Gone Cold. -Luke Hemmings Love Story. AU-

Chapter 29

-A YEAR AND A HALF LATER-

"Karen!" I yell as I run up the stairs to her room where she is getting ready. She along with her three friends and daughter turn around and look at me with a smile. "How much longer are you going to take? My dad is getting anxious."
"He's only getting anxious now?" She asks with a small smile. "I've been anxious since he popped the question about a year ago."
My dad and Karen got engaged awhile back. They were pretty much a married couple anyways, and they really love each other, so they figured why not. At first, they were scared to tell me. They thought my reaction would be a bad one. Needless to say, when I nearly literally jumped for joy, I shocked the hell out of them. But, I couldn't be happier. I couldn't imagine someone better for my dad than Karen. They're having the wedding in our yard, and she's due to walk down the isle in about forty five minutes.
"I know, he's a dipshit. But he hasn't seen you all day, and this is a huge day for you guys."
"Why aren't you downstairs catching up with your brothers?" Karen asks as she puts the Vail on her head.
"It's like they never left. They annoy me just as much now as they did back then." I say and laugh a little. "Don't try to get rid of me. I'm aloud to see you as long as my dad doesn't."
"You're right." She says and takes a seat on their bed. "I'm finally ready."
"You look great." I say and give her a small hug. "I should go downstairs. I need my dad to help me with my tie, plus, I'm the only one stopping him from downing a couple cans of beer before walking down the isle. Now that I think about it, Ben and Jack are encouraging it. They think that it would be hilarious. So, I'll see you when you walk down." I say before running out of their room and down the stairs, straight to the kitchen where my dad is sitting at the table with a can of beer in his hand. "I said no!" I say before grabbing it out of his hand. I take a sip out of the almost full can.
"Why are you aloud to drink and I'm not?" My dad asks with a sigh.
"Because I'm not the one getting married!" I say and take another sip out of it. "If you fuck up your wedding speech, that will always be on you. If I fuck up a speech at the reception, everyone will be drunk anyways, so who will notice?"
"Lighten up, Luke!" Jack says before handing my dad another can of beer. "It will help take the edge off."
"Jack, stay out of this." I say and grab the new beer out of my dads hand. "Do you really want him to stumble down the isle and giggle as the pastor tells him he can kiss his bride?"
"That's exactly what we want!" Ben says handing him yet another beer.
"Yeah, maybe because you didn't spend all year helping plan this motherfucker like I did. I even got dragged along for dress shopping. I'm not going to let him fuck this up because my brothers are jackasses." I say and take the third beer from my dad. "I'm serious. No drinking until the reception, then drink all you want." I say and chug down the rest of the first can. I throw it out and open the second one. "Now, dad do my tie, I can't figure it out."
"And you call us jackasses." Ben says.
"Boys, get along." Dad says before getting up out of his seat and he quickly does my tie. "There you go."
"Thanks." I say and tuck my tie into the vest part of my tux. "I can't wait to get out of this."
"Soon enough." Dad says and looks down at the time. "I should get to the end of the isle now to wait for my soon to be bride." He says with a smile. "Holy shit, this is really happening, isn't it?"
"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" I ask in a panic.
"No, god no. The last time I was so sure about something, it was your mother I was waiting for at the bottom of the isle. I just can't believe that it's finally happening."
"I'm happy for you!" I say.
"Thank you, son!" My dad says before pulling me into a hug. A few seconds later he lets go. "And before I forget, this came in the mail for you today!" My dad says, handing me an envelope.
"Oh sweet." I say before opening it. A smile appears on my face as as I read what it says. I tuck it away in my tux. "Are you ready to get married?"
"As ready as I'll ever be!" He says with a nervous sigh.

