The Bet || l.h.

- 21 -

"Move your legs forward like this," he instructs gently. "Mirror my movements."

I try, gripping his hands tightly to avoid slipping as I hesitantly follow him.

"You're doing it!" Luke exclaims happily.

He starts to let go of me, but I hold him tighter, feeling like I'm about to slip again.

Roller blading is actually not as bad as I thought. It's kind of fun, when you get the hang of it.

They dim the regular lights, black lights reflecting off stripes of tape along the wall lining the rink. It makes the blue of Luke's eyes glow, casting shadows across his face. The mindless pop song blaring through the speakers switches into a sweet, soft indie tune.

Luke's expression softens as he slips his hand to my waist, holding me closer to him as we skate around the ring.

Other people whirl past us, couples laughing as they swing their hands back and forth between them, kids racing each other, parents yelling at them to be careful. But for a moment, it feels like it's just me and Luke, gliding across the rink with ease.

"Well, so far you haven't run into any walls," I say, coaxing a surprised laugh out of Luke. When his laughter fades, I add, "You've never really talked about your family before."

It may be a trick of the light, but I could have sworn that he flinched.

"It's not something I like to talk about," he says eventually, a cool, distant mask guarding his emotions.

I give his hand a squeeze. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I was just curious."

The mask lowers slightly as his eyes flicker back to mine. "My dad was a drunk," he says suddenly, not looking at me.

I hardly breathe, afraid of him rethinking his decision to tell me about the Luke he really is underneath all that swagger and nonchalance.

"When he was really wasted, he abused us." A muscle in Luke's jaw feathers as his grip on me tightens, like holding me closer will keep the demons haunting him away. "I had a younger sister and even though she was three years younger, she meant everything to me. I would have done anything to protect her."

"One night I couldn't take it anymore. Jack and Ben we're too afraid to say anything to him, worried about what he might do. I told my father that he had to get the hell out of our lives. It was hurting everyone and I was tired of cleaning up his mess."

He swallows hard before resuming his story. "My dad snapped and he... he shoved her backwards into the coffee table and she hit her head and... when I went to kneel beside her, she..."

I inhale sharply, not quite wanting to believe him.

A silent tear streaks down Luke's cheek. "She died in my arms, bleeding out on the carpet before the ambulance showed up. I had to bury my ten year old sister and know what she looked like as she lay dying."

I pull us into the corner, coming to a stop so I can throw my arms around Luke. "I'm so sorry," I whisper into his chest.

"It's ok," he says, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "It's been five years. It doesn't hurt as much."

But I could tell by the haunted look in his eyes that that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

"What was her name?" I ask hoarsely.

"Grace," he murmurs as if in a daze.

He blinks, giving me a small smile. "She would have liked you, you know."

"I bet I would've liked her too," I say, giving his hand a squeeze as I take a step back. "Why don't we head out of here? I saw an ice cream place around the corner. Maybe your brothers have a video of you running into that wall in the ice rink they could send me."

Luke laughs as he tugs me toward the store's exit. "Thank you," he whispers as we step outside.

"For what?"

"For everything." He smiles as he leans in to press a quick kiss to my lips.

Breaking away, he adds with a grin, "Race you to the ice cream shop!"

A/N:

I'm not crying you're crying

Luke's backstory :(( poor bby

I honestly can't believe that this story made it to #7 in 5sos, thank you so much, you're all so freaking amazing. I wish I could hug each and every one of you!! <33

I have to go back to school soon and I don't want to someone help

I probably should sleep more instead of watching netflix, but that's ok

Hope everyone's having a great day! :)

Aight I'm outta here, love ya

- A