Saving Lucas

By T.O. Smith

SOMETIMES THE UNEXPECTED CAN BE EVERYTHING YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED.

Lucas Varner lived the first five years of his life with an abusive mother and a father that punished him for losing their first child to the state.

Lucas knew what it was like to go hungry, to wonder when he would eat again.
He knew what sex and drugs were before he could write his own name.

From a young age, he had learned to never ask for help, to not ask any questions, and to stay out of everyone’s way.

It was something he still couldn’t forget twelve years later.

But everyone has their own times to heal, and maybe it’s time for Lucas to find the light at the end of his own dark tunnel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiff Thomas
• Release date: Jan 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005571054

T.O. Smith

T.O. Smith believes in one thing - a happily ever after.Her books are fast-paced and dive straight into the romance and the action. She doesn't do extensively drawn out plots. Normally, within the first chapter, she's got you - hook, line, and sinker.As a writer of various different genres of romance, a reader is almost guaranteed to find some kind of romance novel they'll enjoy on her page.T.O. Smith can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and now even TikTok! She loves interacting with all of her readers, so follow her!

Book preview

Chapter One

Icrossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head down so my chin rested on my chest, closing my eyes as I listened to the rap song blasting through my headphones. I had the volume turned all the way up to drown out the sound of the rest of the class chattering among themselves. I already secluded myself to the back of the classroom, but for some reason, people still didn’t get the memo – especially some girls – so, headphones were my next best option to make everyone leave me the fuck alone.

Everyone here got on my damn nerves.

A kind of hush suddenly fell over the room. Looking up, I noticed the classroom door open, and I paused the song that had been playing as the teacher stepped into the classroom. I released a sigh of irritation as I reluctantly pulled the headphones out of my ears, knowing if I didn’t, it would just land me in trouble.

Time to waste another fucking eight hours in this hell hole.

But if my grades slipped, I knew that Trev and Trace would have my ass in a heartbeat. Grades were extremely important to them both, and they both wanted me to succeed at everything that I did. They didn't accept anything less. Though Trev was my brother and Trace was my sister-in-law, they were still the best damn parents I could ever ask for, especially since my original ones had been so fucking shitty. I never wanted to disappoint either of them.

I also had to set a good example for Lizzie and Charlie – my two nieces – but they were more like my two little sisters. I loved them to bits, and I would hurt anyone that even dared to upset them.

I would honestly go to the end of the world and back for those two.

As the teacher began to start her lecture over Shakespeare, the classroom door suddenly banged open, making me flinch as it slammed loudly against the wall. A girl dressed in black, ripped, skinny jeans, black combat boots, and a black t-shirt with a leather jacket on sauntered into the room with a motorcycle helmet under her arm. She was chewing loudly on the piece of gum in her mouth, and it was already beginning to irk my fucking nerves.

I hated loud noises, and I especially hated the sound of someone chewing gum.

The girl was fucking gorgeous though, and she drew the attention of every male in the room – hell, even the attention of some of the girls.

Her hair was as black as ink with bright, blue eyes that shined mischievously, yet innocently. I could tell the girl knew how to get into some trouble. Yet, that innocence about her told me that she wasn’t really wild.

She was shorter than me by about a foot, but she was curvy as fuck, and that ass?

Fuck me.

She obviously knew she looked good, too by the smirk that lit up her face when every pair of male eyes swung her way.

You are? The teacher demanded to know, a scowl coming to rest on her face for being interrupted by a late student.

I'm new. My name is Melanie Jones. She stated, chewing loudly on that damned gum again, making me wince and clench my fists in my hoodie pockets.

I fucking hated the sound of chewing gum.

It made my skin crawl – took me back to a dark-ass time in my life that I was doing everything in my power every fucking day to forget.

