Dare Me (Luke Hemmings & Theo James FanFic)(Book Two)(Wattys2016 Entry)

3. Be Careful

Wednesday 16th January 2017

Erika

"Are you ready?" I ask Luke from the passenger seat. He replies with a gentle nod and a weak smile before we both exit out of his truck onto the ground. I land on the pavement and look at the house in front of me. "You have to be kidding me." I sigh.

"What?" Luke asks creasing his eyebrows looking up at the house as though I saw something through one of the windows.

"I've been living opposite her the entire fucking time!" I almost scream in outrage at the scenario we've been in. We'd been talking to each other for a year. A year and I hadn't even thought of the possibility that she could be living right under my nose. But, what are the chances in a world like this?

Luke shrugs my thoughts away from his mind, as I expect him to. He's nervous. He says he came to see Anna's mother with her just after Christmas. He says she's a lunatic - positively insane. Mental. But, he'd never say that to Anna. None of us would.

We'd been calling the police all morning, visiting the police station eventually early this afternoon to inform them of everything we know. They said they'll start to send out a search team, just do the basics; notifying people of her missing self, and then they'll start looking in multiple places. Me and Luke figured that if we're not going to be doing anything, which we aren't, we ought to do whatever we can to try and find her - even if the police said they'll do it. We are almost certain she's with her mum.

"She has to be in here." I say storming up the path towards the door. I don't wait for Luke and immediately start slamming my fists against the door. The entire thing has consumed me. She has to be safe and the only way she can be safe, is if we know where she really is. "ANNA!" I shout continuously.

"I don't think that's gonna do anything." Luke replies glumly, looking through the large living room window.

"Well, we've got to try." I say at my normal vocal level before raising it to shout her name once more. "ANNA!"

Anyone passing us must think we're insane - or at least that I am. Luke looks through all the windows whilst I bang on them shouting Anna's name trying to find a sign of life as I look through the glass. But, the thing is, I keep on shouting even though I see no one. Nothing. It's like I want something to be there, like I want her to be in there so we can get her back. I can't stop shouting, as much as I want to and need to.

After a minute I feel hands on my shoulders pulling me away from the window. I realise my eyes have filled with tears and I just let them break away from me and fall down my face. I begin to cry out meaningless noise.

"Erika, it's okay." Luke says pulling me into him. I don't look at him and take the gesture quickly. I bury my face into his shirt, clenching the fabric tight with my hands. "She's not here." I almost stop crying when I hear his voice again. I've grown so used to the sound of it that it's too recognisable to differentiate between everyone else's voices. It's not Australian - it's not Luke. It's actually very, very British with a very strong Oxford twist to the tone.

I release my grip on his shirt and look over his shoulder to see Luke looking straight at me with a worried face. I take a single step back and look at Theo. We stand through a short moment of silence as I fold my hands over my stomach, guarding myself from him. "Why you came here is irrelevant to me." I say through broken cries.

"Eri, I just-"

"I don't want to hear it." As much as I wish we could be one again, I find that, now, Anna is my priority. Finding her, getting her home and safe to her loved ones is the only thing I care about right now. Theo, home, the production, everything in between is nothing in my mind. I can't think of that, not whilst my friend is in potential danger.

"I just want to help," he adds raising his eyebrows to show his pleading eyes.

I ignore his comment and turn to face Luke who had been staring at the pair of us for the past few minutes. "She's not here." He says through shaky vocals, pulling a packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He places it between his lips with shaky hands, pressing it up against the metal ring that's pierced through him.

"I can't do this any more. Let the police do their search - we can't do anything now." I state through sniffles as I begin to walk back down the path, passing Luke as he lights the cigarette. Only after I exit the garden and stop at the pavement is it that I hear light footsteps behind me. The tears well in my eyes again and I try my best to hold them back, not looking up from the floor.

"It's going to be okay, they'll find her." Theo says as he slows next to me.

"What gives you the authority to say that?" I say with a striking bitter twist. Wiping the heel of my hand against my eye, I begin to step out onto the road. A car zooms down the street at a phenomenal speed but, before I can think, Theo grabs my wrist and pulls me back towards him.

"Be careful." His eyebrows are stern on his face but somehow reassuring at the same time. I snatch my hand away from him and wait for the road to clear once again. "Look, I want to get her home just as much as you do." He replies as I wave goodbye to Luke.

"That's hard to believe." I reply storming across the road. He keeps up with me easily with his long legs making large strides.

"Why are you out to make this so God damn difficult?!" He eventually shouts at me.

"I'm making this difficult?! Right, sure. Just piss off!" I say as I walk down the street a few metres to approach my house.

"Fine, fine." He says aggressively, making large gestures with his hands, "If you don't want my help, I'll just go!"

"Good!" I shout, rushing up the driveway.

"Fine!" I hear him shout back as I open the door and step inside my house.

"Fine!" I end the shouting, slamming the door loud behind me. I don't care if he's still stood at the end of my driveway. I don't want to see him. I don't want to see him at all.

Author's Notes

Hi my lovelies! I hope you're enjoying this so far! Not going to lie, I am really liking this so far and I've only written a few chapters! I hope you love the story as much as me and Anna do though... well, that'll be difficult but, you know! Vote, comment, follow and share! Oh, and don't be afraid to message me sometime! Another thing, I've updated my Q&A over on my account and it has a featured section on 'Limit Me' if you want to go and check that out. If you have any questions I can also answer them over there! Thank you for your support throughout this!

Much love, OnceUponATimexox