Mama's Boy (L.H.)

7. Shut Up and Dance

"Why the fuck is he here?" I whispered once the car had stopped.

"Beats me." My dad said just before he stepped out of the car.

I looked out the front windshield, watching Luke get up and greet my dad with a handshake. The two started talking as I sat there in my dad's truck. Luke must have said something funny because my dad started cracking up. They looked friendly. Like a couple of old drinking buddies talking about the shit their wives pulled earlier that day. It was weird. But then I realized when they looked back at me that I was the wife they were talking about.

I got out of the car and walked over to them with my arms crossed. My dad was talking about the time we had went to Seattle for a family vacation when I was 10. The weather was cold and wet, but I refused to wear a raincoat because I had gotten this really pretty blue, long sleeve shirt for my birthday that I wanted to show off. But because of the weather I ended up getting so sick I had to miss a month of school.

"She's very stubborn, this one." He said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't forget who I get it from."

"You get it from your mother." He mumbled.

My dad felt me get tense at the mention of the drunk and started to rub my arm as if to say 'it's okay'. But it was far from okay. And my dad quickly realized that so he removed his arm.

"I'm gonna go to bed now. Been up far too long for my liking. Goodnight Sweets." My dad kissed my forehead carefully before turning back to Luke. "It was good to see you Luke."

Luke nodded. "You too Mr. Owens."

He smiled at the boy of us as he walked inside, leaving Luke and I alone outside.

"So, I called you a couple of times." Luke said after a moment of silence.

I looked taken aback. "How did you get my number?"

He shrugged. "My mom gave it to me."

"Oh, right." I nodded. "But, uh, I left it at home. I didn't feel like bringing it with me."

Another long awkward of silence before I spoke up. "Is there something you needed, or were you just checking up on me?"

"Both?" He chuckled. "I wanted to see if you were okay, but I was also wondering if we could study for Wednesday's test."

I shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Luke's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna say it again Mama's Boy."

He glared at me, but I smiled and started walking to the front porch. I waited for Luke to grab his things from his car before going in the house.

"Want something to eat or drink?" I asked as we entered.

"A soda would be nice." Luke answered.

I nodded. "Okay. Go set up in my room. I'll get you a drink."

Luke went to my room and I went to get us two sodas from the fridge. As I grabbed the sodas I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous and embarrassed about last night. I hadn't quite formed my apology to Luke yet, but I needed to figure one out fast. I didn't want him to think I was still mad at him, especially after everything he did for me last night.

As I slowly made my way back up to my room I peeked through the door and could see Luke standing in front of my bookshelf, running his fingers across the spines of the books that were neatly lined up. His fingers stopped on one book in particular and I felt my breathing stop. He pulled the book from the shelf to examine it closely. I watched as he traced the broken spine and crease marks on the cover of the paperback.