For the rest of the day, I spend it helping Luke clean the house. After cleaning, we spend the rest of the afternoon lounging around and sharing old memories that make us laugh until our stomachs hurt.
"What is going on between you and that blondie that was here?" He asks, his voics suggestive and teasing.
"Nothing" I blush, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Oh shit! You like him!" He exclaims and raors with laughter. My face turns even redder at the true accusation.
"Shut up!" I groan and playfully shove him.
"It's okay. I don't mind, monkey bars. Just as long as he doesn't break your heart then me and him are cool" He chuckles. Ruffling my hair, he gets up and walks to the kitchen. Probably to get some snacks.
My phone beeps in my pocket and I fish it out.
Unknown
Hey
received 14:45pm
Who in heavens name could this be? I swear if Alec is trying to prank me I'm going to strangle him. But what if it's not Alec but some weird fat dude eating a greasy burger, who has been stalking me for years?
Okay, I'm over thinking this. Just reply and ask who it is.
Me
Uhm who is this?
sent 14:46pm
Is this a good message to send to an unknown person? Maybe I should've said hi back then ask who it is. Ugh! I should not even care. It's a stranger for Pete's sake.
I wait for a reply but recieve none so I shrug it off and watch The Croods that is playing on the tv.
"Are you kidding me, Lucy?" Luke groans. "We've watched this so many times!" He complains, dropping a packet of popcorn and a fizzy drink on my lap.
"But it's a good movie and I hear there is going to be a second movie" I defend, popping my drink open and take a swig.
"Yeah but why do we have to watch it again?" He whines.
"Don't be such a baby, Luke" I playfully scold.
"I'm not the one with a hump in the room" He jokes and I laugh.
"It's too soon to be joking about this but this one was funny" I laugh. He snorts and presses a button to change the movie. He puts on Coraline-my all time favourite-and reluctantly lets it play. I guess the tv is on my side today.
"Why are your stupid cartoons playing right now?" He groans and I snicker.
"Luck is not on your side Luke" I say. "See what I did there?" I smirk. He blankly blinks at me and sighs.
"Very funny. Very funny, Lucy" He mumbles. I snort and chug my drink. So refreshing.
"So are you going to tell him?" Luke speaks again after a few minutes into the movie.
"Who?" I ask.
"Alec"
"About what?" I play dumb. I know he is talking about me liking Alec. I don't want to tell him because I'm scared it will ruin our friendship.
I value it too much for me to risk it for feelings I'm not sure are reciprocated. Alec is ofcourse the only friend I have and to lose him would be devastating. He is the only one who has accepted my condition and believed my side of the story even though he had no reason to. If I lose someone like him as a friend, then I would have no one to lean on at school or when my family is not available.
"Don't act stupid, Lucy. You know what I'm talking about" Luke snorts.
"No. I'm not going to tell him" I say.
"Why not?" He asks, glancing at me.
"Because I'm scared he doesn't feel the same and that it might sabotage my friendship with him" I explain and purse my lips.
"Don't you want to take the risk?"
"No" I reply without hesitating. The thought of Alec passing by me in the school hallway without even sparing me a glance has my heart accelerating in worry.
Besides all of that, why is Luke so adamant on me telling Alec about how I feel? Shouldn't he be all macho man and tell me to stay away from boys and all of that jazz? Isn't it how it works?
"Why do you want me to tell him anyways, Luke. Aren't you supposed to be warning me to stay away from him or any other boy for that matter?" I ask, clearly curious to hear his response.
"Because I know your being bullied at school and that Alec is the only friend you have because of the bullying" He responds. The words flowed out his mouth as if they are normal words. Words that don't actually mean a thing.
Wait, Luke knows about the bullying? How? When? Why? And who? I never told him or my parents anything and I'm pretty sure that I've tried really hard to hide my true emotions.
"H...how?" I stutter shocked and confused.
"Don't worry, mom and dad don't know but I kind of figured it out and was just waiting for you tell me. To me it was pretty obvious. Almost every night ever since you found out you were pregnant, you've been crying yourself to sleep. When I pick you up from school, your always rushing to go home and I always noticed the way people look at you at school. There are more signs but I don't want to list all of them" He says.
"Wow. I guess I'm not that subtle, huh?" I mutter to myself.
"No. No your not" He chuckles and I go quiet after that. I don't even focus on the movie anymore instead I'm stuck in my own thoughts.
The fact that Luke knows about the bullying scares me. If he knows then what will stop my parents from noticing too? Surely, they have. Mom and dad aren't stupid.
Speaking of mom and dad, I wonder if mom still had her mouth zipped shut about Cole being the father of the baby. I trust my mother. A lot infact but when it comes to keeping things from my dad...that's a whole other story.
I remember when I first got my period when I was 16, mom had come to pick me up fron school after receiving a call from me. When we got home after making a stop at the supermarket to get some "products" she went and called dad behind my back and told him everything.
During dinner, it was very awkward, dad kept glancing at me and mom was glaring at me while 18 year old Luke was oblivious about what's going on. I suppose dad could not keep it in much longer and blurted out "Are you experiencing any pains from your period so far?"
At that time I've never been that humiliated and furiously blushed. Luke dropped his fork of lasagne and stared at me wide eyed. Mom kept glaring at dad as he stared at her sheepishly.
"What?" Luke asked, blinking at us.
"Lucy got her period today" Dad blurted out again.
"Anthony!" Mom scolded. Dad mumbled an apology while I wished that the ground could swallow me up.
"No more boys, Lucy" Luke warned me. If only I had listened then.
"Bu-" I was about to whine when he cut me off.
"No" He snapped. "Your a woman now and as soon as you open your legs boys will want to ruin your life"
"Who said I'm going to open my legs, Luke" I snapped back.
"Lucy-" He was about to yell at me when dad's voice roared an "Enough!"
If it was possible, I blushed even harder and stormed to my room.
I never want to go through that again.