12k! Thank you!
I think this story might be almost finished though hehe
Just like when I broke up the fight with him and Logan not so long ago, Luke jumps in between his father and me.
"Dad. Calm down," he says cautiously, moving in front of me so I stay half hidden.
"Where were you, Luke?" His father asks angrily. "You were out for hours, were you planning on leaving me, too?"
"No, dad. I'm not leaving you." Luke says, and stares him straight in the eyes.
Mr. Hemmings bursts into a gurgling, unpleasant laughter. "You and your mother," he says. "Always full of bullshit."
Luke doesn't reply. Instead, he grabs my arm, turning towards the direction of the door. It's like an elaborate dance move, like he's taunting a bull. He sways back and forth and his father stares at him wherever he goes, like a cat watching a mouse. Clearly drunk and frustrated, there's a point where his father cannot hold Luke's gaze any more. His eyes leave the blonde's face for a mere second, and Luke darts past him, yanking me along. We race down the steps and nearly stumble out the front door, while Luke's father seethes behind us in drunken anger.
"Go. Go!" Luke hisses through his teeth, and the two of us zero in on his car. He expertly slides into the driver's seat and I to the passenger's seat. He begins to drive, stepping on the pedal with force.
Soon, we've left the area completely and some of the tenstion has disappeared the further we get away from the house. I can feel the ignorance and anger coming off Luke in waves.
He stops at a red light, and only then, he looks at me, bright red and fuming. "What the hell were you thinking?" He demands.
"I was just..."
"There's a reason why I don't mention my father," he replies.
I look down at my feet, ashamed. "But he was so nice to me last time..."
"He probably wasn't drunk. Can't you tell by now?" Luke asks, the frustration clear in his voice.
"I-I..."
"What did he do to you?" He interrupts.
"Nothing," I say, tears streaming down my face.
Nothing compared to what he does to you.
"Good. Because we need to have a talk."
"I need to talk to you, too," I sniff. "But not now. Tomorrow? At Sidrabene?"
"Okay."
The green light is back on, and Luke takes the turn into my street.
"Come home with me," I blurt, and he looks at me strangely.
I won't like talking to him, for sure, but for now, with his dad in that situation, Luke needs to sleep somewhere else.
"Are you sure?" Luke asks, his eyes a little less angry.
"Yeah."
...
"Luke! Luke! Luke!" Cam yells, attacking him in a koala hug as soon as we enter the house.
Luke's foul mood suddenly dissipates and he hugs my brother right back. "How you been, little man?" He asks.
"Good. I'm glad you're hanging out with Jade again," Cam says, but doesn't look to us for a reaction. He pulls on his hand like a little child, dragging a confused Luke all the way to the living room. I follow closely behind.
"I can't beat this guy in Smash," Cam explains, handing Luke an Xbox controller. "Help me."
Luke reluctantly sits down next to my brother, and the two of them pick off right where they've left off. They begin a new game on the screen. Luke takes his time discussing which character to use in 'battle'.
"Captain Falcon. He's easy," Cam says, his thumbs busy moving the controls.
"No, but he lacks in speed," Luke ponders, like a true nerd.
In the end, both of them settle for the 'right character' and they begin a game full of battle cries and groans of disappointment. Luke's tongue sticks out when he plays, and he bites on it; a new habit that I've noticed.
I'm not sure what else to do next so I sit on the couch with them, watching my brother and my supposed enemy play three more games in a row.
Luke beats Cam easily the first time, but I notice he intentionally lets him win the other two.
"Hellooo?" My mother calls from the front, announcing her arrival at the house. She closes the door behind her and joins us in the living room, her eyes going wide when she sees Luke.
"Hello, Luke. I haven't seen you for a while," she greets.
"Not really. It hasn't been that long." Luke grins.
"Are you here to do homework with Jade?"
Luke glances at me.
"Actually..." I say. "Mom, things aren't so great at Luke's house right now. Can he stay over?"
"Well, of course," she says, slightly taken aback. Her face stretches into a serious expression and I have a feeling she's going to ask what the 'troubles at home' are. But she does something entirely different, my mother, a woman of nearly fifty, says: "Just make sure you have protection," and bursts into hysterical laughter that sounds something like 'Hehehehehe'. Cam stares at her in confusion and Luke just laughs politely.
