BULLETPROOF

xix. sacrifice

Last update for 2015. I hope you all have a happy new year! Enjoy! (:
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When luke arrives back home, his heart starts rattling out of his chest as he slowly turns the knob around. He bites his lip as the door creaks open, hoping that it won't wake the clifford siblings up since it's morning already. As a matter of fact, it's 8 AM.

"Please don't be up already," Luke mutters under his breath, because Michael and Mary will surely ask him where he went to yesterday, if they noticed him gone. He doesn't want to lie for the nth time to his good friends - no, scratch that, second family - so it's better not to be seen and act like he didn't leave the house at all. Definitely better than making up an excuse as to where he went rather than the truth.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he takes a careful step inside and closes the door behind him as silent as possible. He takes off his shoes and tip toes up the stairs, but on the very first step he hears a clink of a glass on the kitchen and clearing of throat.

Michael, Luke's eyes widen. What should I do? He's awake already! He should still be fast asleep, drooling on his pillow.

He hears Michael gulping down the water from the glass that clinked. Ah, thank god. Michael isn't aware yet that Luke's already home. Does he even know he left yesterday? Thinking that michael probably didn't, luke considered silently running up the stairs and avoid his best friend. He takes two steps up, but suddenly Michael's voice cut through the defeaning silence.

"I can't believe you'd really avoid me," he says from the kitchen.

Fuck. Luke bites his lip hard, obviously not expecting michael to notice him. He goes down the stairs with his head hung low, walking to the kitchen.

"I-I'm sorry, okay?" Luke says while rubbing his temples. "I didn't mean to. It's just- I'm really tired and I just want to rest."

Michael snorts at what his so-called best friend said, but in an amused way. "Oh yeah? I wonder what you did that made you really tired." He said in an undertone. Probably from his secret work.

Luke didn't see Michael's sour expression since he's looking at anything but him at the moment. "I slept last night at my blockmate's house, we did some project and it's due next week so.." Luke rubs the back of his neck and lets out a fake yawn. He absolutely hates lying, but it's not that he can tell michael about his job, or what he found out about Michael's past.

"Is that so?" Michael presses on, trying to blow Luke's cover, but he couldn't without enough information. Luke even lied to him, wow! He can't believe this is happening to them. They used to be so open with each other, but now, it's like they never were in the first place. So he just says "Whatever, i don't wanna hear any more of your pathetic excuses." then walks out and leaves Luke alone in the kitchen with a breath hitched on his raspy throat.

Luke reached out to Michael's back, almost like he wanted to say something else to his best friend, but his hand slowly and painfully lowers. It's probably useless even if i tried, he thinks.

Michael angrily walks up the stairs then, feeling mad, upset, disappointed and most of all sad that they have to fall out. He keeps on convincing himself, Luke is an enemy. He's going to hurt him and Mary. He's working for the rival evil agency and he has bad intentions now. His boss probably corrupted his best friend's mind, his old best friend Luke, so he has to stay away from him now. It's for him and Mary's own good.

But then he also can't help but think, what if Luke's feeling the same as him right now? Confused, and thinking whether to quit his job to ensure the safety of their loved ones or not. But both know that's complete and utter bullshit, because as mentioned before, once you enter this kind of dangerous world you'll never come back safe and sane.