Breathe

Chapter 43

"Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world." -Frank Warren

"Alright, settle down class. I know it's Friday, but there's still ten minutes before you're dismissed to leave," my teacher says loudly. Our entire class quiets down for about five minutes before our voices are just as loud as before. The teacher roll her eyes, and I can see the defeat in her eyes. She has given up on keeping us quiet. We can't help it; we're in high school. 

"So, are you still sleeping over at my house tonight?" Valerie asks me.

"Yeah, of course," I say. We haven't had a sleepover in months. It's actually quite saddening because we used to spend every weekend together, especially last summer. Distance seems to be growing between us, but I'm trying to fix that. I can't keep putting Luke before everyone else in my life.

The bell rings a few minutes later and everyone is dismissed. Valerie and I walk out to our cars together. Her car is closer to the school so I have to walk the rest of the distance to my car alone. When I get closer, I realize that there's an identical car next to mine.

"Hey baby," Luke says when I'm within a few feet of him.

"Hi," I murmur softly.

"Do you want to come over?"

"You could have a sent me a text and asked," I say and laugh.

"I wanted to see you."

"Oh." I realize I'm biting my lip when he stares at it, temporarily distracting him.

"So, is that a yes?"

"I'm sleeping over at Valerie's tonight."

"Good."

"Good?" I ask.

"I feel like I've been distancing you from everyone lately."

"I was thinking about that today too. You can come over to my house for a few hours. Val said she wouldn't be home until nine anyways."

"Okay." He gets into his car and I climb into mine. His car stays in my rear-view mirror the entire drive to my house. I'm excited to get home, partially because of Luke, but mostly because I'm exhausted from this school week. I haven't seen Luke in a few days. The last time we spent time together was on Monday after school. I had a lot of tests and quizzes to study for this week, so I didn't have much time to see him. 

Finally I pull into my driveway and Luke pulls in next to me. Our cars look funny parked next to each other since they're identical. It's also a little strange looking because the cars look too expensive compared to my house. My house is quite large, but nothing compared to his. I'm okay with that though. I don't need extravagant things to keep me happy.

"Do you need to pack?" Luke asks when we walk through my front door.

"Yeah, just a few things."

"Okay," he says as we walk up to my bedroom. I realize that I really need to clean my room. There are clothes scattered everywhere on my floor. 

I rummage through my drawers and bathroom for everything I'll need. Throughout the years my bag has become lighter. I used to bring every single thing that I could possibly need, but now I usually just bring the essentials since I come home in the mornings anyways. I always wear leggings and a t-shirt when I sleep, so I guess I can change into those.

I pull out a pair of black leggings and a old blue t-shirt from my drawer. I unbutton my jeans and pull them down my legs. I see Luke look up from his phone for the first time in ten minutes. I roll my eyes and laugh to myself. He walks over and takes the leggings out of my hands before I can put them on.