Chapter 69 His Second Home.

Chapter 69 His Second Home.
~SCARLETT.
“Where exactly did you say we were going again?” I asked as I turned to face Lucas behind the wheel.
One moment I was sitting stiffly at his family’s barbecue; the next he was ushering me out with some rushed explanation to Elaine. I hadn’t absorbed a single word. My head was still stuffed full with everything that happened over there. 
We were back in the city now, driving as dusk fell and the lights from the buildings went by.
“It’s a surprise,” Lucas tapped nervously on the steering wheel. “Just… trust me, okay? I could tell you were uncomfortable back there. Honestly, so was I. I warned you my family can be… a lot. So I wanted to show you something else.”
I only managed a soft, exhausted hum. Still, the one question in my head wouldn’t stop bugging me.
“Lucas,” I said quietly, staring out at the buildings passing by. Why did you lie to your mom… about me teaching kids dance?”
I felt him tense up immediately, and the car went so quiet I heard him swallow, hard, before he said, ‘Red… God,’ he blew out a breath. ‘I know I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.’”
“My mom is judgmental as hell,” he went on when I gave no response, lowering his voice. “If she’d found out that you are a, uh–”
“A stripper,” I finished for him, finally looking away from the windows to meet his eyes.
He winced. “Yeah… not that I think it’s wrong or anything. I just freaked out. Didn’t want her acting all bitchy toward you. She was barely keeping it together after I gave her that long speech at home about behaving when you were around. If she’d known what you do, the whole thing would’ve gone to hell. I swear, I was only trying to protect you.”
My anger let up, just a touch, because he really sounded sincere. “I get it,” I murmured. “Even from the short time I’ve met her, I can tell she’s… intense.”
“You have no idea.” He glanced at me hopefully. “So… you forgive me?”
Giving a small, surprised snort, I spoke honestly. “Yeah, Lucas. I forgive you.” 
But my voice firmed up as I added, “Just… don’t do it again, okay? It’s my life. I’m not ashamed of it. And if anyone else has a problem with it? That’s on them.”
He nodded fast. “Got it. Completely.”
The car slowed then, turning onto a narrow road surrounded by tall grass. Moments later, he pulled over, a grin eating across his boyish features.
“We’re here,” he said.
Looking out, I stilled as I took in a house… or something that used to be one. A half-storey with missing windows, a slanted roof, and skeletal edges against the bruised-purple sky.
“Where is ‘here’ supposed to be?” I asked.
Lucas hopped out, rounding the car. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
“I swear to God, if you murder me, at least text someone the location so they find my body.”
He laughed. “Red, I’m not murdering you.”
“I’m saying the building looks like it might.”
“Still… trust me.”
Despite my nerves screaming bloody murder, I followed him.
The inside was brighter than I expected, with a few bare light bulbs hanging around. Our footsteps echoed along the plain cement hallway. It felt like stepping into some forgotten memory.
Then we came into a bigger room. It was wide, quiet, and empty.
In the middle was a piano with a long bench in front of it. Around it were other mismatched chairs, scattered in no particular order.
I blinked a couple of times, trying my best to take it all in. “What… is this place?”
Making a beeline straight to the piano, Lucas brushed his fingers across a key, letting a soft note ring out. When he turned back to me, there was something tender and aching in his orbs.
“This,” he said quietly, “is my second home.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
Lowering himself onto the bench, his back to me, he said, “I came across this place four years ago… after my dad went to jail.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I stayed quiet as he went on.
“Back then, I was in a really dark place. Broken. Closing myself off from everyone… from the world. One night, after my mom came into my room with another one of her naggings, I left the house, drove around to clear my head, and somehow ended up here.” 
He touched the piano gently, almost reverently. “Funny thing is… I never really cared much about music back then. Mom made me take lessons, so it never felt like it was mine. But that night… the first time I played here alone…” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know how to explain it. All the weight I’d been carrying just lifted. I could actually breathe again.”
A single note rang out as he tapped a key. “I’ve been coming here ever since. Anytime I need to escape all the family crap… all of it.”
Taking in everything he’d shared so openly, I found myself edging closer, then stopping at his side. 
The question of why his mom had sent his dad to jail pressed at the tip of my tongue…
But I held it back. If he wanted to tell me, he would. Some wounds weren’t invitations.
Instead, I said softly, “Play something.”
He blinked up at me. “Huh?”
“You look like you want to. So… play.”
“You really want to hear?”
“Yeah.”
Quiet fell between us as he studied me, maybe wondering if I truly meant it. Finally, he inhaled deeply and placed his fingers on the keys. 
The moment he started playing, the music filled the room like warm water. Then his lids shut as he let himself drift into his own world.
Me? I just stood there, staring, completely stupefied.
He wasn’t good.
He was beautiful.
The melody pulled me into a very warm embrace, calming every single sharp thought and lifting the boulders that’d been on my shoulders for the past few days. Without a second thought, I eased onto the bench beside him, listening and feeling every note.
The final note floated in the room like a held breath.    
Slowly, Lucas opened his eyes, and when he noticed my stunned, speechless expression, he rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Uh… I’m a bit rusty.”
I took a moment, then finally whispered, “No… no… holy shit. That was incredible. You’re so good.”
He went red immediately. “It’s nothing.”
“Do you ever think about playing… out there? For people? At a theater or something?”
His eyes widened in alarm. “Oh, God, no. No way. This isn’t something I want a crowd judging. This is the only thing that feels like it’s actually mine.”
A small pause followed before he added, “You know, you’re the only person I’ve ever felt comfortable showing this place to. And I plan on keeping it that way. Just between us.”
The warm, glittery look in his eyes after he spoke those last words brought back all the guilt I’d been trying so hard to bury.
God, I really was awful. I’d only planned to use him. And yet, here he was, offering me the truest part of himself.
At that moment, I knew I had to come clean, no matter what. Fuck whether I ended up in jail or not, he didn’t deserve this at all. 
Summoning every bit of courage I had left–which wasn’t much by the way–I opened my mouth… only for a harsh ping from my phone to cut me off. 
“Sorry,” I held up a finger as I rifled through my purse. “One sec.”
Pulling out my phone, I frowned at a notification from an unknown number.
I tapped it open:
“I can’t fucking take this shit anymore.
You have ten seconds to get the fuck away from that boy, green eyes. Don’t get in his car. Don’t walk with him. Don’t even breathe in his direction.
Call an Uber. Call God. I don’t care.
But if I have to come in there to drag you away myself, the punishment you got last time will feel like a warm‑up.”