Dear, Luke

Chapter Eight

The wind blew past Calum's hair, his black mop flying in the wind. A cigarette between his plump lips, smoke flowing out of his mouth into perfect o's in front of him. He hugged his jacket closer to him, a shiver traveling down his spine as he stood on the snow-covered sidewalk. Unique snowflakes falling from the sky onto everything.

"Can I have one?" Meredith asked, popping next to him, her hugging her coat closer to her as well. Her dark locks cascading down her back as her brown orbs looked into her brother's. Ironically her and Calum were the ones that looked the most alike out of the Hood siblings, but they didn't have the same father. Calum's abandoned him when he was five and Meredith's is unknown, she was the result of a one night stand, she was a mistake but she learned to accept that.

Calum handed her one, lighting it up for her before returning to his own. "You hate me too don't you?" He spoke up, his voice barely a whisper, but Meredith heard him, a frown falling on her face.

"No, and mom doesn't either. She's just hurt that you didn't even try to call her," Meredith sighed, inhaling the smoke from the cigarette.

"I'm sorry," Calum said.

"Calum it's not your fault, you wanted to follow your dreams. I know what you went through, I still do. You've known since I was little I wanted to be a teacher, and going to Standford was the best thing for me. But when Adam died and we went into debt I had to drop out," Meredith stated, "And, now I'm going to community college while I'm teaching at a preschool. Sure, it's not ideal, but you got to work with what you got," Meredith gave him a weak smile.

"Do you love him?" Calum said after a moment of silence.

"Who?" Meredith said clueless.

"Richard, do you love him?" Calum asked seriously. Meredith gulped, she didn't know how to reply. She hated lying to her brother, but her mother made her promise not to tell him or Sasha, because they might try and stop her from marrying Richard, but it made no sense to her, if they knew that they were marrying for his money then wouldn't they be happy that they weren't in debt anymore.

"Yeah, yeah I do," she lied, inhaling another drag. Calum looked at her as if he didn't believe her, that's because he didn't not for a second but he just nodded and finished his cigarette. "Mer, I'm really sorry that I haven't been here for so long. I missed you big sis," Calum gave her a crooked smile.

"Missed you too little bro," Meredith returned and they returned to the restaurant.

*

"Why does it smell like smoke?" Julie asked dumbfounded as she climbed into Meredith's car. The two of them were finally going to get the bridesmaids dresses, the rest of them going to do their own thing, and Ana was still not talking to Calum who went back to their house with the boys.

"Cause I smoked?" Meredith gave her a duh face, causing Julie to roll her eyes and chuckle.

Right before Meredith started the car, Janet and May climbed in the back of her car, making Meredith spin around to them with a confused look on her face. Before she could speak May spoke up, "Richard said we should go with you, so shut that pretty little mouth of your's and start the car," she said with attitude, Meredith rolled her eyes and muttered curse words under her breath and started the car.

May and Janet for some reason didn't like Meredith, maybe it's because they thought she was a gold digger, or because they felt threatened because they wouldn't be the only women in Richard's life anymore. However, Meredith could care less what they thought, even if one of them was true because she didn't care what anyone thought, honestly she didn't care at all about this wedding because she was marrying a man she didn't love or know at all.