Bruises - JATP Fanfic (Luke x OC)

Chapter 23

Hello, everyone! April Fools! This is not a real chapter. Just trying to mess with you guys.

Just kidding. Here's the chapter.

Taking deep breaths, Julie and Brielle walk to the front door, trying to gather the courage to ring the doorbell. They're both so nervous because they aren't sure what Luke's parent's reactions are going to be when they hear what the two girls have to say. Julie finally gathers the courage to press the doorbell when Luke appears next to them.

"Luke!" Brielle looks at him, startling Julie enough to stop her from pressing the doorbell.

"What are you two doing here?" Luke looks at the two girls, feeling nothing but pain because he wishes he had one last goodbye he could say to his parents.

"Okay, look. I just wanted to know more about you, you know, just curious, so I came here last week on your birthday." Julie replies, and Luke instantly thinks that must be Brielle's response too.

"You were both spying on me?" Luke asks, more hurt now than ever. "After all your talks about boundaries?"

"I know. I'm sorry. But we're worried about you." Julie says.

"Your family loved you, Luke. I've known them most of my life. Even your brother, who you've never met, looks up to you. We just wanted to give them something that will mean the world to them." Brielle looks straight into his eyes, and he nods, ringing the doorbell.

"Hello?" Luke's father opens the door to see Julie and Brielle at the door. "Can I help you, Gabriella?" Mr. Patterson is the only person that says her full name and doesn't cause flashbacks because he's been like a second father to her and she has been to their house so many times. Luke is almost there, but because he's so new to her life, she still flinches slightly at the sound of her full name.

"This is my friend, Julie. She had something she wanted to give you." Brielle allows Julie to talk, feeling safer than even when she's at Julie's house. Something about this place has always made her smile with an inexplicable joy.

"I believe you had a son named Luke?" Mr. Patterson nods, before asking her to repeat her name. "Your son used to play in my family's garage? I came across this song he wrote and figured you might be interested?"

"Why yes, pl-please come in. I'm Mitch." Mr. Patterson shakes Julie's hand, letting both girls in. "Thank you for bringing her." Mr. Patterson reaches down to give Brielle a hug, and Luke is nearly crying watching it all. His parents love Brielle like she's their daughter. Brielle makes sure Luke is inside to see all of this.

"Can I get either of you anything?" Mr. Patterson offers, but both of them decline.

"Is this your son?" Julie asks, picking up one of the pictures of Luke.

"Yeah, that's Luke. When he was two." Mr. Patterson smiles, remembering that day perfectly. "Erik, his brother, looked almost like him when he was that age."

"Did I hear the doorbell?" Mrs. Patterson walks to the living room to see Julie and Brielle. "Hi, Brielle."

"Hi, Mrs. Patterson." Brielle smiles, feeling a serenity that only happens in their house.

"Hon, this is Julie." Mitch tells his wife.

"Hi Julie. That's a beautiful sweater." Emily notices, and Julie thanks her for the compliment.

"It was my mom's." Julie remembers, looking down to see the varying shades of colors on her pink sweater.

"Julie lives in the house where Luke and the band rehearsed." Mitch explains, just as Erik comes down from his own room, but only halfway down because he doesn't want to interrupt anything. "She was just telling me she found a song that Luke wrote."