Bloodlust | lrh

15. Bite your tongue

Luke is too wired to sleep. He tried, but he can't shake the feeling of wanting to be near Soka. He tells himself he's just going to check on her, but he ends up elevating her foot on top of a pillow. So much for just glancing into the room.

He watches her sleep for a while from his seat on the floor. He has his back against the wall and knees bent, staring endlessly as her chest rises and falls. He gives himself permission to enjoy it, until his eyes land on her lips. Stop.

Luke shakes his head and mindlessly picks up something off the floor. He only realizes it's a piece of the girl's camera when he lifts it up to his other hand. It was a nice camera, he admits it. He's just the asshole that shattered it.

He doesn't even mean to fall asleep, but now that he's near her his mind let him. Ashton is the first one in the house to wake up in the morning. He stops in the bathroom before heading for the stairs, noticing the girl's bedroom door is cracked. It hasn't been open in days, and he feels the need to check in.

His jaw drops when he sees the scene. Luke is fast asleep against the wall, his neck looking like it's broken. Soka is lying in bed, her foot actually appearing to be broken. He has so many questions, but he doesn't know if waking them up is the right idea. They clearly had a long night. He doesn't know the half of it.

Ashton settles in the living room and waits for the rest of the house to wake up. He's used to being the first one awake, so he takes the time to do work.

"Can you get a very specific camera?" Luke's voice nearly gives Ashton a heart attack. He looks up to find his boss is a mess, hair crazy and dark circles under his eyes worse than he's ever seen.

"What?" He asks, the question slipping his mind while there are so many things occupying it.

"If I give you the model for a camera can you get it?" Luke asks again, placing both hands on the table Ashton is sitting at.

"Maybe. I'd have to see. I don't know if any of our contacts work in cameras." Ashton says, confusion evident in his voice. "Why do you need a camera?" He asks.

"Just get it." Luke says, slapping a piece of paper with the information onto the table.

"What happened to Soka's foot?" He asks, purposefully not bringing up the fact that Luke slept in there last night.

"She fell." He says vaguely, turning to leave.

"She fell? Or you pushed her?" Ashton presses, knowing his boss has a bad habit of sugar coating things.

"She fell." Luke says sternly, turning back to Ashton to give him a look.

"What's going on with you two?" Ashton gets up, not really ready to make this confrontation but knowing it needs to finally happen. "What are you planning?"

"You've lost it." Luke shakes his head and dismisses the boy.

"No, you've lost it. You're falling apart. Maybe it'd be better for you if you just let her go." Ashton isn't even advocating for Soka anymore, he's genuinely trying to look out for Luke's interests right now.

"She stays. You don't have to plead her case for her." Luke glares at him.

"I'm not pleading her case! You aren't focused, you're clearly not sleeping. You haven't even tried to look for Skylar! We're just sitting around waiting for something to happen! We've never played defense like this before, we've always gone out and taken care of things." Ashton lays into him, watching as his words make Luke even more tired.

"Everything is fine Ash. I have it all under control." Luke says, rubbing his stubble that he hasn't shaved in days.

"You have every reason to let her go and you still won't!"