Lucky walked her home after dinner and when they reached her door, he gently took her hand. She hesitated for a moment, but did not pull away. Finally she squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Lucky. For dinner and for…earlier…"
"Well, I could tell you were uncomfortable and I just wanted to get you away from here. Do you think your uncle will come back here tonight?"
"I don't know. I hope not."
"Elizabeth, are you afraid of him?"
He saw that look again, fear. "Why would you think that?"
"You seemed afraid of him earlier. I'm not really prying; it's just that I'm not going to leave you here alone if you're afraid."
"You mean you would stay here?"
"Yes, of course I would."
She felt her heart sink. Was this when Lucky Spencer turned into all the other faceless boys she had known who had only wanted one thing from her? She had wanted so desperately for him to be different from the others, but she guessed that was too much to hope for.
Her voice was cold, distant, as she pulled her hand away from his. "I'll be okay."
"I could sleep on the couch and guard the front door. I'll never let anyone hurt you Elizabeth."
"You'd sleep on the couch?" Her voice sounded relieved.
He nodded.
"You don't have to, you know."
"I think at this point it's another one of those things that's non-negotiable."
She looked down at her feet, embarrassed that she had assumed the worst. She was so unaccustomed to anyone caring about her and her safety. She took his hand again and looked at him. "Thank you."
Lucky was sitting on the couch when she came downstairs with blankets and a pillow for him. She sat down on the couch beside him. "I'll probably sleep like a baby just knowing you're here. It does make me feel safer. Thank you again, Lucky."
"I'd like to stay every night until your grandmother comes home. I don't want you to ever be afraid of anything again."
She did not respond because she knew that nothing she would say could convey to him what she was feeling. She only looked at him in disbelief.
"You know, I just remembered that I have tickets for that concert tomorrow night in the park. Would you like to go with me? I'd really like it if you would."
"Oh, I'm sure you have someone else you'd rather take. You don't really have to babysit me you know. I'll be okay."
"Is that what you think this is about? Babysitting? Elizabeth, I spend time with you because I like you and I want to be with you."
"Well…don't you have a girlfriend?"
"I'm not seeing anyone else. I don't want to see anyone else. Only you."
"I don't understand why, Lucky. You don't really…."
"What? I don't really know you? But I do. I know that you're very beautiful and you have so many wonderful qualities that you don't even know you have. Elizabeth, I'm going to tell you something and I want you to remember it and think about it for me. Can you do that?"
She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "I'll try."
He hesitated before speaking again. "See, there's this…this light inside of you that I keep seeing glimpses of. And it's just waiting to come out. When it does I know it will be simply…" He seemed to be searching for just the right word, and when he finally found it, he smiled and said, "…illuminating…" He reached out and touched the side of her face softly with the back of his hand. "I hope I have a hand in helping it come out, but more than that, I hope I'm there to see it."
Elizabeth had never known anyone who could look into her eyes for so long without looking away. She always thought they could see the truth behind her eyes and that was why they looked away. But Lucky just kept looking at her and she knew she could easily lose herself in those hypnotizing, deep pools of azure blue. She finally looked away from him and whispered, "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
His voice was barely a whisper as he said, "Why don't you go to bed now and get some sleep? I'll keep watch down here."
She nodded and then did something she had never done before with anyone. She made the first move and reached toward Lucky to hug him, although briefly. But it was a start and she felt exhilarated by the feeling it gave her, like maybe she was making some progress. She had only really known Lucky for two days, but already he had made her feel so much better about herself. She tried not to think about what would happen and how all of this could change if he found out her secret. She pulled away and stood up. "Thank you, Lucky."
He nodded and watched her disappear up the steps and he sat in the dark for a long time afterwards. He was unable to sleep, unable to think of anything but her and how much he wanted to help her find the happiness she deserved and to help her release that illuminating light that he knew was within her, just waiting to come out.