Addicted To Your Fix

4 - Like It Never Happened

The days wore on miserably until we finally had just a few days to go until a two week break. I couldn't stop thinking about how shitty everything had become, aside from my job. But even that wasn't as enjoyable as it used to be.

I still hadn't had a meaningful conversation with Brandi, because she wouldn't talk much. But at least I put forth an effort, unlike her. If nothing else, she couldn't accuse me of not trying.

It was a little after midnight and we had just gotten settled onto the bus to travel through the night. Calum and I were in our bunks and everyone else was gathered in the sitting area on the front of the bus. Though I was tired, I wasn't trying to go to sleep, because I knew that wasn't going to happen. I just wanted to be alone, as I found myself doing often, once again.

However, despite the noise, I was nodding off when someone moved the curtain and bright light shone on my face. I peeked through one partially opened eye to see that Luke was staring at me. He had his head tilted down slightly, looking nervous, and was biting his lip.

"What do you want, Hemmings?"

He looked at the floor, apparently sorry for bothering me. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I just... I um, I need to tell you something."

I could tell that he wasn't playing around. He was actually nervous. So I decided to go easy on him.

"No, I'm sorry. You didn't wake me up. What do you need to tell me?"

Luke's eyes darted around, then he said, "Maybe we should, uh, go to the back. I don't really want everyone to hear."

I was instantly worried and confused. There were no secrets between any of us. What could he possibly have to tell me that the others couldn't hear? I nodded and pulled the curtain the rest of the way open, and hopped out of my bunk to follow Luke to the lounge in the back.

He closed the door behind us and sat down. His elbows were resting on his long legs and he was playing with a ring on his left hand. He looked up at me and said, "You're gonna want to sit down."

"Okay." I sat down a couple of feet from him and asked, "What's going on?"

The way he was acting, I expected him to say that he knocked up Allegra or some shit. Even though they'd broken up a while back, it wouldn't have surprised me if they were still fucking. But never did I ever expect to hear the words that came out of his mouth.

"Okay, so, you know, this is kind of just hearsay, but I don't know, Ash. I think it might be true." He paused and I gestured for him to continue. "Brandi didn't have a miscarriage." He was biting his lip again. He was holding back something.

"What are you even talking about, Luke? I'm pretty sure that's not something Brandi would lie about. I mean, why would she? And who's making up this shit? We've hardly even told anyone that she was pregnant, only a few people we trust."

Luke sighed and bent his head down to run his fingers through his hair. He looked back up at me and took a deep breath again. "I know what you're going to say, but just don't, okay? Just hear me out."

"Okay. Go ahead." I crossed my arms on my chest and sat back to listen to some convoluted story about the baby that Brandi lost or didn't lose. I felt defensive for some reason, I guess because it was my baby that he spoke of.

He began, "Well, you know how Allegra used to..." He stopped mid-sentence when I threw my head back and groaned, already not wanting to hear what shit Allegra was spreading.

Luke stood and threw his hands in in defeat. "You know what? Never mind. I'm just trying to be a good friend, but if you don't want to hear it, fine."