The Kents

Forty Five

I hate that I can't barge in like I used to.

I walk back to my room feeling uneasy. Maybe he got pissed at me for leaving with Michael and now he doesn't want to see me or even talk to me.

I dial his number on my phone but there was still no answer.

With a heavy heart I text him;

'I'm back, are you awake?'

I make sure my phone isn't silent before locking it and placing it on my bed as I change out of my cloth.

A few minutes pass before a whole hour passes and I still haven't heard from Luke...

What if something happened to him? What if he got drunk again? Luke always has his phone on him!...

I pace around my room feeling extra worried right now.
I thought he was just mad at me, but now I don't. Now I'm just worried about him.

"Screw this!" I pick up my phone and dial his number again.
A beep, two, three, and a freaking thousand more... No answer!!

I type in another text...
'Luke where are you? I'm worried...'

A minute later my phone pings and I impulsively let it slip away from my hands and it falls down on the carpeted floor.

I retrieve it and hastily unlock it.

'Emma, we leave in three hours... GO SLEEP and STOP CALLING ME!'

I slopped down on my bed and an unsettling feeling built up in me.
He was definitely mad at me...

I wanted to text him back saying I do not want to sleep! I want to talk to you Luke...

But the current revolution of mixed emotions stop me from taking any action and I obey his shouty capitalized order, setting my phone aside and forcing myself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~

We're back on board, long dreadful travelling hours were still ahead of us. Luke has hardly spoken with me a good three words since the morning.
They were all commands like; 'Come.' 'Go.' And 'Hurry!'
Michael and I chatted long and he lightened up my mood several times.
It felt like we we're back to normal and that really relieved me...

I skim through my phones applications wanting to find anything time consuming but I end up opening Spades Plus, the app Luke had recommended to me since I technically sucked so bad at playing spades...
That memory brings a smile to my face and it widens on another thought...

I select Luke from between the game invites and ask him to be my partner on the next game.

His phone pings and I straighten up in anticipation...
He reads the request from the outer notification window with a blank expression, and after several moments he unlocks his phone and accepts the request. I suppress a grin and press play.

His picture shows up beside his name in a narrow box and I worry my lower lip.
I loved his Facebook profile picture... He's in a black suit jacket with a white chemise underneath, first two buttons undone... The sneaky smile... Ugh, I melt every time...

We continue to play a round after the other until we score a five hundred before the other team does. I grin at my screen and he soon scoffs.
I turn to him and my face warms.
"What? We won!" I remark.

"Yeah, and you got surprisingly better at this..." He smirks.
I nod in mock arrogance.
"You wouldn't have won if I wasn't your partner on this one..." I point at myself sheepishly and he chuckles.
"Ah, of course not..." He mocks and I chuckle, and then his smile soon vanishes and he turns to his front again...