vanilla // lrh

twenty eight

lol this one is REALLY LONG!!

I noticed the eerily familiar buildings Luke and I drove past from nearly 20 miles from the home.

My home.

I think Luke could sense I was anxious, and uncomfortable. He would occasionally play a song from a band he would gush about, 'Catfish and The Bottlemen', or something like that.

Their songs reminded me of the music Michael would play all hours of the night out of his speakers, the sound at least. I'd grown a comfort to the sounds of edgy lead singers and violent electric guitar, but Luke's held its own personality.

The way Luke talked about the lyrics, the chord progression, made all of the songs seem so much more personal. Like each note held significance to him.

"I think we're only a couple blocks away, sound about right?" He asked, his music was not playing.

I think Luke was debating over attempting to distract me by blabbing about a lead singers vocal range, or letting the air stay thick.

I gave him a small smile with a nod, and returned my glare to the window.

For months I had pushed the memories of my
past to the back alleys of my brain, and suddenly they were all surfacing.

And here I was, with Luke, scraping up the pieces of my old life.

As we pulled in to the driveway, Luke turned the radio all the way down, and reached over to rest his hand on my thigh.

"This's it?" He said, unsure of the foreign place.

"This is it." I managed, turning to him.

"Can you come in with me?" I asked, embarrassed to be so needy. I was never one to need anyone's help, but at this moment there was nothing I needed more.

"I wouldn't let you go without me," He smiled comfortingly, and we opened our doors and stepped out on the gravel.

I made my way up the front porch, the same creek in the second stair.

I could feel Luke behind me, though he kept a small distance.

My knuckles made their way to the door, softly knocking.

My knocks were greeted with no response, and I quickly turned and started back down the stairs.

I knew this was a bad idea. I knew they wouldn't want me back.

"Hey," Luke interrupted, grabbing my by the shoulders, preventing me from leaving the patio.

"Luke, this was a bad idea, no one is even-"

"Ellie Mae, my eyes must deceive me."

I felt memories rushing to my brain in floods at the familiar voice, and I flipped around to see a old woman, cane and all.

"Nana, I-"

"Get over here," She grinned, and I ran to her, crashing myself in her frail arms.

"Sweetheart, why are you crying! You're going to make a fool of yourself in front of this fine young man."

I didn't realize I was in tears until I released myself from her, seeing the pool that had built up on the shoulder of her sweater.

"Come on in, its nearly bedtime!" Nana hollared, as I turned to noticed the sunsetted sky.

My vision was clouded by the tears that fell from my eyes, but I looked to Luke, who had the widest grin on his charmed face.

I followed Nana into the house, and I could hear Luke's large steps behind me.