Reign's POV.

Math's a bitch.

I shut my geometry book, leaning back in my chair and checking the time on my phone.

Ten PM.

Damn, I've been fighting with these numbers for three whole hours?

I stand, stretching my arms and heading out of my room.

I quietly walk down the stairs, sauntering to the kitchen. I pour myself a glass of water, downing it in a go and placing the glass on the counter, surveying the quiet kitchen.

I leave the glass in the sink and I head back to my bedroom, I climb the stairs while twisting my neck, easing the ache in the back.

I open my bedroom door and almost jump when I find someone sitting on my bed.

My hand flies to my chest, feeling the aftermath of the massive jump my heart made.

I flutter my eyes at him. At Luke.

He looks at me, not saying anything.

I slowly enter the room, closing the door behind me and not really knowing what to do or say next.

His eyes drop to the t-shirt I'm wearing, I also look down.

Shit.

I awkwardly cross my hands over my chest when I realize that I'm wearing his t-shirt, the one that has his last name printed on it.

Don't judge me, it was just a random pick, plus, it smelled like him.

I see him plaster a small smile, he gets rid of it pretty quickly but I still saw it.

I walk over to him, sitting with him on my bed but leaving some space between us.

"Hey," he greets.

"Hi." I bite down my smile.

I don't know why he's here but it definitely feels surreal, I was positive that he was never going to speak to me again.

"I have to tell you something." He sounds serious.

Please don't tell me you slept with someone else, please don't tell me you slept with someone else.

"Okay." I fidget, feeling my heart beating in my throat like the last time I talked to him.

"It's about your Dad." He swallows.

"My Dad?" I snap my brows together, sounding confused. He nods.

"Yeah, so uh," He scratches the back of his head, "I heard my Dad say he helped take your Dad to prison." He says.

"What?" I half laugh, thinking it's some kind of joke but his serious face doesn't break.

"Have you ever heard of a man called Ruben Ramirez?" He asks.

"Yeah, he was my Dad's friend, he used to come over every Sunday," I smile at the memory of the man, "Why?"

"I did a little research and Ruben and your father had a business idea worth millions, Ruben didn't feel like sharing that kind of money with your Dad so he took him out of the picture.... with my Dad's help." He adds hesitantly.

My heart burns, my knees become weak and my brain becomes foggy. Everything is spinning which makes me feel like vomiting.

"Luke, what are you saying?" My voice sounds brittle.

He closes the space between us, taking my hand in his, interlocking our fingers and staring into my eyes.

"I'm saying Ruben Ramirez was a money hungry asshole and I'm saying that your father was innocent, he is innocent." He says, the word innocent pierces through my chest, it rips me open and makes me bleed out.

A tear rolls down my cheek and I stand, running a frustrated hand through my hair and pacing the room.

"Are you sure cause-"

"I'm sure, my mom confirmed it." I hear him say.

Well, shit.

I didn't even know Ruben was involved, I would have known if I had gone to the hearing or asked mom about how everything was going but I didn't.

My Dad was a good man, he was a good father. Him going to prison changed the way I looked at him and it definitely changed me and what I believed in.

"She was right, my mom was right." I wipe my cheeks but the tears won't stop falling. "I hated my own father for so many years and for what?"

"You didn't know."

"I'm a... I'm a shitty daughter." I laugh through my tears.

"No, don't do that," He stands up and strides towards me, "Don't blame yourself." He cups my face, wiping my cheeks with his thumbs.

"You don't understand, I hated him more than anything, I wished he could just die in prison and..." My bottom lip quivers, I sob.

"Reign, you can still fix all that." He tells me, I nod eagerly.

I touch his hand, the one on my left cheek, I lean my head against his chest and I inhale his scent. His body tenses, his chest heaves and he swipes his thumb on my chin. I gasp.

He groans and retrieves his hands from my face, taking a step back.

"I gotta go," He announces, "Are you going to be okay?" He doesn't look at me.

"I think so, yeah." I respond, wiping my tears away.

"Cool," He starts walking to my window.

If I let him leave now, he and I will never be okay.

"I fell for you too." I blurt out, he stops on the seat beneath my window.

