// luke //
Catelynn called me the second I stepped into my apartment. Fumbling around in my pocket, I fished my vibrating phone out, answering it.
"Hey, princess," I greeted her, pressing the phone to my ear as I made my way back to my room. "Did you find something of mine already?"
"Uh, no." She sounded a little meek.
"Oh, okay... is something wrong?"
I could tell she was hesitating, even though I was still preoccupied trying to carry my duffel bag back to my room, the strap accidentally insanely twisted around my shoulder.
"My mom said she'll think about."
"Really?" My eyebrows raised. "That's good."
"Well," Catelynn mumbled, "she still has to tell my dad. And he's probably not going to like it at all."
I bit my lip. I honestly had forgotten about that. "Even if they do say no, I'm still close by. Okay?" I tried to reassure her.
"Mhm."
"Alright, I have to try and untangle myself out of my bag, so I'm going to go."
She stifled a small giggle. "Good luck."
"Thanks, babe. Love you," I said.
"Love you too," Cate replied back, before ending the call.
Dropping my phone onto my bed, I yanked on the strap with my other hand, ultimately making the knot tighter.
"Goddamnit," I mumbled. I had to unclip the strap and weave it out of the knotted mess or else I'd just tangle it even more. I didn't even know how it had gotten like that, mainly because I had just slung it over my shoulder and called it a day.
I tossed it onto the carpet, falling flat onto the mattress.
This was it.
I was on my own.
No little Catelynn Hood sleeping beside me.
No housekeeper.
No one.
Just me.
And god, how much I hated it.
Sure, I could do whatever I wanted without worrying about anyone else now, but I didn't want to. I wanted to be around someone.
Maybe I should get a cat.
A cat would be nice, but I was barely home all day because of work.
My hours had been eight to five since I started, but I always ended up staying an extra few because someone always ended up needing me for something.
I still had the hope of Catie moving in with me. I had never lived with someone else in my own space before, but I definitely wanted to try it out for her. And myself. I knew that things were liable to change between us, but we were both used to living together. We just had to wait and see.
My fingers grasped the sheets, and I tugged myself underneath of the covers. I didn't feel like washing up at all, but I slipped out of my clothes, tossing them onto the floor.
I laid on my side, the bed feeling empty. I knew if I rolled over, I wouldn't see her. I felt... hollow.
However, it was only temporary. I would see her at work.
With a sigh, I tucked the pillow closer to my face, just wanting to sleep.
I think I was allergic to cats anyway.
// cate //
Luke and I had talked for hours after I woke up. Mostly about the future. Our futures.
I realized that I wasn't ready for college. Sure, academically I was prepared, but that was it. Being away from home, even just by forty minutes seemed daunting to me.
So, a gap year seemed like the reasonable route to take.
I was so lucky that I had Luke. He supported what tentative decisions that I made, and if I was on the fence about something, Luke would always try and help me to make up my mind without pushing his opinions into it as a factor.
And eventually, the topic of me moving in had come up again. Before, we had mentioned it very briefly. But I could tell that Luke wanted to see if I was even somewhat on board.
Of course I wanted to be with him and spend time with him. I also loved being able to walk into the room next door or just glance over and see him.
Moving in with him was also very intimidating to me. Yet I knew what it was like to live with him. I just wasn't quite sure if I was ready to be away from my family just yet.
I'd move in eventually. I was only twenty some minutes from home, probably even less when Luke drove. We had figured that in a few weeks, if my parents allowed it, I could move in with him.
I knew that my dad especially would want to discuss the whole thing in detail with both myself and Luke. He still had a few things to figure out, but we had mostly made up our minds on how it would all work out.
We had decided to save that for another day.
I was lying on my own bed now, just staring up at the ceiling in the dark.
So much had happened today. Good things, mainly. Or bad things that lead to good things. It depended on the perspective you could look at it with.
Either way, Luke and I weren't a secret anymore.
Luke was in his own apartment.
I wasn't starting college this year.
And that was okay.
All of that was okay.
