break the heartbreaker : luke

L

6:35pm

i put the letter down along with the piece of wood, my vision getting more and more blurry as each second passes.

how many more times is she going to make me cry?

"dude..." i turn my head towards the door, michael's voice making its way to my ears.

"yeah?" i say loud enough for him to hear me, not really wanting to stand up unless it's something urgent. i quickly wipe my tears away, not being able to process my emotions fully because of the interruption.

"i need help." he answers simply, and i take it as a sign to go to where he is, still on the couch.

i walk over to him, and he's still sprawled lazily, his hair looking messy and his face crusty with sleep, "what?"

he sits up, slowly, and i know the world's still spinning around him, "my mom's coming to pick me up. i completely forgot we have this family thing tonight."

"family thing?" i ask, "you mean, like, a reunion or something?"

"i think," michael says, his shoulders slumped, "i wasn't really listening. but she's coming to pick me up in, like, thirty minutes and i need to look presentable." he finishes, putting up air quotations as he said "presentable."

i don't even give myself any time to complain about this. i don't give myself time to think, because all i need to do now, is help michael in the quickest way possible.

"get in the shower," i say, walking back to my room, "i'll lend you some clothes."

"do i really need to take a bath?" he whines, getting up from the couch slowly.

i lean closer towards michael, instantly getting a whiff of his scent. yep, that's sure to stay on the couch for a while.

"mate, you literally still smell like puke," i answer from inside my room, "i know mrs. clifford's going to smell you the second you step in the car and she'll know what's up."

"she always tells you to call her karen, luke." and without another word, he gets inside my bathroom, and i head towards my closet to get him something to wear.

–

"thank you, luke," karen says, smiling warmly at me as michael slumps down on the passenger seat, "i thought michael was hungover, but turns out he's just been here the whole time. what have you boys been doing?"

i look at michael, and he sends me a wink, causing me to smile. he definitely owes me for this.

"luke's heartbroken," michael blurts out before i could even open my mouth, "he needed me. he's a big baby, really."

"aw," karen says, putting a hand over where her heart's supposed to be, "my sweet boy." she then leans towards michael and lands a kiss on his cheek.

"yep," i say, my mouth hurting from all the fake smiling i've been doing, "thanks, mikey."

"well, we better get going now, luke," karen says, turning the radio on, "i wish you the best of luck with that heartbreak of yours."

i glance at michael, and he's looking elsewhere, not wanting to make eye contact with me.

"thank you, karen," i smile again, "take care."

and with that, they drive off, and michael immediately sends me a text consisting of nothing but a peace sign and kissy face emoji.

7:13pm

i head back inside, immediately making my way back to my room. the couch is a mess, as well as the bathroom, but i don't have the capacity to organize and clean right now.