Sparks Fly

Chapter Nine

Luke

It took a few days, but Luke finally found a good time for his weekly-ish phone call home during the Saturday night bonfire. Even he wasn't entirely sure why he still bothered. It's not like his mother was still anxious about him and Lucy being away from home, and he definitely didn't still get homesick like he had when he first started at Great Oaks Junior, the partner camp for younger kids up the road. But after spending almost all of the past year away from home, he did really miss his family- even Lucy, despite the fact that she was at camp with him, he barely ever saw her. He had practically begged to go to camp this year- he was desperate for something to feel normal again- but it also meant another month and a half away from home. At this point, his father might just decide that it was easier without him there, and then he'd have no chance at staying and enrolling at his old high school instead of going back to military school. It wasn't even like it was that bad- it wasn't, especially after juvie- it was just that, the whole time he was there, he couldn't let his guard down. Whenever the staff thought that the students- or cadets- were getting too complacent, they shook things up by waking them up to do pop quizzes or obstacle courses in the middle of the night, or withheld meals until they all had completed challenges. It was doable, and probably good preparation for those who actually wanted to go into the military, but nothing about it had been easy.

He leaned against the wall and waited while the line rang.

"Hello."

His dad's voice reverberated in his head. After months of barely ever hearing it, and then only in person when he managed to get him to talk to him, Luke could hardly believe it. "Hey, Dad."

"Luke." Was it his imagination, or did he sound more distant than it had when he had first answered? "Your mom's not here right now."

"That's okay." He scrambled for something to say. "Mom said that you're working on a big case?"

"Mmhmm. Did you need something? I can write her a note."

"No, I just wanted to say hi."

"We haven't heard from your sister yet. Is she doing well?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'll tell her she should call." He tried not to be disappointed that his dad was more focused on not hearing from Lucy than actually hearing from him, but it didn't work. He tried to muster the courage to talk to his dad about something- anything- that actually mattered, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he heard his father's cell phone ring in the background.

"I'm getting a call for work." His father said. "I have to take it."

No, you don't. Luke thought. You don't have to do anything. "Okay. I'll talk to you later, I guess."

Dead air was the only response. No point in getting disappointed. He told himself. You shouldn't have expected anything else.

With that sorry excuse for a pep talk, he took off for the fire pit. On his way to Josh, he detoured to Lucy and touched her shoulder lightly. "Hey, you should call home. Dad misses you."

Despite his best attempt, he still put slightly too much emphasis on "you", and Lucy definitely noticed. She stood up and stepped over the bench to face him. "You talked to Dad?"

He nodded. "I called home. He answered."

Her expression grew more concerned. "How did that go?"

"Fine. He asked about you, and then he got a work call." He forced his voice to stay neutral. She still looked worried, so he kept going. "That's about what I expect from him these days."

She winced. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

She made a face at him, then tried to smile. "It's probably just because he got used to having you away from home."

"Not helpful."

"Right. Sorry." She played with a piece of her hair. "He's still getting over it?"

He scoffed. "He's not making much progress. Thanks for trying, but maybe you should quit while you're behind."

She nodded, her smile fully faded now. "I'll call home tomorrow. And I'm really sorry that Dad's still being like that with you. You deserve better."

His guard lowered. "Thanks, Luce."

She pasted a bright smile on and hip bumped him. "Bye, Lukey."

He couldn't help but return her smile before he resumed his path to Josh.

"How's Lucy?" Josh asked as Luke sat down.

He shrugged. "The golden child. Not that I can blame my parents for that."

Josh looked confused for half a second, then nodded. "You called home today?"

"Dad answered." He confirmed.

"Shit, man."

"Indeed."

"You okay?"

"Great." He snarked before he could stop himself. He forced himself to tone down the sarcasm. "Seriously, it is what it is. No use getting bothered over it."

"Very zen of you."

Luke snorted. "You know me, all peace, love, and harmony."

Josh doubled over laughing at that, and Luke took that as a good opportunity to escape and get a s'more. When he joined the line, Wilson stepped in it behind him. He internally panicked as he tried to think of a way to talk to her without digging himself deeper into the feelings shithole than he already was. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Have you talked to Maya?"

"Not since dinner. Why?"

"She finished the talent show mix- for now, anyway. We can try a run-through of the whole thing to music tomorrow."

"That's great!" He grinned. "Does that mean you decided on your solo piece?"

She slipped a nail into her mouth, and he had to force himself not to tug her hand away. "Well, I decided on the music piece. The dance is still a work in progress."

"No worries. We've got time." They didn't, really. Or not much. There was a week left before the show, but she knew that as well as he did.

She left whatever was left of her nail alone and offered him a fleeting smile. "Thanks."

Rylee walked past and shot him a scathing glare.

Wilson definitely noticed- she stared after her. "What did you do to her anyway?"

"Rylee?" Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed a couple of graham crackers. "What makes you think I did something?"

"Come on. It's you. And she despises you. She must have a reason." Wilson grabbed a cracker, then stepped out of the assembly line.

He shrugged as he added chocolate and squished the marshmallow that Scott offered from the end of a stick in between the crackers. "If she does, I have no idea what it is. We used to be kind of friends."

"What?" She exclaimed. "What was being "kind of" friends with Rylee like?"

"It was whatever." After a moment of awkward silence, he caved in and elaborated. "I don't know. It was just... a thing. Her mom has super high expectations, so when she was hanging out with Lucy at our house, she'd hideout in my room and ask for help with homework, or I'd quiz her or something. Or, you know, Lucy's really... well, Lucy. She's too nice for her own good. Rylee would make sure that nobody took advantage of her when I wasn't around."

"So why does she hate you know?" Natalie fell into step with him.

"I seriously have no idea. She was the first person to ditch me when I got into trouble- the only one to ditch before I was even convicted. It's like the second the charges were filed, she had no doubt in her mind that I was guilty."

"Oh," she lifted her hand to her mouth, then realized she was holding the cracker and lowered it quickly.

That small, instinctual gesture reminded Luke of his promise to her mother. He almost asked her if she was eating, but then realized exactly how close other campers were. Besides, she hadn't responded well to upfront questioning so far, and this was a more delicate subject than most. If he was going to broach the subject at all, he'd have to be subtle about it.

"What?" She picked up on his silence.

"Just thinking. You know, if you do need more time to figure out your dance, I can always help in the afternoons."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks. I think I'll sneak away early tonight and work on it, so hopefully, I won't need to take you up on that."

He felt a surprising sting at her brush off, but he tried to ignore it. "You're dancing tonight?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you think you should eat more than a cracker? You know, in the interest of not passing out?" Again he thought but didn't say. Not that he needed to. She had bristled at the mention of eating more and had physically recoiled by the time he finished speaking. So much for subtlety.

After a second, she adjusted her horrified expression to one of cool indifference, her control back in place. "I'm not much of a fan of sweets. Besides, it's not like I'm running on empty. I ate dinner. I should be set."

"Right. Of course." He knew exactly how unconvinced he sounded, but he couldn't fake believing her.