Photos [Luke Hemmings]

Chapter 29 - Fight

greetings from Pakistan! i am currently melting in 105 degree weather but it's all good!
enJOY
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Chapter 29—Fight
{ a u t u m n }
            "Stop hurting your Mac and cheese—it never did anything to you."
            My head lifted at the sound of Erica's voice, catching sight of her pinched face as she looked down at my bowl of food. She looked as if I was stabbing her instead of my lunch, and I dropped my plastic fork before leaning back in my plastic seat, letting out a sigh.
            Danielle's lips turned down, brows furrowing as well as she sat next to me. "Still haven't talked to Luke, huh?" she questioned knowingly, finishing off her chicken wrap.
            I pursed my lips angrily. "Nope, and I don't plan on doing it any time soon," I replied indignantly.
            "I don't blame you," Erica shrugged as she put down her bottle of water before meeting my gaze. "Like, I know I was all for you going to talk to your dad, but that was only once you were comfortable with it. Luke ambushing you like that was kind of insensitive, really."
            I slapped my hands on the table, ignoring the looks I received from some people a table over as I nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm saying!" I exclaimed before bringing my hand on top of my head to push my hair back. "I get that he was trying to be caring or whatever, but putting me on the spot like that was messed up."
            "Yeah, but," Danielle sat up, pushing her tray away as she frowned lightly, "he loves you, Autumn, and I guess he just figured whatever he was doing would be good for you. I don't think he actually meant any harm by it."
            She was right, I knew that, which sucked because I didn't want to acknowledge it. "He went behind my back," I argued stubbornly, stabbing a piece of macaroni and putting it in my mouth. "I wasn't ready, he knew that, but he pushed it on me anyway. I'm just—I don't wanna be mad at him, obviously, but he pissed me off."
            "Fight him," Erica shrugged with a good natured smirk. "Tell him to square up."
            I rolled my eyes, although the comment did manage to bring a small smile to my lips. Danielle and Erica soon dissolved into another conversation, yet I was left to dwindle in my thoughts. I hadn't spoken to Luke since that rendezvous with Richard, which was three days ago. He had texted and called several times, yet I ignored him like the stubborn bitch I am. Luke even showed up at my house at one point, but I forced my mum to turn him away. At first I had felt bad, but when I remembered why I was angry at him, I didn't feel too horrible.
            The rest of the school day seemingly flew by, and once Erica had dropped me home I entered the living room and dropped myself on the couch, letting out a loud sigh.
           My relaxation was short lived, however, when I heard Mum's voice call out to me. "Autumn? Is that you?"
           I sighed, eyes shutting briefly because I knew I would have to get up in a few seconds. "Yeah."
           "Can you come in here? I need you to do something for me."
           Letting out a pained groan, I stood up and lazily made my way into the kitchen, feet dragging across the floor as I moved. "What?" I drawled out in a cry, almost as if it was physically hurting me to walk and talk.
          Mum shot me her no nonsense look before pulling out a dish of lasagna from the fridge. I immediately perked up at the sight of it, but my shoulders slumped when she began speaking. "Take this to Luke's house. They're having family over and Liz asked if I could make my special lasagna."
          At the sound of Luke's name, my jaw tightened and teeth ground together, staring down my mum. "You know I'm not talking to Luke, Mum. I don't wanna go to his house."
          Mum sighed, hands resting on the counter top as she stared at me from across the kitchen island. "Honey, I love you and your problems are my problems, but right now, I just need you to take this lasagna to Luke's house, okay?"
          "But Mu--" I began in a frustrated whine, but she cut me off.
          "But nothing, Autumn," she said firmly, her hard eyes meeting mine. "Luke's your boyfriend and you have to face him sooner or later. Now go--their family is already over and Liz needs this pasta."
           My jaw clenched and I exhaled sharply through my nose before grabbing the slightly heavy dish of pasta. I turned and stalked out of the kitchen, stopping in the living room to grab my phone, wallet, and the car keys before exiting the house, balancing the dish on one arm so I could open and close the front door.
          Settling in the car, I put the dish on the passenger seat, praying it won't slide off during the drive, before starting up the car and backing out of the driveway.
The drive to Luke's house, I had the radio on and the volume up high all the way so the loud music could distract me from the fact that I was going to see Luke for the first time in a few days. He hadn't let up on trying to talk to me, but his calls and texts remained unanswered from my end. I was being a stubborn bitch, but I didn't give a single damn.
