Home Away From Home

Chapter Six

I saw Luke for the first time since the Bloody Hands Incident when he walked out of his groom. He passed me, still on the couch, without so much as a glance.

"Morning." I mumbled drily, not thinking he would hear.
"Yeah, morning." He spat back.
What did I do now? "Is something wrong?" I shot back, irritated.
"Nope." Luke popped his 'p' and kept walking down the stairs.
I sighed heavily, weighted with my annoyance. Rolling my eyes, I turned off the TV and ventured back into my room. If Luke was up, that means everyone else probably is too. I grabbed my ipod, fresh clothes, and my hair brush to prep for a shower.
Setting my iPod to play You Me at Six on shuffle, I got in the shower. I don't know about you, but when I'm in the shower I forget that the walls aren't soundproof. I also love to sing. You do the math.
I'm nearing the end of my shower, belting out the chorus of Finders Keepers when I hear a faint knock on the door. I felt the color of my face drain with the water. "Just a second!" I yelled out.
I turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and turned off the music. "Who is it?" I asked, still self-conscious about who was hearing me.
"Luke." He said frankly.
Great. I rolled my eyes, and my face gained a pinky tone as my color came back. "What do you need?"
"Breakfast is ready." He said, but I didn't hear his feet move away from the door.
I started to towel dry my hair as I wrapped up this conversation. "Okay, I'll be down in like five minutes. Thanks."
"Yeah." Luke stayed in front of the door. "That's a good song, by the way."
I swear the X-Games decided to play in my stomach this year. I didn't so much as decide against replying as I couldn't physically bring myself to do so. I stayed in the bathroom, guarded by the walls and locked door, until I was certain Luke had left.
I approached the breakfast scene with still wet hair and the same sweatshirt I've worn at least once every day since I got here. "Morning." I said cheerfully and cautiously as I took a seat across from Luke at the table.
"Good morning, Greta." Liz beamed through her equally bright smile. "How'd you sleep?"
"Really well, thank you." I smiled back at Liz, and looked down at the plate in front of me. Andy was already at work.
I felt Luke eyeing me from across the table, but I didn't dare look up if I didn't have to.
"Are you making yourself at home?" Liz spoke periodically between her bites of egg, smiling all the while.
Before I could talk, Luke spoke up on my behalf. "Oh, yeah. She already fell asleep on the lounge and is singing in the shower."
I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent whichever emotion was trying arise from drowning me. Liz laughed loudly, and I briefly thought she might choke.
"You sing?" She raised her eyebrows in an amused manner, and I couldn't understand how this woman is so eternally happy.
"No, not really. Just to pass the time." For whatever reason I glared at Luke, but he was already looking at me with a taunting smirk.
I don't understand why he's acting like he has some leverage on me, but I'm not liking it. I made it a point to roll my eyes at him.
"Luke sings too." Liz offered, proudly pointing at her youngest son. "He's quite good!"
"Mom." Luke muttered in a harsh tone as he stared down at his breakfast plate.
"Oh, Luke, it's not like I'm going to make you get up and perform for us." Liz teased Luke, playfully hitting his shoulder.
He looked like a fourteen year old whose mom just kissed him in front of all of his friends. It was a humbling state to see him in.
"I wouldn't mind if you did, though." I teased, but I kept the joking tone to a minimum. I would pay big money for Liz to force Luke to sing for me.
Luke returned my glare, and Liz chuckled to herself from the end of the table. "You two." She shook her head. "I'm glad you're getting along so well."
I let out a low cough as my juice slipped in my throat. You'd think for being a math teacher she wouldn't be so oblivious. It seems that Luke and I both independently decided to agree with her for the sake of her happiness.
"Yeah, I love being here." I said, sincerely at the same time Luke spoke.
"I've always wanted a sister." Luke quipped.
For some reason the word 'sister' stung. I don't know if it's because I miss my sister or if I miss being a sister, or maybe it's something else. Either way, we all finished eating our breakfast in peace.
Luke left to his room immediately as I stayed to help Liz clean up. "So what would you like to do today/"
I stacked the plates and silverwear on the counter as I thought. "I don't know. What's your favorite thing to do?"
Liz's eyes grew as it seemed like something had just registered in her brain. "I know what we can do today. Jack, Luke's older brother, and his girlfriend invited us to a picinic on the beach today."
