Make it Stop ⇼ Luke Hemmings

Eighteen.

Luke and I are sat at the kitchen table with mum and Owen. It was severely awkward, as we showed up late and got quite an earful from Owen about how ‘it’s not polite to come late for dinner.’ and that she ‘made it extra special for Luke and I.’ and we ‘don’t care enough to appreciate her hard work.’ Despite the awkward confrontation, Luke and I were still in a light hearted mood, giving each other silly smiles and making faces across the table as Owen and mum went on about their days. Towards the end of dinner, Owen turned to Luke and I.

“Luke, have you decided what you want to do after school?” He asked.

“Uhm…” Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I have no idea…” His voice trailed off as he glanced at me. Owen raised an eyebrow.

“It just seems time to figure it out is all.” He cockily replied, earning a sigh from me and an interruption from mum.

“Oh! Romina used to want to be a beautician when she was younger!” Mum pointed out. “Do you still want to do that, honey?”

“Yeah.” I rasped, staring down at my empty plate. Excusing myself, I put my plate in the sink and waited for Luke to finish.

“Are you two going to stay for dessert? I’m making brownies.” Mum asked, changing the subject.

“We actually promised Liz that we’d come back. She’s rented some films.” I lied, staring at Luke as he put his dish away.

“Thank you anyways.” He smiled. “My mum just misses me is all.” Before any more words could be exchanged, I pulled Luke out of my house and we began to walk to his.

***

About halfway through the film we weren’t really paying attention to, I excused myself from Luke, his brothers, and his dad to get a glass of water. I found Liz in the kitchen, cooking dessert.

“Do you need some help?” I asked, as I wasn’t interested in the film anyways.

“That’d be lovely!” She smiled, setting her bowl down and pulling a cupcake tin out. “Could you fill these with that batter?” Grabbing the bowl, I obliged. Liz continued mixing her homemade frosting. I was so succumbed in trying to perfectly fill the tin, I was startled when Liz began to speak.

"Romy, darling?" She asked. "Can I be honest with you?" She stared at me with a sweet smile.

"Of course." I returned her smile as a look crossed Liz's face that told me she was thinking.

"Well, things haven't particularly been easy around here lately, with Andrew's work calling an emergency trip, and him taking Jack, Ben, and I along and leaving Luke so he could stay in school. Now his grandmother is ill, I'm sure he's told you already." I nodded slowly, allowing her to continue. "Romy, dear... Lucas was just do sad before we left. He's been sad for such a long time, and I'm not quite sure why, but when we came back, he was smiling and he was happy again." She finally stopped stirring and sighed. "I just wanted to thank you so much for making my baby boy happy." I was at a loss for words, setting the bowl down and listening attentively. "I'm so glad you and Luke are dating and have each other. You're the daughter I've always wanted." I couldn't help but tear up as Liz pulled me into a hug.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice asked, entering the kitchen. We pulled apart to see Luke, strolling over and wrapping his arms around me as Liz and I went back to work, his chest pressed to my back as his chin set on my shoulder.

"We were having a heart to heart." Liz smiled at us, laughing lightly.

"Your mum loves me!" I exclaimed, proudly, struggling to fill the cupcake tin with Luke's body pressed to mine.