Hoodwinked | Calum Hood AU

3.

It's Wednesday night and I'm sitting in my room. It's the first night all week that my dad has been home to entertain Alfie and cook dinner and do the regular parenting things that I'm usually left doing.

What I should be doing with this free-time is studying. It's ridiculous that it's only our first week back and already, teachers are handing out assignments and talking non-stop about the HSC, reminding us that our whole future is based on how well we do on a series of stupid year twelve exams. My English teacher, Mrs Matthews, is the worst of them all. I'd like to see her get through high school in this decade. It's so much more stressful than when my parents graduated.

Instead of studying, I'm picking at my nail polish and thinking about normal teenage stuff. Like the way Calum's smile was turned up more to the right side when he spoke to me today. Luke was talking to him about some soccer match, and I was waiting for him - Luke, that is - so we could walk to Advanced Maths together, and after Calum had addressed Luke with a simple, "Laters, Hemmings," he said "See ya, Ruby."

And then, Luke teased me the entire way to class because I couldn't wipe the dumb smile from my face. It was still there when I picked Alfie up from school, but luckily he spent the whole car ride home talking about science project he had to work on this school term and how excited he was about it, so he probably just thought I was excited for him.

It's only for Alfie's sake that I sometimes wish Mum would come back. He's supposed to be able to tell her about science projects, while she wipes cookie crumbs off his face and scolds him for leaving his bag in the doorway.

Alfie's too young to remember what it was like when she was here, but I'm not. I remember the day she left like it was yesterday. She was baking cookies when I woke up, which was odd, but they were the cookies Grandma always made at Christmas and so I was excited. Even though I was fourteen, not four, and probably too old to be excited about cookies.

That was the only thing that was different about that day. She waved me off to school, she kissed Alfie's hair and lectured Finn about not skipping anymore of his classes. It was a normal day, until I came home and my Dad was sitting on the lounge, his face stained with tears. I'd never seen him cry before and instantly, a knot formed in my stomach. I knew something was wrong. I thought she was dead.

She wasn't dead, though. She was, according to the letter she left my dad, broken down from the responsibility of parenting and in need of some alone time.

Poor Dad, he didn't want to believe it. He called in favours down at the station, tracking her cell phone and checking if her car had gone through any tolls. He was worried something bad had happened to her.

He ended up finding something worse than foul-play though. He found that the letter was the cold, brutal truth. 

I don't know what love is anymore, but I know it's not here with you, she wrote. I guess that's why I don't really feel sad about it. It's easy not to miss someone when they don't want to be here. Alfie doesn't know that yet.

My window opens and Luke crawls through in his black skinny jeans and black shirt. "You know we have a front door, right?"

He shrugs, sitting down next to me on the bed. "It's easier than using the front door."

"It's because my dad is home, isn't it?" I gently nudge his shoulder with mine. With Luke's tall frame, climbing through the small window is not easy and he only ever does it on nights when my dad is home. 

"Can you blame me? The man carries a gun, Ruby," He raises his eyebrows in this neurotic kind of way that's actually cute. He's so cocky all of the time that it's one trait that keeps him like-able.

"Then you better not do anything to tick him off," I smile. "Don't you have any ladies to entertain tonight?"

"You know what they say: lust grows when you keep them on their toes," he laughs.

"Did your mum teach you that one too?"

He gives me this goofy smile, "No. I thought of that one all on my own."

"Do you want to watch a movie?" I reach for my laptop that's sitting at the end of my bed, mentally claiming the movie choice. Last time Luke made me watch Anchorman 2 and I'm still angry that I'll never get those two hours of my life back. It was that terrible.

"Yeah, but before you do," Luke smiles sheepishly, "can you go into the kitchen and get us some snacks?"

Instead of answering, I hit him with the pillow and yell out to my dad. "Daaad?! Can you bring some popcorn in? By the way, Luke's here."

His blue eyes widen as he snatches the pillow out of my hands, "What did you do that for?" he whispers.

"Relax," I roll my eyes. "He'll only shoot you if you break my heart or sleep with me."

Luke straightens out, crossing his legs in front of him and leaning back onto the bed again, "Then we're all good."

this is all just setting up the plot so hang in a few more chapters and then it will be getting good :))