Close To The Dangerous Bad Boy novel Chapter 64

"No, I don't." He shook his head again, eyeballing his cup of chamomile tea.

She stared at the table, thinking. "Well Lucas, I am sorry, but you cannot stay here."

"I understand." He nodded.

"You are underage, so I guess I have to call social services..."

"Mom!"

"No, please..." Lucas suddenly stood up. "I can go crash somewhere else, just no social workers, I won't go back." He was scared. I could see it in his dark eyes...fear of the past.

"You are under age, and the law says..."

"Mom! Stop it! He can't go back!" I yelled across the table.

"I think I should go." Lucas walked away again.

"No, Lucas!" I grabbed his hand. "Mom, please...isn't there something you can do? Can he stay, please? I promise he won't sleep in my room..."

"No, Skye, I'm sorry. I cannot allow a stranger to move in here, even if he is your friend."

"He is not a stranger, he is my boyfriend!"

"All the more reasons-"

"No! Don't you dare..." Tears crawled into my eyes again, filling me with warmth and pain. "Don't you dare play parent now...Every time when I needed you...when I needed you to be normal, to act like other parents, to say what other parents say...of all the times, you choose this to be that moment?! No, it's not fair..." I grabbed Lucas's arm with both of my hands and quietly cried. "It's not fair..."

"Well," I heard my mom's voice. "There's is one more possibility."

"What..." I sobbed.

"Lucas," Mom asked. "Did your mom leave you anything?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, furrowing a brow.

"Money, or some property..."

"Yes, I have a fund with her money, but I can't access it until I'm eighteen."

Mom tapped with her nails on the table, which usually meant she thought of something. "Well Lucas, what do you think about getting emancipated?"

"Emancipated?" Lucas repeated the word.

"Yes, but..."

"And you did graduate? Which technically means you are a lawyer." I was suddenly filled with hope and expectation.

"Yes, but I never put it to use."

"Why not?" Lucas lifted his head.

"I'm not...what you would call a people person. I wouldn't be able to stand all the people around me, clients, judges, other lawyers..." She gazed trough our kitchen window. I could see a hint of regret in her eyes, mixed with fear and acceptance. I hated seeing her like that. When she knew she couldn't do something. Or didn't dare.

Lucas smirked, shaking his head.

"What?" Me and mom asked at the same time.

"You two are more alike than you think." He smiled with his kind, now mellow eyes.

"Oh." I felt my cheeks turning red. Was I embarrassed to be compared to my mom? Or was I just happy to finally share some resemblance with a family member? Either way...I realized something in this past few weeks. Nothing is as it seems, you can surprise not only others, but also yourself. You just need to get out of your comfort zone. If I could do it...so can my mom. "Mom, you can try." I said.

"Skye, I don't know..." She shook her head.

"I know." I smiled at her. I did know. And even if she gets to an obstacle, I will help her.