Tell Me You Love Me

I Miss Her(Onety-Twoty-One)

Noah's POV

The next day, we woke up to Leo shouting something from the kitchen. Luke and I went to go investigate and it turns out most everyone is already there.

Leo has his hair on fire and he's cooking up a sizzling breakfast, shouting jokes and asking to be called 'Uncle Leo'.

Luke assures me this is perfectly normal.

After breakfast, we all go for a walk around the lake. Leo keeps commenting on the cabins, admiring them and such.

We come across a bicycle leaning against a tree and Percy kinda slowed down, narrowing his eyes.

"Not this fucking bike again," he says. (You know who you are—inside joke😂)

For lunch we went to Zorbaz, a pretty popular pizza place in Detroit Lakes.

While we were waiting for our food, Luke turned to straddle the bench.

"What are you doing during the school year?" He asked.

"Uh," I considered, "I go to school in Florida where my mom lives, but I was hoping to transfer to New Rome High school to be with you."

He smiled and blushed a bit. "What's your mom like?" He asked, suddenly serious.

"Well, she's kind of a drunk. Parties a lot. That's how she met my dad. We aren't super close."

"Oh," he whispered, staring down at the table.

"But hey, if she agrees to let me transfer, which she will, I'll get to spend the whole school year with you!"

"Yeah," He said, forcing a smile. He was still sad about the mom subject.

Then the pizza came and saved me from messing up this conversation anymore than I already had.

As soon as we returned to the cabin, Luke seemed to disappear. I looked everywhere and I couldn't find him.

I was starting to feel very awkward around everyone when Luke wasn't there. Finally, everyone went back on the boat to cruise around the lake.

Percy offered me to come along, but I said I'd wait for Luke.

Percy pulled me aside and whispered, "He's hiding in Ari and Bianca's room. He told me he wanted to be alone, but I think he'd appreciate your company."

"Thanks Percy," I said.

He nodded and followed everyone out of the cabin, walking across the lawn to the boat.

I ran up the stairs and looked around at all the closed doors. I could tell which ones were bathrooms, but I figured I'd had to guess which one Luke was in.

It took me four tries before I found him sitting on the bed, curled up on himself, crying, with a laptop in front of him.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the bed, crawling on beside him. He was trying very hard not to look at me.

Instead, I turned to the video he had playing.

It was a baby sitting in a highchair with a Nemo cake in front of him. He had curly black hair and green eyes. Luke. It must be his first birthday.

"Mama?" Baby Luke asked.

And then Annabeth Chase, or Jackson as it would've been, knelt in front of the camera, Percy having to move the camera around her bushy blonde curls to see the baby.

Luke blinked and then face planted the cake. "Whoa!" Annabeth exclaimed, hurrying to pick his face up out of the frosting.

Luke choked on a laugh, and I hugged him tight as it turned to a sob.

The Luke on screen started screaming and Annabeth picked him up out of the high chair, wiping his face clean of the frosting.

Percy zoomed in on her butt for a few seconds before panning back out. Annabeth was rocking Luke gently, humming some sort of lullaby.

Percy quick turned the camera around to himself, and then a shot of the party.

Percy had the camera back on Annabeth and Luke, Luke trying not to fall asleep. He finally rested his head on her shoulder and Annabeth kissed the baby's head as he fell asleep. The video cut off.

Luke shut the laptop and turned, burying his face in my shoulder, sobbing.

I hugged him tighter. We didn't talk for the longest time. Then, "I miss her," he whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry."

He sighed, laying back on the bed, pulling me down next to him.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," I said. It was strange. I'd never really loved someone before like I do Luke. Sure, I love my mom, and I guess I love my friends, but I love Luke.

"I love you, too," I repeated.