The Touched And Untouched {Lumax} COMPLETED

Broken Bones

The next morning, Max was indeed in trouble. Not only was Billy mad at her for dating Lukas, but Neil was livid that she wasn't home when he needed someone helpless to abuse.

"WHERE WERE YOU?" Neil shouted as he struck her repeatedly.

Susan watched with her head down, tears welling but not spilling. She was used to this, she sometimes got beaten too. So did Billy. It was normal in this household.

Susan's head didn't snap up until she heard a snap, followed by Max letting out a sound no girl should ever make. It was like a cat being ran over by a car, or a teenage girl breaking her arm.

-

"Where's Mike and Will?" Dustin asked as he sat down with his tray of borderline prison food. "Usually they are here before me." 

"Yeah, Mike texted the group chat. They have to go to the library." Lukas obviously had someone else on his mind.

"Oh, guess I didn't get the notification." Dustin ripped opened a chocolate pudding and indulged. "Guess it's just us then. Sucks that Jane is sick, and Max...maybe she's sick too?"

"Yeah..." Lukas wanted to go off by himself, maybe try to call Max. It was too loud in the cafeteria. At the same time, he didn't want to leave Dustin alone. That would make him a shitty friend. "So um... How's Susie?"

"She's great, did I tell you about the time we–"

Lukas nodded and occasionally smiled. He was not really paying attention. He was texting Max.

Max 😖🍳

Lukas: You okay?

Max couldn't answer her phone, she was sitting on her bedroom floor, crying so much she felt like she might drown.

"Maxine, honey." Susan whispered and walked into the room.

Max was just leaning into her mother's touch when Neil's voice boomed from the next room, "SUSAN, DON'T COMFORT HER. LET HER LEARN."

Susan got up and scurried out. Depriving her daughter of any warmth or comfort when she needed it most. Max held her arm close to her body and whined. It was definitely broken and she definitely wasn't getting to the hospital without a fight.

While Max cried on the floor, Lukas was complaining about his hamburger.

"This can't be considered food..." He poked at the dry bun.

"If you don't want it, I'll eat it." Dustin offered.

"I should try to eat it..." Lukas really just wanted to eat the burger to take his mind off of Max. He had a painful feeling of dread in his stomach, which made eating the burger harder. He took a couple bites regardless.

"So, do you have any plans for after school?" Dustin asked.

Lukas shrugged. "not currently?"

"Do you plan on making plans?"

"No?"

"Okay, then we should meet at Mike's."

Lukas chuckled. "Shouldn't we ask Mike?"

"He'll be down for it."

-

Lukas was at Mike's that evening, playing Jenga with Dustin, Mike, and Will. They used to be consistent D&D players but over years of bullying, they stopped enjoying it.

Lukas was midway through removing a block from a quivering tower when Max called. He knocked the tower down when he reacted, and the other boys cheered. "Agh! Not fair! Who the hell is calling?!" Lukas got out his phone and went dead silent.