Paris | muke

Six

Luke hadn't spoken to Michael about Paris yet. He pushed the trolley in front of him with one hand as he held his phone to his ear, eyes focused on the slim young girl a few feet ahead of him with the shopping list in her hands. Luke wasn't even sure if he had offered to bring Paris along with him or if Paris had offered to come help, but when Luke woke up in the morning, shopping with his fiancé's daughter was not something Luke had planned at all. But he was glad she was there, at least because now she ran around getting everything while Luke just paced calmly after her, listening to the phone ring.

"Hello?" The familiar voice made Luke's heart flutter, a long sigh escaping his lips automatically.

"Mother," He said tiredly, eyes fluttering closed before he shook his head. "How many times do I have to ask you to actually pick up your phone? I will never know if something's wrong if you don't pick up because you never do anyways!"

"Yes, darling, I'm doing good, how are you?" His mother was quick to respond, making Luke let out a dry chuckle. It wasn't unusual for Liz to be a sarcastic one, Luke had grown used to it over the years, but at the moment, his only wish was for his mother to be serious and help him out. He hadn't spoken to Michael about Paris, but now he was about to talk about the matter for the first time since Paris walked into his life that previous afternoon. He was suddenly very nervous.

"I'm..." He trailed off, eyes looking down at his hand, gripping onto the trolley handle like his life depended on it. He looked around in an attempt to spot the dirty blonde girl, seeing her standing by the meat section with her eyebrows furrowed. Her resemblance to Michael was almost unbelievable. "Not very good, actually."

"Oh, sweetie." He heard his mother sigh. It was moments like those that suddenly made Luke miss his mother more than usual. When he heard those words leave her mouth, reminding him of the countless times he had come home from school in tears. It made him think of her embrace, and the way she would whisper in his ear that everything was going to be okay. His mother was his best friend in the whole entire world. "What's wrong? Is something up with Michael?"

Luke knew that making this specific call in the middle of a supermarket wasn't exactly the best idea. He knew he should be somewhere quiet, somewhere where he could sit down and tell his mother everything he was feeling and everything he was thinking, but he just couldn't help himself. He had to hear his mother tell him everything was going to be okay. He inhaled sharply, making sure Paris wasn't close enough to hear what he said. Things were awkward enough between the two of them as it was, he didn't want her eavesdropping on how much he wished she wasn't there.

"Well, sort of." Luke bit his lower lip, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he grabbed some spices from the shelf in front of him. "What would you do if something from Dad's past just sprung up on you?"

"Sprung up how?" Luke could hear the creaking of a mattress in the background, meaning his mother had just sat down in bed. That meant she knew something big was coming and Luke was even more nervous than he had been before. He was going slightly crazy on the inside.

"Well, like, showed up on your front door kind of thing." Luke cleared his throat. The words were at the tip of his tongue but the blond man just couldn't bring himself to say them. Whenever he opened his mouth, he felt his insides churn and his mouth snap shut once more. He just wanted to get used to it, but he still had to figure out how.

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"No, um," Luke gulped down nervously. "D-daughter."

There was silence. Luke couldn't hear anything coming from his mother's side and he couldn't tell if that meant his mother was absolutely shocked with what he had said or if she was quickly coming out with a plan to help Luke figure out what to do. He hoped for the latter, god knew Luke wouldn't be able to figure out anything for himself. But the longer his mother remained without speaking, the longer Luke felt she was as lost as he was. Looking ahead and seeing Paris walk back to him with her hands full of cookies and crisps and whatnot made him want to puke. He still hadn't really made eye contact with her since the night before.

"Did he know?" Liz's voice came out in a barely audible whisper, causing Luke's face to scrunch up. Rarely did Liz not know what to say, and Luke had a feeling now was one of those moments.

"I-I don't think so." The blond shrugged even though his mother could not see him. He looked down at his hand once again, seeing his knuckles had now turned snow white from gripping so tightly onto the handle. He didn't plan on loosening his grip anytime soon. "He seemed just as surprised as I was when she told us, but I don't know. Everything's a bit messy right now, there are so many questions unanswered."

"Well, have you spoken to him about it, darling?" Once again, Liz's voice had turned back into the nurturing soothing tone she usually used when talking to Luke. A wave of relief washed through him; maybe not because he had thought of something (because, honestly, he hadn't) but simply because he knew his mother would stand by his side. He could take his time to figure out what he wanted to do about the situation and he could count on her to be there every step of the way.

"No, I haven't." Luke huffed. "I know I should do that before anything else, but Mum, this is so awkward. Like, there's obviously the elephant in the room but it feels like neither of us knows what to say. Is there anything really to say?"

"Of course there is." Liz said quickly. Luke instantly knew his mother was frowning, most likely pitying her youngest son. Luke wished he could hug her. "If you're not comfortable, you have to tell him. If he really didn't know about this child then I'm sure he's not comfortable either, honey. The two of you need to be adults and sort out what has to be done. For your own sake and the child's. If Michael wants to be a parent, this is his chance."

There was a short silence as Luke gulped down nervously. He knew his mother hadn't said anything new, Luke had known this much from the second the words tumbled out of Paris's lips that she was Michael's child. But nevertheless, it was comforting for the blond to hear those words come from his mother. He nodded shortly, feeling slightly better already. He just needed the comfort and he had gotten it.

"Yeah, you're right." He sighed, biting down on his lower lip as his eyes caught sight of his fiancé's child walk up to him with a stash of different frozen meats in her hand. She dropped them into the trolley, eyes flashing over to Luke before her lips tugged ever so slightly into a shy smile. He watched as she turned around and walked away get again, bringing the list up to see what was next. Luke smiled. "Thank you, Mum."

"You're welcome, darling." She said softly. "Now go sort out your life. And don't forget to visit soon, yeah? We all miss you terribly."

"Yeah." Luke breathed. "I love you." 

"I love you too." He heard before the line went dead and Luke was once again faced with nothing other than his own thoughts. 

He paced slowly to the end of the aisle, taking a left and already seeing the dirty blonde teenager walking back towards him with a few bits and pieces. He forced himself to smile at her, trying his best to keep it as genuine as he could. "Thank you for your help." He said awkwardly.

"It's the least I can do." She whispered back, looking down at her feet with a slight frown. Luke didn't know what it was, but something inside him just made him want to turn her frown upside down.

~~~

i'm sorry it took forever,

i'm sorry it's shitty,

i'm sorry.