Disconnected | Luke Hemmings

chapter twenty five

Mom and I were able to patch things up on an "agree to disagree" basis. I wasn't thrilled that I hadn't been able to make her see my side of things, but we were back on speaking terms at the very least, and we didn't feel the need to snap at each other all the time. There was an overlaying sense of tension between us, but we were mostly pleasant and able to carry on with our separate schedules. The days blended into weeks, and soon enough it was Christmastime. Sydney General Animal Hospital generously granted me a week-long break, so I was exceptionally excited.

The Hemmings family invited Mom and I over for Christmas dinner, which was a great opportunity to spend time with Luke on the holiday. Mom and I had exchanged our gifts and enjoyed a quiet day at home snacking on Christmas candies and hanging around in our pajamas, so I was grateful to get to see other people, too. I gave Luke a new beanie, American Idiot on vinyl, and a basket full of his favorite candy, and he gave me a hardcover edition of the next book in the series I'd been reading and a beautiful pair of earrings. It was a relaxing and comfortable day. Liz made an amazing turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and a delicious chocolate cake for dessert.

The holiday season flew by quickly, and before we had fully gotten over Christmas, it was already New Year's Eve. Mom had been invited to some kind of staff function for her work, and I insisted that I didn't mind us having to spend New Year's apart. We had done it before, and after all of the fighting and then the busyness surrounding the Christmas season, it was just as well that we could each do our own thing. Ever the fan of parties, Calum invited us over for the occasion. It wasn't a huge event, but it certainly wasn't the cozy little group of us that had sat around a bonfire at Michael's house, either. Amy and I had gotten ready together at my house and had driven over in my car. She was spending the night at Michael's and Luke and I were driving back to my place to crash there for the night. Neither of us were drinking a lot. Calum, of course, was well into the liquor, and Ashton and Michael had a couple too many as well, but no one seemed to be out of control. There were lots of people over, but all of us spent the majority of the night together. Eventually, Michael and Amy had wandered off, and I smirked to myself knowing that they had probably gone to make use of Calum's guest room that was infamous for mid-party shenanigans.

Ashton and Calum wanted to see about finding fireworks that they could set off at midnight, leaving Luke and I standing at the back of the kitchen amid the crowds of people. Most of them we knew, but none of them were particularly close friends.

"Let's go outside," he suggested. He had to lean down to speak directly into my ear so that he could be heard over the loud music. Rather than strain my voice, I just nodded and took his hand as he led me toward the door.

We stepped away from the noise and slipped out onto the back porch. A couple people had wandered out to the backyard, but we were the only ones standing on the deck. I leaned against the railing and Luke stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on top of my head.

"This is much better," he commented.

"Mmm," I agreed.

"So," he began, "do you have any New Years resolutions?"

I shrugged and placed my hands on top of his, which were currently resting on my tummy. "Not really. I don't really like resolutions. I just want to keep my job and keep you."

"Well I can definitely guarantee one of those things." He pressed his lips beneath my jaw.

"What about you?" I asked. "Do you have any?"