Every organ in my body plummeted to the floor. The beach. Don't get me wrong, I love to swim, but beaches terrify me. When Augustus and I were kids, and Emerson was just a baby, we went out to Martha's Vineyard for a family reuinion. Augustus and I went swimming, and we were told not to swim out past a certain distance, but Augustus kept swimming. I don't remember all the details, but I remember seeing him splashing and yelling, and I remember screaming for my dad. I remember my dad running out and swimming past me faster than I thought possible but also seemingly not fast enough. I remember not seeing Gus for longer intervals before he would come back up for air. We had to take Gus to the ER where he stayed for three days with lung complications. I haven't stepped foot on a beach since. I'm not scared for my own life as much as I am scared to see something like that happen again.
I realized that Sydney is famous for its beaches when I signed up for Australia, but I figured there's no better place to conquer a fear than abroad. That's not actually what I thought. I thought they would be completely avoidable, but I'm sadly mistaken.
"Sounds like fun." I faked a smile and continued with the dishes.
"Today shouldn't be as dreadfully hot, so I don't think we'll have to worry about you again." She gave me a caring smile, but I felt like she was being more condescending than sympathetic.
"Good." I smiled but not with my eyes.
As I finished with the dishes, Liz gave me a timeline for the day, and I went upstairs to be alone before I needed to get ready. I went to my room, shut the door, open the blinds, and got out my journal.
I began to write, about anything-- about everything. I haven't felt this "inspired" in a long time. I wrote about Sydney and the city and the people and my people and Luke. I wrote more about Luke than I'd like to admit.
"You write?" I was startled up from my page by a deeply accently voice. I jumped and squeezed my eyes shut before looking up to see none other than Luke.
"Do you not knock?!" My face twisted with disgust as Luke's complete lack of common courtesy.
Luke lifted his finger as if to prove me wrong. "I did knock. You just didn't listen."
I rolled my eyes, again. I really need to stop. "Whatever. What do you need?"
Luke looked at me blankly and shrugged. My blood boiled. I do not understand this boy. He acts like he doesn't want me around him, but then he always finds ways to be around me. "You write?" He asked again with the same low voice he entered with. He made himself comfortable on the chair across from the bed I was sitting on.
I closed my journal and put it in the drawer next to me. "Like I sing." I spoke flatly without a change in expression.
He nodded to himself. "So I was thinking about what you said last night, and I realized that I don't know your last name."
"If this is some ploy to find me on facebook, good luck. I deleted it." I didn't really, but I also really didn't want him to go and stalk my profile. It's happened before.
"I highly doubt you're telling the truth, but that's not why I want to know anyway." Luke's lips curled into another breath-taking smirk.
Did I just say his smirk was breath-taking? I meant repulsing. Yeah, that's what I meant.
"Fitzgerald."
"Like the author?"
"Like the author." My lips pressed into a line. "But there's no relation."
"My dad used to--"
"What's your middle name?"
We both talked at the same time again, my face blushing. Luke must've noticed because he smirked that taunting smirk again. "You go ahead."
Luke waved his hand at me, allowing me to finish. "Oh, I was just gonna say that my dad used to call me Fits as a kid cus I threw a lot of fits."
Luke laughed lightly but sincerely. "I'm going to call you that. Because you still get easily frustrated."
"You don't even know me." I playfully rolled my eyes.
"I'm trying." He raised his eyebrows as if to convince me that he is.
I shrugged and waited for him to speak. As he opened his mouth to talk, I followed the lines of muscles moving from his lips to his nose to his eyes to his browline. "So what's your middle name?"
I sighed, deciding whether I should tell him or not. I'm not embarrassed by my middle name, but it's so easy and fun to withhold things from Luke. I scrunched up my face a little bit and shook my head.
"Oh, come on." Luke pleaded with annoyance.
"I don't understand why you need to know?" I bit my lip to refrain from smiling as I watched his once illuminated expression fall to a blank and confused one.
"Is it embarrassing?"
I shook my head again.
"Then why can't you tell me?" Luke rested back in his chair, studying me.
"Greta Ann."
I shook my head.
"Greta..." He squinted his eyes as if my appearance would give it away. "Greta Catherine?"
I shook my head. "Closer though."
"Greta Carol, Greta Clair, Greta Chloe, Greta..."
Luke kept firing names faster than I could turn them down. I had seen him try hard enough. "Colleen."
His face softened as he placed it all together. "Greta Colleen Fitzgerald. It's nice."
My face flushed with pink again as I mentally kicked myself for being so easily swayed by him. "Thanks."
-----------------------
thanks for reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!