Posting another character interpretation above. The creator of this poster wanted to remain anonymous because she was worried about the comments... so please be kind!
Chapter 52: My Party
We had a layover in New York City and, naturally, my mind drifted into thoughts of bagels and NY cheesecake.
Turns out, the boys were on the same wavelength.
The moment we stepped off the plane, they called out for food. There was a restaurant and bar at the terminal, so we decided to pass the time eating, chatting and checking our phones.
"Can we get extra onion rings? These are delicious," Austin munched.
The onion rings were good. I stared out at the view of the airplanes through the glass windows of the terminal. I wish I could've seen real New York from here: the hectic chaos, yellow cabs and skyscrapers. Instead, I saw snow on the ground and on the nose of a parked airplane. New York makes a great frost impression.
I looked over at my boyfriend talking to Austin. I watched him smile before he flicked an onion ring at Austin. He ducked when Austin flicked one back and Oma tried to stop them.
Luke was wearing a gray sweater and his watch was half hidden by the sleeve. I rested my hand over his sleeve, though my fingers couldn't fully wrap around his wrist.
He glanced down at my hand on his and then to me. I whispered, "Can we speak for a minute?"
While everyone was preoccupied with either their food or their socials, I thought this may be a good moment to bring it up.
Luke looked at his uneaten plate of food and asked, "Now?"
I nodded.
Luke stood up, grabbed some fries to-go. He waited for me to get up and when I did, Chad wolf whistled.
"We'll be back in a minute," Luke told him.
But Chad's mind was already deep in the gutter.
"One minute? Come on man, you have more stamina than that," Chad teased.
Luke couldn't help but laugh, "Don't talk about my stamina, Chad. It's weird."
**
We stood outside a newsagent, next to those squidgy neck support cushions. Other travelers passed by, wheeling their carry-on luggage with them. We had plenty of time before our flight departed, so we weren't in any rush.
"My mom told me something this morning," I said. "Our families have a history I didn't know about."
"OK," he waited. After I didn't say anything, Luke added, "We've been neighbors."
I am so bad at this.
"Is your dad back?" Luke asked.
Has hell frozen over?
"No, no, no," I needed to get this out, since Luke was guessing wilder scenarios than the truth. "My mom was left in a really vulnerable position when my dad left her. And apparently, your parents called social services on her. They wanted to take me and my sister away."
"They what?"
"They wanted to-"
"You don't have to repeat yourself, Millie. I'm just processing." Luke ran a hand through his hair and looked down.
"I need to call my parents," he said.
I opened my mouth to say something but then closed it. What could I say? Back then, Luke was too young to know what his parents were up to. He didn't know how my mother went off the rails.
And now, all these years later, we were dating and our family histories became relevant in our history. But hopefully not our future.
Why did his parents call social services instead of offering to help?
His parents had tried to take me away from my family once before. And I hoped that they weren't plotting to take him away too.
**
We started to grab our bags and head to the gate. Our flight to Dubai was boarding.
"He said one minute, and it's been thirty," Chad commented about Luke.
I looked over at Luke on the phone, pacing the terminal. He was too far away for any of us to hear.
Austin whistled at him with two fingers and the noise he made was so loud it caught Luke's attention. It also caught the attention of almost everyone in between.
Luke nodded for us to go ahead. He was still the phone. So we did.
**
~Luke's POV~
I dialed mom's number. Millie really dropped a bomb on me in an airport.
Explains why she wasn't happy this morning. I thought she'd be jumping off the walls at our Dubai trip, but she walked out of her house like she was on a funeral march. I almost expected her to tell me that Winnifred had died again.
I hate the idea that her mom judges me for my parents' behavior. My parents have made so many wrong decisions they could write a manual on regrets. Starting with Jake and his watermelon head.
Mom picked up, "Luke, I'm surprised you called so quickly. I thought we'd be getting radio silence from you for at least two days."
I asked, "Is dad with you?"
Mom: "He's in the kitchen but I'll go get him. Is everything ok, sweetheart?"
I didn't answer and waited until I heard my dad on the other line. I looked over at Millie. She'd joined the others back at the restaurant.
Mom: "Ok, we're both here now and you're on speaker."
Dad: "What is it, son? You must've landed in New York by now."
I got straight to the point. "Did you guys call social services on Millie's mom?"
I was going to be on a flight for the next several hours and I didn't want to sit there without any answers.
Dad: "What? Did she tell you that? She's stirring up trou- what is it?"
Mom: "I think he means years ago. Remember when we..."
Their voices became distant as they talked quietly between each other.
Dad: "She's too young to know that."
Mom: "Her mom must've told her."
Dad: "Then it's her mom's who's stirring up-"
Me: "So you did. What possessed you two to do that?"
It's like they go around looking for lives to mess up
Mom: "Language, Luke. It was a long time ago and you didn't know what that family was like back then. Eleanor completely lost it after her husband left. The house turned into a garbage pit. She didn't have any money to feed the kids. They went to school without backpacks."
Dad: "And the alcohol. Tell him about the alcohol."
Mom: "She was an alcoholic. We went over to check on her one day after we saw the front door open and she was passed out with empty bottles of alcohol around her. One of the kids was sitting there, playing with it. Do you know how dangerous that is?"
Dad: "Total pig sty."
Mom: "Those kids were in danger. It was our duty to call social services. Honestly, I think that's what helped Eleanor climb out of her depression."
Dad: "If only she climbed out of our street too."
Me: "Dad, show some respect."
