control - muke

Chapter 19

"Any news on Michael?" Luke asked, standing up to greet his brother as he returned from checking out the flat.
The others were sat on a park bench, sheltered from the sun by a few trees, deciding they were as safe there as any place else.

Ben sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. The stress was giving him a headache, but he couldn't let what was left of his family down. "It was empty, I can only assume he went back to the facility. Where else would he go?"

"Nowhere," Luke shrugged, "the facility is all he knows. Of course he went back there - it's home."

"Does that mean we have to go back too? To find him?" Ashton asked, shivering at the thought. There was no doubt about his desire to help Michael, but it would all have been for nothing if they were just captured again.

"It's obviously a trap, but I don't care. You guys don't have to come, though," the youngest blond mumbled. He'd promised that he would get Michael out, and he did, but him going back was never a part of the plan. After everything, he owed the boy at least this.

Ben glanced at Jack, who simply nodded. "There's no way you're going on your own, we're coming."

"But you guys have never been to the facility before, you don't know how dangerous it could b-"

"Stop," Jack interrupted, "don't start with that. We can handle ourselves, trust me, it's you we're worried about. Do you think we don't notice the way your smile falters when someone mentions that damn place?"

Luke clenched his jaw and leant forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and fixing his eyes on the ground.

"Look, he didn't mean to upset you. But we've seen you come out of there twice, and the second time damaged you so much more than the first. We can't let you go through that again, we just can't."

Luke nodded and glanced up at his brothers, who showed their concern not only through the sincerity in their voices but the look of fear in their eyes. They'd never given up on him, even after everything that had happened, and he knew that he needed them. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that they wanted to help.

"What about you two?" Jack asked, turning to Ashton and Calum who appeared uncomfortable with the attention. "Completely your choice, no one is making you do anything."

"I'll come," Calum smiled, although it was obviously forced. Ashton agreed to it also, they both still wanted answers and for that to happen, they had to do this.

Luke pulled himself up from the bench, scratching at the back of his neck and offering a small smile to the others. If any of them got hurt it was on him, and he was already beyond being capable of forgiving himself after everything that Michael had been through.

To make it worse, the man who was to blame for all their hurt was his dad. Admittedly, he couldn't remember, but it changed a hell of a lot. How would he explain all this to Michael when they finally found him? Luke could only hope they weren't too late.

"We can leave whenever you're ready," Jack nodded, patting Luke on the back. "Of course, you guys are taking the lead because we have no idea where we're going or what to do."

"Let's go, then," Luke gulped. Hiding his fear and dread of what was to come wasn't an easy task, and even though the others pretended not to notice, they all did.

He wasn't the only one having a difficult time attempting to control his nerves - Calum and Ashton had lost so much there too and Jack and Ben had seen the way it had changed their brother.

But all of them stayed strong; maybe if they did it for long enough then they'd start to actually believe they were okay.

Luke was hesitant to move at all, but somehow found himself at the front of their small group, heading back to the place he thought he was finally free from. There was also the problem of him never having deliberately gone to the facility, so could only trust his instincts that they were going the right way.

They'd all forgotten how close the Hemmings' actually lived to the facility, and soon found the main road that three of the five of them could still so vividly picture crossing.

"Which one?" Jack asked, motioning in the direction of multiple buildings opposite.

Luke raised his hand, pointing to the smallest of them. It didn't look like much from the outside, in fact it almost looked abandoned, but you wouldn't think that if you'd seen how sterile and well kept it was on the inside. "That one."

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, standing with his shoulder against Luke's. They hadn't crossed the road yet, but were simply waiting for something. Anything. A sign.

"I guess."

Ben frowned. "You don't have to be okay just because I asked. It's perfectly acceptable not to be, if I was you then I certainly wouldn't."

"No," Luke shrugged, "I'm not really okay. But I have to find Michael, it's all I can think about."

"Weakness isn't something to be ashamed of, just remember that. No matter what happens, whether it good or bad, Michael will know that you did everything in your power to help him. And that's all you can do."

"You're right, I just hope it's enough."

The traffic brought the cars to a gradual halt, leaving a perfect opportunity for them to make their way to the other side.

The situation saddened Luke, a feeling that buried itself deep within his chest and threatened to crush his lungs as he tried to gasp for breath.

The hell he had endured in recent years was indescribable, yet no one around him would ever know of it. The families fastened in their cars right then, heading out for a nice day to make memories they would forever cherish, would never know that the boy in the back had once been Luke.

He was playing with cars, listening to his parents talk about how Ben was struggling with his grades and Jack with making friends, but Luke didn't have a care in the world.

That was when his vision went black and his life changed forever.

Those people would never know how lucky they truly were.

So when Luke's boot made contact with the pavement, only inches from the door that would lead to so much more pain, he had to will his body and mind to hold on just a little longer. No part of himself could take anymore, but he had to keep his promise.

Luke remembered. He remembered that night in the cell, where Michael had made him promise that he wouldn't ever leave him. He wasn't going to break that promise, because it meant more than that.

Michael meant more to him than anything.

~~~~~~~

A/n: lalalalaaa I'm so lame and boring hahahaaa (see it rhymes)

Not the happiest chapter, but they're looking for Michael and that's important. How do you all feel about that? What do you think will happen when/if they find him?

Thanks so much for reading and getting this to 500 votes :) xx