Baby doll | Luke Brooks

Chapter 4 | New school, new bruise

It's now Thursday night, my first few days at Penola have so far, gone perfectly.

I watched as the postie shoved several letters into our mailbox, I was more then comfortable on the couch but I knew I'd get told to bring it in anyway.

I ventured outside and into the cold air, which hit my bare legs making me shiver. I often questioned how it could cool down so quickly after a fairly warm day.

I was flicking through the mail when I felt a hand lightly tap my shoulder. I turned around only for my breath to get caught in my throat, as I found myself staring into his big brown eyes.

"Luke, right?" I questioned, when I regained the ability to talk.

"Yeah and Alice, right?" I nodded in response. "Isn't the breeze a bit cool to be standing outside in shorts?" He asked with a humorous smile.

"I could ask you the same thing," I laughed pointing at his boxers.

He just laughed at my comment, and moved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.
"You know, when I saw you at school on Monday, I didn't realise you were the real pretty girl me and my brothers saw pulling up at this house on Sunday," he smiled.

I had to mentally slap myself numerous times to ensure my cheeks didn't turn crimson.

But of course, I felt my cheeks burning up. He must've noticed because he just smiled again.

"Oh um, yeah, I saw you boys mucking around over there," I laughed back awkwardly.

He opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, when someone sharply tugged on my shoulder, spinning me around.

"What's taking you so long? I told you to start cooking dinner 15 minutes ago!" My father said through gritted teeth.

I didn't want to look back at Luke because I was embarrassed enough as it was, but I had to say goodbye, I couldn't just walk away. Luke looked almost shocked with the unexpected outburst, most likely because I'm use to it and well, his never met my father. 

"Sorry dad, I was just getting the mail so mum wouldn't have to," I tried justifying myself.

He sent Luke a smile that was so sarcastic, I'd be surprised if he didn't pick up on it. He then looked back at me and gave me a warning with his eyes, before storming back inside.

"Sorry I have to go, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" I asked him, with a faint smile.

"Um, yeah sure I'll see you then?" He looked at me, with a concern written face.

I smiled at him before leaving him in the cold, and entering where I wish I hadn't. I hadn't even reached the staircase before I was harshly thrown into the wall.

"Why the fuck were you talking to that kid, when you have responsibilities to take care of?" My father screamed at me.

"I go to school with him, I was just saying hi," I managed to choke out, in between sobs.

"Bullshit, you were out there for 10 fucking minutes!" He spat at me, before hitting me several times.

I managed to get out of his grip, run to my room, and lock myself in. He was belting his fists against the door for a good 15 minutes. It eventually stopped, after I sat on my bed and blocked my ears, from the vile words that left his mouth constantly.

I rolled over and wrapped myself in my doona, eventually drifting off.

LUKE'S POV

Walking into my house, my mind pondered with thoughts of the situation that had just occurred. It was probably nothing, just the way her dad grabbed her and the way he spoke to her, it scared me a little.

My thoughts were interrupted by a blow to the head by something soft.

I turned on my heel to see Beau and Jai standing behind me, pissing themselves laughing after the pillow successfully hit me.

"How's it going lover boy," Beau taunted, blowing kisses in my direction.

"What?"

"That hot girl that moved in across the road!" Jai almost shouted.

"We were just talking," I mumbled.

"Whatever you say Lukey," Beau said, slumping down onto the couch.

I shook off their comments and decided to head to bed, I was more then tired and I knew I'd regret staying up any later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ALICE'S POV

I woke up to my alarm ringing in my ears.

I groaned inwardly, while rolling over and hitting the button.

I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. My eyes widened as I looked at the horrid mess in the mirror. Tear stained cheeks, my hair was a mess and not to mention the decent bruise that sat just below my right eye.

I didn't want to go to school with this, it hasn't even been a week, I'm still the new kid.

I started the shower and let the hot water fall down body, hoping it would make me look more presentable. I quickly washed my hair before getting out to complete my morning routine.

I dried my hair and decided on straightening it, after putting on my school dress and a thin layer of my best Estee Lauder foundation hoping it would cover up the bruise fairly well, I was disappointed to see it was still visible.

I decided to leave now even though it was a bit before 8, I didn't want to rush. As I was walking I heard a car pull up beside me, but I decided against paying it any attention. Hearing it beep is what caught my attention, so I turned around to see it was Luke and his brothers. Beau was driving, Jai was in the passengers seat and Luke was in the back.

"Hey, would you like a lift?" Luke asked politely.

"Um, yeah okay, thank you," I replied hastily.

After getting in the back next to Luke, the two boys in the front greeted me, and introduced themselves. I fiddled with the seat belt trying to clip it in, after I was successful I looked up to see all 3 boys staring at me. Beau and Jai seemed to look away fairly quickly, but Luke kept his stare.

"What?" I asked, trying not to sound rude.

"What happened to your eye?" Luke questioned.

"Oh nothing, nothing serious I mean," I managed to choke out, before sending him a reassuring smile then looking out the window.

Beau had already started the car back up, so he continued on to school without saying anything more.

Luke however, didn't look away. Making me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

Continuing to be fantasised with the streets we were passing, I could feel his eyes boring into me. When I turned to lock gazes, so hopefully he'd look away, he was already looking out his own window. Satisfied, I returned my attention to my window.

Then out of the blue, he placed his hand on top of mine, which was resting on the seat between us.

I was taken back by his sudden action, but this simple gesture felt nice. The familiar flip in my stomach returned, although I didn't have a name for it. I felt safe in his presence for some reason, and I liked this feeling.