"Do you, Andrew Hemmings take Karen Voss to be your wife?" The pastor asks.
"I do." My dad says with an ear to ear smile.
"Good, now, do you Karen Voss take Andrew to be your husband?"
"I do!" Karen says and wipes the tear off of her face with a smile.
"I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs. Hemmings. You may now kiss the bride!" He says.
Karen and my dad give each other a small kiss before the crowd cheers.
And with that, it was official. Karen and my dad were married and Karen was my step mother. Before too long, it was time for the reception, where my dad, Karen, and everyone else involved in the wedding drank away the stress that today held. Though weddings are amazing if it's what you believe in, planning them, though it has it's perks; like cake testing, that was the best part of the whole wedding. I had so much cake that day. But, that is off topic, weddings are stressful as hell to plan.
I pull out one of the beers that I had kept in my pocket and crack it open as I walk over to Michael, Ashton and Calum. They all have glasses full of champagne. "You do know that you're only supposed to full those glasses not quite half way, right?" I ask them and laugh. Their glasses are full to the very top.
"What the fuck is the point of not even filling it half way?" Calum asks. He's been drinking for awhile now, and I would say he's the most drunk out of the group. "If I'm drinking, it's not just to get the taste in my mouth, it's to get drunk."
"I think you're a little past that, buddy." Ashton says and pats his back.
"No, this is my first one and I agree with him!" Michael says. "He may be drunk, but he has a point! If you're not drinking to get drunk, than what are you drinking for?" He asks, before downing the rest of his glass before pulling the bottle of champagne from under his seat, pouring himself another huge glass.
"How the hell did you manage to steal a whole fucking bottle of it?" I ask as I finish my beer. I toss it in the garbage behind me.
"It was actually really, really easy!" Calum says before grabbing the bottle out of Michael's hands, pouring himself another glass. "You just have to know when to go in for it!" He mumbles.
"More like there was ten other bottles of it, just in the pile we took it from. Nobody will notice." Ash says and laughs, pouring himself some more.
"I see." I say as I grab a champagne glass, and fill it up to the top like they did. I take a big sip out of it. "That's pretty good." I say before chugging the rest of the glass, leaving a warm sensation running down my throat, down into my stomach. I pour myself some more.
"Woah, calm down there." Michael says and laughs. "How much have you had to drink?"
"Not enough." I say before downing that glass too. "I had my first two beers before my dad walked down the isle. I've had about two more since the wedding has ended, and now about to be three full glasses of champagne." I say before pouring another glass. I down about half of it then stop. "Is there anything stronger?" I ask.
"I have been asking that for like- ten years now!" Calum says.
"Calum, I think you've had enough, you're going to be sick!" Michael says. "Never mind, that sounded lame. Drink as much as you please."
"How much has he had?" I ask.
"A lot." Calum says and bursts out laughing.
"Nice!" I say and high-five him.

A little while and too many glasses of champagne later, it was time for me to make my speech. I go to fix my tie, but than I remembered, I undid that about an hour ago in the middle of a chugging contest with Calum. I walk up, almost tripping over the carpet, then bursting out laughing. I tap my champagne glass with a fork because it's what I always have seen in the movies.
"Okay, so before I start this;" I say and take a deep breath in. "Just keep in mind I started drinking about a half an hour before the wedding started, so cut me some slack." I say, earning a laugh from the crowd. "Um, okay so when I met Karen, I was a proper dickhead. My dad had been dating her for awhile behind my back, because he was scared of my reaction. Rightfully so. I think the first night I met her I flipped a coffee table over or something stupid like that. But, that attitude went away fairly quick. Because I met a girl. Her name was Kit Linkin, but I called her Kit Kat. She couldn't make it today, because she passed away a year ago. But, my reason for bringing her up isn't to make everyone feel bad. I brought her up because I loved, and still do love her very much." I say and smile. "If what my dad and Karen feel the way I felt when I was with Kit, then I get why they chose to tie the knot tonight. Because when you love someone, you need to spend every moment you can with them, because you never really know how long you have them around for." I say and think for a second. "That sounded depressing, I meant it as uplifting. Anyways, Karen, you know I love you so much. Thank you for being here for me in more ways then you needed to me. And dad, don't fuck this up. Karen is a keeper." I say, earning another laugh. "Alright, I'm rambling. To Karen and Dad!" I say and hold up my champagne glass, as does everyone else. I drink the little I had left in my glass before walking back over to where I was standing.
Karen walks up to me and wraps her arms around me, almost causing me to lose my balance. "Are you ever drunk!" She says and pinches my cheek.
"I think you're not too far behind me!" I say and finally hug her back.
"That speech was beautiful!" She says. "I never knew you had such a way with words before."
"I don't." I say and laugh. "I'm just really, really drunk." I say and pull away from the hug. "Are Mr and Mrs. Linkin here?" I ask with a half smile.
"Over there." She says and points over to them. "They were hoping to get to talk to you."
"I should go say hi then, it's been awhile." I say and walk over to them, I give them both an awkward, small hug. "How have you guys been?" I ask.
"A little better." Her mom says with a smile. "The house is so god damn lonely though." She tells me as she takes a sip out of her glass. "That's something I've never gotten used to."
"But, soon it's not going to be as lonely." Mr. Linkin says.
"What do you mean?" I ask as I pull the beer I forgot about out of my pocket and open it, taking a big sip out of it.
"A few months back, we looked into adoption." Mrs. Linkin explains with a smile. "We didn't really expect a call back, but we got one." She says with pride. "We got a little girl we go get in Canada in a month. She's ten, we've named her Anna."
"That is amazing!" I say. "I am really so happy for you guys! You deserve a little bit of happiness."
"We really do, you know?" She asks and smiles. "Anyways, we will need a sitter for her, we both picked up so many extra hours at work since Kit. We couldn't stand to be home all the time. So, we we're wondering if you'd like to do that? There really isn't anyone that we trust more."
"Holy shit, are you serious?" I ask with a ear to ear smile. "I'd love that."
"Good, we'll get in touch with you some more when we know more!" Her dad says.
"Alright! Thank you so much for trusting me that much." I say.
They just smile at me. "How have you been, Luke?" Her mom asks. "Every time I see you, you ask us how we're doing, but run away before we ask you."
I smile. "Honestly?" I ask. They just nod. "I haven't been good at all. That's why I avoid when you ask." I say. "It's been really hard. But, I'll be okay. I just need to learn how to get some sleep at night." I say and laugh.
"I know it's rough, but we'll all get through this, okay?" Her mom asks me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"That's what they've been telling me." I say and laugh. I look out to the kitchen. My eyes widen when I see what my idiot friend, Calum is doing out there. "If you'll excuse me, my drunk friend is trying to wash his hair with dish soap. It was nice seeing you guys!" I say before running off into the kitchen. "What the fuck are you doing, dumbass?" I ask as I pull him away from the sink. It's too late, he already has dish soap lathered in his hair.
"I thought that I got champagne in my hair." He explains.
"Why would you think that?" I ask.
"Because I did." He explains.
"How the hell did you do that?" I ask.
"I poured it over my head." He says, like that was supposed to make this all make sense. As drunk as I am. I'm no where near as him.
"So you decide to wash it with dish soap? Why didn't you just hop in the shower?" I ask.
"Who has the time?" He asks. "Plus, I have always low key liked the idea if lemon scented hair!" He says.
"Okay." I say and extend the tap on my sink. "Lean over." I say as he does. I finish rinsing the dish soap out of his hair for him, I know he wouldn't be capable of doing that right now.
"Shit." He says and picks his phone up. "My mom is on her way to get Mikey, Ash and I. See you later!" He says before running away.
Before too long, everyone that isn't staying here is cleared out. As soon as I can, I go up to my room and collapse down on my bed, hoping that I will eventually be able to fall asleep. Some nights, I literally don't sleep a wink.

