Her blue-grey eyes opened slowly, in the dark of the night, to see the silouhette of a boy with slumped shoulders sitting at the edge of her bed. He was facing in away from her, head tilted down and fingers intertwined in worry.
When he heard a light rustling of the covers behind him, his tead turned to face the sixteen year old girl.
She sucked in a worried breath and her eyes widenened in shock when she saw him and the thought processed through her mind. She couldn't remember why she was in her bedroom, the last thing she would recall was standing in the living room.
Prudence feared she had been caught and that maybe he knew of her illness.
"L-Luke? W-what are you doing in my room?" She asked him in a low voice.
He couldn't think of a nice way to put things for her, so as to not overwhelm her, so he went with just saying it bluntly. "Well, you got a severe nose bleed and fainted. Ashton and I had to carry you all the way here."
"Oh," She sighed in relief. "Thank you...But where is Ashton?"
"He went to sleep downstairs like an hour ago. Its two in the morning. I came to check on you because I couldn't sleep ad I thought I may as well do something useful with my time." His voice came out low and she could easily conclude that he was tired as well, but for one reason or another, he wouldn't leave. His thick Sydney accent pulled her back, "So, do you get nose bleeds really often?"
It was his worst attempt yet at breaking the ice.
Prudence nodded slowly. "I usually get them a lot when its hot. But more recently they just happen randomly."
Deciding to steer the conversation in a more casual direction, he asked her. "What's your favorite color?"
"White." She said simply.
"Why?" He crinkled up his nose. "Nobody likes that color. Its always the reject in the crayon box."
"Purity." She sighed.
"Favorite food?" He tried again to start a conversation with her.
"Chicken Alfredo."
"Favorite subject in school?"
"History and music."
"Prudence," He sighed in frustration. "Why do you push people away?"
She shrugged her shoulders from under the covers, "Its a natural defense, I guess. People always shun me because of my strong beliefs in God and I've come to accept it. I'd much rather be at home as a reject than trying to fit in and stop being me."
"Do you even have friends?" Luke blurted out.
She shook her head.
"I used to have two best friends, Sam and Candy, but Candy isn't fond of me anymore and since Sam is her boyfriend now, he just does what she tells him. Besides them, there are a few people who I get along with at church, but once youth group ends, they act like they don't know me." She explained.
Luke felt bacd for her. He couldn't imagine her being shunned because she loved her religion so much. That was like if someone were to shun him because he loved music.
It just wasn't right.
"Maybe you just need to open up more." He told her. "Live a little."
He slowly got up from his spot at the edge of her bed and walked out the door, closing it behind himself.
Prudence could hear the soft creaking of the floor boards as he went down the hallway and then down the stairs.
She sighed to herself. "I don't need to live a little. I live enough every time I read a good book or when I pray to the Lord."
-
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING THIS STORY.
IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO UPDATE AGAIN TODAY, SINCE THE CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN SHORT TOO.
SO HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE BOYS' RELATIONSHIP WITH PRUDENCE? DO YOU LIKE ASHTON OR LUKE? LUKE SEEMS LIKE HE'S STARTING TO BE NICE TO HER NICE TOO.
PLEASE READ, VOTE, COMMENT, AND ADD TO YOUR READING LISTS.
I LOVE YOU.
-CLARY xx
