Re: The woods
"Maybe you should let me hold her for now, okay?" Luke could tell that relinquishing his hold on the puppy would only end in disaster, because the girl was too small to be able to control the wriggling, energetic ball of fur. His time with Gus had taught him patience, and he smiled when she told him the dog was a Christmas present, and he smiled when she told him her daddy was working, even if it became a little harder to maintain it after that. No, he didn't want to ask about her father, and he didn't want to ask about the dog's name. Better not to know, wasn't it? And yet, he wanted to know, and his own penchant for bringing suffering upon himself made him sick sometimes.
He oohed and aahed appropriately when the little girl twirled, and there was a pang somewhere deep in his chest; he loved Gus, he did, but he'd always imagined having a girl just like this one, which only made everything that much harder. "Very pretty," he told her, and when she mentioned that her father drove important people, well, there was no chance in hell of him maintaining his smile after that. He tried not to assume the worst, he did, but the struggle was evident in his expression for a good second or two before he managed to get it under control. "I see," he said, attempting to focus on the fact that the little girl was obviously lost instead of who her parents might be. "Your mom must be around here somewhere, though, right? Can you tell me where she lives?"
The man who'd nearly run him over answered just as the words left his mouth, and the way he lowered his voice, combined with that furtive look around, was his first indication that maybe this wasn't going to be the happy little reality he'd been steeling himself for. Luke watched the man spew his excuses, keeping his disgust well hidden; he was a stranger, for all this man knew, and what if he'd been some kind of creep who kidnapped the little girl? What an asshole. Yet he smiled, nodded and said he understood before bidding the man farewell as he got into his car and drove away. Now he was stuck with a puppy in one arm and a little girl with tear-filled eyes at his side, and no idea what to do with either, except to bring them home-- which was exactly what he didn't want to do. He looked up as Wren approached, less concerned about being deemed insane by a child, and he might have agreed if Stella hadn't decided to take his hand. With a child in one hand, and Wren tugging on the other, he was quite literally torn, but he couldn't just abandon her, even if this wasn't real.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he gave Wren an imploring look. "I can't just leave her. Look, I'll just bring her home and be right back, okay? You don't have to come. You can stay right here," he said, tugging on her fingers. "I'll be right back," he repeated. "It's just around the corner."
And then he let go, and he looked down at the little girl. "Don't worry, Stella. I'll get you and Sparrow home, and everything will be fine." He gave her hand a light tug, just to get her moving, and maybe he should have been warning her about the dangers of talking to strangers, but that could wait until he got her off the street.