The Book Thief 》Hemmings A.U

29.00

     "GO AHEAD; MUM IS right there, have fun explaining yourself," Luke mutters with a sly smile ever present even as he takes another sip from his drink.

     "You're the one who needs to explain yourself, Luke. How dare you embarrass me like this? Do you have any idea how this looks?" Mr. Hemmings growls through gritted teeth, shaking his head and lowering his voice so that his coworkers don't hear him. 

     "If you want to hit me again, go ahead. I'm better than you make me out to be, you know that? You take your shit out on me even though I don't deserve it. And yeah, I'm a terrible, awful person, but I still don't deserve to be treated the way that you treat me. So if you need to hit me to make yourself feel a little better, then go ahead. At least then I'll be useful, right?" He finishes, laughing bitterly and taking a final swig from his drink, throwing it down on the ground once the cup is drained of it's contents. 

     Without waiting for him to respond, Luke pushes past his father and storms off of the boat, shaking with rage.

      Lucy comes up behind me and gently pulls me aside, whispering an explanation about what Luke said. But she doesn't have to explain.

    She doesn't have to tell me that sometimes things got bad with her dad or that she didn't think she would ever have to tell me but she wanted to because she didn't want to keep it from me anymore. I already knew, but she still told me. She was still honest with me. And that was the difference between her and I in this very moment.

     Lucy was telling me her biggest fear, the secret she had been hiding for her entire life because she trusted me enough to do so, because we were best friends. But here I was, still keeping my mouth shut. Still too afraid to tell her what I felt for Luke. Still too afraid to lose my chance for a scholarship. In this very moment, I hate myself more than ever for still keeping things from her.

✉✉✉

     I stayed for the duration of the party because Lucy wanted me to, even though the jolting waters made me sick to my stomach and I had the urge to punch her father in the face every millisecond. I really did want to, but he towered over me and would probably laugh hysterically at the idea of me even thinking about attacking him.

     After the party, I retreated to the beach, and had been lying here for the past two hours. The light breeze, cool sand, and salt infused water and air were perfect for clearing my mind. It was getting darker, and the beach was just how I liked it; nearly desolate. 

      The near silence is interrupted by a buzzing against my thigh, an incoming text message. I pull out my phone and quickly reply once I see who the message is from.

      LUKE: cohen

      COHEN: what?

      LUKE: where are you?

      LUKE: i'm not drunk anymore

      LUKE: maybe just a little

      LUKE: but i need to talk to you please

     COHEN: why

     LUKE: because i have things to tell you

     LUKE: important things

     LUKE: and it's the last time i'm going to say it and you can do with the information what you will

     LUKE: i'm really not good at saying how i feel but i found a different way to say it and i hope it works