Fight Club (Rewritten) Luke Hemmings

Ten

The street was silent. It was well past midnight, and Luke had been running for what felt like hours. Every turn seemed to be full of cops searching for the runaways from the evening, and he found himself hiding more often than running. His anger and sadness still pressed against his heart, but his primary emotion at the moment was exhaustion. He just wanted to stop running.

Luke peered down the empty street, letting out a breath of relief when he found it virtually empty. The old neon light of their building was flickering softly, but there wasn't a single person in the street. He made a nervous glance down both ends of the street before making his move, running quickly toward the old apartment building as fast as his feet would carry him. He stumbled through the front doors and found the lobby completely empty. Most of the lights were out, and it looked rather uninviting. Luke attempted to catch his breath as he limped toward the elevator. He felt as if his limbs would give out on him at any moment. The doors squeaked closed, and the elevator began creaking its way to the top floor. Luke leaned against the wall, resting his eyes for a moment as he tried to convince himself not to collapse and sleep here for the night. A loud ding rang through the air, and he opened his eyes, watching as the door crept open.

"Thank god," a voice spoke up as he hobbled out of the lift. He turned and saw Ian standing at the door to the living room. The older man walked forward and pulled the boy into an uncomfortable hug. "I thought you were caught..." he muttered. "What happened to you?" He led the boy into the apartment, and Luke saw most of his housemates sitting around. Calum let out a breath of relief when he saw his friend. Josh and Jax sat on the stairs, each looking solemn.

"Where's Kasey?" Luke asked, glancing around the room. Ian signed softly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"She got caught... lucky it was her, though... if it was any of you, we'd be in a load of trouble, but at least with her, I can bail her out. The perks of having legal guardianship, I suppose..."

"You have legal guardianship over Kasey?" Calum asked quietly. Ian nodded softly.

"When her mother sold her off to me, we went through the proper channels... I adopted her before taking her away. That's going to come in handy now... we just have to wait for them to process her and call me to tell me that my little girl was arrested. From there, I can pull the whole "I don't know what gotten into her lately... she's just been so out of control," bit."

"Won't they want to check in on her... or have her report to court?"

"I've got that covered, believe me... after letting our arena get raided, there are some people who owe me big favors." Ian turned back to Luke, helping the boy sit down on the sofa next to Calum. "What happened to you? You should have been back hours ago." Luke bit his lip ring as he tried to decide what to say.

"I was almost caught," he admitted. "An officer chased me down, and he almost had me. I barely got away, but when I did, they were still trying to follow me. I had to lay low in alleyways for a few hours, hiding out where they couldn't see me." He decided it was best to leave out the details of his brother and Benny for now." Ian sighed softly and nodded in response.

"All of you, get to bed," he whiskered. "It's been a long night, and tomorrow will be worse." Calum, Jax, and Josh hurried up the stairs, but Luke stayed firmly in his place, thinking about everything that had happened. Ian turned to the boy and his brow furrowed softly. "What's wrong?" He asked. Luke looked up at him and took in a deep breath.

"Why did you choose me?" He whispered softly. "Why did you choose to pay money for me?" Ian sighed and sat beside the boy, putting his arm around his shoulders.

"That is a long and complicated answer, kiddo... but the big thing is that I saw potential in you. When we came to get you, you fought. You were smart and resourceful, and I knew you'd be a good fit for our family."