//
"Here's your check, I'll be back in just a minute to collect it," I set the little black book down onto the table with a forced smile, before walking away to check on my other tables.
The restaurant was closing for the night, so there were only a few people around. Autumn and Leigh were packing up to leave, apparently trusting me to handle it. I didn't mind, though.
Luke was working late again anyway. He was just going to drive me back to his apartment when we had both finished up.
I didn't know how he worked for so long. I had been coming in at one only three days a week the entire summer and I was tired. However, Luke worked overtime every single day.
I guess this was where I'd be working at for the next year or until I was ready for college. That was okay, I liked waitressing and I was so close to Luke. Maybe I was starting to have attachment issues.
Fingers scrabbling to grasp my hand startled me, and I glanced down in surprise to see a little boy standing at my feet.
"Hi," I greeted him softly, my face lighting up, kneeling down to be a little closer to his height.
"Hi," he replied, his small voice high pitched.
"Do you need something?"
"My mom." He seemed almost distraught.
I stood up, dusting off my skirt before reaching out to take his tiny hand. "Where is she?"
"I dunno," he mumbled.
"Do you want me to help you find her?" I suggested gently, aware of his small fingers tightening around me.
He nodded, nearly tearfully.
"What's your name?"
"Bobby."
"How old are you, Bobby?"
He held up four little fingers on his other hand.
"Here, come with me. We'll find your mom."
I started to lead him out of the restaurant section into the main lobby. The desk clerks glanced up as I approached them, still clutching this kid's hand.
"What do I do?" I whispered to Ashton. "He's missing."
His brow furrowed. "Missing?"
"He can't find his mom."
Ashton nodded. "Uh, do you know if they were staying here?"
I shrugged, before turning to the little boy. "Are you and your mom staying here?"
He nodded, and I watched as he wiped a small tear that was threatening to tumble down his cheek away with the back of his hand. I bit back a frown, looking back at Ash.
"Yeah."
"Ask his last name."
I kneeled back down in front of him. "Hey, bud, what's your name? Your last name?"
"Colson."
After relating the information to Ashton, he asked Elizabeth to look up the name in the system, since she was at her monitor.
Luke wasn't at the front desk currently, and I wondered what he would do about this. Probably the same as Ashton, honestly.
Elizabeth eventually found a match, and so Ash took Bobby and walked over to stand next to her computer. They were talking quietly, so I couldn't hear anything.
I went back to the restaurant, knowing that Ashton could handle everything just fine.
Luke came by to get me a little later, exhaustion clear on his face, but he gave me a smile all the same.
"Ready, Catie cat?" he asked, pulling his bag a little higher on his shoulder.
I grinned stupidly at the nickname he hadn't called me in a while, nodding.
We made it to the car, Luke opening the door for me like he always did.
"We're going to mine, right?"
"Mhm."
He drove in silence for the most part, which I was fine with. He was tired, and I didn't want to bug him by trying to have a conversation.
As he went to tug open the door to the apartment building, I stood up on my tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. I saw his face heat up slightly and the corners of his lips start to turn upwards into an uncontrollable smile.
"What was that for?" he mumbled, still grinning as we walked into the elevator. His fingers lingered over the spot where my lips had been, and I felt myself grow a little shy.
I shrugged, folding my hands behind my back.
"What do you want for dinner?" Luke asked once we stepped inside of his apartment. The air was cooler, and I shivered instinctively.
"I- I can make something, Luke, you're tired."
"Baby, please, let me," he refused, setting his bag onto the sofa.
I shook my head. "It's okay, I want to. You're falling asleep on your feet."
And he was. His eyes were fluttering shut, and I could see how he was gripping the side of the sofa to remain standing.
He pursed his lips. "Catie-"
"Please," I begged, stepping closer. I know he liked to do things for me, but he knew when he needed to let me help him.
Reluctantly, Luke nodded. "Fine, but you're cold. Let me get you a sweatshirt at least."
