Re: The woods
Luke had no idea of her doubts, of her fears that the man they'd left behind might still be someone he would become. To him, it was a way to torment them, to show them what life might have been like, but it was better than them having seen him living a perfectly happy life without her, wasn't it? In truth, that was his greatest fear, that everything she'd ever told him was a lie, and her life would be much, much better had he never been a part of it.
Now, it seemed like that fear might actually be brought to life. All the while it was there, in the back of his mind, clawing at him, telling him to run, to turn away, and yet something kept pushing him onward. Bit by bit, towards a truth he wanted so badly to pretend away.
Fuck, he hadn't even noticed the damn car until he'd lunged for the stupid puppy. By then it had been too late to do anything other than close his eyes and hope for the best, because it would have been really, really sad to die while in a reality that didn't even exist. He heard Wren scream, but aside from some stinging at the impact of his body against the ground, nothing hurt, and the dog was wriggling happily in his arms, safe and very much unharmed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, one arm curled around the puppy as he struggled to his feet. "I'm fine," he repeated, louder, seeing that Wren had fallen to her knees in the grass, and judging by the fact that the man in the car had completely ignored her screams, he was guessing no one here would be able to see her. Which just made him panic more, of course, but he did his best to keep himself calm. "Hey, no, look, I'm okay. Really. My fault, I was stupid. I don't need your number." He noticed the designer wallet, noticed without staring, and he was about to ask if the guy could take the dog off his hands when a tiny voice called out.
Every fiber of his being told him to drop the dog and run, but idiot that he was, he didn't. Instead he turned, just in time to see the little girl running at him, and he bit back a groan of dismay. Who was this kid's parents, and why hadn't they taught her not to run out into the street?
But then she was close, really close, and Luke had a chance to get a good look at her. She was a cute kid, and he would have laughed at the brightness of the colors she wore if he hadn't been worried he would start screaming instead. Okay, give the girl her puppy, and leave. He could do that. He could. "She's a fast little thing," he told the girl, forcing a smile. He faltered when she asked if he liked his clothes, and oh, god, that lisp was familiar. Fuck, he needed to get out of here, and-- Wren, he needed to get her out of here too. He couldn't lose her, not because of stupid trick the hotel decided to pull. "Yeah, I do. Listen, you need to bring your dog back home, okay? Where are your parents? Are they close?"