Save Me, Luke

I'm Not Ready To Say Goodbye

At first, I didn't believe it. Or maybe I just didn't want to believe it.

I've heard of disasters in Australia. Heck, I'd even had a project about it. No fatalities, ever.

So why did it have to be now? Why couldn't it have not happened at all?

•••
Becca lazily rolled out of bed, grabbing her phone and pressing 'Answer'.

"Hello?" she asked flatly, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"B-b-b-becca...."

The black-haired girl shot up in her bed. "Cal?" she asked frantically. "Are you alright?"

Calum let out a sound that was around half a whimper and half a sob. "TV...news..." he choked out. Becca frantically snatched up her remote control and turned to the news channel.

What she saw was beyond what she ever would've imagined.

"....tsunami has hit the coast of Australia at approximately 3.25am, the first one in Australia to ever have fatalities, and the numbers are shocking. 600 deaths and counting, almost twice that amount missing....today is a painful day for Australia, and the world." The reporter said.

Becca gasped and covered her mouth, tears already dropping down her cheeks. "Calum?" she asked. For a few seconds, there was no answer. "Calum!" she shouted, louder this time.

"Becca, I'm here. S-sorry, I just..." he drifted off.

"No, no, no. Do not fall asleep, Cal. T-tell me what happened, is everyone alright? Are you hurt?" she said quickly. For all the Brit knew, Calum could be losing blood, and that meant that if he fell asleep he would be dead within the hour.

"A-ash and Mikey...safe..."

She could almost hear his eyes closing. "Ash and Mikey..." That's when she realized, someone was missing. "Luke!" Becca almost fell out of her chair. "Calum, is Luke safe? And you didn't tell me if your hurt! Is Ash and Mikey hurt too?"

"Mmm...no...L-Luke...h-he..." That's when he burst into tears. Calum Thomas Hood, bassist of 5 Seconds of Summer, was crying. She didn't find it unbelievable. Disasters and tragedies did that to people.

Becca didn't want to push him. "Cal?" she asked as gently as possible. "Is Mikey or Ash there with you?" Or Luke? she wanted to add, but she stopped herself.

"Y-yeah." he replied. After a few seconds of muffled words, she heard Mikey's voice.

"Becca...I-I'm so sorry! I...I couldn't..." he blurted out, he sounded broken. "Mikey, what's going on?" she asked. "Is everyone alright? Why are you sorry?"

"I...I..."

"Where's Luke?" she finally asked. She willed herself not to cry, but if what happened was what she thought it was...

"Ash is in the hospital." Mikey replied, and the line went dead. Ash? Becca thought. In the hospital?

She immediately dialed Jess. She picked up on the first ring. "Oh my God, Becca..."

"Jess..." Becca burst down crying. Right on cue, Jess started sobbing too. "What happened?"

"I don't know...I don't know..." The blond mumbled. "Did they...did they tell you yet?"

She was suddenly alert. "Tell me what? Mikey he...kept saying sorry...and Cal broke down when I mentioned Luke's name..."

Oh no, she thought. No, no, no this can't be happening....he can't be...

"Becca...Luke, he...he didn't..."

"Make it." Becca finished. "He didn't make it, he's dead." She tried to keep the trembling out of her voice. "Jess, he's not dead. He can't be...he promised me..."

"Becca-"

"He promised!"

"Rebecca, listen-"

"Luke can't be...he couldn't have..."

"Becca! Listen to me!"

She stopped mumbling.

"He's gone, okay? He's gone. He died in the tsunami. Calum, Ashton and Mikey...they saw..."

His body.

"Oh my God, Jess...is Luke really...?" Becca broke down crying, hugging her knees to her chest. "Yeah," Jess sobbed. "It feels like just yesterday when we were talking about #lucca and #miss, remember?"

"I remember." she replied, forcing a small smile unto her face. "You were throwing invisible money to a crowd invisible fans."

"Well, I was hoping we'd get invited to a 5SOS concert, so the money and fans wouldn't invisible, but I guess it's too late for that."

"Jessie, I didn't even get to say goodbye to him..."

"I wonder what his last thought was..."

"Do you know what was the last word he said to me was?" Becca asked, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears started falling. "No," the blond replied. "Was it 'Don't be such a beach'?"

"No," she let out a breathy laugh. "It was 'I love you', Jess." She let out a loud sigh. "I miss him already."

"Me too, Becca. Me too."

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So that was it guys, the last chapter of SML. The full author's note will be next, along with more info about this story.

xoxo,
Mandy.