He dragged her outside, with her directing of course, and allowed her to scope out the area. Everyone was blonde; dusty, sandy, golden, honey, butterscotch, every blonde imaginable. Apart from the one boy whose hair had been noticeably dyed black. Also, everyone was tall, at least all the men were. Most of them way over 6 foot, and definitely taller than Annie, even in heels.
"Hey mate, who's this?" Luke's older brother Jack asked. Jack was so important to Luke, even though he would never admit it, he always had amazing advice and could always make Luke feel proud of himself. Their parents very rarely congratulated them on victories such as grades or football games or any of that, but Jack always would, he would always comment on Luke's music playing too.
"This is my girlfriend, Annie. Annie this is my older brother Ben." He smiled, attempting to look between the two.
"Jack." He corrected, patting Luke on the back and forgetting about the mistake.
Luke often mixed up his older brothers, their voices practically identically and this really tore him apart. He hated no longer being able to tell who was who, even his own brothers. It made him feel like he could never make it on his own, like he couldn't possibly love them as much as he claims he does if he can't even name them correctly.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Annie held her hand out, instantly noting how similar the two boys are in their appearances. They probably could have persuaded her that they were twins, with how similar they looked and talked.
After around an hour of greeting a lot of Luke's family, including cousins, second cousins, aunties, uncles, and even fiancés. More specifically, his brothers fiancé and wife. Annie met Luke's other older brother, Ben, and his wife Sarah, who were visiting from Australia for a month.
She also met Jack's fiancé, Rebecca, who actually had died red hair. It wasn't an extremely bright red, it was actually very subtle, but Annie noticed. She also brought to Luke's attention how- when he was reassuring her arrival here was fine- that he told her that Ben and Jack brought their girlfriends, not their wives or soon to be wives.
He just brushed it off with a quick apology, stating how happy he was to have her here. He was happy, extremely happy, to have someone so amazing to help him get through something that would normally be living hell, but now he couldn't wait to speak to his family and show off what an amazing prize god had given him.
After Luke had shown off his girlfriend to everyone he was related too, he asked Annie to find a chair they could rest on for now. She found him one and just stood awkwardly next to him, fiddling with her own fingers, and humming to the music.
"C'mere." Luke smiled, lightly grasping Annie's wrists and pulling her down onto his lap, laughing along to her giggles. She threw her legs over his, seating herself on top of him sideways with her head next to his shoulder.
Soon enough others started to join them in lots of groups sat with people who they felt most comfortable with. A few of Luke's cousins came and sat with them, as well as his older brothers and their significant others.
Annie was laughing along to something to Luke's cousin, Riley, had said. Her laugh was the most harmonic thing Luke had very heard, just feeling her vibrate on top of him even after her laughter had gone silence, it was something he would never forget.
'The cave-Mumford and sons' came onto the speakers and Luke could hear Annie mumbling along as everybody went into their own conversations.
Luke imagined what this day would look like if, right now- in this very moment- he could see. He would see Ben sat opposite them, his signature smile on his face as he fiddled with Sarah's wedding ring, something Luke always used to see them doing. He would see Jack and Rebecca whispering. He would see Riley attempting to smoke without anyone seeing her.
He would see his beautiful girlfriend laughing, with her beautiful brown hair and her beautiful face and her beautiful clothes. He would see her, and he would know everything. He would know how the world works and how the universe was created. He would just understand.
Knowing this would never be a reality made his head hurt and his heart heavy and his body tense. His eyes stung and his fingers grew clammy, his throat drying and feeling like it was made out of sandpaper.
"Babe, are you ok? What's wrong?" Annie whispered, not trying to get the attention from the others. She wasn't sure what had just happened to Luke, but he looked as if he was holding up the universe.
In the distance he heard his little cousin crying; it reminded him of when Luke made the small boy cry, all because he said no to playing tag because of his limiting disability. The small boy didn't understand that Luke could no longer see, he just wanted to play tag like they used too but instead Luke had to tell him no. This caused the boy to break down, and his mother- Luke's uncle's wife- started calling Luke inconsiderate and rude.
Luke felt like he needed to wear a shirt with the words 'I AM BLIND' on the front and back considering no one can understand that from the sunglasses and walking stick.
Annie noticed the water leaking from underneath Luke's glasses- which he insisted on wearing- and wiped them away with her thumbs. Luke's face and body were completely still, Annie was worried he had suddenly gone paralysed or something, it was terrifying seeing him like this.
"Luke?" Annie whispered, her body shaking in fear as the boy stayed still. She squeezed his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin to try and get a reaction out of him. His body shifted and he shook his head slightly, grasping onto Annie's body tighter and pulling her closer.
"Can we go upstairs please?" Luke mumbled, his throat sounding painful and misused. Annie stood up, taking his hand in hers and leading them into the house. They had reached the bottom of the stairs before Luke's mother bombarded in on them.
"If you think you're going upstairs alone again you must be-" Liz started, crossing her arms, frowning deeply at the other two.
"With all due respect Mrs Hemmings, I'm sorry but Luke is having a panic attack and quite frankly so am I. We are going upstairs to calm down and I'm sorry if I've upset you but right now I need to make sure your son is ok since you would rather ignore him." Annie snapped, her chest heaving, and she knew she was bright red.
She stared at Liz's shocked face for a few more seconds before spinning around and rushing upstairs, still dragging Luke by the hand. She slammed his bedroom door shut and released his hand, gulping down her anxiety and closing her eyes.
Luke fumbles his way to his bed, collapsing on it and holding in a breath. He really didn't want to cry, not in front of Annie, not at a family gathering. He clenches his fists in his hair, his jaw locked as he tried to forget- forget that he will never be able to see again.
Annie opened her eyes once her breathing was back to normal, once she could understand what had just happened and what was happening. She glanced over to Luke and saw he was having a problem of his own, her heart clenching at the sight.
She sat herself on Luke's stomach, lifting his sunglasses off of him as she wiped his eyes. She pressed a kiss to his nose and watched as his hands wrapped around her stomach. He rolled them over so Luke's body was on top of hers, his face buried in her cushioned chest as his breath hit her skin. His legs were between hers, his arms crossed under her back and his head lost in her chest.
Annie stroked her hands through his hair, untangling any knots and humming a random tune she was just making up, hoping to soothe him. She didn't know why Luke was so upset but she understood that it's hard sometimes, for everyone. She assumed the crowded scene got to him, or maybe the fact that he could never see his family again- that was probably it.
"You're ok. I'm here." She mumbled, looking around the room for something to calm the boy. She had, obviously, never been in this scenario before. She had no idea how to calm a toddler, let alone a 6'4 crying blind boy. "I'm here."
The simple words helped Luke immensely, just knowing that somebody- she- was there for him. It was just that little bit of reassurance he needed, but it helped. He hugged her tighter, kissing the fabric of her shirt as he nuzzled further into her chest, realising he did this a lot. Annie didn't seem to mind though, and neither did he.
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16| A Family Gathering.
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