Self-Destruction • Luke Hemmings

Chapter 14

I wake with a headache so bad, I can feel it pounding with every movement I make. I groan when I realise I still have to clean the house from the party last night. Luckily, I still remembered taking off my makeup from last night, so I don't have half of it smeared across my face and my pillow.

The last thing I remember was going downstairs with Luke, and then someone telling us we're doing shots, which I gladly did. I put on my dressing gown, and trek downstairs, nervous to how the place is going to look.

"Hey Faith!" Michael says from the living room, and I turn to see him and Calum sitting on the sofa, watching some movie.

"Wait, you stayed over?" I ask confused. The living room looks spotless, like I didn't even have a party.

"Yeah, we cleaned up as well, considering it was our idea to have a party." Calum answers, not looking away from the television. I could hug them right now, but I don't, because that's just weird.

"Oh, sweet, I'm gonna go get some breakfast, you want anything?" I call, heading into the kitchen.

"No, thanks." Calum says, as Michael answers yes. I can't be bothered to make anything, so I just grab two breakfast bars from one of the cupboards, and then walk back into the living room.

"Ta." Michael says, catching the wrapper, as I chucked it at him.

"What are you watching?" I ask, slumping down into the sofa, sitting next to Calum.

"The walking dead." Michael replies, grinning widely.

"So I saw you and Luke go upstairs, how's making him fall for you going?" Calum nudges me.

"I kinda rejected him." I shrug.

"Already?" Michael looked shocked.

"No, no like he wanted to take it further but I didn't." I reply, watching the screen rather than the two boys who I know are staring at me in confusion.

"And we was fine with that?" Calum asks in disbelief, shock sketched clearly on his face.

"Yeah, I guess, why?" I question, the expressions they're pulling obviously tells me this is not a usual occurrence.

"I think he's whipped. Last girl that rejected him, he pushed her out onto the street." Michael says, shaking his head slightly.

"What? The street?" I frown, that doesn't sound like the Luke I've seen, but I haven't really seen much of him.

"I said that a bit wrong, okay so basically she was round his and supposedly he was being a bit, you know, full on, so she said no and he was all like 'why do you think I invited you round' and he got real mad and then he just pushed her outside." Michael explains. I nod in understanding, even though I don't really get it.

"Who told you?" I continue asking,

"Everyone knows." Calum shrugs.

"So it's a rumour?" I question. Calum and Michael glance at each other, as if judging whether to tell me something or not.

"No, she came back into school with a broken arm. Said she broke it when she fell, but some people think he actually hit her, because a few days later, she just moved away." Calum finally says. I take out a cigarette from my pocket, and light it slowly, not really caring I'm inside right now, I just need a distraction to process all I'm being told right now.

"You owe me one." Calum grumbles, I reach into the packet to get one out but he stops me.

"No, no you'll have to owe it to me later. I have some on me right now." He rushes. I shrug, and put it back in the packet. At that moment, I hear the front door open, and Aunt Bess' voice ring throughout the house.

"Faith! Hello?" She calls, I pass the cigarette to Michael, and rush to greet her.

"Hey." I say, coming round the corner, she wrinkles her nose slightly, and I can immediately tell she smells the smoke.

"What's that smell?" She asks, I open my mouth to come up with some lame excuse but Michaels voice interrupts me.

"We where cooking and it burnt, Miss Bourne." He says. The fact he knew her second name creeped me out, of course I knew it as it was my mothers maiden name, thinking of this makes my heart pang.

"Oh. I didn't know you were coming round Michael, I didn't even know you too were friends." She gushes, Michael shrugs, and smiles slightly.

"I've got some news of your father." Aunt Bess says. I nod enthusiastically. I haven't heard anything about him, and even know I have a headache and probably won't be able to handle good or bad news, I'm desperate to know.

"Your social worker called and said he made it through the operation, but he's in a coma." She nods sadly. This is good news to me though.

"She said something about his parents being there?" She continues.

"Foster parents." I interrupt, she looks startled by this quiet outburst.

"Well, he hasn't got any better, if anything his health has deteriorated." She adds. I blink, knowing she wants to say more.

"They want to turn off the life support." She says quietly. All the emotions I've had suddenly lean towards anger directed at my fathers foster parents.

"What?" I shout angrily, grabbing the nearest object, which is a vase filled with perfectly trimmed flowers, and chuck them at the wall.

"Faith!" Aunt Bess exclaims, while Michael just looks stunned. I turn, and run up the stairs, already ashamed at how I couldn't control my anger.

I practically sprint into my room, and slam the door shut, locking it. I look around the flawless room for something to break, anything to let the anger I have inside seep away. My eyes lay on the picture of me and my parents, the one both Luke and Michael picked up while coming into my room. I walk forwards, grab the picture, and throw it on the floor, watching with guilt, and yet pride, as the whole front of the glass frame crack and break open across the floor of my room.

"What did you do that for?" A voice sighs, and I turn to see Luke standing at the entrance of my balcony, smoking a cigarette.