Toxic - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 34

I made a mental note to make time to go to him tonight and brushed off the look he gave Luke and me. We walked to the restaurant since it wasn't too far and waited to get seated. The hostess gave us a weird look when we walked in, which I assumed was because we were a bunch of young adults coming to eat an extremely expensive restaurant. I brushed that rudeness off, too, just wanting to enjoy the night.

They sat us at a round table in the corner, which honestly worked out since we were the loudest ones in the room. I knew they did it on purpose to keep us out of the way. I sat with Luke on one side and Sophie on the other. Ashton was on the other side of her, followed by Michael, and then Calum next to Luke. We ordered drinks and talked as we waited for them.

"Can you guys come with me for something tomorrow? The girls can go shopping or something, it won't take long." Luke spoke up, making me wonder what he had to do off on his own.

"Yeah, why? What is it?" Calum asked, flipping a page in his menu. It dawned on me that Brett and Lorenzo still wanted him to do something for them here, so I knew exactly why he was asking.

"Brett needs me to check in on something, I just want bodies with me." Luke said vaguely. I didn't like the fact that he felt the need to bring back up, but I tried to tell myself it was just a precaution.

"That's fine, we got you." Calum assured him, followed by Ashton and Michael doing the same.

"I'll need the car, okay?" Luke turned to me, talking a little lower while everyone else got back into conversation.

"Okay." I said, giving him an unsure look without meaning to. "They're not sending you into the lion's den, are they?" I asked nervously. He took a sip of his water, looking around the table before leaning back in his seat and bringing his eyes back to mine.

"I don't know." He looked frustrated about it, and I didn't blame him if he didn't even know what to expect. "They really haven't worked with these guys before." He looked back at the centerpiece on the table, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do you want me to drive you there in case anything goes wrong? I can be outside waiting so-"

"Absolutely not." He shook his head, shutting that idea down without a second thought. If he really had that bad of a feeling about this, I was really going to start worrying.

"Can you at least share your location with me, then?" I asked, hoping he'd give me at least that. He almost winced at the idea, swallowing the gulp of water he had in his mouth while I waited for him to agree.

"Yeah, yeah I'll do that. Just stay the fuck away from the place, Izz. I'm serious, I don't want anything happening to you." He said sternly, squeezing my knee as I nodded.

When I looked back up around the table, Michael was giving me a blank stare. He didn't bother to turn right away this time, though. He just kept his eyes locked with mine for a minute and then looked to Calum to see what he was saying. I really just wanted to know what was on his mind, but that would have to wait until I got a chance to talk to him alone.

I ordered some weird duck dish with chocolate in the very vague description, so when I got it I was pleasantly surprised to actually enjoy it. We ate all our strange meals and let each other try stuff from our plates. Calum got an egg noodle dish that was unbelievably good, and after trying it I wished I had gotten that instead. Just like we thought, the check was outrageous. For six meals, two appetizers, and drinks it was almost $400 with the tip. We did all the math and spilt it accordingly, sending Luke money after he used his card to put it on.

It was still early when we left, and all of us being buzzed only made us want to drink more. We passed by a bar on the way back to the hotel, so we stopped in to get a couple more drinks. I was just happy to finally be able to go out like this. We found a table that would fit us all, and Luke and I went to order everyone's drinks. We had to wait in the cluster fuck of people gathered in front of the bar, but it got to the point where he just pulled me with him while he pushed bodies out of the way.

We finally got the drinks and carefully walked back over to the table to hand them out. Michael shot up and walked off somewhere that we didn't see, but I realized they never gave us my drink so I disappeared back into the crowd, too. It took a whole lot of arguing to get the bartender to get me the drink that I already paid for, so when the person in front of me left their stool I quickly took it.

Michael squeezed through the crowd behind me, leaning on the bar when he stopped in between me and the person sitting next to me. The girl took forever to put my drink in front of me, but I stayed and waited with Michael since he wanted to get a round of shots.

"I hope those aren't all for you." I joked, taking a sip of my drink while he rolled his eyes.

"And so what if they were, huh?" He laughed. I shot him a quick smile, him doing the same to me.

"Is something going on with you?" I asked carefully after we sat in silence for moment. He glanced at me briefly before bringing his eyes to scan around the sea of people.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, thinking he was playing it off when he really wasn't. I knew him too well to believe nothing was wrong. He was just acting too weird for everything to be fine. I glared at him, letting that be my answer so he would continue. "How are you and Luke doing?"

"Fine, why?" I chuckled, not knowing where that came from. He wasn't even looking at me at this point, and that made me feel even worse.

"Because I saw the cuts on your neck the other day." My eyes widened at his comment while I struggled to process the right words to say.

"That wasn't Luke, if that's what you're implying." I told him, honestly a little irritated that he even assumed that. I was frustrated that he and Sophie both assumed that.

"Izz, I've known him for 6 years. He's got a temper. I just don't want anything to happen to you." He sighed, making my face drop. He was really worried that Luke was going to hurt me?

"He doesn't hurt me, Mike. That was an accident that didn't even involve him." I said, which wasn't completely a lie. Out of everyone in the group, Michael was the last person I wanted to know about what Jaime did. I understood that he genuinely cared, but he'd rip Luke's head off for it when it was actually out of his control.

"I think he's putting you in these questionable situations. If I'm being honest, I don't think it's safe for you to be with him." He was being so blunt about it, not even caring to sugar coat it. I stared at him with my mouth slightly open, not having any idea how to respond to that.

"He wouldn't let anything happen to me." I told him confidently. There was absolutely nothing for him to be concerned about.

"But your neck ends up sliced to shit while you're on his watch. And then you have a panic attack in the hotel room because of something he did. Which I still don't buy that you were just tense because of the drive. He did something, I've never seen you that hysterical before." He pointed all these things out, only making my face drop further.

"I overreacted to something. It wasn't his fault." That was the first time I blatantly lied to someone to cover for Luke. I've twisted stories a little to make it sound better, but that was just completely wrong. I didn't do anything to deserve him grabbing me like that, but I really just wanted Mike off my case now.

Before we could continue our conversation, a tray of shots was placed in front of him. He thanked the bartender and grabbed the tray, only shooting me a quick glance before starting back to the table. "Whatever you say, Izz." That was the last thing I heard before he disappeared into the crowd.

I sat there for a minute, not knowing what to make of Mike's strong opinions about my relationship. He and Luke were best friends, yet here he was warning me that it wasn't safe. I wanted him, of all people, to be happy about this and not concerned. We were finally happy with each other, and Mike just didn't want any part of it. It hurt to see him question us, because I wanted nothing more than for my best friend to approve.

I went back to the table after a couple minutes of intense thinking, realizing I had been gone for quite a while. I even had time to order a second drink while I sat there. They were all mid conversation when I sat down, and Luke gave me a look as if to ask if everything was okay. I just smiled it off, not wanting him to know about Mike and I's conversation.

When Luke draped his arm over the back of my chair, I lifted my head to see Michael staring blankly at us again. I frowned at him and looked away, not wanting to get judged by him anymore tonight. I brushed it off and tried to have a good time, but Michael's words just kept replaying in my mind. 'I don't think it's safe for you to be with him'. I couldn't stop thinking about if, maybe, he was right.