?"

She glanced back at her husband, who cleared his throat and stepped away from Sawyer. "Yes, thank you." Sawyer’s dad, Mark, had a voice as low and deep as his size, and he seemed to dwarf my mom as he shook her hand after his wife. His face had softened into genuine kindness though and I took that to mean that his issue was with me and not my mother. That was to be expected, I suppose.