After that one rough, embarrassing patch, the day overall goes pretty smoothly. Luke hangs out with Cam most of the time, and he doesn't try to engage me in awkward small talk or anything. He's polite and he's nice. Like the old Luke.
He doesn't even mention what happened at his house, or why I was even in his room in the first place, and I'm grateful.
...
"So, mom. What did you do today?" I ask, picking at my salad.
"Oh, nothing really..." she says, reaching over for some more garlic bread.
"Did you talk to..." blech. I even hate saying his name in front of her. "Mr. Lowry?"
"Yes, of course," my mother says shortly, then shoves another spoonful into her mouth, ending the conversation. You could say it ended all conversation in general, as the kitchen then fills with uncomfortable silence.
Suddenly, the doorbell rings, making me shoot up from my chair.
"I'll get it," I say.
At this time of hour, I don't know who to expect at my door. Not a telemarketer, nor any of my friends, because they would've told me in advance....
That's why when I get there, I expect it to be anyone but Tiffany standing by the doorway.
Her red hair is curled into perfect ringlets, and her eyes shine when I open the door.
"Hi. Is Luke here?" She asks.
"Um..."
"Yeah, Tiff," Luke's gruff voice says, suddenly appearing behind me. His voice is stiff. "What's up?"
"You kind of promised to see me tonight," she says through gritted teeth. I can see the anger behind the fake smile.
"Shit. I'm sorry," he apologizes. "Something just kinda came up and I...I'm sorry." Luke bites his lip.
"Well, you can come in and see him now if you'd like," I interrupt.
Tiffany cocks her head at the invitation, as if she's glad I asked. "Thanks," she says, and steps right in. I half expect her to be a vampire and that I'd just invited her into my house forever.
"Who's this?" My mother asks when the three of us get back to the kitchen.
"Tiffany," Cam says through a mouthful, and Tiffany gives him a super-creeped out look. I don't like it at all. My brother can't help it if he's a social media stalker. He knows what's going on, and what the next scoop is. That's just one of his many perks.
"Ah, a friend. Is she staying over, too?" Asks my mother.
Tiffany gives me and Luke a weird look that seems to be a: 'You're staying with her?' look. He flushes.
"We're not actually friends, she's Luke's..." I pause, grasping for words. "Luke's new girlfriend."
"Oh," my mother says calmly, but her eyes are nearly bugging out of her head. "Oh!"
Luke throws me a glance, but I pretend not to notice.
Mom clears her throat nervously, wiping her hands off with a towel. "Tiffany, have you had dinner?"
Tiffany takes one look at the table and at the food my mother had served and her little nose crinkles in what I assume is disgust. I'm starting to regret inviting her in.
"Um- yes," she says, not so convincingly.
"All right, then. We were done eating anyway." My mom gives her a friendly smile and Tiffany shoot a fake one right back.
"You four go do something, I'll clean up," she suggests, then she pushes us all out of the kitchen area.
We stand there awkwardly, like a bunch of middle schoolers deciding what game to play next. Tiffany stands there, looking bored as always, her arms crossed. All she really wanted was to see Luke, and I can tell she's annoyed by the events that led up to now.
"Uh, wanna watch a movie?" Luke asks awkwardly.
"Yeah, sure," I reply.
Tiffany, Cam and Luke begin to get comfortable on the couch and I take out a whole array of DVD's.
"What do you want to watch?"
"Horror!" Cam squeals, settling on the edge of the couch.
"No. No R-rated for you," I lecture.
At that, Tiffany groans audibly. It sends a wave of annoyance through me.
"Okay...then we have: The Breakfast Club, Space Cowboys, Mean Girls, White House Down, Salt, 10 Things I Hate About You..."
"Mean girls!" Luke cheers.
"Are you serious? What are you, twelve?" Tiffany asks tiredly.
"Yeah, maybe he is," I shoot back, and just to piss off Tiffany, I slide the disc in and settle down on the couch myself.
The seating plan is strangely arranged so that Tiffany is at one end of the couch, with Luke next to her. Then it's me in between Luke and Cam.
"I love this movie," Luke whispers as the screen fills with light.
The first half hour or so goes by smoothly, and without interruption. But then I notice Luke squirming continuously in his seat and begin to look closer. Tiffany's taken over him completely. She's leaning against Luke, running her fingers up and down his bare arm. Whispering things in his ear. And he looks uncomfortable as hell.