Well, Melanie, I expect you to be on time every day from now on, understand? The teacher snapped at her. After Melanie nodded in understanding, the teacher gestured toward the empty desk next to me, and I groaned softly. I chose this specific seat for a reason, and no one dared to sit next to me. Now, my solitude was about to be disturbed. You can take a seat beside Mr. Varner in the back.

I scowled. No matter how hot this girl was, I didn't want her sitting next to me. In fact, I didn't want anyone near me. I liked being alone – preferred it.

And that fucking gum. She was obnoxiously chewing on it again. I was going to lose my shit if she didn’t stop smacking it.

She silently took a seat beside me, and the only sound she made was pulling a pen and paper out of her bag after she set her helmet on the floor.

And that fucking gum.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

I was going to fucking hit something.

Can you stop smacking your fucking gum? I finally loudly snapped, glaring over at her angrily.

She flinched back at my harsh tone and even harsher look, but quickly recovered, a smirk taking over her features, though I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was scared shitless of me.

Good. She needed to be because if that gum didn’t disappear soon, I was going to become a fucking nightmare.

PTSD was a fucking bitch.

Oh, you mean this? She asked bravely and smacked even. Fucking. Louder.

If she was a guy, I would have already broken her jaw.

I clenched my jaw and slammed my binder closed, standing up from my desk. Fuck this shit, and fuck the annoying, beautiful girl next to me.

I was leaving fucking class. Call me overdramatic, but I knew that the fucking teacher could hear her smacking her damn gum, and she didn't give a shit. I wasn't sitting beside this annoying, little ass bitch, no matter how damn good-looking and curvy she was.

I couldn’t fucking take that sound.

Mr. Varner, what do you think you're doing? My teacher angrily demanded, planting her hands on her hips.

I'm not sitting next to this obnoxious, little bitch that can't chew gum fucking quietly. I snapped, slinging my bag over my shoulder. I didn't miss Melanie gaping up at me when I spoke about her as I did. The teacher narrowed her eyes at me, not even bothering to correct me on my language, knowing it was useless. She’d tried numerous times before when I got agitated like this, but when I started snapping at everyone, I fucking needed out.

When you decide to move her to the front of the room where I can't fucking hear her or her damn gum, then I'll come back to class. I snarled, storming to the door.

Trevor won't be happy to hear you're leaving my class, Luc. The teacher snapped at me as I slung open the classroom door. I flinched at the real use of Trev's name. I hated people using their full names.

It meant trouble.

I bravely shrugged my shoulders. Go ahead and call him. It's not like I give a fucking shit. I snarled at her.

Though, I did. I really did. Trev angry was never something I liked to face. It made me shut down and get extremely defensive. It was something no amount of counseling could help me get past, just like certain sounds fucking made my skin crawl.

But no matter how much I hated disappointing Trev, I couldn't sit next to that goddamn sound any fucking longer.

I stormed out of the school toward the parking lot where my car was sitting. It was a black, shiny '67 Mustang. Trev had gotten it for me for my sixteenth birthday. He handed me the keys when I came home from school that day and told me to fix her up, and she was all mine.

Fuck. I had spent an entire year rebuilding this baby up from the ground again. I’d practically had to completely rebuild the engine, and I had to reupholster the inside. Then, after that, I'd sanded and repainted the entire car black – my favorite color.

A lot of sweat and blood had gone into her, but this car was my baby. I treasured her. She’d gotten me through many sleepless nights and even harder days.

Hey, you! Varner, right? The girl – Melanie – yelled from behind me.

I blew out a harsh breath and cursed softly under my breath, picking up my pace. Why the fuck wasn’t she in class? Why in the hell had she followed me?

I’d left for a damn reason. I didn’t want to fucking be near her.

I opened my car door and tossed my bag inside onto my passenger seat, turning to face her with a scowl on my face when I heard her footsteps closing in on me. She hesitated for a moment at the anger in my eyes, but she bravely continued her pursuit of me. Aren't you supposed to be in class? I angrily snapped at her, not bothering to be nice to her even as I ran my eyes over her frame, my eyes lingering on her generous tits and her hips.

