Luke's corner

386 days

Her favorite song of theirs was Now or Never, her favorite instrument was the violin, an instrument she had been playing since she was twelve and at which she excelled, she had met Reggie first when her family had moved to the beach house next door, then the boy introduced her to Bobby who she never really liked, then came Alex and Luke. She and the boy next door had always been close, close enough that he was the brother she never had, Alex quickly became her best friend both of them similar in so many ways, as Reggie called them they were the "softies" of their tightly knit friend group and Luke, well, he was her Luke. He had been her teacher, her confidant, she was there when him and his mother started to seriously argue, she had been the one to encourage him to follow his passion. She was Sunset Curve's first and biggest fan, that was until she met her untimely demise a year and three months before his or if you asked Luke, three hundred and eighty-six days before his.

He threw himself into his music, writing day and night, driving his parents crazy, mostly his mother who couldn't understand the pain the teenager felt and that it was burning, blinding, hot and unbearable pain. Booking gigs after gigs, staying up until late morning he used that pain to write whatever lyrics went through his mind and could fit the melody he came up with the others. Then came the Orpheum show, the one he promised her they would do together... Something that neither of them could experience now.

She would play the violin for hours on end, taking small breaks here and there but playing until her fingers were raw from rubbing the strings and her ear was ringing. The teenager could watch and hear her play for hours because that's what brought them together in the first place, the intense passion they both had for their art and in a sea of thousands he could always recognized the soft touch and the intensity and love at which she played.

-

When he landed in the Molina's garage, the first things that went through his mind were his parents and her. Were they okay? Were they still sad? Had she found peace?

Then time went on and he started to appreciate writing music for himself again, performing with his friends with no worries, having the time of his afterlife. They had made a plan to cross over, him, Reggie and Alex, finally do the show at the Orpheum and then cross over and be at peace, doing whatever ghosts do when they cross over, but they would all miss Julie. A lifer, as Willie called them, that sort of liberated them from their twenty-five years of angst and Alex's crying.

They were walking down Hollywood Boulevard, clearing their heads after a conversation with Willie, the adrenaline from the garage show disappearing after a jolt of energy hit them. Reggie stopped them, his head perking up at the delicate sounding music, a frown appeared on Alex's face when he noticed Luke sporting an expression of admiration.

"Haven't heard a violinist that good since—"

"It's Liv." The guitarist said confidently, his light eyes searching around him for any sign of the girl.

"Dude, she's gone ... It's not even poss—" Alex started but he was cut once Luke stepped in front of them.

"Guys, we're actual ghosts and I can promise you that it's Liv." He said and he crossed the street, the music getting louder and louder.

The sound of his steps on the pavement when he saw the violinist, his arms raising to stop the boys, his eyes fixated on the smiling girl that stood there in the middle of the side walk, unaware of the pairs of eyes that were fixated on her.

Twenty-six years and three months.

She just played, not knowing whether people could hear her or not, just having a good time, the strings being pressed down lightly, the bow held tightly between her fingers as she hummed the tune to the song she was playing, her eyes were closed, and she swayed back and forth. A thick plaid coat on her body, a dark green hat tucked in the pocket, a few bracelets and rings on her wrists and fingers. If people could see her, they would never think of her as a classical artist, the black ripped jeans and funky socks were what differentiated her the most from her fellow artists, but none of that were hers, as that night, at 2:15 am, she was sneaking out of the teenager's house, her clothes

Finishing the instrumental song, she opened her eyes, she could hear people laugh and talk around her, she looked around her, her eyes stopping on the three boys and for a quick moments she was transported twenty six years ago, when they would grab her from her playing on the corner of the street when they were on their way to their rehearsal space. She smiled, not linking the fact that one, they seemed to be able to see her and two, that it was 2020 and that they looked the same. A gasp escaped her lips, her eyes filling up with water.

"No!" she said quietly, her hands out in front of her when she noticed them walking towards her, all of their faces wearing sad expressions. She shook her head, refusing to believe that they had suffered the same faith as her.

"How you doin', Livie?" Luke asked and if she were alive, she would've fainted.

"You died, you all died." She whimpered, her knees buckling, Luke instinctively reached out along with Reggie and Alex. Luke kept his hands on her arms, relishing in the physical contact he had craved for weeks now, while yes, Reggie and Alex's hugs were nice it would never win against what touching her felt. "God, you're actually here." He mumbled looking down at her, his hands cupping her head. He looked at her in amazement, the lights from the street reflecting in his now damp eyes.