Song: Miss That Girl- Jason Aldean
Jaylee walked up to the big forest green double door, and took a deep breath before rapping her fist against it. Luckily, Luke's car wasn't parked in the driveway, so Bethany opened the door.
"Hey Jaylee." Bethany smiled, moving aside to let Jaylee in, and closed the door. Jaylee hugged her before walking into the living room. "What's wrong?"
Jaylee let out a sigh as Bethany sat beside her on the couch. "I don't know what to do about Luke. We said hated each other, but then the next minute..."
"It's like you are still in love with each other?" Bethany finished for Jaylee, and Jaylee nodded. She didn't think she could ever stop loving Luke-- hell, she knew she could never stop loving him. They changed each other for the better, and living without one another would never feel right. Luke was Jaylee's other half now. They went through too much together, and she couldn't imagine a life without him in it.
"Well, Jaylee, I know one thing for sure; my brother may be stupid at times, and he makes a lot of mistakes-- a lot of them unforgivable--, but I know he is in love with you. I have never seen him so happy when you were together, and so torn apart when you were apart. You changed Luke, but in a good way." She contended, finishing with a smile, and Jaylee groaned. She fell back into the couch, and the two laughed before everything turned serious.
"Well, what do I do?" Jaylee glanced at Bethany, and she shook her head and laughed.
"Dammit, get out there and win him back!" Bethany shouted, and Jaylee laughed before hugging her and leaving.
She knew what she had to do.
***
Luke knew Jaylee was right.
He wasn't there when her father died. He wasn't there to hold her in his arms and assure her everything would be okay like he was supposed to. He didn't get to tell Jaylee he would be by her side through it all, and he hated himself for it. He left her to go through it alone, and he would regret it for a long time, but he solemnly promised himself and her to be there for her for the rest of his life, until he took his last breath.
After the funeral, Luke went home and changed out of his suit. He laid in his bed for a little while, just staring at his ceiling. As he laid there, Bethany walked in and laid down beside him, letting out a sigh.
"Penny for your thoughts, little bro?" She asked, and Luke played with the bracelet on his wrist. He didn't know where to start.
"I wasn't there for her, Bethany." He glanced at his sister, his eyes becoming blurry from tears. "Her dad died right in front of her eyes, and because I was stupid enough to hurt her, I wasn't there to hold her when he died."
Bethany let out a sigh. "Luke, you can't beat yourself up over that. None of us even knew her father was dying. She never said anything about it. Yeah, you were a dick, and you don't deserve her forgiveness, but you couldn't have changed what happened."
"Whether she told me or not, I should have been there for her. Even if she hadn't told me, I could have still been there for her if I wouldn't have fought with her over something stupid."
"You're right, you could have. But you can't keep hanging on to the what ifs. You will never move forward if you do." Bethany patted Luke's shoulder and smiled at him. "All you can do now is prove to Jaylee that you love her, and you will always be there. That's what she needs right now, Luke. Be there for her."
Bethany left the room, and Luke returned his gaze to his ceiling. He knew his sister was right, but he also felt like he needed to be there when Jaylee's father died. Luke became bored with the silence that lingered in his room, until every memory he ever had with Jaylee hit him like a ton of bricks. From the first time he talked to her with Miley, to her smile, her laugh, her beautiful brown eyes-- everything about her--, and to the last time he watched her running out of his house heartbroken because of him. Everything hit him. He realized he had to do everything in his power to win his girl back.
Luke sat up in his bed and grabbed her necklace out of his nightstand. It was dirty from when she threw it into the mud the day she left, and the charm on it was broken, but he knew it could be fixed-- just like their relationship could be fixed. Jaylee was his, and Luke was hers. No one could ever break them apart again. Luke wouldn't let it happen.
Suddenly, none of the stupid things mattered to Luke anymore.
All that mattered was Jaylee in his eyes.
***
Jaylee returned to her house, her emotions in a huge knot. She ran to her bedroom and ripped off her dress, lying on her bed. She stared at the ceiling, hoping to figure out a way to get Luke back. Her heart was aching without him. It was as if someone took a chainsaw and purposefully cut off half of her heart, just to prove how much she needed him. If that was the case, so be it. She needed him. Jaylee would spend every living minute of her life winning Luke back. She loved him too much to lose him--especially when he was her everything.
Instantly, every memory she ever had with Luke came flooding back. From the first time she saw him freshman year, to the last time she saw the regret flash in his eyes when she ran away, when he broke her heart. Her breath caught in her throat when his ocean blue eyes flashed into her mind, and she finally knew what she had to do.
Jaylee grabbed her phone and called him, but it went straight to voicemail. Her heart dropped, but she waited for him to call her back. One minute later, her phone started to ring. Jaylee instantly, her heart beating out of her chest.
"Luke?" She whispered, her heart skipping a beat.
"Jaylee." He whispered back, and Jaylee smiled, a single tear trickling down her cheek. She had missed the sound of his voice. She missed him.
"We need to talk." They said in unison before laughing quietly. It was strange to her how they could be so connected when they were so far apart.
