DAWN PAIGE GREY Young Adult Romance

Chapter 16 - Phoning Home

 After dinner Dawn disappeared to her room and sat staring at her phone trying to think of what to say to her father and more importantly Luke and finally connects to her father’s number.

“Dawn?” She senses the alarm in her father’s voice, “Are you alright?”

“Yes Dad, I’m fine ….”

Before she can finish her sentence her father interrupts, “Where the hell are you? Your wedding is a week today and you’re needed here.”

“Dad, I need to talk to you …. About the wedding.”

“Whatever it is you can discuss it when you get home. I can send the chopper to pick you up wherever you are right now.”

“Dad … please.”

“Dawn, you’ve made us all worry, not answering your calls or texts and Luke has been phoning you several times a day, not to mention that Annie has taken off too and left a message to say she does not think she will be able to make the wedding. Something about her Dad being too ill to be left on his own, it’s all too confusing, especially as Luke seems to think his Dad is improving. What’s going on Dawn? Have you and Annie had an argument?”

“Dad, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m not sure about the wedding anymore.”

There was a deathly silence on the phone. Dawn could hear her father breathing heavily. She waited, her heart racing wildly, was her father going to say anything?

“Dawn, what exactly are you saying?”

“I’m not sure I want to marry Luke.”

The silence on the other side of the phone was deafening.

~~~ 

Luke knocked on the door and smiled at the surprised look on Annie’s face when she opened the door.

“Hi Annie.”

“Luke, what are you doing here? Is something wrong with Dawn?”

“In a way … yes. She appears to have disappeared without a word to anyone and I was hoping you would know where she was.”

“I can’t believe she would take off like that with her sprained ankle.” Annie said fidgeting with her bracelet, hoping Luke would not see through her lie.

“Would you mind if I come in, maybe if we you go through everything you last said to each other, it will give me some hint as to where I might find her and why she left without telling anyone, especially you?”

“Ohh, sorry yes of course you can come in. I’m here with my father, he is not well, but I’m sure you know that already.”

“Yes, I have been told and I’m really sorry. How is he doing?”

“He is okay thanks, sleeping at the moment. Come through to the kitchen we can talk there without disturbing him.”

Luke followed Annie through to the kitchen, noticing for the first time how the sunshine highlighted her hair. His pulse quickened as he sat beside her at the kitchen table.

“Coffee or tea Luke?” Annie asked.

“Huh, oh, sorry I was miles away. Coffee thanks.”

“Thinking of Dawn, no doubt and worrying.” Annie said looking at him thoughtfully. Her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. She turned away abruptly, stood up and busied herself making coffee. She heard a movement behind her and when she turned around Luke was standing right behind her.

What happened next startled them both. Luke was so close she could smell his aftershave and she felt giddy and swayed. Luke reached for her and she dropped the cup of coffee she was about to hand to Luke. The hot liquid splashed up against his trouser legs. The cup shattered as it hit the floor covering his shoes and Annie’s bare feet. Luke pulled Annie away from the broken pieces lying scattered at their feet, and scooping her up sat her on the table top swinging her feet into the sink opening the cold water tap to run over them. The steaming hot coffee had done its damage and painful red welts appeared on her bare skin.

Annie struggled to hold back the tears as Luke filled the sink with cold water completely covering Annie’s feet. Luke kept apologising.

“Annie, I’m so sorry, I never meant to scare you. I really am sorry. I’ll run you to casualty I’m sure they will do much more for you than I can.”

“I’ll be fine Luke, really I will, as soon as the stinging stops.” She said bending down examining her feet through the water.

Luke pulled her hair away from her face and gently lifted her chin. Her eyes were moist with unspent tears, but her lips were just too inviting and looking so vulnerable he lost his resistance and kissed her. He was surprised she did not pull away but responded briefly before ending the kiss.

When Annie looked into Luke’s eyes she crumbled and didn’t resist when he kissed her. For a moment in time she felt lost in his kiss, his lips were so soft and warm. Suddenly coming to her senses she pulled away, but slowly, hating to break this intimate moment.

“Luke, we can’t.” 

Luke sighed and ran his thumb over her lips, “I know Annie. Wrong time, wrong place and all that.”

Annie nodded, “If only we’d met earlier.” 

“I felt as though I had been punched in the stomach the first time I saw you standing next to Dawn.”

“Me too …. I felt something too … when I first saw you, but I knew nothing would come of it, no matter what we felt.”

“I’ve had mixed feelings since that day and now that I’ve kissed you, it’s even worse. I’m more confused than ever. That’s why I need to find Dawn and talk to her.”

“Luke, you can’t …. Not marry Dawn. You’ve been together so long, everything is ready.”

“I know Annie, but what about us? Don’t tell me you can’t feel it too. I know you felt something the first time we met, it was there in your eyes when you looked at me.” 

“Its wedding nerves Luke. Go find Dawn and you’ll see, this … this kiss …. It will all be forgotten when you see her again.”

“Why aren’t you coming to the wedding Annie?”

“My father, he needs me now.” Annie grabbed a towel to dry her feet and put as much distance as she could between herself and Luke. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Luke. “Here, phone Dawn from my phone, she’ll answer my phone.”