Wherever You Are (Luke Hemmings Fanfic)

Move On

Luke's POV

I left the graveyard happier than I expected to be. For some reason, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I took a final glance at Claire's headstone before I drove away, feeling nothing but emptiness. Weird.

A slight ringing was heard in the passenger seat and I saw my phone light up. Without looking I took the phone to answer it, setting in between my legs as I put it in speaker.

"Hello?" I questioned, unsure of the caller. I was still new to driving, and I feared to tare my eyes off the road.

"Hi... It's Grace. From the mall?" the girl quickly questioned. My heart dropped, and an image of Claire flashed in my head. They looked so similar. "Yeah," I mumbled, noticing my whitening nuckles on the steering wheel. "Hi. Look, I'm sorry about the mall, about scarring you. I really want to get to know you. Not just hear things," stated Grace, coughing in the distance.

She was like Claire in so many ways. This could be my second chance, my new beginning. I had to move on.

"Sure" I managed to say, gathering information to meet Grace right then.

************

Grace wanted to meet at a park, not something secluded but nothing to open either. It reminded me of Claire so much it stung.

I locked up my car and headed to a bench that had a tall brunette sitting there. Grace turned around once she saw me, smileing.

She got up to hug me, wrapping me in her scent of peppermint. My arms held out awkwardly behind her, waiting for her to pull away.

Once she did, I realized her facial features. She had brown hair with muddy brown eyes, even the one dimple. It hurt to see the resemblance.

"Thanks for coming. This means alot" giggled Grace, taking a seat next to me on the bench. I nodded my head, focusing on the birds that chirped around us.

I just wanted Claire, not 'Grace' who was her look alike twin. Claire was always my first love, and nothing would replace it. Ever.

"I'm sorry," blurted out Grace, looking me square in the eye. "Calum filled me in on.. Claire? Yeah, I'm sorry," she said again, her eyes cascading down, a sad look.

I nodded my head, to numb to say anything. I had never talked about Claire to anyone but the boys. It felt awkward otherwise.

"It's hard. The fact that they leave. Poof," she said, making a gesture with her hands. "Their on your mind twenty four seven. Like a virus," Grace almost laughed, her brown eyes puddling into splotches of red.

"Exactly!" I yelled, sighing in contentment. The boys never understood what it was like to see someone you love die before you. I was just surprised I was admitting this to Grace. A stranger.

"My ex, he was.. amazing! Everyone loved him! He was funny, charming, just perfect. He would drink though. Alot," stated Grace, tears falling quickly down her cheeks. I had a weird urge to comfort her somehow.

"Always came home drunk. And I'd tell him to stop, but it was always the same excuses until one night, he never came home... His body was found off the side of the freeway with four others. All dead. Beer everywhere," laughed Grace, whipping her cheeks quickly.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, feeling my loss was so small compared to hers.

"Me too," she said, giving me a sideways glance. "After that, it's so hard to love anyone again. It seems unimaginable. Nothing compares to how that person loved you. But, all I say is Luke, you find someone to love, and you make their love enough. Without that, you'd go crazy," Grace sighed, hiding her hands in her jacket.

Never did I think someone would understand. Until now.