The Mess {Muke}

Thirteen

When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised. ~James A Forbes

Michael's POV

Even as men screamed at Luke he stood frozen in his spot, I do not think he was trying to defy them, but was all too scared to move. After all, all he had to do was take money out of a drawer and hand it to them.

So I stepped forward and pulled it out for them. Giving them everything inside of it. Luke still did not budge but I could see his hands shaking at his sides.

The men walked - or one jumped over - around the counter. And I immediately grabbed Luke's wrist and pulled him backwards. You think such a brash kid would never be having a problem in a situation like this.

"You two." A man gestured between Luke and I with a pistol. "Let's go." So I pushed Luke ahead of me while I followed the man. I watched him smile as he opened the refrigerator door, and then the freezer door beckoning for us to go inside.

So I grabbed Luke's wrist and tugged him inside. Shut in the cold, the door locked. It only took Luke seconds to break down in sobs.

He sat down on the floor and hid his face in his hands. "W-We're going to d-die.."

"No we're not calm down." I said as I took a seat on the dirty floor. "We are not going to die. You can open these doors from the inside."

But that did not seem to help him at all. Choking on his own cries, he was still shaking.

"But if we go out there they'll shoot us." Luke mumbled.

"Well we will have to wait here. Won't we?" I said. Folding my arms as I could feel the cold freezer air around me. Luke sat on a box, shaking and crying. I could feel my stomach churn as I thought that he might not be as bad as everyone thinks he is. 

"Luke come here," I said and extended my arms. "I'm cold, come on." Luke lifted his red and puffy eyes and wiped underneath them before scooting between my legs and curling into a little ball. His hair tickling my neck. I let my arms fall loosely around his body and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Watching it form into steam in front of me.

"How are you so calm?" Luke asked after a long time of silence, all we could hear was the buzzing of the refrigerator.

"Well one of us had to be. How could you just stand there?" I sighed.

"I-I was scared.." Luke mumbled. "You act like this is casual."

"Yeah well. I don't really care about dying. I suppose you do." I shrugged.

"W-What?!" Luke sat up immediately. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing, calm down." I sighed.

Luke's face turned grim and he bit down on his lip. Pulling that stupid lip ring in and out of his teeth. "Michael how could you not care?" 

"I just don't Luke, please leave it alone."  I sighed. Luke sniffled a little more but did not say anything about it. Eventually he stopped crying, and it seemed as if he got control of himself but never moved from his spot. 

"Sorry.." Luke muttered. 

"What are you apologizing for?"