Mute {Luke Hemmings AU}

Prologue

"Addy." A voice said below me. "Please." He begged. "I've said your name a gazillion times, and I just want to hear you say it once."

I said it once when I was home alone. I liked the way his name rolled off my tongue and how the 'k' sounded at the end of it. I liked how the letters in his name spoke for themselves and weren't too hard to pronounce. I liked how the letters in his name are arranged perfectly, and if they were arranged any differently, everything would be all wrong.

But I only say it to myself. I don't say it to other people.

"Adelaide? Are you still awake?" He said from the floor which my father made him sleep on. "Addy?"

I leaned over the side of my bed and looked down at my friend, who sat criss-crossed on top of his blue sleeping bag. He smiled at me through the darkness with a small laugh. My old purple lava lamp shined in his face, making the shade of his skin change as the bubbles moved upward. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, patiently waiting for an answer.

I opened my mouth, and no words came out, until I suddenly made a sound, which took me by surprise.

"Luke."