Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Of Silvone

A couple of days went by, and Luke was back to normal. Julie had watched over him like he had a fever and put him on bed rest when he threw up for the second time. He didn't have a fever or other symptoms, but he wouldn't answer when she asked what was bothering him. She had written a note for Constansa to bring them medicine just in case they needed it in the future.

Luke cooked breakfast the first day he was completely fine, and she watched him eat most of his eggs and ham in seconds. He did always eat like his next meal wasn't guaranteed, and he smiled at her in between bites as if he hadn't been laying in bed for over two days straight. She had cooked for him during those days, and she was almost sure that it had been worse for his health.

She ate her food in silence, looking out through the window on occasion. The sun was calling to her. She told him, "We should go outside today." Luke froze with the fork halfway to his mouth. "It's been a while. We can take a little walk in the forest." Luke put his fork down and shook his head.

"Absolutely not," he said to her. She was stunned, raising her eyebrows at him. He had told her no before but not in a tone that was authoritative. He seemed to notice that she was put off guard and he said, "I can't have anything happen to you, okay?"

The thought made her smile cheekily and she said, "Birds aren't going to poke my eyes out." He didn't seem to think it was funny.

"Something else might," Luke frowned. "Please. Let's just stay in here. We can open all the windows and lay in the sun if you want."

"Like cats?" she asked, smirking. Luke still wasn't having any of it. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair to look at her. "Fine," she said then smiled. "But!"

"But?"

"You have to tell me about Silvone." Luke's face dropped again, and he stared at her for a few seconds before a small smirk appeared.

"Can't I just kiss you instead?" he said, making himself laugh. Julie felt her cheeks get hot and she shook her head. He was annoying when he was flirty, and it just made her like him even more. Even when he was sick in bed, he had hazily told her she was beautiful before falling asleep for ten hours. She thought about it the entire time.

She told him, "You're not that cute." Her and Luke smiled at each other, knowing she was messing around with him.

She almost thought he was going to let her run free in the woods before he said, "Fine. As long as we stay inside."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. She didn't think it would have been that easy. "Okay," she smiled. "Who taught you how to play the guitar?" Luke leaned back in the chair and seemed to think for a moment.

"I was teaching myself by ear for a few months before this old man named Murray said he'd teach me. He had just retired."

"From the mines?"

"Yeah. The mines." Luke stretched in his seat and looked around the kitchen for a moment. "He was also taught by ear though. We didn't exactly have access to music sheets and things like that. It wasn't until I got here that Alex and Reggie taught me more about notes."

"Where'd you get your guitar?" Julie asked him.

"I had this really old one I got at a yard sale," Luke spoke, starting to smile. "I begged my parents for it, and they said yes but it was my birthday and Christmas present at the same time. I didn't care, though. It was mine."

"It's a different one?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. He crossed his arms and look down at his plate. He sighed and said, "When Murray got killed," his eyes darted to Julie and then he said, "you know. By cancer. Yeah, something like that. Some illness like that." Luke coughed into the nook of his arm, and Julie raised her eyebrows at him.

"Cancer?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded, looking away and at the kitchen floor. He spoke softer, "Anyways, he passed, and he left me his guitar he had just bought. His wife delivered it to me personally. It was nice. To have something that belonged to him. It was the only thing I brought from home."

"You didn't bring any photos?" she asked. Luke shook his head.

"Too expensive to print over there. I didn't even have a phone until I got here." Julie never realized how below the poverty line Luke was. He never shared any details and suddenly little things started to make sense. Why he was the way he was. Why he ate like he did and why he folded his clothes extremely neatly, sometimes redoing it if it was a little crinkly.

"Did the mines not pay well?" she asked. Luke pursed his lips.

"I'd rather not talk about the mines," Luke said and then whispered, "I think they remind me too much that I can't go home." Julie nodded, and they finished their food in an odd silence. Luke stood up to put their plates in the sink and started washing them as Julie watched him. When he was done, he watched her stare at him as he dried his hands. "What?"

"You're not ugly," she said. Luke grinned and walked over to her, bending down to cup her face and kiss her. Julie smiled into the kiss, making Luke chuckle. He pulled away from her and kept holding her face, grinning.

"You're lucky you're gorgeous." He kissed her forehead, Julie leaning up to catch his lips once more. It took him by surprise, and he paused for a small moment before kissing her back. Julie could not stop thinking about how nice it was to have him there, being able to feel him and to look at him whenever she wanted. She pulled away and looked at him, putting her hands on top of his.

"You're gorgeous, too," she said. Luke's face turned a light shade of red, and she giggled, Luke kissing her once more to make her forget.

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A/N: I'm sorry for the short chapter ;-; I was going to combine it with the next one to make it longer but chapter 34 HAS to be in Luke's POV so yeah. I'll probably combine the next two chapters to make it longer to make up for it :) MAYBE THOUGH! I have a busy week ahead.