I sit up on my bed as I open my eyes. My head is fucking pounding. I think this is the worst hangover I've ever had. I wipe my eyes and get dressed as I go downstairs and sit on the couch. My niece runs over to me and sits on my knee. I wrap my arms around her and lightly rest my head on her shoulder."Uncle Luke, are you hungover?" He asks. "Daddy told grandpa that he's hungover."
I can't help but laugh when I hear that. Even though laughing hurts my head even more than it already does. "Yes, sweetie. Uncle Luke is very hungover."
"I hope you feel better soon!" She says before kissing my cheek and running off. When she's off playing somewhere, I go into the kitchen and take a pill, hoping it will cure this hell I'm living in right now. When I take that, I take one of the pieces of toast that are piled on the counter.
Before too long, I feel good enough to go what I wanted to do today. "I'm going out, I'll be back!" I yell as I head for the door.
"Nobody cares!" I hear Ben yell from the kitchen and laugh.
"Daddy be nice to Uncle Luke!" I hear my niece say.
I just laugh as I walk out of the door and make my way to my car. It's been nice seeing everyone, but I'm very happy to get away from a couple of minutes. I start driving past the school that I graduated from a little over a year ago now. I wasn't at the top of my class, but I also wasn't at the bottom, so I'd say I did good. I drive past that and down the street to where my mother and girlfriend rest. This time I came prepared, I bought them each some flowers. I snuck out yesterday before the wedding and got them, I kept them in my car, but they're fake flowers, so they're fine. I'd like to bring them something better than flowers, but nothing else really seems appropriate. First stop is my mom.
"Hey, mom." I say as I go take a seat on the grass beside her stone. "I miss you. A lot actually. Getting my diploma was so weird without seeing you in the audience. I know that there will be a lot of things that you can't attend, but I don't think that I'll ever get used to it." I tell her. "I know I don't come here nearly enough, but truth be told, I don't see the point in this place. I've decided that for sure. So, I just come a couple times a year to give you some flowers and a life update. I think I like talking more than anything." I say. I continue on with some other small stuff like that. I keep telling her about how much she'd like Karen. I tell her about how if she can't be around, there is nobody else I'd rather have for the female figure than Karen. "I should go visit Kit." I say. "I love you and miss you." I say before getting back in my car and driving down some to where Kit is buried.
"Kit Kat." I say and sit down, placing the flowers on by her grave. "Holy shit I really fucking miss you." I say and sigh. "I keep telling everyone that I'm okay. That living without you has become easier, but it really hasn't. Nor do I think it ever will. You were my everything, Kit Kat. You were all I ever wanted and more. I love you so much." I tell her. "You're getting a little sister." I say. "Your parents are adopting. How cool is that? I know you secretly hated being an only child. Who wouldn't? They said I can babysit her! I get to hang out with your little sister. I will be telling her all about you!" I say as I pull the folded piece of paper out of my pocket. "I did it." I say as I unfold it. "I took a year off to think about it, and decided what the hell." I smile. "It came in the mail yesterday. I'm going to collage, Kit Kat!" I say with an ear to ear smile. I got accepted into the community collage. It's only a twenty minute drive away from my house, isn't that amazing?"
"I still don't know what I want to do." I say and laugh a little. "I took the year off to think about it, but I've still got nothing. But, I'll figure it out. I know I wont be a doctor or anything useful like that, but I'm going to be something, Kit Kat." I say and lay down, looking up at the sky. I imagine playing the cloud shape game with her. We'd usually end up getting fed up because all we'd see is blobs in the sky. "I'm going to be something."