"Tiffany," he whispers once she starts to get clingy, but with no avail.
"Tiffany," he lectures louder, and this time, she frowns. Ignoring what he said, The Ginger snuggles further into him and tries to touch...let's just say, something other than his arm this time. I've never seen Luke so flustered, as he pushes her hands away.
He holds Tiffany by the wrist and whispers something in her ear. Then the two of them leave the room, him still holding on to her and Tiffany mumbling profanities under her breath.
"Jade, what's happening?" Cam whispers, his eyes still focused on the movie.
"I don't know," I reply. But I'm dying to know. I try everything I can to listen to the conversation they're having behind the door. But there's nothing. If I were to lower the volume on the TV, they'd notice that as well, so I give up and sink into the couch with a sigh.
Maybe it really was a mistake, letting her inside.
When Luke and Tiffany come back, only one of them is still calm. Tiffany snatches up the jacket she left hanging on a chair, and begins to walk back to the direction she came from. But she stops in front of the view of the screen so that her ass is covering everything.
Asshole.
"I hope you're happy," Tiffany snorts, and I know she's talking to me. "You can have him all you want."
Then she storms off, and I hear the front door open and slam.
"What happened?" I whisper to Luke, once she's completely gone.
"Nothing. I was just tired of... stuff."
And those are the only words we exchange for the rest of the night.
..
The movie, after that, is quite peaceful. Luke and I don't glance at each other once until it's over, and then I have to put a sleepy Cam to bed. Luke offers to do it, so I let him, and I start getting myelf ready for bed.
Luke joins me in the washroom after he's done. He's found an old sweatshirt of Ash's (which he'd forgotten in my house last year) but hasn't changed out of his black skinny jeans. Typical Luke.
I hand him a brand new toothbrush and both of us start brushing our teeth in silence. That is, until Luke accidentally splashes me with water.
"Oops, sorry," he says, but I don't believe it. I can't help but roll my eyes.
I finish up quickly and snuggle into bed, eager to get away from the manipulative boy, who can so easily force a reaction out of anyone.
And before I know it, I'm asleep.
LUKE'S POV
I get up at around 4 AM in the morning to get a glass of water. The Thornton family are still sound asleep, and it's quite peaceful. The family feels safe, welcoming. And so does the house. Maybe it's because I'm used to this place already.
I lean back on the counter, sipping at my water like it's tea. There's a lot to think about, a lot to ponder about what happened. I'm feeling part angry, part nervous, and all parts miserable. Maybe I should write this down as well.
Footsteps descending down the stairs distracts me from my thoughts, and I straighten myself for whoever is about to join me.
And what do you know, it's Jade. Her hair is in a tangled mess, and her eyes are half closed and sleepy.
I'm not ready! My mind screams. I'm not ready to talk to her. What do I say? Do I say something about today afternoon? Or do I just...
"Nightmares?" I ask casually. I put the cup down, an action I hope looks cool and collected. But she doesn't reply, and only then I notice that something is off.
I walk closer to Jade, and notice that her eyes weren't open, but closed this entire time. She's sleepwalking.
"Okay," I groan under my breath. "Let's get you back to bed."
I gently push her forward, trying to coax her back onto the stairs, but Jade's knees give in and she flops onto the ground like a fish, snoring loudly. I wonder why I have to deal with this.
It takes a few minutes, but finally I heave Jade onto my back and imitate a makeshift piggyback ride, and I'm grunting all the way up the stairs to her room. I let her fall onto her bed, and she bounces back onto the mattress, still sound asleep.
I even go as far as pulling the sheets over her body and pushing the hair out of her face. Just to look at her for a while. No, not in a lustful or creepy way, but more observant. She's changed slightly. Her hair seems longer, her usually smooth-and-glossed lips are chapped, and I can see a little smudge of drool in the corner of her mouth. I slide my sleeve over my hand and successfully wipe it off, but immediately regret it; because her eyes fly open and zeroes in on my face, looming over hers in the dark.
It might take a while to explain what I was doing.
It's 1 AM in the morning and I'm updating, so sorry for the crappy filler.
Also I decided to stick around, partly because my cousin started reading this book, and I was basically threatened to update today.
Lol shoutout to @sallykyung. THANKS.