Solicitous

/səˈlisədəs/

adjective

characterized by showing concern or interest

Only a week later, I was discharged from the hospital. Luke's protective nature, however, forced me to stay with him once I was released from the hospital, not that I was complaining.

He had been waiting on me hand and foot since he brought me back to his room in the dome. The only time he would leave the room was if there was an emergency and he was needed, in which case he would get an elderly lady named Veronica to watch me until he came back.

Veronica was happy to take care of me, but rolled her eyes at Luke's overprotectiveness just as I did.

"You know," she said one day as she sat in a lounge chair across from me, playing cards on the table in between us, "he is going to flip a whig one day if you get hurt on one of those raids."

I laughed at her true statement.

"He probably would," is all I told her, looking through my cards to find the next number in the deck.

As I placed the card upside down slyly, the old woman's face furrowed in concentration. Her posture straightened slightly as the wrinkles on her face multiplied due to her constriction of her face.

"Bull," she said slowly, second guessing herself halfway through but still carrying through with her decision.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I flipped over my last card to reveal an eight card.

She swore like a sailer under her breath as she picked up all the cards on the table muttering about how disrespectful kids are these days.

I laughed at her display of poor sportsmanlike attitude.

"You're the one that chose to call that," I pointed out, laughing at her scowl covered face.

The little old lady flipped her middle finger up at me before continuing to look through all her newly collected cards.

The first day I met Veronica, I was utterly stunned by her language as all the elders I had met, at the lab and here, were always keen on no one cursing. But here was Veronica, muttering foul language under her breathe, flipping me off when I made a smart remark, and making a sexual innuendo every five minutes at most.

"You know, the reason all those oldies tell you kids not to cuss is because they're all a bit hormonal," she told me another day while we were playing cards.

I looked up at her from my deck with a confused look on my face. "What do you mean?" I asked for clarification, not yet used to her speech.

"Honey, half those men quit driving daddy's Buick before you were born. You know how people get when they need to get laid," she simply stated never looking up from her cards.

The water I had in my mouth almost came out when I began laughing maniacally at this.

"I'm just speaking the truth," she said when she glanced up to see my giggling state.

Now, however, Luke was out making plans for the raid, not allowing me to go for fear of my health. So I was here playing cards with Veronica and listening to all of her words of wisdom.

"So," she began, keeping her eyes on her cards for a short time before looking at me, "are you and Luke," she stopped talking and simply wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive way as I sat there in awe of her question.

"Me and Luke?" I asked, making sure I have her question right.

"Well, unless you had your eyes on Michael," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at my stupidity.

"No," I paused for a second, taking a deep breathe. "No, we're just friends."

"Friends with benefits?"

"No!" I blushed crimson at her question. Did Luke and I appear that way?

"I was just wondering," her voice trailed off as her eyes looked back at her cards. "But when you guys do get serious, you will be safe right?"

My eyes almost popped out of their sockets at this question and I began coughing maniacally for some strange reason. Veronica looked up at me and smiled sweetly. Although we weren't related, or knew each other before this, it was as if she could be my grandmother. She gave off a sense of sweetness that felt so comforting when I barely knew anyone.

"I'm just making sure. We don't need anymore babies in this colony, that's for sure."

I laughed slightly as I followed her turn by placing a card down.

"I'm serious, some of these girls here got their legs spread so wide it's like Moses parted the Red Sea all over again."

I broke out in laughter from the crude remarks coming from the frail woman, doubling over on the bed just as the six foot giant enters the room.

"What happened here?" he asked, grinning like an idiot as he closed the door behind him and made his way over to sit beside me wearing his usual band shirt and worn, dark, skinny jeans.

"Oh, you know, just girl talk," Veronica stated, slightly chuckling.

"I see," he said, looking down at me, his arm tightly wrapped around me.

I looked up, finding his face closer than I thought, but in an odd sense I felt comfortable knowing he was right beside me and holding me close in his arms.

"I'm going to go," she said quietly, standing up from her spot and heading towards the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay Mrs. Walters?" Luke asked, addressing her by her last name.

"Oh no, I have to get going. Us old people actually get some sleep," she spoke, subtly winking at me and keeping it out of Luke's sight.

I almost died of laughter but managed to hold it in as Luke told her goodbye and walked her out. When he walked back in, he threw himself onto the bed looking up and placing his hands on his face, letting out a groan.

"What happened?" knowing that all these meetings were about the lab, White Coats, and bombings and attacks the colony had come under. All of these urgent meetings were definitely wearing on Luke and making him stress more than necessary.

"They want to attack," he spoke lightly, running his fingers through my hair as he sat up, his arms encompassing my frame.

My ears perked up at this as I snuggled into his arms, finding a kind of peace in them. "What do you want to do?" I asked, knowing that he just wanted to get his opinion out there, which the meetings never allowed.

"I really want to," he admitted letting out a large breath of air as he pushed his face further into my neck.

I looked up at this, not believing that Luke would want to go to battle. He almost never wanted to do raids or battles in fear that someone would get hurt and not come back to their family.

"What changed your mind about raids?"

