Disconnected | Luke Hemmings

chapter twenty nine

Never letting go of someone in the emotional sense is quite a different concept than in the physical sense, and the day had come to temporarily let go of Luke in the physical sense once more. It was the worst kind of déja vu, waking up to his alarm in the protective shield of his arms, knowing exactly what that alarm signified. I glanced over at him, blinking his eyes open reluctantly before he reached over to shut off his alarm. He snuggled in close to me once again, and for a moment I thought he might actually try to stay there, just skip the flight altogether. But instead he planted a soft kiss on my temple and whispered, "Good morning, beautiful. Time to get up."

I smiled, as I always did whenever Luke called me beautiful. I raked my fingers through his thick locks of hair, pushing them back so I could see his eyes better. "Since when are you eager to start the day?"

Luke shrugged and I saw a tiny grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "I guess I'm a little excited for what comes next."

And because of that, I couldn't help but be excited for him, too. Whatever feelings of disappointment or sadness were threatening to break through the surface were brushed aside by the pride that I felt for my boyfriend and our friends. So we got up and started the day. We dressed and brushed our teeth, and then I helped Luke carry his bags upstairs to where his mom was waiting, as usual, with a hearty breakfast prepared for us. Liz's kindness never failed to amaze me, and neither did the unmistakable reality that the Hemmings' had welcomed me into their family with open arms.

This time, Liz drove us to the airport so that she could say goodbye there. I was getting a ride home with Amy after we had said our goodbyes, as well. Andy would have joined us too, but he got called in to work for the day. Which was all right, considering that he wasn't exactly the 'emotional goodbye' type. The whole way there, Liz chattered about the tour and all the great places they would see and "Now don't do anything I wouldn't do, Luke," and things like that. I sat in the back seat while Luke sat up front with his mom, who kept one hand on the wheel and one hand gently on his arm the entire drive to the airport. I smiled at the two of them, talking easily amongst themselves. I often envied Luke's relationship with his mom. I didn't want to admit to that, because I felt guilty for even thinking it. But there was no denying the obvious: Liz supported everything Luke did without question, as long as he was being safe, whereas my mother seemed to be questioning everything I did lately, at least if it involved Luke. Although things had calmed down since our big fight, I couldn't help but feel the smallest bit jealous. I tried not to dwell on it, though. Today wasn't about me.

We arrived at the airport and parked in an empty spot that was miraculously close to the door. The three of us hopped out of the Hemmings' car. Luke grabbed his things from the trunk and slung his carry-on bag over his shoulder. I offered to take his suitcase for him, but he shook his head and insisted that he could carry it on his own. I sighed at his stubbornness but let him take both the bags, despite the fretting from both me and Liz.

Once inside the all-too-familiar airport, we located the correct gate where the boys would be boarding their flight. It wasn't too hard to spot, really. If we hadn't known what number we were looking for, we could have found it easy enough by Michael's tuft of electric blue hair that stuck out within the thin crowd of people, or Ashton and Calum's bantering about who got to eat the cinnamon-raisin bagel and who got to eat the herb-and-garlic bagel. I smiled at them from a distance and marveled at their silliness, then realized with a bit of a lurch just how much I would miss all four of these boys, and not just the one I was in love with.

"Morning, boys," Liz said as we approached. Calum and Ash immediately stopped arguing and just starting eating whatever bagel they each had in their hands. I giggled and plopped myself down in a seat next to Amy, who was sitting beside Michael and leaning cozily against his shoulder.