"Be at my house in ten minutes?" She asked, her heart in her hands as she waited for his response. She almost thought he was going to yell at her or hurt her, but then his deep voice came across the line.
"See you then."
Luke hung up the phone, and Jaylee's heart raced from the fact she would be seeing him soon. He would be there with her. Ten minutes later, Jaylee caught the sight of headlights zooming in her driveway. Jaylee sprinted down to the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible. She opened the door just as he ran up to it. Their lips crashed into each other's for the most mind-blowing passionate kiss of their lives. Jaylee wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms found their way to her waist, closing the distance between them. Jaylee hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, and he caught her with ease.
"Come up to my room." She whispered against his lips, and Luke smirked as his lips made their way to her neck.
"We aren't even together yet and you're already being kinky." He winked at her, and Jaylee rolled her eyes as their lips met again. She smiled through their kiss as he carried her up to her room, and for once, Jaylee felt happy. She was happy he was there. Luke was happy he went. He missed his girl.
"Whatever, lover boy."
Luke gently laid her down on her bed and pressed one last gentle kiss against her lips before he rolled off of her and wrapped his arms around her.
"We both want to talk. What's your reason?" Luke asked, and Jaylee glanced up at him. She could see his big blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight, and she realized just how much she had missed him.
"I remembered everything, Luke. It was like a thousand waves crashing into my thoughts." Luke stared at her, his eyes wide from shock.
"The same thing happened to me." The two exchanged glances, and then looked away. Everything was silent, but it was comfortable.
"How about we start from the beginning." Jaylee asked with a shy smile, and Luke nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. Jaylee sat up on the bed as lightning illuminated the room, and Luke sat up as well.
"First, you made up The Heartbreaker's Game. Basically, one of us had to break the other's heart--which you succeeded-- and the loser literally became the school's loser." Jaylee stated, and Luke rolled his eyes. He hated himself for putting her through that and making her think that was the only reason he asked her out. But if it wasn't for the game, they would have never been together.
"Right. I broke your heart, which means I won, but to be honest, I didn't care about the game after we started dating. I didn't care about any of it anymore. All I cared about was making you happy, and when I broke your heart on the day of our anniversary, I felt like I had lost half of myself." A small smile grew on Jaylee's lips. Luke cared about her. For months, she thought he didn't care, but now she knew he cared. That was all the reassurance she needed.
"Why Adele?" Jaylee asked before she could stop herself. "I mean, of all people, why Adele?"
Luke sighed as he looked away from Jaylee. "I was stupid, Jaylee. She was just there at the time, and I wasn't thinking. I regret doing that to you every day, and I wish I wouldn't have."
"I would have given you everything, Luke. All you had to do was ask."
"I couldn't do that to you, Jaylee." He replied, gazing into her eyes as he caressed her cheek. "I didn't want to take advantage of you, and I definitely didn't want to make you feel like you had to do something with me. For once in my life, I wanted to take it slow, because you meant everything to me Jaylee. You still do."
Jaylee started to cry, so she buried her head in his chest. Luke wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. He did that to her. He couldn't look himself in the mirror without remembering everything he did to her. He didn't deserve Jaylee.
But without her, he was nothing.
Luke held Jaylee until she stopped crying, and then he wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Once she calmed down, she continued to talk.
"Second, you came to my house twice in the middle of the night. You told me you would tell me later, but you never did. I think now would be a great time to explain." Luke shifted uncomfortably before sighing and grabbing Jaylee's hand.
"Do you remember Collin?" Luke asked, and Jaylee nodded. "Him and Ryan ganged up on me. Collin was mad because he knew I was trying to get Miley back. Ryan wanted to be with you, so I made a deal with them. I wouldn't stick around Miley and I wouldn't date you if they didn't beat me up. I broke one of those rules, and I guess this time they chose to go after you."
Jaylee wondered if that meant Collin was in on the plan with Ryan and Adele. Her head tried to wrap around the thought of that, and it only made her hate the three of them. Luke and her would have been together and happy then if it wasn't for them.
"Third, one day, we got into a fight. I said some mean things about Miley, and then you went off and said a lot of things about me, and they hurt. That was the day I knew I liked you, but why did you say those things?" Jaylee asked, and Luke bowed his head as he interlaced their fingers.
"I was stupid. I was so caught up in getting Miley back, I didn't even realize the girl I had right in front of me. I never meant to say anything bad about you or hurt you. I love everything about you, Jaylee." Luke ran a hand through his hair, gazing deeply into Jaylee's eyes. "I'm so sorry, baby."
"It's okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you when you said I shouldn't hang out with Ryan. You were right, by the way. I shouldn't have. He ruined us." Luke rubbed my shoulder with his other hand, and Jaylee relaxed into his touch.
"No. I shouldn't control who hang out with. It's okay."
Luke and Jaylee sat in silence for a couple of minutes, thunder rumbling through the sky and lightning illuminating the room, yet Jaylee hadn't felt so content in her life. Luke felt the same way.
"I talked to your sister today." Jaylee said, and Luke shot her a confused look. Jaylee shot him a small smile. "Tell me your story."
************************************