Chapter 33

By the next day, we all started to feel more confident that our plan was working. That we were ahead and on top. That we wouldn't be caught or found for at least a couple weeks. I mean, there was no reason to think that what we did wouldn't work. I'm sure that the stiffs in Ohio were still patiently waiting for the return of their men and our bodies. And with each moment they wait, the further we move towards success.

It felt wonderful and tasted like freedom. From the second I woke in privacy to the minutes we happily let pass us as we sluggishly got ready to leave. Even when we were ready, we took out time. Mainly because we wanted to make sure that Jackson's arm was perfectly fine.

Just because he got lucky and was only shot in the arm, that didn't mean he was completely free of no risk. The man could still get an infection so we needed to keep a close eye on it; it wasn't like we could waltz into a hospital. So Carter took on the role of doctor and applied more of that burning medicine to treat it. I wanted to help, but there wasn't much Luke or I could contribute to the one-man job Carter had.

That's why I took advantage of an opportunity that would grant me absolute pleasure. No, the motel didn't offer complimentary dildos; trust me, I had my hopes up for that too but it was something even better. It was something that made my dreams come true: a continental breakfast. It was a crappy excuse for a full breakfast but it was honestly the best thing I could ask for. Remember, for every place we stayed at, we rarely allowed ourselves the chance to eat in the morning. Now, we actually had the luxury of having breakfast without feeling rushed or paranoid. Let me just tell you guys... it was awesome.

Luke accompanied me into the tiny lobby where there was a long counter adjacent to the front desk. There wasn't much there but enough to make me happy. I filled my plate full with muffins, poured myself a cup of orange juice, and sat down at one of the three little tables. I guess it fit considering this place was small to begin with.

When Luke sat across from me, a bagel with peanut butter on his plate, I couldn't help but shake my head in disappointment. "Someone clearly didn't see the blueberry muffins."

He raised his eyebrow at me when he glanced down to where I had about six piled high. "I see that certain someone wasn't you," he teased, leaning back against his chair. Picking up his cup of coffee, he sipped at it in amusement while his eyes stayed on me.

Loving the lightness between us, I rolled my eyes as I watched him set his cup down. "Hey, these are the best and I will welcome any form of breakfast." Picking one of my muffins up, I peeled away the papery material and took a bite.

"What about coffee?" he asked, raising and lowering his eyebrows. Then he glanced down to his coffee and pressed his index finger against the cup. He slowly pushed it across the table towards me, smirking before looking back up to me.

I searched his teasing eyes. "Now, a certain someone clearly doesn't remember my opinion of coffee." It felt like such a long time ago.... I remember how disgusting coffee tasted the first time Luke had me try it.

"Things change," he put simply.

Things sure did. Staring into his sweet and open green eyes, I couldn't agree with him more. I mean, I fully believed that I was sitting across from and staring at the Luke I knew and loved before I was dragged into Witness Protection. He was starting to return to his old self more and more with each day it seemed.

Yet at the same time, experiences and their impressions last. I knew that we both were different as people – and there was nothing wrong with that. He was showing more of his old-self but he was also different thanks to everything that occurred. I just wished that I wasn't the reason he was different. No matter how much better he's doing, I was the one that caused him unthinkable pain to begin with.

The memory of everything Shannon told me came back. All those terrible obstacles Luke had to face, all the pain and hurt he endured from me disappearing.... Ugh. I knew it would start bothering me again eventually.

Before, the overwhelming fear and stress over major problems blocked out that personal issue. Now that those major stressors were dissolving, it allowed those guilty feelings about Luke to come back. I never did talk to him about everything that apparently happened with him....

Pushing that aside as well as the pain that entered my heart, I scoffed at Luke's persistent stare. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the small table. "Fine. I'll try it." I reached over my plate of muffins to where he pushed his cup forward. Grabbing it, I took a small sip of the steaming liquid--

Jesus! Things change but not this! Cringing and sitting up more, I set the cup in its proper place in front of him and nowhere near me. It tasted disgusting and I was sure my cringing face showed that. "Jeez, that's awful," I groaned. "I don't get how people like this!" I quickly took the cup that offered relief and downed a big gulp of orange juice.

He laughed to himself before grinning, his gaze staying in mine. "I guess some things don't change then."

