Re: The woods
Not-Luke didn't believe her. It was nothing personal, but trust had never come easily to him; not to the unseen one in the corner, and certainly not to this one either. Distrusting strangers was as smart as it was instinctual, and he simply looked at her, silent. There was no proof she'd known his father at all, this woman, no proof she'd been here and then left, and until evidence to the contrary surfaced--if it did, which was doubtful--he had no inclination whatsoever of giving her his trust. Thomas had been intensely private, and this version of Luke was the same, perhaps even more so.
But then she said she knew him at night, and that got a reaction out of him, even if it was slight, a flicker of something in his expression. He made his way over to the door with his cane, past her, ensuring that no one was outside listening before closing it firmly and turning to face her with no shortage of suspicion and displeasure etched into his expression. It turned to surprise, just briefly, when she added that he wasn't happy, before settling back into the previous two, with a dash of scorn thrown in. "You don't know anything about me," he told her, harsh and cold, like the crack of a whip against the air. "I don't care if you claim to have known my father. How dare you comment on my happiness based on what you've heard, and a few articles in the paper?" He only took a step or two towards her, just that, still keeping his distance, though his demeanor would have been intimidating whether there was two feet between them or ten.
"And how dare you," he continued, "come in here, into my building, and tell me you knew my father at night? Do you know who I am? If this is some sort of blackmail attempt, or if you're from a newspaper, you're making a very, very grave mistake. I will destroy you and whoever you work for, do you understand?" Oh, yes, he was angry, but it was very much similar to Thomas' brand of anger, albeit with less control. "I'm only going to ask you this once, so answer wisely. Who are you, and why are you really here?"