HANDLE WITH CARE
7. The Purple Sky and Prettiest Girl.
L U K E
The last thing Luke wanted right now was to see his therapist. Annie, on the other hand, he would love to see, but just not as his therapist.
"Luke you have to go, you promised me you would." Jack stood at the foot of the couch, looming over Luke's sprawled out body as he continued to watch TV. Luke was in the middle of a How I Met Your Mother binge and he didn't want to stop now. He also didn't want to talk about his feelings or how he's been or his parents death.
This little part of him actually kind of wanted Annie to come to his house and just watch the TV series together, maybe she could rest her head on his chest and lie on top of him. Maybe she'd fall asleep there too and he wouldn't want to wake her by moving so they would stay on the couch all night, mumbling and dozing.
That little part of him stayed hidden, behind his friendly smiles and fake stories. Jack grabbed Luke's resting hand and pulled him off of the comfort of his sofa, growling at him for being so lazy. He wasn't wrong, Luke was lazy, and he was afraid it was starting to show.
On their walk to the clinic Luke noticed his brothers silent agitation, but he didn't want to ask because normally with his brother, the more Luke talked the more he'd get annoyed. Jack didn't even come into the clinic like he normally did, he walked to the door, mumbled a goodbye, and left.
Luke stood scared for a moment, then remembered how stupid that sounded and just went inside, feeling like a lost puppy. Annie thought he looked like one too, with his shaggy hair and big eyes and pouty lips.
"Jacks annoyed with me," he huffed, flopping down on the couch and ignoring Annie's condescending smile.
"Do you know why?" Annie sat her self down on the cushioned chair, long legs crossing over and nails tapping at her thigh.
"I didn't want to leave the house, I don't think he likes having me there anymore." Luke frowned, picking at the loose thread on the bottom of his shirt.
"Have you thought about moving out?"
"I used to have a flat about a 45 minute drive from here, but I moved in with Jack after the accident." He shrugged, not sure how he really felt about the whole situation.
"Did you sell that flat?" She started, head tilting to the side in interest, "or do you still own it?"
Luke paused a moment, trying to think back to any time where he actually thought about his old place.
"I'm pretty sure I still own it actually." He sighed, wondering what he had left in his apartment the night he abandoned it.
At the start he missed the comfort of his own bed, but he also missed his mother's hugs and his fathers smiles, so he could live with an uncomfortable bed as long as he had his brother too. Now when he was thinking about it, he couldn't quite remember what it looked like, if the kitchen was dark blue or black, if the carpet was grey or cream, if the bathroom was left or right.
"Maybe for our next adventure we should visit it, if you have a key." Annie offered, her fake nails tapping along her leg as her mind wondered to where it really shouldn't be. She was wondering what his old flat would look like. Surely because of his previous famous status he had quite an upper class home, expensive furniture and a wide screen TV probably. She wondered if it had more than one bedroom, maybe a huge en-suite in the master bedroom, he probably had a TV in his room too.
"I don't know..." he mumbled, biting on his bottom lip as he denied her offer.
His eyes flicked up to hers, seeing the slightly disappointed look on her face. This obviously would of been a step in the right direction for Luke, all she wanted was for him not to feel so sad all time.
"Actually," he dragged out, watching as her face started to lift and her smile started to straighten, "Y'know what? Yeah, ok."
-
Never, in Luke's life, had he remembered purchasing and using a welcome mat. He always thought it were stereotypical white mums that bought them, but apparently he had one too. It looked a little worse for wear, with all the drastic weather that's hit it since last year.
His keys were dangling from his fingers, he just wanted to drop them, for the ground to swallow them up and for him to never return.
Already he was having vivid and horrific memories of this place. Horrific in the sense that he wanted to go back, go back to the time where him and his best friend Calum were wasted to the point they spent the night on Luke's small porch, continuing to drink and sing and laugh.
That's how he spent his 20th birthday, illegal drinking on his expensive porch that he paid for with the money he earned for singing to the world for a living. Calum was drinking illegally too, he was turning 21 in a few days though so he said it was fine and they wouldn't get caught.
Of course they got caught, by Luke's lovely elderly neighbour Mrs Patricks, who kindly didn't call the police on his drunken ass. She actually let them crash on her couch, which at the time made Luke think it was appropriate to kiss the 84 year old married woman.
He breathed out a laugh at the memory, turning his head to Mrs Patricks house and seeing her blossomed flowers start to die in the winter weather. He hoped she was doing well, and maybe if he gets better, he'd like to visit her and thank her, for that one night two years ago.
Stepping towards the locked door, it was the first time in weeks he wasn't actually thinking of Annie. She was supposed to be meeting him here in an hour, but Luke decided to come here early, to see this place for himself.
His least favourite coat was still on the hanger on the back of the door, but that wasn't the first thing Luke noticed, he actually noticed how clean the place looked. Even when he lived here it wasn't this clean, he'd normally have clothes and bowls everywhere.