His eyes remaining on mine for longer than usual, showing a peculiar glint in them too, I could see there was more behind his words. It made my heart jump slightly as I stared back at Luke. He was right. We changed, things always are changing. But some things didn't change. Like my dislike for coffee... and other things that I didn't want to think about at the moment. I had a feeling Luke was pondering over those exact things that I was trying not to think about... and it was a scary and exciting thought.

It was easy to push all that away for now thanks to how much I was enjoying my time with Luke. We joked back and forth and talked about random things while we ate. I couldn't get enough of it either. For once, I even took my time eating to prolong our breakfast together. Then again, it was hard to eat at a normal pace anyway because of how much we were talking. It was so nice to lose our minds in anything that didn't concern our current situation.

By the time we reluctantly finished eating and got on the road with Jackson and Carter, it was about noon. I happily drove too, wanting to make up for not being able to help the other night when I fell asleep on Luke. I just hoped that the Kansas scenery would be a little livelier than what we found in Oklahoma.

I was disappointed.

"Who the hell would fucking live here?" I blurted out in annoyance a few hours in.

Driving north through Kansas, there wasn't much to look at. The only thing that was maybe a little nicer was that we were surrounded in more green grasses and fields than the brown and yellow scenery of Oklahoma. I know, right?! Yippee-skippy do! Let's throw a party and get excited because the long grass looked slightly better!

"Losers would live here," Carter answered from where he was sitting behind me in the back.

"Exactly," I agreed.

"I'm sure not all of Kansas is like this. This kind of scenery isn't that bad though. I think it's pretty," Luke said in a positive tone from where he was sitting on the other end of the backseat.

I snickered to myself, keeping my eyes on the road. "Maybe you should live here, Luke."

I could tell just from his voice that he wasn't as impressed as he was trying to pull off. "I might have to. I'm starting to feel bad for Kansas," he mumbled. I had to give Luke credit though. In all seriousness, this wasn't bad - and it was pretty. It was just boring to see the same thing for hours on end, especially when it's basically nothing but flat land.

Jackson sighed, clearly not in the trash-talking-Kansas mood. He glanced over to me, catching my eyes. His expression and face looked as flat as the land around us like usual. Of course, Jackson was at least interesting. I still had no idea what to think about that hug he gave me.... I had a feeling that we weren't going to speak of that, which would be fine with me.

"Calm down, this won't last," he muttered, looking down to the map in his lap.

"This won't last? Then what?" I asked anxiously, looking from him to the road and back. I'd be floored to see a hill at this point.

His hand smoothed the surface of the map against his jeans. "Then we hit the interstate and head west towards Colorado. You'll be sorry for bitching about this because once we hit the mountains, you won't be able to handle driving." Smirking, Jackson's words dripped with arrogance.

I raised an eyebrow. Out of everything, he took pleasure in getting under my skin and challenging me. To be fair, that's what he and I always did. "You don't think I'll have the skill to drive through the mountains?"

"No. You don't have the experience either," he said, turning his attention away from me and out the window. "I'll take over when it gets to be too hard and too scary."

Before I could bitch back at him, Carter jumped in. I could hear how close he was to laughing. "You'll take over? I could fucking use you as a pencil holder with that big ass hole in your arm," he said. Luke couldn't help but chuckle.

I could hear the amusement grow in Jackson's voice when he turned to look back at Carter. "And I can still use it perfectly fine. I'd be more worried about what might be going in your hole."

Ha! Oh man, that was too good! We all cracked up, unable to help it. Raising my eyebrows, surprised at his words that even left him smirking, I couldn't stop myself from speaking. "Well, I always wondered if you guys were gay," I laughed.

Luke chirped in. "I have a feeling whatever Jackson decides to put up his ass, it won't be out of love."

"You're damn right. It will be either my foot or roadkill," Jackson said. I think it was the first time I saw both him and Luke agree on something. Our laughter dying down, his voice returned with confidence when he spoke to me again. "Regardless, I'll be fine driving when it gets to be too hard for a little girl like you to handle."

Beyond that funny moment, his challenging words made me excited. I was ready to prove that I would be fine once we reach rougher terrain. Snorting and shaking my head, I kept my eyes on the road. "We'll see about that."

He doesn't think I'll be able to handle driving through the mountains. What's going to be so scary? Unless we will be driving off-road down a flipping mountain, I didn't see how I would have an issue. Roads are roads, right?