I had no idea Millie grew up like that. It was shocking to hear. Why did she never talk to me about it? I've opened up so much to her.
Mom: "There was a court case and that's when Eleanor started to shape up. An elderly man came to live with them for a while, taking the kids to school and cleaning the house up. I think he died a year or two later but it's thanks to him that she didn't lose her kids."
Austin whistled at me from across the airport. I realized we were boarding and waved at them to go on ahead. I'd catch up later.
**
~Millie's POV~
Imagine if Luke missed the plane.
I watched him board, finally. He was the last to come on before they closed the plane doors.
The stewardess spoke to him with an extra warm greeting. I don't think Luke notices the special treatment he gets on a regular basis.
It didn't take long for his eyes to find mine and I could see the weight of emotion in his eyes. His eyes were such a bright blue that they convey so much emotion and yet, sometimes, not enough.
He was walking towards me and passed by the first few rows. Chad nudged him from his seat in 3A. He'd already kicked off his shoes, put a blanket over himself and was drinking a glass of complementary champagne.
They said something I couldn't hear and then Luke arrived at our row. He opened the overhead cabin and raised his backpack into it. His sweater moved upwards in the movement and I saw the lower part of his abs and the navy waistband of his boxers.
He shut the overhead cabin and looked down at me. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to say how easily distracted I was by him.
Our seats were side by side in these business class pods. Luke is the one person I wouldn't mind being squeezed up next to all night. Instead, we were separated by a partition between our pods.
I wanted to continue our conversation, but there was nothing private about our setup. Bianca and Oma were one row in front of us. Cearra and Austin to our left.
This was my first-time flying Business Class and I was stuck thinking about social services. I almost ended up living a completely different life. Crazy to think that.
Luke didn't say anything as he sat next to me. He picked up all the stuff the airline had left on his seat: a blanket wrapped in plastic, slippers, a water bottle, headphones for the TV and an amenity kit.
"So?" I asked him.
The suspense was eating at me.
Luke said, "Our parents are f*cked."
Tell me something I don't know.
**
Three hours later and we were flying somewhere over the ocean. The cabin lights had been dimmed and dinner service was over. The others were either asleep or watching a movie on the TV screen.
Chad was typing something on his laptop.
I unbuckled my seat belt and padded my way to the front of the cabin. There was a snack station, with a stash of small chocolate bars, nuts and popcorn that I picked from.
The stewardess smiled at me before walking down the aisle, checking on everyone.
I didn't notice the curtains open and someone walk past me. His hands encircled my waist and he urged me to follow him.
"Luke, what are you-"
Luke pushed open the bathroom door and pulled me inside.
I don't think anyone noticed as we stepped inside and locked it.
Luke's lips locked on mine and he pressed one hand against my waist and the other on the mirror behind my head. It left a handprint.
I left my mark on his neck and my finger slipped around his belt buckle. I tugged down, bringing more of his navy boxer to light.
Luke groaned as he pulled away, "I wanted to talk but I got carried away."
"You took me here to talk?" I asked, surprised.
There was no way we were going to do it for the first time in a toilet, but I was enjoying this little session.
Joining the mile-high club didn't seem so stylish. The toilets in business class weren't as glamorous as I expected. There was a metal toilet and not much space between that and the sink. It didn't even smell fresh. How was this a comfortable place for se-
"My parents called social services on your mom," Luke confirmed it.
Somehow, he was the one not thinking about joining the mile-high club.
"I don't know if this is true," he told me, "But my parents said your mom was in a really bad state. According to them, they checked in on you or your sister and found you to be a very unstable environment. I'm sorry. One day I'll make them say it to you too."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the bathroom door. We stared at the door, knowing that we were not going to be looked on well for this.
"Occupied," Luke said.
The knocking stopped.
What was our exit plan here? Would we get fined for doing this?
"I wish I knew you back then," Luke smiled and kissed my lips softly, "I bet you were an adorable kid."
I smiled back and slowly pulled my head back. I raised my finger and traced the outline of his lips. My finger rose to circle his cheek and I kissed him firmly.
"I can't believe we're about to get a whole week of this," I said, "No one to stop us. It'll just be us and whatever our friends throw at us."
"Let's see what they got," Luke smiled and pulled me into his embrace.
The knocking started up again, more vigorously this time.
"What?" Luke snapped and opened the door to find Austin staring at us.
He was looking half asleep a moment ago with the plane's free eye mask over his forehead.
"Oh," he said surprised, "Not what I expected, but OK. Were you two... now I don't want to use it anymore."
He turned around and walked back to his seat. Luke took my hand and led me back to ours.
**
~Some hours later~
My sneakers hit the hot tarmac. After several hours on a plane, my body was not in the best shape to run around, but my mind was doing gymnastics.
We're in Dubai!
I tried to hide my yawn behind my hand. I was so tired after all this travel.
Chad caught me doing that and looked disappointed. He walked beside me, "Here's some advice my aunt always gave herself."
I looked at him, wondering what kind of advice was going to come out of his mouth. I knew it wasn't going to be normal.
"Look like a lady, party like a pimp."
There's no way I know how to respond to that.
Chad sighed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, "Millie, Millie, sweet innocent Millie. I don't know if Luke can save you from this week."
"What do you have planned?" I asked and immediately regretted it.
Chad smirked and summarized it simply: "My house. My party."
A/N: Next chapter is one I've been waiting to write for so long. They've gotten over this hurdle and now it's time for some fun.
Vote if you like the chapter. See ya soon!
Natalie
IG: @NatalieInACorner