Taxidermy was the act of preserving animals, either by stuffing them with sawdust or coating them in resin.
This helped to explain the numerous dead birds, badgers and whatever else I saw in Ellie's room. It also helped me understand why Luke always came home exhausted every night after I took care of the kids.
"Thank you so much, Sophie," I remember him saying to me once, his deep Australian accent prominent and smooth, "I owe you one,"
I rejected the money that he was trying to give me, shaking my head slowly, "You don't have to pay me,"
"I think I do," he chuckled, light eyes twinkling as he pressed it into my palm. "You did a wonderful job with the kids tonight. I think this is the first night in a while where they won't have nightmares,"
"Nightmares?"
It was quiet for a bit. Then Luke gave me a small smile, as if he'd made a silent decision to trust me enough to talk more about his children.
"About Chloe," he replied. I nodded solemnly; Chloe, I'd learned from my fellow coworkers back at the nursery, was his ex-wife. "They miss her, God bless. Unfortunately, she doesn't come around as often as they'd like,"
"Was she mean to them?"
"Not mean. Just never around," Luke said, sadly. I nodded again, unsure of what to say. "They get to see her once a week. We all have dinner together at the table. But she's not the same,"
"At least she still visits," I said, attempting to lighten the mood.
"She has to," Luke chuckled, and as our eyes met, a shiver ran down my spine. "Hey,"
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow's Game night," he noted randomly, leaning against the doorframe and ducking his head so that it was at level with mine. I could practically feel my heart in my throat at our proximity, "Would it be too much to ask if you stick around for it?"
"What? To watch the kids?" I questioned, puzzled.
Luke shook his head, laughing lightly. "Not quite," he then took a hold of my hand, his grip gentle. "The kids love you. They always go on and on about you,"
"They do?" needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
"Mhm," he hummed, "And if I'm being honest, I kind of want to see what all the fuss is about. Though I think I've already seen enough,"
I smiled, the blush on my cheeks creeping up at his charming words. Again, I liked Luke. Having him ask me to spend even more time with him, and Ellie and Corey, was a big bonus that I was not about to pass up.
So I nodded, biting my lip. Because like the naive, stupid little girl I was, all I could think of was, why not? What's the worst that can happen?
"I'll be there."
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The Deep Dark Web | lrh
Fanfiction✖️A collection of Dark!Luke horror fics I've written✖️ ✖️RED RUM My boyfriend, Luke, has a secret. Maybe it has something to do with the blood on his shirt and the knives in his bag. ✖️DADDY'S DAYJOB In which a single father will do absolutely anyt...