            I arrived at his house shortly after, noticing a few cars parked in his driveway and along the sidewalk. A sigh flitted past my lips, because with my luck, I'd probably be seeing the entirety of Luke's family, and that wasn't exactly ideal seeing as I wasn't on speaking terms with him. Life was awesome.
           Getting out of the car, I pocketed my things and held the dish in both hands, walking up to the front door and maneuvering my right elbow to press it against the door bell. And as I waited for the door to open, I silently prayed that the one to answer it would be anyone but Luke.
           It swung open, revealing not Luke, but his older brother Jack, who I met a few times before.
           "Hey, Autumn!" the eldest brother grinned, almost a replica of Luke as he opened the door wider. "Come on in."
           I returned the smile with a "Hey, Jack," as I walked into the threshold, watching as Jack shut the door.
          "Here, give me that," he then said, taking the pasta dish from my hand. Jack then began making his way to where the kitchen was, but when he noticed that I was just standing there like an idiot, he chuckled and ticked his head. "Don't just stand there--come on, say hi to Mum."
           Knowing I couldn't say no to Liz, I offered a small smile before following Jack, chewing on my lower lip because I might just run into Luke and I really didn't need that at the moment.
            Entering the kitchen, I saw Liz pulling out  bottles of Sprite and Pepsi from the fridge, setting them on the counter next to it before turning to look at us. "Autumn!" her eyes lit up, a smile on her face. "Haven't seen you in a bit, love, how are you?"
             She asked this as she walked over, pulling me in a hug which I returned before answering, "I'm good, and you? Oh, my gosh, look so cute!"
              Liz was dressed in a simple top and a long floral skirt, looking adorable as hell because she pulled it off so well. She laughed happily at my comment, waving me off. "Stop, thank you," she smiled, her eyes meeting mine. Her smile then slowly lessened a bit, motherly concern overtaking her features. "I don't know what happened between you and Luke, but he's been very sulky and moody lately. Are you two okay?"
             I pressed my lips together in a small, barely there smile, hands buried in the back pockets of my capris as I shrugged lightly. "We're just... figuring some things out. Haven't spoken to him in a few days," I answered vaguely, reluctantly.
              Liz's eyes flickered over my shoulder briefly before looking back at me with an empathetic expression. "Might have to change that now," she responded as she moved backwards, and I turned around to see what she meant.
              Luke had entered the kitchen, stopped at the doorway as he stared at me in surprise and a bit of hesitance. He was wearing his usual black skinny jeans--I'm sure he didn't own any other form of pants--with a full sleeved black Henley top, and God help me he looked good but I was not going to show any trace that I thought of that. But the boy, I noticed, had taken out his lip ring and I wondered how getting rid of something I actually liked made him seem even more attractive. What the fuck, science?
               Skillfully, Liz had dipped out of the kitchen, leaving just Luke and I to stand a few five feet away from each other and just stare. It was awkward and quiet, and the tension was thick in the air. The sound of Luke's relatives was muffled as they were in the living room, but seemed like a whole world away as Luke's blue eyes refused to leave my hazel ones.
              I was still pissed at him, that much I was sure of, but seeing him standing there, looking as good as he does with the face that I love so much, being angry at him seemed near impossible. I didn't want to give in so easily, by just at the sight of him, so I was determined to stand my ground.
             But the swirl of emotions was overwhelming. Anger being the dominant one, but exhaustion being a close second. Being angry at someone, especially someone you love, is exhausting. I've been ignoring Luke for almost a week now, and I'm pretty sure it's drained all my energy. But I wasn't going to let him know that.
            Luke suddenly cleared his throat, shattering the silence as he took a couple of steps further into the kitchen. "Hey," he greeted quietly, tugging his lower lip into his mouth briefly.
             I pursed my lips, leaning a bit against the counter behind me. "Hey," I repeated blankly, no trace if any kind of emotion.
             Luke let out a quiet sigh, along with a breathily nervous laugh as he asked, "Still not talking to me, huh?"
              "Not really," I responded simply. Not wanting to deal with this, I pushed myself away from the counter and began walking out of the kitchen, unfortunately having to pass Luke to do so.
