114 Surprise Visi

"Sis, you said not too rough!"

Clearly, Liz had been unable to control herself enough.

There was no way that headphones and a cartoon could block out her loud voice filled with anger. Hell, she was pretty sure that the entire floor must have heard them.

However, Liz didn't care. She had felt so shocked when she heard about everything that happened that she wondered whether it was really her usually cool-headed friend who had gotten into so much trouble.

According to the lawyer that she had spoken to on the plane from Seattle to New York, all of the reporters were suing him at a time, and if it weren't for the fact that he was now represented by the most premier legal institution in the country, he would be looking at possibly a long stint in jail.

This had horrified her. Luke was practically family, and just the thought of him going through such a horrible thing was scary.

This was why she didn't hesitate to scream even though she knew that he had done it for her.

Tears came in her eyes as she imagined the worst case again while silence reigned in the room after Derek spoke.

She knew that she couldn't let the little kid see her cry, as he would cry too in response.

Thankfully, she was turned towards Luke and Derek was behind her.

Luke, on the other hand, was staring at her unblinkingly with an expression she couldn't comprehend on his face.

Putting in the effort to control herself, Liz wiped her eyes surreptitiously and brushed back her hair before walking back to Derek and saying, "Fine, munchkin. I got a little carried away. Now, I swear I won't shout at him. Here."

As the little kid nodded with a smile, she put back the headphones and walked close to Luke's bed.

Seeing her reach for his hand, Luke actually half-smiled and extended his, thinking that she wanted to squeeze it.

However, the classic Liz returned when she blocked the vision of her hand using her body and bent back his finger, making him yelp softly.

Seeing him in pain, Liz was about to stop, but she carried on, knowing that sometimes, this was the only way that this stubborn guy listened to her words.

Bending his finger more and more backwards while keeping in mind not to cause too much pain, Liz spoke with alacrity, stressing each word clearly.

"Listen up, Lucas Gerrymander. I'm only about to say this once. I know you're in pain, but I also know that you only listen in this state. I do not need you to fight my battles. I do not need you to defend my honor. I can imagine what they were calling me, but believe me, you accomplish nothing by being riled up. They are all going to be sued to oblivion, so don't you worry about revenge. Dammit, Luke, you already knew this beforehand! How could you still-"

Towards the end, Liz's voice started to break down and tears came in her eyes again as she let go of his hand.

She usually wasn't this kind of woman who broke down at everything, but she couldn't help it right now.

She was just really high-strung from everything that had happened, and she hadn't even slept in 30 hours.

Luke had practically just been caught in the crossfire, and his life could almost have ended because of it.

She knew that she would never be able to forgive herself if anything lasting happened.

It was thoughts like these that led her to cry again now, but suddenly, she felt herself hugged by two strong hands.

These hands had raised her up when she had fallen down time and time again when she was growing up, and they always had her back.

Two kids, together, alone against the world.

That was them, and their bond was something that couldn't even be described.

The hug made the rush of emotions burst out, from the indignation at being labeled something she wasn't and the fear of something happening to her family.

Hugging Luke back tightly, she started sobbing while trying not to move too much or make too much sound so as not to alert the little kid.

Luke didn't even need to say anything. He just let her cry it out.

When the intensity of her sobs decreased after a few minutes, he just whispered in her ear, "I know I was impulsive, I'm sorry. I'll make sure it won't happen again."

It looked as if he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself, knowing that this was not the time.

You don't poke a hurt lion, and that was exactly what Liz was right now- a lion which had been hurt because it cared too much about its cubs.

This was exactly what she had to hear at this time, so seeing her smile at him and nod before wiping away her tears, Luke felt glad that he had made the right decision.

"I'll come back after freshening up at home for a bit. Why are they keeping you here, anyway? You seem fit enough to go home."

"Umm…probably because when 10 people hit you at the same time, you can't see who's hitting you from where. And…one of 'em might have used a dustbin can lying nearby."

Hearing this, flames of rage once again lit up Liz's face before she controlled herself and nodded at him before leaving with Derek.

She was pissed, but she couldn't do anything about the situation except sue them and wait, and this irritated her.

Mumbling to herself, she didn't see that there was someone familiar waiting for her in the lobby.

It was only after she heard his voice did she realize who it was.

"The doctor tells me he's going to be fine, Miss. Liz. Now, I would like to borrow you for something. Is that Ok? Your mother and brother will be escorted home by my security detail."

Looking up, she saw the CEO whom she had left in a hurry without even thanking him after he made that very public statement about her.

"What do you mean, borrow?", she asked, before hearing the answer and dropping her jaw in shock, wondering whether the CEO had managed to read her mind.

"Oh, nothing. I thought you would like to go make a…visit to the 10 reporters who beat your friend up. A surprise visit."