Runaway Girl >> hemmings a.u

Chapter 8

Six o'clock seemed like ages away, as I sat by the window in my room, gazing out into beautiful Sydney, a light refreshing breeze blowing in my face. All I could do to desperately pass the time was daydream- daydream about my sex god, Luke. I still hadn't told my mum or my dad anything about him, even though he came over to my flat quite often. They never seemed to suspect anything since he was always out of the house way before they got home. I kind of liked it that way, you know? I mean good girls are bad girls who have never been caught after all.

I pulled myself back to planet earth as the big hand on my clock hit the half past mark.

It was time.

Heart racing, I made my way down the road towards the boys' flat, nervous to hear Luke's secret. A big white fence was all that was separating me from Luke and his secret, I thought, standing outside the flat. I quietly tapped on the fence, guessing that Luke was already there, prepared to tell me everything. And he was.

Without a word, he opened the fence and let me in, then silently made his way across the garden to sit under a large tree. All I could do was follow him, as I realised that I could hear my heart beating in my ears.

Shakily, he opened his mouth for the first time that afternoon:

'So I uh...I believe it's time that you know what's going on. Something has happened...uh where should I start? Ok I know, I know.' He said, his voice raspy with nerves.

Then he looked directly into my eyes with his wonderful crystal clear blue eyes, and began.

'About four weeks ago, I left town to visit an old friend. My friend, Karl, lived in a city not too far away from here so I decided to go and say hi, since I had nothing better to do that weekend.'

Four weeks ago? Must've been at home studying or doing homework, I thought.

'Anyway' Luke said, voice cracking with emotion. 'I was meant to be staying with him for the weekend and then coming back home on Sunday evening. You see, Karl was my best friend in Junior School, at the time when I used to live in Canberra, and I share most of my childhood memories with him; he was a real best friend.' He paused, tears welling up in his eyes.

Where was he going with this?

'Then on Saturday when I arrived, we decided to go out for lunch. When we stepped out of the car, I realised that there was a cat in the middle of the road.' Luke stopped to take a breath, the memory obviously too recent to be thought of with no emotion. 'I crossed to the middle of the road, knowing that if the cat stayed there any longer, it was going to get run over. I bent down to scoop it up when I heard the loud hooting of a car's horn. In panic, I looked up, just in time to see a pair of headlights coming right at me, full speed ahead, blinding me. Time seemed to slow down as I got ready to feel the pain. Instead, I felt two pairs of hand pushing me out of the way. Stumbling to safety I looked up, heart in my mouth. All I could think of was where was Karl?'

Luke closed his eyes, bringing his hands up to his eyes, his perfect face now streaked with tears. Then, he looked up at me, with bloodshot eyes and whispered:

'I killed him, Reb. He died to save me. My best friend died to save me.' He finished, crumbling into my lap, tears staining my leggings.

I didn't even know how to process this all. One thing was for certain though.

'Lukey, look at me.' I pulled him up so that he could properly look at me. 'You did not kill Karl. He sacrificed himself for you. It was his choice. Not your fault at all.' I felt so thankful to Karl, because I don't even know what I would've done without Luke in my life.

For a few hours me and Luke just lay there in the garden, under the stars, as I convinced Luke that Karl's sudden death was not his fault. I mean, don't get me wrong, he should've looked to see if any cars were coming, but overall, it was Karl's choice and I was feeling bloody proud of him even though I didn't even know him.

'Do you understand why I was being so distant?' Luke suddenly said, rolling over to look at me. 'I couldn't talk to anyone. I couldn't even look at anyone in the eye. All I could feel was guilt. The guilt was eating me from the inside and I didn't know how to handle it. I guess, talking to you about it was a good choice because I feel a bit better now. I didn't want to tell anyone about it either because I was scared people would think of me as a murderer.' Luke shivered with the thought. 'Karl's in a better place. I hope he knows how grateful I am, and how much I miss him. Rest in peace, Karl.' Luke whispered than closed his eyes, pulling me towards him.

Snuggling up to him, I felt my eyes suddenly feel heavy, as I closed them. Rest in peace, Karl, I thought, entwining my fingers with Luke's. Thank you for sacrificing yourself for Luke. He would've done the same for you, I'm sure.