***

I was sitting in the backseat with Luke, not wanting to be up front in with the smug bastard that was now driving. And yes, his arm didn't stop him either. He's been driving for a few hours now as we gradually continued getting higher and further into the mountains of Colorado. I don't even want to talk about it.

I was still embarrassed and didn't even want to look up towards where Carter was sitting in the passenger seat next to Jackson. All I could do was stare out my window. It's not like I had to force myself to though. It was gorgeous! The view of the rock and climbing foliage that made up the steep terrain shined from the setting sun ahead. Out Luke's window to the right was an even more amazing sight, but also the reason why I had to shamefully hand over the wheel.

Glancing to the right and looking beyond him through his window, I took in the glorious view. We were driving flat on a road next to the high peaks that slowly reached up on the left of us. But not far to the right of our car was a steep and daunting cliff edge. We were very high up – with no freaking guardrails or nothing! But it allowed us to see rocky hills below us that were surrounded by treetops. In the distance miles away, the ground rose up to more mountainous regions. It was stunning.

My eyes stayed glued out the windows for the remainder of the drive. I couldn't help it either; the colors, the texture, the terrain, the rock and nature... it blew me away. It was beautiful and like nothing I've ever seen with my own eyes before. It's not like my angel of a mother ever took me anywhere. It made me feel as if I missed out on so much.... I felt that a lot if I dwell on my childhood and past with Clare. I guess that only gave me more motivation as to why we need to finish Reid. I needed to be able to live more days to see such sights.

I didn't want it to end. My eyes couldn't get enough, but the sun can only be our bitch for so long. By the time it dipped below the wonderful sights and night started seeping through the sky, it was just after nine. We had to call it quits. Jackson pulled off the highway and into a small town for the night.

Which was a real shame. The awesome mountains kept my mind occupied. What I was left with when I was alone in my own motel room for the night... was a sickening feeling.

My mind relentlessly started to return to Luke and the thoughts that reappeared during our breakfast together. I just wished that I could take all the painful worries and guilt away because it hurt. I replayed what Shannon told me in my head and it was painful. So painful that by the time I laid down, I couldn't handle it. I couldn't face it, take thinking about it anymore. Not tonight, not now. I needed to sleep and knew I wouldn't be able to if I beat myself up by thinking about it. I just knew that... I needed to do something.

I needed to help Luke, fix what happened somehow! I knew there was no way I could do that but... he deserved something. He deserved an apology. One that couldn't do justice for what happened; I knew that too well. But he still deserved my recognition towards his pain during those three years. He deserved to know how hard it was for me to even think about it. I didn't have a clue how to talk to him about that. I didn't have a clue how I was even going approach him on something he probably won't want to talk about but... I had to.

The only way I was able to fall asleep was because I instilled a plan in my mind to talk to Luke about everything that happened. Thinking about it anymore for the night might have honestly resulted in me freaking out and turning into a mess. That's why I convinced myself that I had to talk to him. I would need to do that soon, maybe even by tomorrow night, if I wanted to get any sleep in the future.

Even when I woke to the new day, I was scared that it would bother me until I'm able to actually talk to him about that. Luckily, and ironically enough, Luke was a good distraction from that painful guilt. He was in a good mood and it made me feel less terrible about what I put him through.

Him being in a good mood wasn't all that kept me distracted this morning. There was the fact that I was attempting to grow some balls....

"I want everyone to sign contracts stating that you understood the risk of me driving and still chose to be in the car with me. Or I'm not going to do it and it will be everyone else's fault," I demanded from where I was leaning against the rear of the car, looking between everyone in the circle of friendship.

Jackson instantly caught my attention when he rolled his eyes and sighed. Crossing his strong arms across where his chest was supporting a grey shirt, he leaned forward towards me to stress his words. Eyeing his patched up arm, it was clear that he was still doing fine. "You will be fine. Man up. You're the one that woke up determined to drive the rest of the way through the mountains."

He was right and I did say that... but that was when me not being a chicken was more important than our lives. Jackson shouldn't be upset that I had a change of heart and suddenly wanted everyone to live. "I'm so stinking sorry that I don't want to kill us all." Glancing beyond where the three men were facing me, I nodded towards one of the few other cars in the motel parking lot. "You know what, let's just steal another car. I'll drive that one by myself, you guys take this car," I said, kicking one of the tires of our current vehicle. "That way, I won't kill anyone if I happen to drive off a cliff."

