once broken, now fixed | m.c & l.h

the news and the funeral

michael

Luke wakes me up again and he points to the clock on the wall.
5:37 am
I get up, bedsheets dirty from the previous night.
Whenever we can we wake up early to go to the treehouse together.
A family of bunnies comes out and we watch them together.
He hands me clean clothing, I pull them on and grab my worn out shoes.

We leave the apartment silently, careful to not wake up the angry neighbors.
Then we sprint to the treehouse, Luke climbs the ladder and turns the key into the hole to open the trapdoor.
We stumble into each other and fall onto the beanbag chair.
We spot the creamy brown bunnies with white spots on their ears.
Luke thinks the bunnies are cute.
But I find him a million times cuter.

We return to his apartment.
Luke pours a bowl of cereal and fills the spoon with cheerios.
He brings the spoon to my closed lips but I ignore his offer and remain still.
He wants me to eat but I refuse.
I hear a small bell and he rushes to the counter.
His blue eyes scan over the phone and then it drops from his hands.

"Luke, what's wrong?"

Shakily he rips a piece off of the newspaper and grabs a pen.
Scribbled down so carelessly I read the words.

Ashton's mum passed yesterday.

I stand up and grab Luke, wrapping him into my arms.
I shield him as his body shakes violently and he cries furiously.
I haven't seen Luke let out this many tears in forever.
He's opening up.

We find out that the funeral is later on because Ashton wants to put her to rest as soon as he can.
Luke opens his father's closet and lets me borrow some clothing.
Luke messages Calum to find out that he is picking us up soon.

When he arrives, Luke hugs Calum instantly because he can't stand seeing people sad.
Then I hug Calum too, Anne was the mother he never had.
We ride to the cemetary.

The funeral ends, we haven't seen Ashton besides when he went up to go speak about his mum.
Calum leaves as soon as it is over.
I walk Luke home and he tries to force me to stay.
But I tell him I need to go.

Uncle Cooper asks me where I was for the past few days.
I tell him I was with my friends.
He asks me what friends.
I tell him that I've never talked about them before.
Then he tells me I should stop feeling so ashamed.

I hide in my room the rest of the night, Luke's stuffed bear in my arms.
I inhale the scent.
I cling onto it like it is my lifeline.
Uncle Cooper calls me upstairs.

"Someone is at the door."

With wide eyes I go to the door and see Luke standing there staring down at the porch.
How did he find me?

"Are you going to answer the door?"

I nod at my uncle and tell him that I am leaving.
I climb through the back window and take a path up the street.
Then I come down it from the opposite direction towards my house.
I spot Luke on my porch then I act as if I don't live there.

"Luke? What are you doing?"

He turns at the call of his name and he climbs down the porch and he runs up to me.
His body feels frozen, I wrap him in my arms.
He types to me on his phone in his notes app.

I thought you lived here.

I furrow my eyebrows.
I ask him where the idea came from.
He writes that he followed me home.
I shake my head in disbelief and frown.

"Luke you weren't supposed to see any of this shit."

He sighs and shakes his head.
He writes that he's tired of me hiding.
He writes that he wants me to open up.
Because he's opening up for me.
The ring of his phone, he opens it up.

ashton: let's go on a journey

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