Don't Fade Away

Chapter 10

Lisa was, in fact, very serious. The very next day, the family was packed up and ready to go. I was going to miss them. Well, three fourths of them.
Luke, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all about them anymore.

Last night, we had stayed up late talking about everything, contemplating our next move. I could tell that he was upset then, but today he was back to being stone cold.

Pushing those thoughts back, I engulf Lisa in a bear hug, wishing I could keep her with us forever. I had grown very close to her, and I was going to miss her like hell. Along with baby Clayton, too.

After what seems like forever, I let go of Lisa.
"Please, don't do anything rash, okay? There's only ever gonna be one Charlie, so we gotta make her last." Cue the waterfall of tears.

Lisa chuckles, before pulling me into one last hug. Even though I'm older, she's always going to more mature.

"You be careful too, okay? I'll miss you." I pull away from her.

She pats Luke on the back, and he ruffles her hair. "Yeah," he starts, "If you do something stupid, I'll have to hunt you down and yell at you for it." His voice was light and teasing, which surprised me majorly.

Max honks the car horn, quite loudly, scaring all three of us. Luke flips him off, to which Max responds by screaming colorful profanities at us.

Lisa, knowing that a fight would start, wastes no time getting in the car.
With one last wave from Linda and Lisa, they drive away, leaving nothing but a visible trail of dust behind
them.
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For the rest of the day, the three of us busy ourselves with chores. I didn't see Grant very much, because he was guarding the woods all day. Luke helped me with dishes and laundry, and I made dinner.

Tomorrow, we decided that Luke and I would go into the city for a food and supply run. Luke, of course, was not happy about this. He had stormed off into the woods the second Grant came back, and I haven't seen him since.

It hurt my feelings that Luke hated me so much that he didn't want to go on a run with me. I knew better than to actually believe that he wanted to be my friend. God, I'm such an idiot.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I make Grant a plate of green beans, and chicken noodle soup. Don't judge, it was the only thing we had left.

I hand Grant the plate. "Thank you Charlie. I know things haven't been easy in the last few days, but I want to thank you for sticking with us. Lucas appreciates you too, you know." He smiles lightly.

I smile back. "Of course. I owe the both of you big time for letting me stay with you," I take a deep breath. "But the whole Luke thing...I think he hates me. You saw how he reacted when he found out we were going on a run together..." I trail off.

Grant shakes his head, "No, sweetheart." There's that damn name again. "He cares about you. He would do anything for you. Can't you see? You make him happy. He hasn't been that way in a long, long time."

I shake my head, "How do you know?"

"I was your age once too, you know." He chuckles loudly. "You matter a hell of a lot to him. He may seem like he doesn't care, but he does. He just doesn't know how to show his feelings."

I laugh at that. Could Grant be telling the truth? I have no way of knowing, whatsoever. Luke is so complicated, and it's driving me crazy. I need to find out.

We eat the rest of our meal in silence. Neither one of us knew exactly what to say, so we didn't say anything at all. But we were both thinking about the same thing; Luke.

I knew that he was okay, and that he could manage himself. But I was still worried about his stupid ass. What is wrong with me?

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I stare up at the tent ceiling. Luke still hasn't shown up, but somehow I know that he's okay.

I have been in my tent for a little over an hour, and sleep has yet to make an appearance. I have grown so used to cuddling with Luke, and now that he isn't here, it's like I can't sleep at all.

Wow, I really am pathetic.
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