He sits on it and looks at me.

"Reign-"

"Just hear me out." I hiccup, "I didn't want to admit it to myself because I have this problem, it's called pride but you know what? These last two weeks have had me thinking, I thought about how much I loved watching you cooking shirtless and how your dimples show when you smile so hard and I also loved kissing you while you were driving and that thing you called love making? I liked that very much. The thing is there's just so many things that I love about you, Luke. I don't usually use the word love on just about anyone but when it comes to you, I could use it all day without cringing myself to death." I let everything out while looking at anything other than him.

"Okay but I already knew all that...." He sounds blunt, "Can I go now?" He asks.

I sigh.

Damnit, it took a lot of guts for me to say all that.

"Maybe what I'm trying to say is.... I wanna date you too." I finally look at him.

His face remains unimpressed.

"If you're only saying that to get me back in your sheets then forget it." He says in a tired tone.

"Asshole," I mutter underneath my tone, "I'm not, I really do want to date you." I say honestly.

"Why?" He questions suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Because I like you and these last two weeks without you have been shit, I can't keep ignoring you, it's killing me." I admit.

"Did you miss the part where I said my father helped take your father to prison?" He asks.

I squint my eyes at him.

Wait, I don't think he was expecting us to work or talk it out like this, but why? Because of his father's bad deeds? That's ridiculous.

"You're not your father, Luke, stop living in that man's shadow." I roll my eyes to the ceiling, he brings himself to his feet and ambles back to where I'm standing.

His eyes travel from my face to the curve of my neck and down to my body.

His fingers stroke his bottom lip and I swallow, my throat becomes so dry I wonder if I was drinking water or air downstairs.

"If we're gonna date, then I'm gonna have to claim you," his hooded eyes raise to my face, "No one else touches you, they don't even look at you, deal?" He doesn't sound like he's joking.

Possessive much?

"Fine but I'm gonna have to bring up the word rehab everyday so...." I shrug, challenging him, he scoffs and looks to his side.

"Nice shirt by the way." He smirks at my- his shirt.

"Thanks, I got it at the mall." I grin at him, his gaze lingers on my mouth, that one look makes my stomach burst with butterflies and my heart race and my smile drops.

"I love it." He whispers softly, placing his hand on the side of my neck, his touch feels like fire on my skin. He brings his mouth down to mine and I tiptoe, meeting him halfway, his teeth grazes my lower lip, I sigh, my tongue darting to lick his mouth.

He snakes his arm around my waist and he growls, "Fuck, I missed you."

"Tell me about it." I smile, pecking his lips again and again and again.

"Oh and one more thing." He pulls away and stares into my eyes.

"What?" I ask curiously.

"Ariana kissed me." He says.

"Yeah, right." I roll my eyes, tiptoeing to kiss him again but he doesn't move his lips.

Silence.

I study his face.

My stomach drops.

"You're not kidding?" I widen my eyes at him, he slightly shakes his head.

Wow.

"That bitch!" I whisper shout angryly. "I knew it, I told you, didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah, you did but I thought-"

"Wait, did you kiss her back?" I don't know why but I take a step back.

"No, never." He immediately shakes his head, I release a relived breath.

"When was this?" I ask, feeling like I'm going to lose my shit.

"Last night." He tucks his hands in his pockets.

"She kissed you after I told her how I felt about you? Fucking bitch." I scoff, shaking my head in disbelief.

I'm not surprised, I mean I feel a little sense of betrayal but I expected something like this from her.

"And what exactly do you feel?" He asks playfully.

"Not now, Luke. I just got stabbed in the back by my only female friend." I move to sit on my bed, laying down even, Luke lays beside me and we stare at the ceiling in silence.

I hold his hand and I feel his eyes on the side of my face.

"Do you think I should talk to my father?" I face him.

"You should definitely talk to your father." He whispers, his beautiful eyes taking in the features of my face.

"I'm gonna tell him about you." I giggle, he puts on a faint smile.

"You think he's going to approve?" He asks.

Is he?

"Well, I'm gonna have to find out." I answer, he nods, pulling me to his chest and kissing my head.

My eyelids fall and I let sleep overtake my senses.