I bit back a smile. Luke sleepily headed back to the bedroom while I went to look through his cupboard. He came back out with his blue hoodie that he liked me to wear. I slipped it on, our hands brushing when he handed it to me.
He lingered in the kitchen momentarily.
"Luke," I said softly, a warning tone lacing my voice.
"Hm?"
"Go to bed, you're falling asleep."
As he shook his head to say 'no, I'm not', I watched him try and suppress a yawn, leaning against the door frame.
He ran a hand over his face, ruffling his hair slightly. "I'm okay."
"Luke," I protested almost childishly, turning to face him from where I had placed a pan of soup on the stovetop. "Please."
"Can I sit and watch you at least?" he mumbled, his eyelids fluttering closed.
"Luke," I whined, fully facing where his lanky figure was slumped against the door.
"I don't wanna be alone, baby," Luke sighed.
Grudgingly, I let him sit at the counter. He rested his head in his arm, his blue eyes watching me carefully. I looked to the knobs on the stove, twisting the right one to medium heat.
He had a few cans of soup in his cupboard, so I had taken one of them out as our dinner.
"How was work?" he murmured.
I shrugged, starting to stir the pot with a wooden ladle. "Usual. There was a little boy, though, who I had to help find his mom."
Luke hummed. "What'd you do?"
"I took him over to Ashton, and they found his mom in the system."
"Mm."
"He was really upset. I don't know how he got lost, though, maybe he wandered off while his mom was taking a shower or something," I speculated, glancing over at him. He was still watching me intently.
"What was his name? I'm just wondering if I checked them in," he asked groggily.
"Bobby... Colson," I said, not thinking anything of it.
Luke inhaled sharply, sitting up, the name seemingly having shaken his fatigue off in seconds.
"What?" I turned my head to look at him, worried.
"Do you know how old he was?"
All the tiredness from his eyes had flooded away, replaced with intense panic. I don't know how one person's name could have affected him this much, but nevertheless, his demeanor had completely changed in a matter of seconds.
"He told me he was four. Luke, what's wrong?"
His brow had knit in some sort of pain, and I let go of the spoon in the pot, stepping towards him.
"It could just be a coincidence," he mumbled to himself. I grasped his hand, trying to get him to focus his eyes on me.
"Luke, what's wrong?" I repeated softly.
He seemed a little paler.
"Nothing- it's just- Sky's last name was Colson."
I paused, the words he was telling me almost refusing to sink in.
"There are probably a million Colsons in New York, Lu-" I started to reassure him, even though my stomach was dropping with every word either of us spoke.
"My middle name is Robert. She always called me Bobby."
Any type of reassuring words to tell to him faltered me.
"O-oh." It was all I could say.
"There- there could be other Bobby Colsons, Catie," he said unconvincingly, now trying to tell me. Luke didn't even look like he believed himself. He started tugging at his shirt collar like he was starting to overheat, despite the air conditioning kicking in a while ago.
I just stared at him.
"He'd have to be older than four, right?" I asked hopefully.
As much I wanted him to nod, or say yes, Luke didn't do anything. "I- I was eighteen the last time I saw her."
It fit.
All of it fit.
It hurt me. It hurt me to know that Luke probably had a son with another woman, but none of it was about me.
"Well, congratulations, you're probably a father," I told him softly, turning back to the soup. I didn't mean for it to sound bitter, but I knew it was coming out like that.
"Catie... I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Luke."
"I- I don't want this to hurt us..."
I turned to him.
"He might not even be mine, Catie."
I wanted to believe that. But the child's bright blue eyes that matched Luke's so well and the dirty blonde hair made me think otherwise.
"We'll see," I mumbled.
He just nodded numbly, resting his head back in his arm.
- -
yo what up nerds
i know i've barely updated in ages, but my life's just become crazy again and my time management is shit so my apologies lads
i don't want to end up ignoring this books for months and months on end even though that's very likely to happen, so maybe try to remind me lmao
idek how this has 7.5k reads wtf you all are crazy
anyway love you all tons and i hope you have a great day/night idk where you live
cal xoxo <3