Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes of Hazzard, not making any money, just cheap thrills.
Warnings: Violence, abuse, angst
Rating: FRT
Looks like Kathy Sue isn't done with Bo, will Luke be able to save him from her clutches? A sequel to Love Hurts, please read and review. Thank you.
A/N: The title comes from a well-known poem that a friend of mine put a twist on. It is that twist which inspired the title. The twisted version of this poem goes:
If you love something; set it free
If it's your's it'll come back to you
If it doesn't; track it down and kill it.
If You Love Something Set It Free
Walking out the front door, Bo Duke headed for the fields searching for his Uncle Jesse. He knew Luke was just worried about him, and he appreciated it. He really did, but dang if he wasn't about to drive him crazy. Why couldn't Luke understand that he didn't have to worry about him anymore? He was over Kathy Sue, even if she wanted to be with him it didn't matter, cause he didn't want to be with her anymore. He wasn't ever gonna let her or anybody else treat him like that again. So why couldn't he get that through Luke's thick skull?
For the past two months his older cousin had hardly let him out of his sight. At first he hadn't minded a bit, even kind of liked it if he was honest. When he finally saw the truth about his relationship with Kathy Sue, understood that she was abusing him, it was Luke he had turned to for strength. Oh, Uncle Jesse and Daisy had been there for him too, they had been great and if it hadn't been for Daisy he might not have woke up to the truth. He would never be able to repay her for that, but during the days and weeks after his break-up with Kathy Sue it had been Luke who was always there. Luke he turned to when he woke up trembling after a nightmare, Luke who held him as he worked to get himself back under control. He hadn't wanted to shut Uncle Jesse or Daisy out, and had let them help as much as he could, but with them everything was strained. Though they tried to hide it from him, they could neither one get past the guilt they felt, not that they deserved it. They had been here all of those months when he was dating Kathy Sue, but they hadn't seen the way she treated him. Hadn't noticed the changes in him, the way he had hidden the real him away, it was only when Luke returned home that the awful truth finally came out. And because of their guilt, Bo couldn't ask them for help, couldn't go to them with his fears and his anger. Couldn't tell them of his own feelings of guilt, the few times he had talked to them about his feelings he could see the guilt in their eyes growing, and so he turned to Luke for support.
Now though it had been two months since he had stopped seeing Kathy Sue and he was feeling suffocated. His friend L.B. Davenport had called a little while ago and invited Bo to the Tastee Freeze for burgers and just to hang out. Bo had been quick to say yes, but when he hung up the phone Luke was standing there, demanding to know who Bo was going to meet and where. Bo never had liked being treated like a little kid, even when he was a little kid, so he sure wasn't going to put up with it now, and his temper erupted.
"It ain't none of your dang business who I'm going to meet Luke Duke, I ain't five years old ya know!" Seeing the look on Luke's face, Bo knew he'd gone too far. "Aw heck Luke, I'm sorry I shouldn't be yelling at ya like that. I know you're just worried about me cousin, but I need to get away for a little while, I just need some time with my friends, without you hovering. Ya ain't got to worry about me anymore Luke, I promise I'm done with Kathy Sue, I ain't gonna go back to her if you stop watching me. I learned my lesson, I know I didn't ever deserve the way she treated me, and I ain't in any hurry to go back to being treated like that by her or anybody else."
Luke sighed as he listened to Bo's words, he understood how hard the last two months had been for Bo, but he couldn't help worrying. But knowing that he couldn't protect Bo forever, and realizing that maybe he was overreacting, he offered a compromise, "Tell ya what Bo, if Uncle Jesse says it's okay, I'll let ya go meet L.B. without an argument, okay?"
"Thanks Luke, I'll go ask Uncle Jesse now," Bo replied, heading outside. Turning back when he felt Luke's eyes on his back, "I'll be careful Luke, I promise you don't have to worry."
Heading out to the fields, he found his uncle who was just then returning to the farmhouse. When Bo told him what he wanted, Jesse wasn't surprised that the boy was trying to break away from Luke's protection. Jesse knew Luke meant well and at first Bo had needed his cousin's strength to heal from what Kathy Sue had done to him, but he had known the day was coming when that would end. Recently as Jesse had watched Bo, he had noticed a certain restlessness in the boy, had seen how he chafed at Luke's closeness. Knowing all of this and understanding that for Bo to fully heal he would have to become the independent young man he had been before Kathy Sue, Jesse gave his permission.
Returning to the house, Bo raced inside and grabbed Jesse's keys from the hook in the kitchen. Stopping only long enough to say good-bye to Luke and promising again to be careful, he jumped into his uncle's truck and headed to town. Watching as Bo drove away, Luke couldn't help the shiver of fear that ran through him. He told himself he was being foolish but he couldn't help feeling that letting Bo out of his sight was a mistake.
TBC