The Book Thief 》Hemmings A.U

32.00

     "I KNOW THAT PRETENDING like none of this ever happened is a long shot, but do you think we could do that?" Lucy says quietly, once again nestled within the comfort of her now freshly washed sheets. Her hair is wrapped up in a towel -- still wet from her shower -- and she relishes in the artificial heat that they still carry from the dryer. 

     "We can do whatever you want, Luce. At the end of the day it's your decision and if you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to. But remember that if at any point you do, I'm not going anywhere." I smile softly, trying my best to be encouraging without pushing her.

     "But you think I should. You think I should report it or something, don't you?" She says, pressing her lips together and staring at me with her thin, blonde brows furrowed.

      "He shouldn't get away with it, that's all."

     "I just don't want this to be something that controls my every decision, I don't want it to change me. I just want it to go away. Is it stupid to say that?"

       "Of course it isn't," I insist, shaking my head. "No matter how hard people try, they won't be able to change what makes you, you; unless you let them. And I know that you want to forget, and that's okay. But blaming yourself isn't. John is responsible for what happened, and Luke is probably giving him hell right about now, and you are here; battered down, but still you. That is all that matters."

     "I love you, Kendall." She says, voice wavering as her blue eyes begin to water again. Lucy places her hand over mine and squeezes it, shutting her eyes. When she opens them, she inhales sharply and pulls her hand away. "Thank you for listening to me and always being honest and for washing my blankets even though that seems really insignificant, it isn't. Just... thank you for always being around." Her voice is earnest and so completely sincere that it hurts and I force myself to nod and smile, still hung up on my lack of honesty. I was going to tell her, just not yet.

       "I love you, too, Lucy." I tell her, happy to see a genuine smile on her face after tonight's events.

     "Can I come in?" Luke whisper yells from outside of Lucy's bedroom door, not bothering to do their special knock. She tells him yes and in seconds he is shutting the door behind him, smiling nervously as he sits down at the end of the bed. "So, Calum is downstairs. And you obviously don't have to go but he would like you to because he just wants to check on you. He said that he's going to sleep either on the couch or in his car because he doesn't want to leave you. But, besides that, there's bigger news."

     "Okay, what?" Lucy sighs, sitting up as she tries not to get upset over the fact that Luke went against her wishes and had told Calum what was going on.

     "I knew that you wouldn't want to say anything to the police, and that you wouldn't want to go through a trial or any of that shit." He starts, speaking quietly to keep their parents from waking up. "Calum and I went to John's house and we recorded a confession on my phone. He was a cocky son of a bitch about it, and I have it, he literally can't deny anything because there's proof. So if I give it to the police, and this is only if you want me to, what happened is clear and he'll get jail time for drinking while being under age and for what he did to you."

     "Did you beat him up?" She says, resting her head upon her knees, tucked into her chest.

      "Of course I fucking did." Luke exclaims, looking confused as if he is baffled by the fact that she expected anything less.

       "Okay, good." Her voice is soft, and seemingly tired. "I don't want to hear what you recorded, and I want this to be as low key as possible. He should get jail time, but I don't want to be involved, and they can't make me be if I don't want to." Luke nods, leaning forward slightly to get elevation as he digs into his back pocket for his phone.