              But before I could, Luke side stepped me and stopped me right in front of him, a pleading look in his eyes. "Come on, Autumn--don't run away from me."
             "What do you want me to do, Luke?" I asked exasperatedly, taking a step back as I looked at him with a shake of my head. "I don't--I'm so mad at you because of what you did, I literally don't know what to say to you."
              "Then just listen, please," Luke practically begged, taking a step towards me as his hand found mine, and although it felt good, I was itching to pull it back. But I didn't. "I know I overstepped when I set you up with Richard, okay? It was too bold of a move but, baby, I thought what I was doing was gonna be good for you. You'd been hurting and I thought--"
                "You thought wrong," I interrupted, this time pulling my hand from his as my brows furrowed slightly. "I told you I was skeptical about Richard, but you freaking pushed anyway. You were trying to do a nice thing, yeah, but what you thought would be a good idea was actually a pretty dumb one. And now because of you, I possibly have to meet the family of the man that ditched my ass when I was a kid!"
                  Luke stared at me as I finished my mini right, and I let out a deep breath as I turned away from him, pushing my hand through my hair to push it back with my left hand on my hip. My hand went from my head to press against my mouth, mentally calming myself down before throwing a full on tantrum in the middle of Luke's kitchen.
                 I hadn't wanted to deal with him, because I knew emotions would run high and there would be a chance I would break down and cry, and that's the last thing I wanted. My eyes squeezed shut as I wiped my hands down my face, letting out a small groan as I shook my head. "This is why I didn't want to talk," I spoke, still not turning to face Luke. "I'm so pissed, Luke, and I don't want to lash out like some psychotic bitch."
              "I did the right thing, Autumn."
              My hands dropped to my sides at the stern sound of his words, turning to look at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"
               Luke no longer looked helpless and pleading as he did before. Instead, he looked almost blank, maybe even a little angry as he stared at me with hard eyes and a clenched jaw. "I did the right thing, because I know at the end of the day, it's going to be good for you. You have a bad habit of running away from your problems, and I was just helping you face one of them. I don't care if you're angry or pissed--it means you're dealing with this. Even if it's me you're pissed at."
               I let out an indignant scoff, looking around the kitchen before my gaze landed back on him. Was he trying to make me angrier? "You're literally the most annoying son of a--"
               "Luke?"
               My harsh words were cut off by the cheerful voice of an older woman, and mine and Luke's heads both snapped to the second doorway of the kitchen that led to the living room, where an elder woman stood. She was clearly one of Luke's grandmother's, with short brown turning gray hair and blue eyes that seemingly ran in the family.
               Luke and I immediately tried to calm our worked up selves down, with him running a hand down his face and myself forcing a close lipped smile on to mine. "Hey, Nan," Luke forced a smile, looking at his grandmother, "what's up?"
                "You tell me," she replied with a teasing grin, oblivious to the near yelling match Luke and I were having moments before. She looked at me briefly before asking her grandson, "Who's this?"
                  Luke and I exchanged a look for a split second before he smiled falsely once again and said, "This is Autumn, my girlfriend. Autumn, this is my dad's mum, Denise Hemmings."
                  Smiling at Luke's grandmother, I took her offered hand and shook it while saying, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Hemmings."
                  "Oh, honey, call me Nan," she immediately responded, the smile never seeming to slip off his face. "Luke forgot to mention he had such a pretty girl," she added, shooting her grandson a look.
                  I didn't blame him, seeing as we weren't really talking. "Sorry 'bout that," Luke apologized with a light chuckle.
                 Nan waved him off, her hands coming to hold mine. "Come, Autumn--let's show you off to the family," she said, and with an iron grip too strong for a woman her age, she began tugging me out of the room.
                 My eyes widened at the thought, not sure if I was ready to face the entirety of Luke's family, as I glanced over my shoulder to look at Luke, only to find him looking a bit too smug. I narrowed my eyes at him because he was clearly enjoying this, before having to turn around because I was stumbling on my feet as I tried to keep up with Luke's grandmother.
                 The living room was loud and full of Luke's family; ranging from his parents and brothers to his aunts and uncles and grandparents and little cousins running around the room. There were a lot of people here, and the sight of them all had me inhaling sharply as Nan's grip tightened, as if she could sense my want to run away.