From beside Jackson, Luke jumped in with encouragement. "You'll be fine and I think you even know it. If you didn't think you could do it, you wouldn't have been so excited over it earlier. At least give it a try."

He was right; they both were. I knew I could do it. I could and I did really want to drive through the mountains just for the experience. And of course, to make a comeback from my pansy behavior yesterday. Would I be nervous? Sure, but there was nothing wrong with trying (unless I kill us all within the first two minutes on the road).

"Alright," I said, taking a deep breath. Licking my lips, I took the keys from Jackson before getting in the driver's seat. Carter and Luke got in back like before while Jackson sat down in the passenger seat next to me, a small smile on his face surprisingly.

Starting the car, I made my first announcement. "Everyone needs to find something to use as a parachute in case we go flying off a cliff. I personally would suggest cutting out the airbags and using those."

Despite my jokes and slight nervousness, once we got on the road and started driving, it wasn't bad. Sure, I didn't like there being nothing between little us and death a million miles down the cliff. Once I managed to push that aside and just focus on driving through the beautiful scenery though, I began enjoying it. Just like yesterday, it felt like a new other world! Unlike most of these long days spent driving, it was exciting too. It wasn't the same sight over and over. It was beautiful and even helped burry away the guilt I felt over Luke.

It got even better about four hours into the drive.

"Okay, we need to stop. Four more exits," I said calmly, trying to contain my sudden excitement over the sign we just passed. We were almost out of the mountains for now but that didn't mean the fun was over.

"Why? Did you see a pizza laying on the side of the road?" Carter snickered from behind me.

My eyebrows shot down. I was about to get on his ass for that comment; he clearly has been picking up on my eating habits. Fortunately for him, I was too excited from what I just saw to bother and kept my eyes on the road.

"There is a national park ahead," I said in contained excitement, glancing to Jackson as he tiredly chuckled.

"Oh yeah? And what's there that you want to see?" Luke asked.

Sitting up slightly and glancing in the rearview mirror, I caught a small smile on Luke's lips. His eyes met mine in the mirror too, making my heart spin. He clearly enjoyed my excitement and wanted to have some fun with it.

"I guess we will see, right?" I proposed, trying to hold in my grin as I glanced back to the road for good. When nobody protested, clearly wanting a break from driving, I nodded with a grin. "Hell yeah," I whispered to myself.

***

I understood that this was a rare occurrence and something that probably wouldn't happen on this 'road trip' again. How often have we stopped this wagon going west over a tourist attraction? Never. Let alone for a national park! That's why I made sure to enjoy every single minute of this and not waste a second....

"Where's the bathroom around here?" I asked Luke from where I was struggling behind him on the trail. But hey, I was only 'struggling' because it was close to 100 degrees here!

My eyes were trained on his back and the sweat seeping through the dark blue fabric of his shirt. The ends of his hair that caressed his neck with sweat too glistened in the sun. There weren't many trees around for shade either. Instead, we were surrounded by godly rocks that reached straight up and were as high as mountains.

"For a badass like you... right here," he said, stopping in his tracks. He turned to our left slightly and away from the massive rock plateau we were walking along. A rock mass that shot up into the sky from the flat ground under us.

Stopping behind him, my eyes followed his gaze to the amazing view I already had trouble taking my eyes off of. I swear it felt like we were hiking along the bottom of the Grand Canyon, this place was that surreal. Unfortunately, it was not a place I could comfortably go to the bathroom.

"No thanks. You're lucky I don't really have to go," I said, my gaze sweeping over the beauty that this national park offered.

I admired the flat land that went for miles. Unlike the boring sight of Kansas though, this wasn't just flat nothingness. In the distance, I took in the masses of huge rocks and steep plateaus. Some stretched far into the desert-like landscape, appearing like square-shaped mountains. The steep rock wall we were currently walking along right now was similar. The only difference was that it wasn't as big, which made it easier to hike along. Ahead of us, I could see the path curved a few yards away and around where the steep rock ended. It would be interesting to see what's on the other side of this beast.

Resting my hands on my hips, I glanced up to Luke, who I think was just as stunned as me by our incredible surroundings. His eyes soaked it in before he glanced down to me, smiling. "But you're badass Albany. I figured you would be able to push something out for shits and giggles," he said in an overly serious tone despite his teasing eyes.

"You're damn right I am and always will be!" I exclaimed, turning to face him more. Then, in mock confidence, I spoke in a bragging voice. "Hell, I probably already went to the bathroom. It sure feels like it for how much I am sweating. So there."

