Dear Dahlia // B1

[12]

"We should wake her up, right?" I hear a voice in the back of my mind.

"No, that's so rude," another voice whispers. "Let her sleep."

"I mean she has to be tired after all that fighting with Julie right?" The first voice asks.

"Which was totally insane," a new voice pipes up.

"I wanna wake her up," the first one says, a tone of urgency behind their voice.

"No, Luke," the second voice replies. "Why?"

"She just took the blame for me, Alex," Luke says. "I have to thank her."

"She doesn't know we were listening though," the third voice says.

"Yeah, Reggie," Alex whispers. "And if we're gonna keep it that way we need to get out of here and shut up."

"Fine," Reggie says. I hear a whooshing sound and figure Reggie poofed out.

"Come on Luke," Alex says before I hear second whooshing sound.

I open my eyes to see Luke taking a step toward my bed.

"Hi," I whisper. My voice sounds tired.

"Oh," he takes a step back. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," I shake my head, yawning. "I was already halfway there."

"I -uh- I know Julie doesn't like it when we're in your room, but I just wanted to check on you," Luke says.

"It's my room too," I sit up. "And I don't mind you being in here."

The corners of his mouth turn upward before he asks, "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I nod. "Just don't tell me you came in here to thank me for saving your ghost a-"

"Hey," Luke cuts me off. "You weren't supposed to hear that yet."

"I told you so," I smirk.

"Okay," he says, dropping his eyes to the floor in defeat. "You win this one. But you know what I got?"

"Yelled at," I laugh.

"Yes, but Julie performed the song with us for Flynn and she agreed to join our band," Luke says. "Well, we joined Julie's band is what Flynn's joke was."

"Yeah, that's Flynn," I nod. "But that's really great Luke. I'm happy for you."

"Yeah," he presses his lips together. "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything," I shake my head.

"I don't know," he argues. "I mean, Julie really needed you to tell her to get on that stage. So that'd wouldn't have happened without you."

"Well, performing with you is what got her back into the music program. That's what's really important," I say. "Wait, did you just say you talked to Flynn?"

"Yeah, she totally knows we're ghosts now," Luke nods.

"How are you so casual about it?" I ask.

"Well, I'm not Alex. That's how," he says.

"Oh," I hold my breath.

"You're kinda weird, aren't you?" Luke laughs.

"Says the ghost," I glare.

"You're the one talking to the ghost," he says quickly, his face becoming serious.

"I-" I try to come up with a comeback, but it doesn't come out.

"I like it though," Luke laughs, leaning forward and putting his hands on his knees. "You're fun to mess with."

I close my mouth and glare at him.

"Alright," he stands up straight, pulling his hands off his knees. "Maybe it's just 'cause I like hanging around you. I guess we'll never know."

"Luke-" but a whooshing sound overpowers my small voice, and Luke poofs out of the room. "Ugh! Stupid ghost."

I flop back onto my bed and look up at my ceiling. The posters above my bed look back down at me, Tony Stark's eyes burning holes into my forehead. It looks as if he is trying to yell at me for ever befriending three dead, teenage boys from the 90's. Not your best choice, Dahlia.

"Oh, shut up, Tony," I mumble, getting off my bed. I throw on some shorts and a t-shirt, shooting for comfort. I walk over to the long mirror leaning against the wall. First, I pull at my face, tightening the skin under my cheekbones. I take a step back and examine my legs. Little scars and scrapes line my shins, personifying my clumsiness. I frown and hold my thighs in my hands, they dimple when I squeeze the skin, emphasizing my cellulite. I drop my hands and huffed, turning my hips to see myself from every angle. I freeze when my sweatshirt lifts up, exposing an inch of my stomach. I turn back to face the mirror, pulling my sweatshirt farther up. Cocking my head to the side, I pinch the skin of my stomach between my fingers. Pushing and pulling at my torso until I finally feel like I've had enough, I walk out of my bedroom.

"Where are you going, Lia?" Dad asks from the kitchen as I come down the stairs. "I was just about to heat up this food your aunt brought us."

"I'm not hungry," I smile. "I think I'm just going to go draw in the studio for a little bit."

"Okay, Mija," he nods. "Just come in when you get hungry."

"I will, Papa," I smile, walking out the door. The door to the studio is already cracked so I slip inside quietly. Alex and Reggie are sitting on the couch, deep in conversation as Luke and Julie sit at the piano together.

"Hey, Dahlia," Alex notices me and waves.

"Julie and I were just working on some new music," Luke says excited. He hurries over to me, grabbing his guitar. He strums a couple chords and looks up at me, searching for approval.

"Sounds good," I nod, unsure of how to respond. "I just came in here to sketch."

I walk over to the couch and grab my sketchbook and pencil case off the table. I walk over to the loft ladder and start climbing.

"I'll be in the loft if you need me," I say, finding a nice spot to sit. Before I can even pick out a pencil, a light whooshing sound comes from next to me.

"Hey, Alex," I say, turning to him.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," he says quietly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" I ask, setting my sketchbook aside.

"Luke."

A.N.

Heyo!

Here is chapter 12 of this mess. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I know I'm enjoying writing it!

Remember to comment, vote, and share!

All my love!🦋💙

-Redd