Alyssa's PoV

Luke's face twisted in pain as memories coursed through his mind whilst he handed me my coffee and sat opposite me with his, clutching his cup in his hands like it was the only thing saving him from breaking down. My chest tightened as I watched him in this state, so vulnerable and worried despite his normally confident demeanour.

"Hey. It's okay. I'm not here to judge, I want to help." I said as I put my hand on his arm. He flinched at the touch he wasn't expecting and I withdrew my hand quickly. "Sorry." I mumbled quickly. He sighed heavily as he finally drew the courage to speak. His hand ran through his hair, which fell back into place perfectly, as he took a big breath in and out.

"We had a stalker." He announced in one firm breath and my jaw dropped open from the shock of his revelation. "She followed us everywhere; by foot, by car..." The sentence ended abruptly as he glanced back towards the area the kids had run off to. "I was so scared for Kira and my wife. This woman didn't give up. I had to keep my eyes peeled every time we stepped out the door and, I suppose, old habits die hard." He looked down at the counter before he looked back up to me. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have put you and Cody in that position. I'd never have forgiven myself if something happened to both of you!" I sipped my coffee to hide the smile that wanted to break out at the care he'd showed us. After all he'd been through he needn't worry about our safety.

"It's fine, honestly." It was my turn to open up. "Harry, my ex, he was a drinker. One time he drove us to our holiday resort but somehow I hadn't noticed he'd drunk before we got in the car. I've been suspicious of every driver since. I didn't mean to snap at you earlier." I apologised softly, the two of us wearing our hearts on our sleeves as we sipped coffee together. There was a momentary silence before Luke let out a goofy laugh. My eyes shot up to him in an instant.

"Sorry. It's just funny how much we have in common for two people who'd never have met were it not for a PJ Masks lunchbox." He smiled again and I couldn't help but smile back. It was true. Had Cody not commented on Kira's lunchbox we probably wouldn't have been doing this. We probably wouldn't have spoken. We would have continued to live our separate lives.

"Luuuuke?" Another male voice called suddenly from down the corridor. I straightened in fear.

"Am I interrupting? I can leave!" I said quickly, beginning to stand, my heart rate quickening as if I was about to get into trouble. Luke quickly pushed me back into the seat and shook his head.

"It's just one of my friends. One that lives here sometimes." Luke looked between him and I a couple of times. "Do you mind if I introduce you?" I shook my head as Luke's cheeky smile returned. "Ash, we're in the kitchen." I could hear footsteps getting closer and for some reason my anxiety began to grow. I cupped my drink in my hands and took a few big breaths in. I didn't prepare for this; I'd have dressed up a little more should I have known I'd be meeting people!

"We? Who else is here?" Ash said as he rounded the corner, skidding to a halt as he noticed me sitting with the coffee cup in my hand. Suddenly, it felt like the room went up by twenty degrees as all eyes were on me. This tall man with longish brown hair framing his face looked between the two of us for a moment, taking in the moment.

"Ashton, meet Alyssa. Alyssa, meet Ashton." I put my cup down and held my hand out to shake his which he gratefully accepted.

"Nice to meet you." I said with a cutesy smile on my face, desperate to make a good impression. Ashton grinned slyly before he glanced over at Luke.

"You never told me you were back on the market!" He said, wiggling his eyebrows at Luke. Immediately, both myself and Luke forgot how to talk and respond. "When did this happen? Where did you meet?"

"Oh no! I'm-" I began as he said "she's just-"  We both let out awkward laughs.
"The school. I'm just-" I began as he said "Kira's friend is-"

"My son's in Kira's class." I finally managed, relieved that the conversation could finally start up again without me being a babbling mess.

"Oh!" Ashton said, eyes widening as he realised how awkward he'd made it. "Oh sorry. I didn't realise it was you! So you're the one Calum spoke about?" Luke rolled his eyes discreetly as he sighed.

"Oh, um, yes? I suppose. He came with Luke to pick Kira up from my house." I clasped my hands together as I tried to hide the nerves of meeting this guy, who was someone Luke trusted wholeheartedly.

"So I suppose she knows what you-" Ashton began, turning towards Luke who interrupted his sentences with a short, sharp 'no!' before he'd even finished the sentence. Luke's eyes were wide and his lips pursed thinly together as he glared at Ashton.

"Shall we head into the living room?" He said with anger lacing his tone. I could sense the uncomfortable tension between everyone now and I didn't quite know how to react to it.

"I can go if you want?" I questioned.

"Nonsense. The kids are having fun." He shooed my question away and guided me to the front room. Without measuring it up to be precise, I would guess that this one room was bigger than both bedrooms put together in my flat. The tv was mounted on the wall and must have been sixty inches. There was a display fire flicking its fake flames underneath it. The glass table between the tv and the sofa was sparkling clean and only had a diffuser and a children's book on it. There were very few toys in this room of the house, unlike mine which was littered with toys in every corner. The sofa was so incredibly plush that once I'd sat down I never wanted to stand back up. This really was a life of luxury in comparison to what we had, although I was beyond grateful for what I had.

"So, tell me more about yourself." Ashton said as he plopped down beside me, Luke disappearing to check on the kids for a moment. It felt like an interview as Ashton stared back at me and waited for my answer. Was I going to impress him? Or were they already against me?