salt air and serendipity [lrh]

nine

TW // this chapter mentions sensitive topics, hinting at drug use and addiction!! if you do not feel comfortable with that do not hesitate to skip!!

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The mystery that is Luke Hemmings was taking over my brain no matter how much I told myself to just let things play out. When we left his house in his homey car, I learned he lied about having a destination. He told me that it was just an excuse to drive around forever with me. He said he liked to watch how I reacted to the music that would play if I would just quietly sing along, dance around in my seat, or take myself up out of the sunroof again. I liked to watch him drive, one hand on the wheel, another by his side, sometimes he would grab onto me during turns and sudden stops. It's as if he doesn't need to pay attention to what was happening on the road, he drove so smoothly and could laugh, change the song, and talk to me all without fear of something happening to us. He could pay attention to the moment in the car rather than worrying about what was outside. That's one difference between him and Ricky. Ricky was a careful driver, but almost too careful. I'd never see him relax when sitting in the driver's seat. music was low, windows barely opened, it wasn't just him and road, it was him, the road, and the imminent danger of everyone else driving. It was a good thing we lived in a small town and barely needed to go on the open road.

We ended up in an open lot somewhere outside of town, nothing else was in sight except a small lake to the right of us. Luke parked the car and stopped the music, leaving us silent in the dark. "This was your destination?" I ask, snorting a little. Everything about him was confusing.

"I found that there was a small lake here when looking around maps. I know we live literally on the ocean but I wanted to find water away from everyone." He explains. I slouch slightly in my seat. I remembered my special spot I had with Ricky. There was a heat in the pit of my stomach when thinking about it, perhaps Luke would know of it soon. "Anyway, I wanna show you something. Come on." Luke invites me out of the car, getting out himself. He grabs something I couldn't see from the back of the car, stuffing it into his pocket, and he comes around to me, grabbing my hand yet again, and leading me to the lake. 

We stand next to each other watching the water for a few moments. "I think all bodies of water are so beautiful. The open ocean is the obvious answer for people, but even small lakes and ponds like this... they have a story to them just the same." I break the peaceful silence, crouching down and running my fingers in the shallow water. "I'm just confused why you brought me here." I look up at him. 

"I needed to get rid of something." Was all his response consisted of. I lifted myself up as I watched him take whatever he grabbed out of the car out of his pocket. It looked like a bottle of pills. I silently watched him open the bottle and dump them into the water, us both watching them wash away. 

"What were those?" I ask, my face almost creating a look of horror. He was much more of a mystery than I could've imagined.

"Not mine." He says, still looking out into the night. "Scout...the reason I've moved so much is 'cause I always fuck everything up. The problems I have... they make me mess up everything around me. Living in big cities and too close to crazy nightlife wasn't working well for me, so my parents finally decided on a brand new type of scenery. Trying really hard to make me get better." He explained. I started to understand; was he some kind of addict? "I've finally gotten past a lot of my withdrawal and I found that bottle in the bottom of one of my moving boxes. I needed to get rid of it, so I couldn't be tempted."

"W-why not get any professional help?" I ask. 

Luke chuckles a little under his breath, shaking his head. "Tried once. I was too good of a liar that they let me out without actually fixing me. For some reason, moving around a lot has helped a lot. I can't get too comfortable in order to find a fix. But here..." He pauses, finally turning to look at me. "I kind of want to get comfortable here." I could see him faintly look at me up and down, scanning me.