And he most definitely knew that things weren't in order or, in fact, in shape when he left. Because before he left, that night he got out of the hospital and went to stay the night at Jacks, he snuck out and came to this hell of his. He came here and he destroyed everything, the pictures on the wall, his coffee table, the kitchen stools, every instrument in his music room, including his piano.
He couldn't bare to go in there right now, even as he stood outside the closed door with his hand over the handle, waiting. He didn't want to see his guitars broken and smashed like he left them, like he left everything.
In the living room, the wall to the right of the television and couch was all glass, looking out to the city, the place he once called home. Stuffing his hands in his jumper pockets he looked at the skyline, the lights beginning to turn on and the sun started to sleep.
He remembered walking into his house and seeing Michael and his girlfriend sitting by the window, wine glasses next to them half empty and a blanket over them. Michaels girlfriend, Olivia at the time, had her head on his shoulder, and a hand under his shirt and over his heart.
As much as Luke and Michael would torment each other, Luke would never bring this up, because it wasn't his moment. He hoped one day him and Sonya, a girl he started to like but didn't have the balls to tell her, would end up so very in love like Michael and Olivia.
Luke hadn't thought of Sonya in months, he didn't have those feelings anymore but he hoped she was well. He hoped they were all well, Michael, Olivia, Sonya, Calum, Ashton, everyone he used to know.
"Hey," Annie was stood in the doorway, scarf around her neck and hair tucked behind her ears. "Sorry I'm late, an appointment went overtime." She took her scarf off, leaving it on the back of the couch with her bag as she made her way to the windows and to Luke.
He hadn't even realised she was late, he had actually kind of forgotten about her. But now, as he looked at her curly hair and her big eyes and cute nose, he realised he never wanted to forget about her again, even if it were to be for just a moment.
"Have you already had a look around?" Her big eyes looked up to him, her lashes were long and they curled at the end, Luke wondered if they were fake or if she was just the most beautiful human to ever walk the planet.
"Uh, no," he shook his head, not even wanting to explore his oddly clean old home. He actually wanted to sit here in front of his big windowed wall with the purple sky and the prettiest girl whilst they drank some overly expensive wine someone had gotten him at some point in his life.
She turned around slowly, making her way to the hallway and making a left. She was facing the music room, as it was the only room in the flat to have its door closed. "What's in here?" She asked as she saw Luke's hesitant stance.
"I don't want to go in there." He turned away and faced his bedroom instead, seeing the made double bed with one of his greatest achievements hanging on the wall.
"Another time." Annie commented, walking up behind him and waiting for his thoughts to be cleared.
"No," he frowned, turning around with his eyebrows knitted together, "not another time. Why do I have to always do something or fix something. I want to leave it closed and never go in there." He raised his voice but not enough to scare her, he didn't want to scare her.
"Luke , I get it," she breathed, smiling small and comfortingly.
"No, you don't, everyone always says that, they think they understand but they don't." He shook his head, moving past her and back into the living room.
"Yes, I do, everyone else has their own problems too, ok? As hard as it may be you're not the only one who has lost people, everybody deals with it in their own way, in their own time." She spoke, following along behind him and making sure to keep her voice level.
"And I don't want to open it ok? Theirs things I don't want to do at any time, why are you trying to push that?" He huffed, looking down at his feet as his bottom lip pouted out. He wasn't going to cry this time, he had enough of crying, but he did want to stand his ground.
"Luke," her voice was soft and silky, as if the sky outside had spoken. She lifted her hand towards Luke's cheek and made him look at her, as much as he was trying not too with his watery eyes. "You're drowning in grief and pain," she whispered, seeing the pooling in his eyes and how his head rested in her palm. "Let me help you swim."
Luke closed his eyes, breathing out in relief as he understood her words. Licking his lips he leant his head against her own, eyes flicking open slowly, hoping she wasn't going to pull away.
She was looking back at him, her big eyes glimmering like honey in the sunset light peering through the windows. He never understood the obsession with eyes, how millions of fan girls would scream over his own light blue ones. No one ever really spoke about brown eyes, how- when the light hit them just right- they looked like lakes of golden waves. Now he understood just how wonderful someone else's eyes were, how captivating Annie's were.
Even though he could stare at her eyes for the rest of his life, he couldn't help but gaze at her lips, looking full and nude and soft. He leaned closer, gulping as she stayed still, his lips hovering over her own. He wanted to kiss her; he was going to kiss her.
"Luke? You're back?"
•
I am so sorry this is later i had terrible writers block and also a mental break down as exams are coming up and i am not smart enough to do them kill me
But also my 5sos show is 12 days away and im super excited!!
How you have all been swell and enjoyed life and what not
Thank you for being patient and reading!
Please vote and COMMENT
Lotta love
A xx