                 "Everyone!" Nan's voice cut through, silencing everyone effectively. Damn; and now all eyes were on us. "This is Lukey's girlfriend, Autumn! Boy's been hiding her from us."
                 I offered a small, nervous smile as everyone looked at me, before chorusing out their greetings and such, which was pretty damn embarrassing. My eyes met Liz's, who offered me an apologetic smile before letting out a giggle, and my face was probably red as hell. This wasn't really how I planned on meeting Luke's family.
                "It's nice to meet you, Autumn," a woman said as she approached me. Pretty and blonde--like most of Luke's family. "I'm Luke's aunt Jen, and this is my daughter Zoey."
                I glanced down to see a little blonde girl by her feet, smiling up at me shyly, and my God she was the cutest thing ever. "Nice to meet you both," I responded with a smile, offering Zoey a wave of my fingers.
                A few more members of Luke's family said their hi's and hello's, until I was able to step aside where Luke was leaning against the wall, a smug smirk dancing on his lips. "You enjoyed that way too much," I said through gritted teeth once I stood in front of him, hands in the back pockets of my pants.
               "My girlfriend meeting my family?" Luke questioned with a quirk of his brow, "Sure did."
               "Your pissed girlfriend," I smiled sweetly, watching him roll his eyes, which only served to tick me off as I scoffed and said, "I'm gonna head home."
              Just as I turned away, I heard Luke sigh before felt his hand grip my forearm. "Wait, Autumn." He easily turned me around to face him, and he looked around the room before adding, "Come on."
            He then pulled me out of the room and then up the stairs, tugging me along until we were inside his room. I walked in when he let go of me to shut the door, arms crossing over my chest as I turned around to look at him expectantly.
             Luke had pressed his back against the wall, hands behind him as he looked up at the ceiling. The muscle in his jaw was jumping, an obvious sign of his frustration, and I remained silent as I waited for him to speak.
              "Are you ever not gonna be mad at me?" Luke finally asked, looking back at me with a tired expression. In that instant, I felt bad for giving him such a hard time. For ignoring him and yelling at him--I felt bad because he just looked so exhausted.
              So, with a sigh, I dropped my arms to my sides as I softly said, "Yeah. I just--I could've gone without being trapped like that, y'know?"
              "I know," Luke agreed, pushing himself off the door and taking a few short steps towards me, thanks to his long legs. "It was dumb of me to ambush you, but you gotta believe that I thought I was doing the right thing. If I knew it would make things like this between us, I never would've done it. I'm--I'm sorry, Auttie."
               I bit my upper lip shortly, knowing Luke well enough to know that he really was genuinely sorry. So I let out a breath, offering a small smile as I said, "It's okay. I'm sorry too."
               "You got nothing to apologize for," Luke shook his head, now directly in front of me as he dipped his head a little to look me in the eye.
               "I was being a bitch, so I'm sorry about that," I said, looking up at him properly, shrugging a shoulder. "You were being a good boyfriend--I shouldn't have gotten so pissy over that."
               Lightly shrugging, Luke smirked as his hands found his way to my hips. "It's all fine; you're pretty hot when you're mad."
               I narrowed my eyes, hands pressed against his chest, feeling the fabric of his shirt as I muttered, "Fight me."
              Luke hummed, eyes dropping low as he drawled, "I can think of something better."
               Then, for the first time in almost a week, Luke pressed his lips to mine. I exhaled sharply through my nose, smiling against Luke's lips as he softly bit my lower lip. His tongue felt too good against mine, the scratch of his beard against my cheek sensational he pressed us together impossibly close.
              My hands found their way to Luke's face, loving the feel of his facial hair under my fingers as Luke began moving me backwards to the point where the back of my legs hit the edge of his bed and I fell backwards with a yelp, right on to the mattress.
              Luke grinned wolfishly as he stood over me before smoothly climbing right on top and settling in the space between my legs, his head hovering above mine as his baby blue eyes practically devoured my appearance, biting his full lower lip as he let out a breath. "God, I love you," he whispered, forehead coming down to rest on mine.
                 His words brought a warm blush to spread across my cheeks, like they always did, as I brought my left hand to cover my eyes in an attempt to shield myself. "Stoooop," I complained.
                "You stop," Luke laughed lightly, and I felt his hand on mine before he moved it, prompting me to look him in the eye as he kept moving his head so he could get me to look at him. He sighed, leaning his weight on his right arm as his left hand cupped my cheek. "I missed you," he added in a soft whisper, his thumb trailing lightly over my bottom lip.
