𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐔𝐒 , 𝐋𝐔𝐊𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍

3 - good listeners

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

2 0 2 1

"I'M SO SORRY." was all luke had to say as you finished. he grabbed your hand and squeezed it, "all we woke up to was blackness. i cant imagine what you had to go through."

"yeah, the scream woke up the neighbors," you laughed, but luke frowned, hating to hear you were in that state of mind, "they thought someone was getting murdered." you rubbed your tired eyes, "i didn't even go to bed that night." you sighed.

your parents took you to the hospital the boys were rushed to, and then the morgue. you never saw their bodies, but you didn't need to.
_______________________________

1 9 9 5

"botulism." the paramedic had told you, trying not to look at your puffy eyes and sticky cheeks, "or extreme food poisoning in most meats." she tried to simplify the term for you, and then looked at you like a lost puppy, "if it was treated immediately, things might have-"

"what did they eat?" you interrupted, not wanting to hear about the chances of other, happier, scenarios of this horrid night.

"the coroner isn't sure yet, but the wrappers near where their bodies were found," you tried to hide your shudder, "suggested hotdogs."

your eyes lowered, not in sadness anymore, but in rage, "i know just the place."
_______________________________

1 9 9 3

"cmon," luke urged, "this place has only killed someone two times." the boys around you laughed as luke pulled you toward a sketchy looking hotdog stand. where the meat was served... out of the back of a car??

"no, no. no way." you shook your head viciously, "that place screams death by raw meat." you whined, the boys laughing at your usual sass towards everything.

"arent those just rumors anyway?" alex said, referring to the fatalities.

"i heard one of them had a razor in their hotdog." reggie said, raising his eyebrows.

"that one is definitely a myth," alex sighed, "the one i heard was food poisoning. which is definitely more believable than razors."

"well if food poisoning could kill," you shook your head, "this is the place."

"just wait until you try one." luke assured you as he walked up to the stand, grabbing a bun, a dog, and the classic toppings (all from the back of a red rusty toyota), paid, and brought it over to you.

"babe, please try it." he begged with his eyes.

"one bite!" you said, and the boy jumped with glee.

you forced a bite down, and you had to admit, it was better than what you had expected.

but it still sucked.

"that's really good actually!!" you faked surprise, and even took another bite to make it believable.

"told you!" luke hit your shoulder.

"hey, wanna go to the orpheum and see the show tonight!" alex suggested, pointing at the building that was right across the street.

"bro, it would be sick to play there one day." luke said as he slung an arm around alex, walking over to the orpheum.

"in your dreams, dude." reggie followed, leaving you alone on the other side of the street.

this gave you the privacy to throw away the rest of the trash-dog and take a much needed swig of water. luke turned around at the door of the stadium, the lights illuminating him from above. his eyes were lit with excitement. a look that was always super attractive on him.

"hey, you comin'?" he called out.

"yep!" you wiped your face with the back of your hand, "just finishing my hotdog!!" and crossed the street.
_______________________________

2 0 2 1

"so you were right after all." luke said gravely, "death by food poisoning was found there."

"yep!" you fiddled with your shoe laces, "should've listened to me. really, you all shouldve." luke tilted his head toward you, in a cute puppy dog way.

"bobbie." you said, and he sighed, nodding, "i told him to get that stupid car fixed for months."

"yeah, he's not always a good listener." luke all of a sudden looked sad, "none of us were."

there was a moment of silence.

"do you want to talk about that next?" it was your turn to tilt your head toward the boy, "the crash?"

your smile fell.

"i dont know..." you began to feel uneasy, the tire squeaks echoed in your mind and you squeezed your eyes shut to stop them.

"i mean, how did you end up on the road at midnight?" luke began to mutter, obviously not realizing your emotional state, "while it was rainy?"

the feel of the tires loosing grip on the ground.
the screaming of bobbie next to you.
the promise he had made earlier, the same words that you had held onto tighter than the overhead handle as the car hit the tree-

"i mean, where were you even going-"

"stop!" you had said it quite loudly, louder than you had wanted, and opened your eyes.

you saw his face through a teary lens, and his eyes fell.

"hey, hey," he put his arms around your body, which had begun to shake, "i'm sorry. i'm sorry. we don't have to talk about it now."

"it's just..." you sighed, "too soon. too much." you wiped the tears away, knowing their presence could lead to a full on mental breakdown.

you shook luke off of you, wiping your palms along your cheek bones and taking deep breaths. he kept a hand on your shoulder blade, shifting as your diaphragm continued to expand.

"just, baby steps. all right?" you looked back up at him, and he nodded with a kind smile.

"of course."

there was moment of silence.

"why was bobbies car in such horrible shape anyway?" luke asked with cautious and slow words.

you took another breath, "well," you looked at him, "his car troubles started much before that night in the rain, and like we said, bobbie wasn't a good listener."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───