Vanished || l.h. au

thirty five

A/N: Luke killed me with that pic he's so fkn adorable omfg. Anyways, on to the final chapter ;)

Luke.

Everything hurt. I felt the stiffness of my bones, the parchness of my throat, the heaviness of my eyes, and all I could think about was how much this hurt. I could feel my senses come to life, reviving from a dullness they’ve been sulking in for a great passage of time. There was a soft hum in the air, as well as a strong antibacterial scent wafting through the room.

I wondered where I was, if I was still locked in the basement I’ve been residing in these past few months. I felt like I had been asleep for years, and part of me questioned if any of it was even real.

I struggled to open my eyes, my eyelids blinking rapidly at the harsh fluorescent light that illuminated above me.

“Fúck, that’s bright.” I muttered, my voice no more than a whisper due to the dryness of my throat. There was a stirring beside me, and I looked down to see curly, brown hair splayed out everywhere, with the face I have come to love dearly hidden from my view.

“Beth?” I called out softly, bringing my hand to her hair as I ran my fingers through it softly. I almost cried at the sensation, actually feeling the soft tresses of her hair, and how they would run into a small knot every few passes. I relished in the feel of my fingers combing through her hair gently, the strands gliding past the texture of my skin.

I felt.

“Beth, babe, please wake up.” I asked her again, this time rubbing my hand on her shoulder. I couldn’t stop touching her, missing the feeling of contact with an overwhelming passion. It just wasn’t the same before, and I knew she felt it too.

“Luke?” she grogged, lifting her head up slowly as her eyes squinted at me. I smiled at her, reaching out my hand to pass along the smoothness of her cheek.

“Hey, love.” I greeted, an immense feeling of glee surging through me.

She smiled back at me, leaning into my touch.

“You’re really here.” she murmured, her eyes closing again as she leaned into me. I moved my hand to wrap under her arm and bring her closer to me when she winced.

I retracted my hand quickly, looking at her in confusion.

“Are you hurt?” I asked, uneasiness overcoming me as I became worried about the brunette beauty I called mine.

She shook her head, moving her body back away from the bed as I was met with the sight of a sling draped over her arm.

“It’s just because I fractured my arm after jumping off Jenkins’ back when the gun was fired. I landed incorrectly.”

“So then you’re hurt.” I argued back. She rolled her eyes at me, waving me off.

“I’m fine. It's coming off in a few days.”

"Why don't I remember any of this?" I asked, puzzled as my mind tried to reel back to that moment. But it was all blank.

"You were fading. I remember looking over at the wall as Jenkins choked your body, and you were grabbing your throat, sliding down the wall as the real you was being strangled to death. Then you started to fade, and I panicked. I pulled on Jenkins' arms but I wasn't strong enough. I saw Holden hold up a gun in my direction, pointed at Jenkins and I jumped off before he fired. When I looked back at the wall, you were gone. My arm was screaming in pain, but I didn't care. Something was wrong." She paused, mindlessly running her right-hand fingers along the creases of the white sheet that was covering me.