haunted || l.h.

12

"Why haven't you been at school?" Luke asked and came up to me at my locker before first period.

"I've been sick." I muttered and kept my head down. I still had a slight cut on my lip since it hasn't fully healed yet. I also still had a faded bruise next to my eye and I didn't want him to see any of that. Even though I did cover it with makeup you could still kind of see if you looked hard enough.

"Sick? Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine, just a cough and a sore throat." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"You seem off, you sure you're okay?" He asked and tried to look at my face but I just turned away.

"Yeah I'm fine. I gotta go to class." I said and turned and walked to class.

"Wait P." He said and took a hold of my hand. I immediately tore my arm out of his grasp and pulled myself away from him entirely.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a confused and concerned look at my reaction.

"I gotta go." I said and quickly went off to class.

///

  I avoided Luke as much as I could today. I didn't go to lunch with them like I have been for the past week or so. I just stayed in the library and sort of hid so he wouldn't see me if he came looking. I also ignored him in calculus today. Luckily I didn't have to try too hard to because Mr. B started a new topic which didn't give us any time for conversation.

"Paisley wait!" Luke yelled as I walked down the stairs of the school. He was practically running out the door to try and catch up to me but I had to look away so he wouldn't see my face.

"Luke I have to go home." I said and kept walking after hitting the last step.

"Let me drive you home. I want to talk to you." He said and ran up next to me.

"No it's easier if I walk. I have stuff to do." I said and walked through the parking lot.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something?" He asked and gently took my hand and turned me around to face him. He got a surprised and worried look on his face when he finally saw my face for the first time.

"Not everything is about you Luke. The world doesn't revolve around you, especially mine." I said and ripped my hand out of his.

"I-I'm worried about you P." I watched his eyes scan over my face as that same worried and shocked look remained there. I watched him as he stepped closer to me and slowly brought his hand up to my face. Once his hand was in my line of vision I flinched and backed away. He paused and just kept his hand there before moving it even slower towards my face. 

"What happened Pais?" He asked and ever so gently ran his thumb over my faded bruise.

"I just dropped the blender while getting it front the cabinet." I said and tried to walk home but he wouldn't let me pass.

"I don't believe you." He said and kept looking at me.

"That's your problem then." I said and kept trying to walk around him. In order to stop me he ended up putting his hands on my rib area, which was still really badly bruised. I winced in pain and watched him get even more worried.

"You're coming with me." He said and swiftly took my hand and dragged me through the parking lot and towards his car. I kept protesting but he just ignored me and forced me to sit in his car with him.

"You need to tell me what's going on Paisley." He said softly and turned towards me so he was looking me dead in the eyes.

"I don't need to tell you anything." I said and tried to open the door of his car but he reached over the center console and closed the door.

"I'm worried about you Paisley. I want to make sure you're okay." He said gently and held both of my hands gently in his.

"I am okay. I told you it was the blender." I said and tried to be as convincing as possible.

"Did the blender do this to you?" He asked and touched my rib cage.

"Ow." I groaned and jumped back in my seat.

"I barely touched you." He said and pulled his hand back. It was technically true, if I didn't have those horrible bruises there then I wouldn't have been in any pain at all.

"What is going on at home Paisley?" He asked seriously and looked me in the eyes.

"Nothing." I said and looked away from him.

"Stop lying to me. I'm trying to help you, and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong." He said and stroked my knuckles with his thumbs.

"I don't need help Luke I'm fine." I said and looked down at my lap.

"You're not fine P." He said which for some reason made me want to cry.

"Can we go to your house? I don't wanna go home." I said while on the verge of breaking down.

"Of course we can." He said and brought my hand up to his lips and carefully placed a kiss on my knuckles. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach as he turned to face the wheel and drove out of the school parking lot towards his house.