Bruises • Luke Hemmings a.u

One.

He bought me shoes and helped me develop my own personal style that my mum had never been able to afford. Not that that mattered. But it made me like him even more.

And his youthfulness made him fun to be around, and my mum and I would never leave his presence without us both grinning from ear to ear, both feeling relaxed, and at peace for the first time in our lives.

While he was young, three years younger than my mum, he become our security. Our comfort. And he helped us more than I think he knows.
My mum always tried her best to provide for me, but it was obvious she struggled by my seccond hand clothing, our small, run down flat, and cheap food. Luke, being the successful young solicitor he was, made all of that stop, and while he was at the start of his career, his wage was more than double my mum had ever earned. Even with my mums protests, he began to provide for us.

We finally moved out of our small flat and into a huge fancy house in a nice neighborhood I only dreamed about living in when I was a child. All the houses were detached and nothing like the small town I had grown up in. And each property on our street had so much space.

My mum got a car upgrade, our clothes became nicer, and we could finally afford to experience the things we never had before.

With a new outlook on life, and a rise in confidence, my mum landed a new job, and finally her guilt of Luke paying for everything eased.

Even though my mum tried her hardest before him, which I will always be grateful for, I don't think I could ever thank Luke enough for how he improved both our lives. Being the best thing that ever happened to the both of us. And while it is a tragedy that she lost her life so young, and is something that makes me insanely angry at the world, I'm glad her last days on earth were spent happily, living side by side with Luke.

Luke got full custody of me shortly after my mum died. I've never known my dad, and my mum never provided details of him, only that he refused to be a part of my life, I assume because he was afraid of raising a child so young.

The nearest family I have are my auntie and uncle in Scotland, and while the last time I saw them was at my mums funeral, they still send me birthday cards and give me the occasional call to check up on me.

When the incident happened, and our lives got thrown upside down, I never had to tell Luke that I didn't want to move to Scotland and live with them, he just knew, and that's when I realised that he understood me. Besides, I think he prefers me to stay with him. I think he needs me to keep him sane.

I quickly finish getting ready and run down to the red 1959 Chevrolet Corvette that is parked in the driveway. Luke's never really liked sport cars, but he loves a good classic, and while I've never really been into cars myself, even I have to say that it is a beauty.

"I think you broke your record," Luke smiles to me, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

8:32am.

I smile, beaming at him, because for once I'm not going to be late for college. "Go me."

Luke starts the engine and pulls out of our drive way. "So," he starts, "I've decided that you're un-grounded."

"Really?" I ask him, unable to hide the surprise in the tone of my voice. I was supposed to be grounded for anther week because I stayed out until way past my curfew.

I supposed to be in at 11 o'clock at night and I came in at roughly 11 o'clock the morning after. My excuse being that I slept over at my friend, Brooke's house, and that he didn't specify which eleven I come home at. Of course he doesn't need to know the real story of how I was actually at the guy I have been seeing's flat. Calum's flat is in the town centre, and I often lie to Luke about my whereabouts while Calum fucks me right into oblivion. While my relationship with Calum probably isn't healthy for me, acting as my own personal coping mechanism, a distraction from the things I want to run from, it works. And who am I to fight against something that works?