                 My gaze lowered, head leaning into his touch as I murmured, "I know; I missed you too, honestly."
                "Thank God," Luke sighed in relief, shooting me a smile. "Thought you were done with me."
                I rolled my eyes, catching him off guard as I pushed Luke over, rolling right on top of him as he was now on his back and I had easily straddled his hips. Running my hand through my short hair, I grinned down at Luke, hands placing themselves on his chest as Luke remained laying down, arms crossed under his head as he stared up at me. "You're stuck with me."
                  Luke's smirk widened, right arm shooting out to put his hand at the back of my head and pulling me down, connecting our lips as he mumbled, "Works for me."
                Our blissful moment was interrupted, however, when a loud knock sounded on his door. I immediately jumped off of Luke, standing by the bed as Luke sat up, just as the door to Luke's room swung open. "Lunch's ready, bro," his brother, Ben, said before his eyes landed on my flustered self. "Mum wants you to eat with us, too, Autumn."
               I began shaking my head. "I can't--"
               Ben quirked a knowing brow, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh, so you can make out with my baby brother but not stay for lunch?"
               His words made my heart literally stop and have me choke on air at the same time, face flushing hotly as Luke stumbled to his feet, sputtering out a, "Jesus Christ, Ben!"
               "Oh, my God," I groaned quietly, covering my face with my hands and bowing my head because this was so embarrassing.
               "Just bustin' your balls," Ben snickered, causing me to look at him with a glare, just like Luke was. "Come down."
               He then turned and left, leaving me extra embarrassed and Luke extra flustered. My boyfriend looked at me apologetically as he said, "I'm sorry about him."
               I shook my head, making my way to the door and grabbing his hand in the process. "Let's just go before they assume we're having sex. I don't need your nan busting in here yelling about great grandchildren."
               Luke let out a laugh as we walked down the hall and towards the stairs. "I wouldn't put it past her honestly."
               I felt a shudder pass through me. "Let's not risk it."
***
               Luke's family was, in a word, amazing.
               They were loud and welcoming and fun to be around. All initial awkwardness and nerves from my end had dissipated as we all sat down in the backyard for lunch; long tables set up in the middle of the yard with seats all around. I sat between Luke and Jack's girlfriend, Celeste, while Luke's little cousin Zoey sat contently on his lap. It was possibly the cutest sight ever. He insisted on eating with her and feeding her, which probably just killed me right there. Luke with kids wasn't a healthy sight.
               Hours later, when most of Luke's family was either relaxing in the living room or had gone home, I decided it was time for me to hear home as well. I said goodbye to his family, earning hugs and kisses from almost every member present. Luke had to physically yank me away from Nan as he stepped us out the front door and on the porch, the evening sky greeting us.
                 "Sorry 'bout that," Luke huffed, shutting the front door behind him as he turned to face me with a sheepish grin. "They can get a little crazy."
                The smile danced on my lips as I shrugged lightly. "Every family's crazy," I commented with a nod, "I like yours. They're fun. Especially Nan."
                 Luke let out a laugh, dimples and teeth in view as he scratched the back of his neck. "Nan's psycho but she's great," he grinned teasingly.
                  I snorted unattractively, shaking my head at him before letting out a sigh as I pulled out my keys. "I should get going."
                 He sighed dramatically, looping his arms around my waist as he tugged me closer. "I love you, Auttie," Luke suddenly said, making me meet his gaze, which happened to be a pretty serious one. "I haven't been able to say that to you for, like, a week and it seriously drove me crazy."
                  I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling slightly guilty because I had been ignoring him like the plague. "I know," I mumbled, my hands resting on his upper arms as I felt his press against my lower back. "I've just been... y'know."
                  "Yeah," Luke responded, chuckling slightly as he tightened his hold on me. "But we're good now, right? You and me? We're fine, yeah?" he questioned, dipping his head slightly to look me in the eye and quirk a brow. He looked almost desperate for a reassurance from me, and I didn't hesitate on giving him one.
                  "We're perfectly fine," I clarified certainly, offering him a smile as my hands went from his arms to the nape of his neck. I then pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his lips to assure him that, yes, the two of us were definitely going to be okay.