24 Hours.

1.9 - apologies

12:31 PM

"S-Sky?" Luke stammered, not even caring about how bad his shin was hurting. "What do you mean?"

"What don't you understand?" Skylar asked, kicking him again, but in the other shin. Luke didn't care, he deserved that. He deserved all of it.

He deserved every bad thing that had ever happened to him, because nothing would ever be able to compare to what Luke was feeling right now, knowing that he had just done something so horrible. He couldn't believe that he had just said something like that to Skylar, and it hurt even more seeing her standing in front of him, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was so idiotic, arrogant, and ridiculously immature of him to say that, he acted like he knew everything about Skylar when he really didn't. He knew nothing at all.

"I - I don't - " Luke was still trying to find the right words to come out of his
mouth, because everything sounded so wrong at the moment. He didn't know what to do.

Luke had never been in a position like this before. He had never personally known anyone with cancer or even anyone with a family member that had it, he just didn't know how to act. Michael, Ashton, and Calum often went to hospitals while they were touring and performed little acoustic shows for cancer patients, but Luke never even went with them, and he was beginning to feel horrible about it. He would always call in at the last minute, saying that he was running too late to make it or that he was sick with food poisoning from the night before, when in reality it because he had a girl lying in his bed next to him.

"Skylar, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Luke said, reaching out for her again and hoping that she wouldn't kick him anymore. Instead of going for her hands this time he grabbed her waist, wrapping his arms around it and bringing Skylar into his chest.

"Of course you didn't know." Skylar cried, allowing Luke to pull her closer.

"How long?" Luke whispered, and he didn't know if he was asking her how long her mom had actually had the cancer, or how long she had left.

"She's had it for a year and a half, stage four breast cancer." Skylar paused, more tears slipping from her eyes. "She was doing okay, but I guess her body didn't react well to one of their recent treatments, and I got a call from a doctor last night saying that she probably only has a few more days."

"Oh my God, Skylar, I had no idea." Luke said, swallowing down the lump in his throat. He even felt like he was going to cry, that never happened. "I can help."

"No, you can't," Skylar said, shaking he head at him.

"I have money," Luke suggested, "I can pay for a treatment or something - I can, I can - "

Skylar cut him off, "You can't do anything. They've run out of treatments to give her. Her body just can't hang on any longer, there's nothing we can do."

"Skylar," Luke whined, his voice cracking.

"Luke, it's alright." Skylar assured him, taking a small step back so she had an easier time looking up at his face.

"It's not alright," He said, shaking his head. "I can't believe I just said all of that to you, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking, I - Skylar, please forgive me."

"You didn't know, it's not your fault." Skylar muttered to herself, looking down at the ground. Luke felt so bad, he had absolutely no idea that Skylar was going through something like this and he was standing there screaming at her for not wanting to go do anything fun. It wasn't fair, the way he kept treating her, when she was only acting the way she did because she had greater things to worry about than hooking up with Luke later that night.

"It is my fault, and I know that I can't take back what I said to you, but I would really like a second chance. Please, Skylar, give me a second chance." Luke begged.

"I feel like I've given you more than once second chance." She said, barely cracking a smile.

"Come here," Luke didn't know what else to say, so he grabbed Skylar and pulled he forward, wrapping his arms around her body and hugging her close to him. Skylar allowed him to hold her, but only because by now she was crying too much to do anything else.

"I just - " Skylar started, taking another step back from Luke. She looked around the airport, and so did Luke, both of them noticing that there were still people watching them. "It's so unfair."

"It is, and I'm so sorry. I promise, Skylar, if I could do anything to help her I swear I would." Luke said, silently praying that Skylar would believe him. He really hoped she would, because he was telling the truth. He would do anything for Skylar, just to see her happy again.

"There's nothing you can do." Skylar said quietly, shaking her head.

Luke nodded, "I really am sorry."

"That's what everyone says."

"Skylar, you don't get it. My heart is literally aching right now. I feel awful, my stomach is flipping all over and I have this fucking lump in my throat like I'm about to cry. I'm sorry, honestly." Luke explained, and he realized why Skylar was having trouble believing him. In a matter of hours Luke had gone from number one asshole to the world's sweetest guy, and it seemed too fake. But it wasn't, Luke could guarantee that.

Skylar nodded, like that was her way of accepting Luke's apology. She didn't say anything more, instead she just awkwardly rocked back and forth on her feet and chewed at her bottom lip, wondering who was going to say what next.

"I thought that maybe if I stayed here, there would be a chance that there would be an earlier flight, and I could get back to Australia sooner." Skylar finally spoke, looking towards the ground. Luke felt terrible, he thought that he had scared Skylar to a point where she couldn't even look at him anymore. "Like maybe it would help if I just stayed put."

"That's okay, that's okay." Luke nodded, reaching forward and cupping his hands around Skylar's cheeks, moving her hair out of her face and forcing her to look up at him. "We can stay. I'll stay with you, Skylar."

"You're calling me Skylar." She whispered, a small smile coming back on her face. Luke still thought she was so beautiful, even with the remains of tears staining her cheeks. Luke could have kissed her, he was close enough to do so, but he didn't. It wouldn't be right to kiss her, not now. It would look like he was trying to take advantage of the situation Skylar was in, and Luke kissing Skylar would make it seem like he was only doing it to make her feel better.

"Your mum calls you Sky, doesn't she?" Luke asked, and Skylar nodded. That's why she didn't want Luke to call her by that name, because it was just a constant reminder that her mom was so far away, and Skylar had a limited time to see her.

"It's okay." Skylar said after a minute. "You can keep calling me that."

"Really?" Luke smiled, and he began to lower himself to the floor, feeling that they both needed to sit down for a minute. Luke didn't care that there were still people staring at them, he just sat down in the middle of the airport like it was no big deal. Skylar cracked another smile and sat down in front of Luke, crossing her legs over each other.

"I've gotten used to you calling me that, it would be too weird for you to stop now." She said, wiping under her eyes once more.

"I didn't mean to make you cry." Luke said, and he timidly reached out and wiped tear off of her cheek with his thumb.

"No one ever does." Skylar shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." Luke said, his eyes wide. He meant it.

"Stop apologizing." Skylar said blankly. Luke kind of understood, he could see why Skylar would not want him to constantly tell her that he's sorry, she probably heard that from everyone. Luke didn't want to be just "everyone" for Skylar. "I'm sorry for kicking you."

Luke smirked back at her, glancing down at his shin that was still throbbing with pain. "It doesn't even hurt."