stepbrother ➼ luke hemmings (REWRITING)

18 - YET TO BE REWRITTEN

"C-can you tie me up?" I ask quietly.

I must have done something wrong, because Luke's breath hitches in his throat and I can see him tense up.

His eyes almost bulge out of their sockets as he licks his lips.

"Tie you up?" he repeats. "What do you-"

I turn around slowly. "I can't reach." I mumble.

I hear him let out a sigh of relief as he reaches for one of the strings of the bikini top.

"Oh," he says. "Oh, god. That's what you meant."

"What else could I have meant?" I ask him, my voice almost a hushed whisper.

I feel his fingers scrape gently against my back and I shiver.

"Luke?"

"Yes, princess?"

"Can you tie it like you used to tie it?"

"Tie it like I used to tie it?" he repeats after me softly. I nod.

"With the cute bow." I mumble.

He chuckles. "You still remember that, baby?"

"It's my favourite."

"Okay then," he says, and I feel bad because he's almost done with the knot.

Luke undoes the cloth, and I suck in a breath as the bra loosens around my skin.

The silence in the air is comforting as he works with the strings.

"Lift your hair up, baby." he instructs.

I do so, the feel of the bikini bra tightening ever so slightly making me smile.

"Is it cute?" I ask him faintly.

Luke leads me towards the mirror. "You tell me."

My face lights up at the bow. It's such a small thing to get so happy over, but I find myself smiling non-stop as I envelope Luke in a hug.

"I love it!" I tell him. "It looks just like-"

"Those bows I used to put in your hair?" he finishes, smiling weakly.

I nod. "You used to always put those in my hair!" I sigh in contentment. "How come you stopped?"

"Because people thought it was weird?" he laughs, but there's a sad tone to his voice. "And you got teased about it non-stop by that one girl in your science class. You used to come home crying about her every single day in year seven."

My face falls as I realize who he's talking about. "That was Chloe."

He nods his head sadly. "I know, baby."

I play with my fingers, vivid memories of the girl shoving me against lockers and sticking gum in my hair coming back.

"She's always been mean to me, hasn't she?"

Again, he nods. "I'm sorry, little one."

"How come I never noticed?"

"Because," he says, gently wrapping me in a hug. "You're a nice person. And sometimes, you're a little too nice."

I sigh, leaning my head against his chest.

"Does that make me stupid?"

"Oh no, baby, no," he says, leaning his head back to look at me. "No, Soph. You're not stupid. You're innocent."