Runaway. || Luke Hemmings

Chapter 19

"Morning." I said softly, shaking Luke awake as I yawned and sat up. He was still in the same position as I had last seen him in, crouched with his head against his knees, blocking out the world.

I didn't really know what to expect from Luke, but I decided that maybe I should be quiet and ask him about it another day instead of today. Part of me thought he was talking about his mother, but could he really miss her that much after so many years of not having her around? I'm sure if that was me I would be over it faster than that, although we all know that loss stays with you forever, it doesn't just disappear. After all, my mom lives far away from me now and I guess when we were younger we just didn't develop that special bond that most people had with their parents as children. Or maybe it was a girl. As far as I knew, Luke didn't have a girlfriend. Maybe it was an ex, or something. But either way I did want to find out what was bugging him, in case I could help in some way.

He sniffled but didn't answer me, so I got up and sat beside him, hoping that maybe he'd say something first. He didn't, so I did.

"Luke?"

He groaned in return, so I nodded and took it as a yes.

"What's up?"

"It's nothing, okay?" he said firmly, then mumbled. "I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes and moved closer to him, speaking close to his ear. "No you're not." I shook his arm and waited for his head to pop up, but it didn't. "I just want to help you, Luke. That's all. Y-you can trust me, you know."

"It's just.." he began, lifting his head and running his hand quickly through his hair. "I don't know what to do with myself anymore."

Silence is a funny thing. It speaks more words than humans could ever speak. It shows the trueness of life and speaks minds. And right now, I could understand every word of I and Luke's  silence. I wandered my eyes around for a while and picked at my top, the bright one that I had taken off in the pond last night to swim. The soft leaves rustled around us like firm water against rocks, and my hair blew sideways across my face, slightly interrupting my vision. I looked up,  opened my mouth, then shut it again before I really decided what I should say.

"Is it about your mother?" I cleared my throat and asked quietly. I didn't really know if it was a good idea to bring it up or not, I hadn't really had many conversations about his late parents with him.

"No.." he trailed off, then looked at me again. "Promise you won't..judge."

I shook my head. "Of course not."

He took a deep sigh. "It was an ex-girlfriend. She was-well, she came across as a really happy, outgoing girl who spoke to everyone." Then he paused, let out a small grin, frowned. "It's funny how love isn't strong enough to overpower people's dark minds, right?" he looked down quietly, began shaking his head almost in disbelief. "She killed herself."

I shook my head, the moment the words left his mouth somehow transferring me back to that dark place I had been in almost a year ago. The way I thought I would never escape his holds, I thought I was a dead girl. I squeezed my eyes shut, and my mind flashed white.

*Flashback*

I was back in the bedroom. His bedroom.

I folded my hands and carefully eyed the knife on my bedside locker, disguised by a dozen tissues so that nobody would find it. I kept it in a shoebox underneath my bed, just in case he searched my bedroom and found it and hurt me for what I've done. But come to think of it, what had I done? I had hopelessly fallen in love with a criminal. A killer. It wasn't my fault, you don't get to choose who you fall in love with. It just happens. For others, slowly. For me, I fell hard. And fast. It's just the way I am. It's the way I was created.