He sighed heavily once more. I could tell that he is running his hand over his face, not in agitation, but out of plain stress that all these meeting were pressing on him.

"You."

That one word explained it all; his motives for acting this way, the thought process he used, the reason he was so okay with the fact he was taking some troops to their grave was all due to the fact that he was fueled by revenge. He wanted to get to Michael's brother.

"Luke," my voice trailed off as I fully pulled myself away from him, not liking his ideas.

"Lissa, I know that it's wrong but I just want to hurt him. I want him dead so he can never hurt you again," he sat up, his hand cupping my cheek and rubbing circles on it with his thumb.

I bit my lip and shook my head at him, causing a frown to cover his features.

"That's not right and you know it," I told him.

Another sigh emitted from his mouth as he shook his head with his eyes looking at the sheets.

"What am I supposed to do Melissa?" he asked in a deep, husky voice, his eyes, once again, connecting with mine. "Am I supposed to let him hurt you again? You know I can't do that."

I closed my eyes, letting his minty breath hit my face as he breathed deeply, trying to tame his emotions and stay calm. I knew that I was pushing his limits. Usually he was always calm, but when it came to protecting someone, he was never calm. You could say his fatal flaw was being too caring, but at least it wasn't not being caring at all.

"Luke," I whispered, bringing my hand up to his face. A shiver ran down my spine when his other hand covered mine. "He won't hurt me."

"How can you be so sure?" His gravely voice pierced my soul and burned accusation in my soul. To be brutally honest, I didn't know, but if it stopped him from doing something he would regret, I would lie to him.

"I just know," I whispered, trying not to disturb the silent airing floating between us in our close proximity.

His hand lowered from my cheek to my neck, making butterflies erupt in my stomach. I scooted towards him lightly, realizing what he was doing. A smile appeared on his features as he pulled me only slightly closer. My eyes were locked on his, not knowing what to do, yet wanting to kiss him so badly.

His eyes closed before he eliminated the space between us, placing his lips on mine.

My heartbeat accelerated at our close proximity and the gentle contact. His hand that once held mine was now encompassing my waist. My hands found their way around his neck pulling him slightly closer to me.

For a few excruciating painful moments, his lips disconnected from mine before lightly tugging my upper lip.

The assault continued when our lips both found each others again, coming together to fight for dominance. No time was wasted when he pulled me into his lap and continued pulling my lips back to his, making smiles erupt on both of our faces.

My nerves were frazzled as I was losing myself in the kiss, letting him take control and pull me closer and closer as he felt necessary. It was only a matter of time before we were short of breath and pull away but stay in our embrace.

"You are amazing," Luke lowly mumbled in his breathless state. I rolled my eyes at his statement, finding it endearing yet cheesy.

"So are you." Luke chuckled at my awkward response and continued to stare into my eyes with a newfound look covering his features.

"You can't be sure about that, you know?" he said, his hands still gripping my waist tightly, holding me protectively close to him.

"About what?" I asked, my mind only thinking about the kiss. My entire body was still buzzing from the connection of his lips with mine.

"Michael's twin," he deadpanned.

I looked down, finding a sudden interest in his shirt. My hands began messing with the excess material, fisting and then releasing it only to repeat the cycle again.

"Why are we talking about this still?" I inquired, confused as to why he is thinking about this. "Did kissing me really make you think of that?"

"You don't get it do you?" He placed me on the bed again as he got up to pace the room, his fingers running through his already messed up quiff.

"No, I don't, Luke," I began. "I don't understand why you are so obsessed with protecting me!"

His body turned to face me in a single turn of his heel. "Why I am so obsessed with protecting you? Did you ever think that maybe I care about you and I don't want to live without you?" he yelled back at me in frustration, his hands tugging his hair.

Tears began to form in my eyes, but I blinked them back, not wanting Luke to see me cry.

"I'm still here aren't I?" I asked in a feathery, light tone. It was unnecessary for him to treat me as a child and attempt to protect me in every circumstance.

"But what if he hurts you? You don't know what he can do," he said in a calm voice, realizing that I don't want to fight with him.

"I know what he can do, that's why I don't want you going after him for revenge."

His face looked confused, a blank stare covering his face as he tried to figure out what I meant.

"You say that you only want to protect me because you can't live without me, but how do you think I would feel if you died while trying to protect me?"

Realization lit up in his eyes as his face suddenly turned sympathetic.

"Lissa, I didn't realize-"

"That I would actually worry about you?" I interrupted him, tears now pouring out of my eyes.

He finally stopped pacing and simply looked at me, hurt evident in his eyes but the guilt filling most of them. I stood up and approached him, his height looming over me but I simply looked up at him the closer I got.

"If you're not going to let me protect you, then quit protecting me," I sneered, walking past toward the door.

As I was crossing the room I felt an arm tug me back, causing me to fall back into Luke's chest.

"I can't do that," he whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. My shoulders began to relax as I molded into his frame.

"Then don't," I whispered back as his arms once again circle around my waist, luring me to never leave his tight and protective embrace.

Edited: 20 October 2016