We sit down at the table for a dinner that I knew would be hell. As I ate my macaroni, I couldn't help but notice the glare Michael was giving Ian, and Ian was staring right back at him.
"Can I help you?" Michael asks Ian.
"No." Ian replies.
"Then stop fucking staring at me before I smash your face off the table, asshole." Michael says angrily.
"You wish. You couldn't even lay a finger on me before I smash your head into the ground." Ian says, his face turning red with anger.
"Stop it! What the hell is wrong with you two? I mean, I know you don't quite like each other but come on. Would you two stop acting like kids?" I say angrily.
Ian was only here for a few days, I would rather the days not be spent listening to him and my brother fight.
"He shouldn't have came here!" Michael raises his voice.
"I can go wherever I want to go. You're not above me anymore, Michael. They day you left is the day I took over." Ian says.
What the hell is he talking about? Took over what?
"Took over what?" I ask.
"Nothing." Michael says.
"No! Tell me what he's talking about." I push.
"Let it go, May." Michael says through his clenched teeth.
"You know what? Fine. When you're ready to tell me why you two are acting like children, then you can come and talk to me. Until then, don't speak to me." I says as I push my chair out and stand up.
"Baby-" Ian begins.
"You too." I snap as I storm off to my room--well, Luke's guest room.
Minutes had passed when I hear a knock on my door. I walk over to it and open it up.
"Not now, Luke. I don't need your drama right now, I have enough to deal with." I sigh.
"I'm not here to start anything. I just wanted to see if you're okay because Ian sure as hell won't check in." Luke says, frustration laced in his voice.
"Where are they?" I ask.
"Ian went to your mum's I think. Michael stormed out. He mumbled something about Cora when I asked where he was going, so he's probably there." He explains.
"Oh, well thanks for checking in. I'm okay, i'm just sick and tired of everyone around me keeping secrets. It's so frustrating, you know?" I say, sitting on the corner of the bed.
"I know what you mean," Luke starts as he sat down beside me. "My parents used to keep secrets from me all the time. My brothers did too. They all knew my dad was cheating on my mum. They never did anything about it. And they never told me because they knew I was the only one who would actually stand up to him." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "Then, my dad got the woman pregnant. I didn't find out until two months after everyone else knew and my parents had already decided to get a divorce and were just waiting for the paperwork to be finalized. The worst part is, while all of this was happening, they were still just pretending to be a happy couple. I asked my mum why she pretended to still love him instead of just throwing his ass out, and you know what she said to me? She told me it was to protect me. She didn't want me to hate my father. Could you believe that? After all he'd done, she still wanted me to love him." Luke says, tears forming in his eyes.
I wrap my arms around him and rub my hand on his back. "I'm so sorry you went through all of that, Luke." I whisper into his neck.
I pull away and ask him, "What happened after? You know, with the baby?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. I never saw my dad again after he left. I don't know what happened with the baby and honestly, I don't care. I know it's mean and sounds heartless but, I don't think I could ever look at that kid. Just knowing that his mother and father are the reason for my family falling apart."
"It's not heartless, it's honest." I give him a small smile.
"Yeah," He says.
"Why did you uh..why'd you tell me this? I mean, it's such a personal thing to share." I ask.
"I don't know, I guess I just trust you. And hearing you talk about people keeping secrets just made me think back to it all. I've never told anyone about the kid. Or that my dad cheated on my mum. Everyone just knows they got divorced. No one needs to know the reason." He says.
"Not even Michael?"
He shakes his head. "No, You're the first person I've ever told about this."
"Why me though? Why do you trust me?"
"I don't know, May. I don't know why I feel this way but all I know is from the minute I met you, I couldn't get you out of my head. You're all I think about. All that goes through my mind is you. And I know you've thought about me too, otherwise you wouldn't have kissed me all those times." Luke says.
"It was only a few times." I laugh lightly.
"So what's one more then?" Luke smirks, leaning in.
"Luke," I put my hand on his chest, stopping him from coming any closer.
"May, don't fight it. I know you want to be with me too. I know you didn't mean any of what you said earlier. You couldn't have. I know you felt the same thing I did when we kissed. You were going to shower with me for fuck sakes." Luke says.
"I know. I did feel it. Luke when i'm with you, I feel something I've never felt with anyone else. I feel..alive. I don't know, I feel like I have reason. I just, I can't leave him." I say, referring to Ian.
"Yes you can. He treats you like shit, May. I know you see it too. I can treat you so much better than he could. Don't feel obligated to stay with him out of pity." Luke says.
"I know but I-"
"What do you want, May? What?" Luke asks.
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and stare into his eyes. "You." I say before crashing my lips onto his, immediately feeling the fire inside me ignite.
I couldn't fight this any longer. I wanted Luke. I needed him, and I needed to let Ian go.
"What the fuck?" A voice yells from the doorway of the room.
Ian. Shit.