faerie • muke [v slow updates]

13°

the hemmings set out for yet another drive, this time in the home stretch to get to part of liz's home. she found a home in her children, but nothing could replace the home she has in her husband. the blonde looks in the rearview mirror, checking on josephine, before glancing at the other part of her home, luke. he has his earbuds in with his eyes on his phone screen, a bright red tim horton's straw poking into his mouth to feed him iced coffee.

on his phone, luke was listening to chill music and reading. he was curled up in his sweatshirt, and he was engrossed in the wattpad book he was reading. it was a fanfiction, of course, about one of the many bands he loved. he had a tendency to be passive aggressive, and what better way to subtly show his mom that he was still mad at her than listen to music in his earbuds and read instead of talking?

it's a quiet ride to p.e.i, as liz is consumed with both driving and her thoughts, josephine doesn't know what's going on and is playing on her ipad, and luke is angry. when they arrive at the maidenhair evacuation site, a small section of a remote faerie town on the coast of prince edward island, liz breaks the silence. "we're here. aunt saph said for us to wait in the car."

luke pulls out an earbud, catching the second half of his mom's statement, and figures he should reply. "okay," he says. he takes out his other earbud and puts it away, slipping into a mood that will be easier on his aunt.

soon, sapphire is walking towards the car. her youngest child sits on her hip, a spitting image of her. he's josephine's age, so hopefully she'll be a little bit more entertained here than in the wentworths' house in nova scotia. she waves, and liz speaks: "jo baby, look. that's aunt saph, and that's your cousin serena. she's your age, and she's really nice."

josephine looks out the car window with wide eyes, but doesn't respond. saph motions for the family to get out, and they exchange pleasantries. liz gets the 'i missed you,' luke gets the 'look how big you are, i've missed you, hon,' and jo gets the 'look at you, miss josephine!'

luke takes the bulk of the luggage as the hemmings family follows sapphire back to her quarters in the evacuation site. they weave through elevators and hallways, eventually stopping in front of a door with the number 304 sloppily painted on. "this is it," saph sighs, and opens the door. behind it is a small kitchen and dining table, with an attached hallway that leads to three bedrooms and a bathroom. "i'm in one bedroom with serena and eric, and justin, alex, and finley all share the other room so you three can have the last room," she says, turning to face her new co-occupants.

"sapphire," liz sighs. she knew the bunks were built for emergencies, and this was an emergency, but the space was already very small. six people was a squeeze, let alone nine. "thank you so much."

luke and jo's aunt looks at them with pity and says, "of course. andrew needs his family."

liz heads towards the bedroom, and her children follow. opening the door reveals a single twin bed, a night stand, and a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. "i don't mind sleeping on the floor," luke says before anyone can ask. he knows it's assumed that he'll sleep there anyway, and so he isn't surprised when he gets a quiet 'thank you' from his mother in return.

"i'll set up my blankets, you can talk to aunt saph," he speaks again, and his mother leaves the room silently.

"lukey?" jo asks, saucer eyes fixed on her brother. "where are we?" she's been following along without much complaint, but she is a child, and children have questions.

he looks at her, sadness in his eyes, and picks her up and sets her on the edge of the bed. "well jo, we're in a different part of canada. auntie mel lived in a place called nova scotia, and now we're with auntie saph in a place called prince edward island. we came to see dad, because he got hurt." as he speaks, luke shoves all their bags along the wall next to the night stand, trying to make there be as much floor space as possible. he sets out the blankets and pillows after putting a few on the bed for his mom and sister, and jo watches intently.

"when are we going home?" she asks, trying to process it all.

luke settles next to her on the bed, saying: "hopefully soon, jo. i know you don't want to miss cfs, and you miss your friends. i miss my school, and mikey."

josephine leans into luke's side. "why haven't you been talking to him?" she asks. jo is observant, and knows that even if they can't hang out the two boys talk every day.

"that's grown-up stuff jo. mom doesn't think mikey and i should date," he mumbles, pulling his sister closer to his side.

before jo can reply, liz comes back into the small room, and they have to go to the hospital.

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a/n: hhjhhj uh idk here's a Crappy Update™