He nodded, eyes moving aimlessly as if in thought. "I see. Keeping it sexy. I like it."

"Exactly man," I said in to keep up our playful act. "Of course, I could never be as smoking hot and sexy as you. I bet your armpits smell better than mine," I sighed as if in defeat, shaking my head.

He couldn't help himself from grinning and taking a step forward. "You tell me," he said, raising his arm up and shifting closer. "I know you want to smell it."

"Oh no, no thank you!" I blurted out quickly as I instantly jumped back. I smacked his arm back down to his side at the same time, laughing like he was now. Gripping his arm to stay at his side though, I made my comeback. "It would be rude not to offer you the same honor. Go ahead, take a whiff," I chuckled, moving back and close to him, raising my arm up above us to attempt to stick my armpit in his face.

Tipping his upper half back immediately away from me and my sexy armpit, he laughed and swung his free hand up to block my advancement. Gripping my arm, he pushed it back to my side and kept it there just like I was doing with his other arm. At this point, we couldn't stop laughing.

Luke's white teeth on display in a laugh, he shook his head in amusement, eyes pinned down in mine. And of course, though I was laughing my ass off with him, the sight of him so beautiful and happy made my head spin. Even more so with how close he was and the sweetness that entered his eyes.

I'm sure I looked like a sweaty pig but he always looked attractive and appealing. Even with the sweat framing his face and hair, he still was so perfect. I knew better than to actually think about that or face those feelings but I couldn't help it at the moment. He was just so much more open with me now, especially since it was just the two of us that decided to go on this hike. It drove me crazy, feeling just so overwhelmed from my desire for him. I didn't force it away like I should have, but I didn't care at that moment. I loved this and loved what this day unexpectedly turned into.

When our laughs died down to just smiling at each other in amusement, he glanced down to where my hand was still pinning his arm to his side. "You know, I could arrest you for this."

"Oh yeah? For what?" I asked in a challenging voice.

"Assaulting and resisting an officer."

I raised an eyebrow. Then I nodded down to where his hand was trapping mine too. "And what do you call that?"

"Defense, ma'am," he said in a professional and proper tone, managing to keep some seriousness on his face towards me.

I scoffed before biting my lip, trying not to smile. "And how did I assault and resist you?"

I felt at this point, we were in our own little world. I sure felt it from the lightness between us as well as my disregard towards my denial. He felt it from how flirtatious and teasing he was being, especially when he leaned down and closer to my face. And let me tell you... it sent my chest and stomach flipping like crazy.

That didn't keep me from the humor I felt upon seeing his clear struggle to come up with an answer. "Well..." he said slowly, eyes in mine before pausing. He didn't say anything and I could see his head was scrambling for something. It made me chuckle and him break open with a grin. "I... think that... that is an officer's business."

"Uh-huh, you stick with that copper," I nodded as we let go of each other's arms. "You let me know when you come up with a better answer because I want to see what's on the other side of this rock."

"I will," he muttered with a smile, moving a few steps back before turning back around.

We started to walk again along the path that hugged the massive cliff. It was walked enough that it made a slight dip in the Earth, which was really the only way we could see it. The ground beneath us and all around us was made up of red clay, not allowing much growth. There were bushes scattered around but not many. I didn't care though. It was clear to me that this landscape made up for it.

I didn't think nature could blow my mind to orgasm anymore but it did when we rounded the massive plateau to the other side.

"Whoa," Luke said under his breath, stopping instantly with me upon finally seeing where the trail led.

"Holy...."

In contrast of the huge mass we walked around, we now stood before a maze of pillars that reached as high as the mountainous masses! There were dozens of rocky structures that shot up straight like skyscrapers only a couple yards away. Our path weaved through the pillars, they were that lean compared to the rock we had to hike around. The lack of thickness though made up in how freaking tall the rocks reached!

Snapping away from how crazy it was, I moved closer, not caring about the trail. Head craned up at the pillars, how high they reached, I could only shake my head. It was incredible and unlike anything I ever saw before. I just stared at each, slowly moving around every one. Each had different shapes thanks to what time and erosion did. Some of the rock jutted out in different directions above us too.

"What do you think?" I heard his voice from next to me after several minutes.

I was unable to draw my eyes away from the rocks, specifically the ones that looked dangerous. "Has anyone died from these?"

