Melting His Jet Black Heart [cake au] ✔

27.

This is the day... that everything changes...

Chapter 27

Luke was on his way to meeting his dad when Calum called. "Hey Cal, what's up?"

"My lawyer told me my parents' killers are in town," he replied with a shaking voice.

"Hey it's okay, you've got me now. If they come near you, I'll give them a good kick up the ass, you hear me?"

Calum chuckled and thanked him, and they talked for another few minutes before Luke arrived at the café and had to hang up. "I'll call you later, I promise." They said goodbye and Luke went inside, taking a deep breath.

His eyes immediately caught sight of his father; a tall, meaty man with greying hair but a soft smile. "Luke," he whispered, standing up from his table near the back. Luke tentatively approached him. "Luke. It's been a while."

"Yeah," Luke mumbled, sitting down opposite him. "What did you want to meet me for?" he added, eyes flicking up to the man he used to call 'dad'. Well at least, back when he acted like one.

"I just wanted to see how you're getting along – you've grown so tall, and handsome, and-"

"I didn't come here to hear empty words from an empty father. What do you have to say?" Luke knew he was being harsh but he couldn't care less – this was the man that sold their house without permission and left without a trace.

His dad sighed, a tired look filling his drooping eyes. "You need to hear the truth, Luke. It's very likely I'll be going to prison for the rest of my life, so now's the time for me to tell you why."

Luke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. What was he going on about? He didn't break the law when he left, he only broke four hearts. That wasn't necessarily something that could be punished by law, was it? "Is this about why you left?"

He nodded. "Two years before I left, I was involved in a crime."

Luke's heart froze and his eyes turned icy cold whilst the colour disappeared from his face. "A c-crime?" he stuttered.

"Yes," he reiterated, sighing heavily. "I used to work for that small construction business, remember? My boss ordered me and a colleague – Jessie's dad – to hunt down this couple who had stolen money from our company. We weren't supposed to kill them, but it appears they died from the injuries we inflicted on them."

Luke could hardly breathe at this point. How on earth had his own father managed to do something so awful?

"I was ordered to leave by my boss, who realised there were people investigating the case, and take up a job offer further up the country. Since I didn't leave straight away, he demanded money; and the only way I could get money was by selling our house. Now Luke, I know this was wrong and I regret it every day of my life. But I couldn't risk losing my job, nor could I ask your mother to give me money to pay for doing something so atrocious. I also couldn't risk getting you guys into trouble, because I was the man of the house. I needed to protect you."

"Y-you could've tried to explain it," Luke croaked, the tears getting the better of him. He'd never thought his dad, the guy he made into a monster, would leave everything just to protect his family... it broke his heart, quite frankly.

"Believe me, I wish I did. But now I'm paying the price – the hearing is next weekend Luke, and I want you to be there. I want you to hear my apology for real, and I want you to see me getting the penalty I deserve. I also want you to have this," he said, taking out a white envelope from his bag. "From working up north, I earned a decent amount of money. Since I'll be in jail now, I want you to have it."

Luke gulped, eyes switching from the envelope in his hands to his dad's face. "What about mum?"

"I've given her some, too. And Jack, and Ben. You're all getting the same amount. Take it."

Anxiously Luke took it from his hands and peered inside, seeing a thick wad of notes that accounted to no less than several thousand AU dollars. "Oh my... how can you... shit."

His dad smiled, and patted his son on the back. "Just accept it. I told you, I have no need for it now. Now, I need to meet with my lawyer quickly, so I'll see you next weekend-"

He was cut off by Luke's phone, which was ringing again. "It's Calum. Give me a sec," Luke said, picking up. "Cal? Is everything okay?"

Calum sounded weak as he said, "Can you sleep round mine tonight?"

"Of course. Look, I'll be at yours in a bit – I'm meeting someone right now."

"Okay. See you."

Luke hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Who was that?" his dad asked.

"My boyfriend, Calum."

"This... Calum... isn't Calum Hood, is it?"

Luke's eyes widened. "How do you know his name?"

"I..." He began sweating furiously, his face heating up and going red. "I'm the person who killed his parents."

~

Luke had run away from the café at lightning speed, hyperventilating with a blurry vision due to the tears. His own father killed Calum's parents? No. No. How was he going to face him now? He couldn't... it wasn't right...

He stopped running when he reached the local park. He sat himself down on a bench and took a few deep breaths, trying to clear his mind despite being in such a frantic state. Now, he had to think of what he was going to say. Calum would find out either way, but maybe if Luke broke it to him in a nicer way, he'd take it better?

He just didn't want to lose Calum, not after everything they'd been through recently. He'd only just reached his goal and now it was going to be shattered, because of something out of his control. Without a second thought he dialled Ashton's number, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

***

What a plot twist XD

Thoughts?

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Kimmy xx