Target || l.h.

Aisle One

(Luke's POV)

We stopped in front of Aisle One.

A sign hung over it saying, "Medicine, Bandages, Health Care."

I looked over at Emily, "Why don't you go sit down and rest and I'll get some stuff to help?"

She silently walked over to a side of the aisle and leaned her head against the metal shelves, breathing in deeply.

My head was clouded as I walked a few steps over to the section of Advil.

What the hell just happened?

I had been stocking shelves when I noticed her passed out in the corner.

She looked so fragile.

She was topless and breathing in staggered shaky breaths.

I took down some disinfectant wipes, used for cuts, and a package of bandages.

I walked down towards her and crouched to her level.

"Do you want me to help you or can you do it yourself?" I asked her in a light voice.

She wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"I can do it, I think," she whispered, her voice cracking a bit.

I was genuinely concerned for her.

Sure, earlier I have been teasing her a bit and maybe a part of me was really hoping that she would give me her number, but that doesn't mean I can't see that something is wrong here.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded her head, grabbing the antibacterial wipes from the floor and pulling one out.

She pulled up her sleeve carefully and dabbed at the little cuts.

I stood up, "I'm going to go get some water for you to drink with the Advil."

I turned away only to be stopped by a weak, quiet, soft voice,

"Please don't leave me."

I spun back around on my heels, "I'm just going to walk over one aisle to get some water for you."

She took a deep breath, "I can go with you."

I immediately went back over to her and sat down leaning against the other side of the aisle.

"No, clean yourself up first and then we can go," It would just make our situation worse if her wounds got infected.

She fumbled with the box of bandages before carefully tearing the wrappers off of one and placing it on the one cut that was bigger than the others.

"The other ones will heal by themselves," she said, still speaking to the floor instead of looking at me.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Um, yeah you're probably right."

We sat there in the silence of an empty store for a few seconds until I spoke up, "So how old are you."

She finally looked up at me, her face filled with surprise at my random question.

"I'm eighteen."

I wasn't really all that surprised, Emily looked like she had been at a college party, before she had changed into the sweats of course.

Her hair was tangled now, but she took a hairband off of her wrist, soon after telling me her age, and tied her hair up in a messy bun.

"That's cool, I'm eighteen too," I replied.

She paused before hesitantly asking me, "So what college do you go to?"

I smiled, "University of Sydney."

For a second it seemed as if she might smile.

But she didn't.

Her eyes did slightly crinkle up at the edges as she said, "That's where I go to."

I shifted my position on the ground, crossing my legs over one another, "That's so cool, what are you majoring in?"

This time she slightly smiled when she replied, " I am getting my masters in early childhood education and am working on getting my teachers degree."

I folded my hands together in my lap, "So what grade do you want to teach?"

Her smile was definite now, "I think it would be really cool to teach first grade, but kindergartners are so cute, and at the same time I think preschoolers would be- I'm rambling on sorry," she apologized looking as if she was embarrassed by her little speech.

I chuckled, "Its ok, I think it's pretty cute that you're passionate about something."

She blushed a bit, trying not to look directly in my eyes.

"So what are you majoring in?" She got the courage to ask.

I thought about all the things I wanted to do in life, trying to pick a single thing seemed like an impossible task, "I want to be a music teacher."

Woah, where did that come from. I've never even thought about being a music teacher, it just came out of my mouth.

"That's sounds like it would be so much fun," she smiled, letting the red hue fade from her cheeks.

"Yeah," I said vaguely, staring off into nothing whilst thinking about actually going for a degree in music.

Then I focused back in on Emily, "Do you want to go get some water now? It's literally an aisle over."

She pulled herself up, smoothing her clothes over with her petite hands.

I smiled over at her and she sent back a forced smile. The kind that is plastered onto your face and your eyes still aren't smiling but your mouth is.

I wonder what her real smile looks like?

a.n.

Ok so it's kind of short (don't kill me) I had writers block and this is kind of just a filler and I promise the next chapter will be longer and I'm on mobile right now so I'll edit it on my computer tomorrow:) ily xx