"What?" he laughed, drawing my eyes to glance to him.

Eyes widening, I pointed up to one in particular that I couldn't wrap my head around. The body of the tall rock thinned as it went up... only to jut out and curve up again. "You tell me how that works. It's thinned to almost nothing in the middle. How are these stable?" I smiled.

"It's just how nature works. I can't tell you if anyone died from this though. I wouldn't let that worry you though," he said with a small chuckle.

I scoffed and pointed in the direction we came from and where the front offices and buildings were. Where we left Carter and Jackson. "You laugh all you want but dude, this could be the real reason why half our party skipped out on this." Neither Jackson or Carter showed an interest in 'hiking through Death Valley' from how hot it was out. Who knows, maybe they were also scared.

He put his hands up in defense. "Fair enough. Two killing-machine men... scared of rocks. Definitely."

"Shut up," I laughed, rolling my eyes before looking back up to the enormous rocks. It was hard not to get dizzy or fall over, I couldn't keep my eyes away from this!

It gave me the same feeling I felt when we drove through the mountains. It was incredible and out of this world (well for little me anyway). It was why we spent a while just slowly walking around these masses that shot out of the ground. It was breath-taking, unbelievable, and beautiful.

Yeah, yeah, I know asswipes, it's not like me to talk that way. Trust me, I didn't feel like my usual self while staring at our surroundings. It might be why I felt swallowed in our own little world because that's kind of what this was to me. It just made me feel... well, vulnerable for one. I also felt like some artsy-fartsy hippie compared to my usual attitude towards most things. Of course, most things were nothing like this.

And of course, Luke noticed it in me and took enjoyment out of it. "What are you thinking?" he asked with a wide smile from where he was gazing up at the pillars too a few yards away.

I didn't know how to answer. I just stood there for a long second, reaching behind me to pick at where my shirt clung to my sweaty back. "I... I don't even know. I'm blown away."

"I can tell. I've rarely seen a look like that on your face."

I could feel my cheeks heat even though the stupid heat already took care of that. Keeping my eyes on him, giving my neck a break, I could only shrug. "Well... I've never seen anything like this. It's not like Ohio has this or Connecticut."

He understood that even I knew what I said was an understatement. It was why he was patient and allowed me to keep walking through the pillars even when he was ready to continue on our hike.

And when we did continue along the path, it was just as exciting and fun. We saw more pillars along our walk, even patches of grasses and bushes. It was something I never got to see before, making it surreal. In all honesty though, he was the best part. We just kept taking out time, joking around and having fun. It reminded me of the morning we had breakfast together. Like that morning, I didn't want this to end either. I loved being with him, in this place, and out of that damn car.

By the time we reluctantly returned to the front offices, it was getting later in the evening. There were hardly as many tourists too. We spent hours here, which a certain person was not happy about. Though he wouldn't admit it though, I knew Jackson liked being out of that car too. I even managed to convince his impatient tight ass to stay here longer so we could eat. The general store here offered subs, hot dogs, and other snacks that satisfied us enough.

It was a great day. One that I wanted, needed, and took advantage of. One that I knew I wanted to enjoy with Luke, which I did. It allowed me to block out all forms of stress. However, when we returned to the car and Jackson took over driving, it was like a mental switch was flipped.

Because as we got back on the road for a few more hours, I realized something: I needed to talk to Luke tonight. I didn't let it cross my mind while I was having fun because that's all I wanted. Just to be selfish and have fun with him. Plus, it didn't hit me how later in the day it was.

Oh god. How was I going to do this? How was I going to talk to him about something that we both were extremely sensitive to? Jesus, do I need to do this? I don't want to ruin what was rebuilt between us. I didn't want to see his guard go up and mood go down.

I knew I had to at least tell him something. I at least had to apologize. But even then, I would still want to hear about everything Shannon told me from him. Damn it, I didn't know! I didn't know what to say, what to do, what to bring up and what to not! At least I had a few more hours to figure it out before it's dark. I had a feeling though that nothing could prepare me for talking to Luke about what happened during those three years.

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Sorry it took a bit to post.  I actually wasn't late writing this one but I was out of town and unable to connect to wifi on my computer :/ So its getting to you late which I apologize for.  Let me know what you think though! This was a tough one to do and I wrote it a bit differently than the other chapters.  So please tell me your opinion and what you think about the story so far!