Without A Trace(Luke Hemmings FF)

six

Luke's P.O.V:
We're at a changing area at Macy's. She steps out of the room wearing a pair of white denim shorts and a tight tank top. She looks really pretty. I can't seem to take my eyes off of her, admiring her every move. She walks over to the full length mirror and takes in her appearance. She stares at the bruises that are evident on her legs and arms. I stare at her reflection in the mirror and notice her wipe away a tear silently. I watch as she runs the finger tips on her left hand over all of the marks on her right arm. She turns around and looks at me. She doesn't say anything, though. She just looks at me as if to tell me something unspoken. Something that's withholding her from speaking it into words.

"Let's find you some more stuff." I tell her with a smile, breaking the silence. After I paid for everything, we left for the amusement park about 20 minutes away.

...

We're on this roller coaster called The Wildcat and I look over to her. She's actually smiling and even more than that, she's laughing and having a good time. When the ride ends, I help her out of the cart and we walk for a bit. I see her looking at this stuffed lemur at the Test Your Strength booth. I can tell that she admires the stuffed animal as her eyes lit up when she saw it. I look at her looking at it for a minute before giving the man a 5-dollar bill.

"Oh, no, Luke. You don't have to-" I cut her off.

"I want to." I tell her and admire the way she blushes. The man hands me a really heavy hammer.

"You make it to the 100 mark and you get a small prize." The bloke states.

"To get that lemur that your girlfriend was eying-" He begins.

"Oh, she... she's not my girlfriend. We're not together." I quickly explain and I see Zoey look down at the ground.

"Right, well in order to get that lemur, you've gotta hit the bell at the top." He explains. I look up. The bell's really high up there. Let's see if all the times Calum dragged my ass to the gym pays off. I set the hammer head on the ground behind me and gripped the base of it. In one swift motion, I swing it over my head and slammed the hammer down. We watch it go fast and slam into the bell at the top. I look at Zoey and her face lights up as she smiles. The guy grabs a lemur stuffed animal and hands it to me. I hand it to Zoey and she hugs it. She looks at me.

"Thank you!" She tells me.

"Of course. I could tell you wanted it and I wanted you to have it." I smile at her.

"Not just the lemur. This. Everything." She says with the sweetest smile. She looks overheated. Probably because she chose to wear jeans and a sweater in August.

"Do you want to go get some dinner? We've been here all day." I ask. I should get her in some air conditioning. She nods and we walk to my car. She puts the lemur in the back and gets into the passenger side.

"What are you going to name it?" I wonder.

"Zoboo." She replies without hesitation.

"You mean, like Zoboomafoo?" I turn the corner of my lip up slightly.

"Yeah. That was my favorite show as a kid. That's why my favorite animal is a lemur. Zoboo was my childhood spirit animal." She smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"So, Luke..." She begins. I wait for her to continue.

"I was wondering... I mean, it's not like we were... We've never really been friends. I mean, you could have died back there. I just I don't know what to say." She looks nervously down at her lap.

"Then, just say thank you." I tease and she smiles.

"Thank you."

...

"What can I get you guys to eat?" The waiter asks as Zoey looks down at the menu. I already know what I'm getting.

"Can I just get the side salad?" Zoey asks.

"Sure and what would that be on the side of?" The waiter says with an annoyed attitude.

"My water." She says nervously.

"Zoey, get what you want to eat. You don't have to worry about the money." I assure her.

"I'm fine, honest. I like salad." She defends.

"She'll take the steak and the lobster, please." I smirk at her.

"Actually, I'm a vegetarian." She intercepts with a frown.

"Oh, then order something else." I tell her. She glances at the menu once more.

"Can I get the alfredo with the spinach ravioli, please?" She asks looking at me for approval. I chuckle slightly and nod.

"Drink?" The waiter breathes.

"Just iced water. I like water, it's familiar." She says looking at me again, nervously. I chuckle again.

"And I'll have the steak, medium rare, and I think I'll have water too." I smile at her.

"Okay. I'll go give this to them." The waiter groans and walks off. Zoey and I both laugh as the guy walks away.

"Well, wasn't he, uh... pleasant." I smile.

"Oh, yes. Perfect service for this upscale restaurant." Zoey jokes sarcastically and I laugh.

"So, I figured that we could head out in the morning. It takes two days to drive there, so we'll get to Sydney by Monday." I explain. She looks nervous, so I take her hand on top of the table.

"You'll be okay, I promise. Everyone is going to be stoked that you're okay." I say in a low voice. She takes her hand out of mine and wipes her tear as she nods.

...

We're back at the hotel now and we're watching 17 Again. I'm sitting on the sofa and she's on the bed, holding her knees to her chest.

"So, what have I missed over the past year?" She asks. I walk over to the bed and sit cross legged on it.

"Uh," I breathe.

"A lot. Zayn left One Direction-" I begin and she gasps.

"No!" She utters.

"And then they broke up." I continue.

"Oh, my god, that's terrible! I love One Direction!" She whines.

"Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar." I add and she laughs.

"Finally!"

"High school is over now, thank God." I groan, playfully and she looks sad.

"I missed graduation." She frowns. I don't know what to say to her.

"Why don't we just get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I say, setting tapping her knee and she nods, getting under the covers. I walk over to turn off the light and then climb onto the sofa. I stare at the ceiling and breathe for a minute. What is this girl doing to me? Remember, you have a girlfriend... What's her name? Maya, right. Um, Maya and she's great. She's funny and sexy and... But, Zoey... She's intelligent and beautiful and kind. No, Luke. You have a girlfriend. Focus on your girlfriend. I sigh to myself and roll over, falling asleep shortly after.