Now Or Never

Chapter 25

I hum softly along to the strumming of Reggie's bass, holding the microphone in my hand. Luke completely oblivious to us practicing with his headphones in while dancing and singing behind us.

"Ohh, girl you're shining. Like a fifth avenue diamond. They don't make you like they used to, you're never going out of style."

He sings, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me closer to dance. I laugh softly as he takes the microphone from me to hold my hands. "Lukeeee, we're trying to rehearse." I say, reaching up and taking the headphones from his ears. I place them lightly around his neck and rest my hands on his shoulders. "Oh cmon. You guys have been rehearsing all day! It's time for some fun. Let's set up the projector and turn on a movie." He says, placing his hands on my waist to pull me to him. "That actually sounds fun." Alex comments and puts his drumsticks down.

"Okay you guys are in charge of snacks, okay?" I point at the boys. Alex nods and takes Reggie with him inside the house to hunt for all the snacks.

"You seem to be feeling a little better about this whole Bobby situation." I say, looking up at Luke. He shrugs a little and cuts off his music, putting his headphones away. "I'm dealing with it. In my own way." He moves over to the couch to fix up some blankets for us. I cross my arms and watch him. "Your own way? Luke. I'm not sure if I like the sound of that."

"I promise, I'm not going to do anything stupid." He looks up at me. The look in his eyes tells me he's being honest. He's just really passionate about his music. I nod and walk to set up the projector. Julie steps into the studio. "Movie night?" She asks, smiling at us.

Alex and Reggie return with all the snacks they could raid from the kitchen. We sit next to each other on the couch. I lay a blanket across my lap, waiting for Luke to snuggle up next to me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and cover up. I smile and lean my head on his shoulder.

"Must we always watch a scary movie?" Reggie asks, snuggling closer to Julie. She laughs softly and wraps her arm around him. "Don't worry, Reg. I'll protect you."

Closer towards the end of the movie, I dose off. I hadn't realized how tired I was from all the rehearsing we've been doing lately. When I wake up, the room is dark beside a light shining in from outside. I'm on the couch but Luke is gone. I sit up and look around. Reggie and Alex are asleep close by. Julie moved to the other end of the couch, her head on the arm and she was fast asleep. But where was Luke?

I stand up and walk outside, rubbing my arms a little from the small breeze hitting them. No one was to be found. It was quiet. Not the scary kind of quiet you feel from horror movies, but a peaceful, untouched quiet. I take out my phone and dial Luke's number. It rings for a moment before I realize his ringtone is still coming from inside the studio. "Great. He left his phone here." I sigh and place my phone in my back pocket. I start walking down the sidewalk. Trying to think of a few places he could have gone. Luke had a few special places he enjoyed going when he wanted to write or when he was stressed and wanted to blow off some steam.

I sit on the curb after checking a few places I thought he would be. I was wrong. He wasn't in any of those places. Where could he have gone? I check the time. Just past midnight. I sigh and rub my face. The air had definitely gotten cooler and I shiver a little. "C'mon Luke." I huff and stand back up, starting to walk again.  Then it hit me. Bobby. Crap what was Bobby's address again? I open my phone and go to Luke's text messages. I open the GPS to begin heading towards his house. Begging in my mind he hasn't done anything stupid.