Without A Trace(Luke Hemmings FF)

Twelve

Luke's POV:
We walk into Calum's house and into the kitchen where Joy prepares sides to go with the barbeque David's grilling in the back yard and the guys are picking at the sides. Mike reaches to steal a deviled egg, but Joy slaps his hand. He frowns.

"Wait until dinner." She scolds and the other guys laugh.

"Hey! You guys made it!" Joy smiles.

"Of course! Thank you for the invite." Zoey smiles. The guys stand there with their mouths open.

"You talk." Calum points out. Zoey smiles awkwardly.

"No problem, sweetie. You're welcome anytime." Joy smiles. David walks into the kitchen carrying the food.

Zoey's POV:

The guys attack the food the second Calum's dad sets it down, but he immediately stops them.

"Guys, you know the drill." Calum's dad says. Luke takes my hand in his and so does Ashton, who's on the other side of me. They all look down at the ground with their eyes closed, so I do the same. I realize what they're doing.

"Father, thank you for this food you have blessed us with. May it nourish our bodies in your holy name. I want to personally thank you for helping bring this young girl back home safe and sound and bringing her into our lives. If I talk to you much longer, our food's going to get cold, so thank you. Amen." The man says and the guys attack the food again. I kind of just stand there, not wanting to intrude.

"You can eat, sweetie." David tells me. I nervously nod in response and thank him. I look at the large amount of meat sitting on trays on the counter. I gulp.

"Just eat the sides, Zo." Luke tells me. He must have noticed me staring at the meat. I nod. I was afraid that I'd offend them for not eating the meat, but I'm a vegetarian. After I put a little bit of the sides onto my plate consisting of potato salad; baked beans; deviled eggs; and macaroni, Luke leads me to the basement where the guys and I are going to eat.

"Where's your ribs and steak?" Calum asks.

"I-" I begin, but Luke cuts me off.

"She's a vegetarian." Luke says for me and I nod.

"Lame." Calum teases and I half smile. I'm still warming up to them. I mean, I've known them since kindergarten, but we never talked. Until now.. I pick at my plate. Calum's mum is a great cook!

"So, you don't talk much. Why is that?" Michael asks.

"She's been through a lot, Mike." Ashton tells him. After we eat, the guys set up the video games and start playing. Including Luke.

"You want to play?" Ashton asks considerately. I shake my head.

"Thanks, though." I tell him and he nods.

...

The guys are still playing the game. I scroll through Twitter, but my eyes get heavy and I yawn. Luke looks at me and smiles.

"You're tired already? It's only 8." Luke says and I nod.

"I haven't really gotten back on a regular schedule yet." I tell him and he nods.

"You can lay your head on my shoulder if you want. Take a cat nap until I take you home." He says and I shake my head.

"That's okay. I'll be okay." I tell him.

"Zoey, really. It's fine. Lay down." He pats his arm. I lay my head on his shoulder and feel myself start to fall asleep and before long, I'm out.