This was dangerous. She was dangerous.

She shrugged. Aren't you? She retorted, planting her hands on her curvy hips, making my eyes linger on them even longer as I imagined those slender fingers of hers on my skin as I gripped her hips and fucked her hard.

Fuck, she looked too damn good for her own good, I admitted to myself as I swallowed hard, trying to clear my head of my thoughts.

I sighed. Touché, I muttered. I crossed my arms over my chest. I noticed her eyes followed the movement, and I knew she noticed that my arm muscles flexed against my hoodie sleeves the slightest bit as I did so. I smirked slightly when I caught her checking me out before I smothered it. At least I wasn’t the only one standing here fighting the attraction.

What do you want? I demanded.

She shrugged. Are you this much of an asshole to everyone? She demanded, pursing her lips in distaste.

Fuck, was it wrong of me to want to kiss her?

My eyes zeroed in on her lips before I met her eyes again. I shrugged. Mostly, I admitted. Her gorgeous, blue eyes widened the slightest bit in surprise at my honesty. Christ, she had beautiful eyes. So, what the fuck do you want? I demanded again as I began getting angrier at myself for being so fucking attracted to her.

She sighed. I was hoping you could show me around here? She asked. I scowled at her. Was she fucking serious? I’d just walked out of school. If I went back in there right now, I’d be going to detention for the rest of the day – not showing her around the damn campus. Not school. She said quickly when she noticed me opening my mouth to deny her. Around town.

I blew out a harsh breath in annoyance. I really just wanted to be left alone and being around her was turning me into a hormonal twelve-year-old again. Look, I just want to go home. I snapped at her. So, run off somewhere, alright?

She shrugged at me. I sighed in annoyance. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere until she got her way. I fucking hated spoiled girls like her.

My scowl deepened at her persistence. You look like you need a friend, so I'm not running off until you take me with you. She informed me, her tone showing how determined she was as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I glared down at her. She flinched slightly, but I pushed down any guilt that rose in me. I wanted her to scamper and playing nice wasn't going to make her go away.

When I saw that she wasn't going to back down, I turned toward my car, cursing loudly. Get in the fucking car. I snarled, slinging my door open. But I'm going home, and you can figure out how the fuck to get back to school to get your bike. I snapped at her.

She arched an eyebrow at me but grinned nonetheless as she crossed around to the passenger side of my car. I hated how happy she always was. It wasn’t normal for someone to always be so damn cheery.

How'd you know I drove a bike? She asked as she slid into my passenger seat, gently shutting my car door. I breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she was decent enough to treat my car with extra care.

I cut my eyes to her with a deadpan look as I began reversing out of the car park. I'm pissed off, not stupid, Mel. I deadpanned, my mind instantly giving her a nickname.

I didn’t use real names. Growing up, the only time anyone used someone’s full name was when hell was about to break loose. My therapist said that giving everyone nicknames right off the bat was a coping mechanism for me, one I most likely would never outgrow since I’d been doing it for basically my entire life.

I knew Mel would be surprised that I’d called her Mel instead of her real name, but I was praying she wouldn’t say anything about it.

And thankfully, she didn’t.

The car ride was pretty much silent after that, and I was silently thanking the Heavens above for it. I wasn't much of a talker. I just wanted to ponder my thoughts in silence, though that proved difficult considering the only thing I could think of was how damn gorgeous the girl sitting next to me was.

When I pulled into the driveway, Trev opened the front door with a scowl on his face and stood in the doorway of the house with his arms crossed over his wide chest. Trev was intimidating, and though I knew he would never hurt me, I still held a slight fear of him when he was angry. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

It was one of the reasons people always said he and I were so alike.

Mel slid out of my car with me, and Trev’s eyes darkened. I swallowed nervously. "So, not only do you fucking leave school within the first hour,