Purgatory (Luke Hemmings)

0.6

The ride back home with my parents was one of the most awkward and tense things I had ever had to go through. My father's knuckles were white on the steering wheel and my mother sniffled frequently; after a few minutes I pulled my phone out of my pocket and just put my6 headphones in, even though the sound of Evanescence and Green Day couldn't keep away the dirty looks my parents still shot me and Michael in the side-view and rear-view windows.

When we finally got back to the house, Michael and I practically leaped out of the car, marching to the door, and we were just leading up to our rooms when they called us back down. "No, no! You two come back here, we're not finished with you yet!" My mother called when I has half-way up the stairs, Michael right on my tail.

We trudged back into the living room, sitting down next to each other on the couch while our parents stood, Luke standing behind me, his hands on my shoulders. "Haven't you had enough of us for one night?" Michael groaned, running his fingers though his bright green hair.

They ignored him. "If you both don't want to go to therapy as just the two of you, you can always go to group counselling-" My father began.

"I don't fucking need or want group fucking counselling! I am fucking fine! Why aren't you just happy with me as I am? This is me now, you'll never be able to change me," Michael frowned. I nodded in agreement.

Dad sighed. "Stop lying to yourselves. You both know damn well that either of you never even thought about going into a rebellious teen phase up until that boy came along-"

"Don't you dare call him 'That boy', because 'that boy' was the only person there for us when neither of you were," Michael spat back. I nodded again, currently tonguetied.

"What are you saying, Michael? We've always been here for both of you-"

"No, you haven't. Look at us all, mom! You're not even here for us right now, you're just trying to shove us into therapy! You think that talking to some random stranger who gets paid to pretend to care about us for a hour a couple times a week is just going to fix us. Well, I have a fucking newsflash for you. It's not." I burst out. Michael leaned back into the chair and started playing a game on his phone, all interest lost in this conversation.

After a few seconds Dad sighed again. "How much?" He asked us. I frowned.

"How much for what?" I asked him. Michael glanced up from his phone, a confused look on his face.

"How much will it take to get you both to go?" He asked. I glanced at Michael. Was he honestly bribing us right now? "Alright. Let's make a deal." My father began again. Michael put his phone back in his pocket, trying hard to hide the smirk that was growing on his face. "If you both go to group counselling for the rest of the summer..." Dad stopped and took a deep breath before he continued. "I'll get you each a MacBook or iPad, or whatever the hell those fancy little shits are c-"

"I want a PS4, take it or leave it," Michael cut him of, his eyes wide. Dad took a deep breath and nodded.

"What do you want for it, Meredith?" Hee asked me next. I frowned. I really didn't want anything, I already had a car, a computer and an iPhone, what more could I ask for.

I just shrugged. "I'm fine, I guess. I'll just go if Mikey goes," I muttered. Dad nodded, looking a little relieved.

"Great! You should both be leaving then, they start it in about 20 minutes," he grinned. I frowned again.

"What? We have to go tonight?" I sputtered. I was already feeling a little overwhelmed from everything that had happened today, I didn't know if I could handle more.

Mom nodded. "Yes, every night until school starts, that was the deal." I groaned. "It's at the church we'll be going to every Sunday now, just about 4 blocks down-"

"Wait, church was not part of the deal, I'm not going to church!" Michael protested, feeling his face redden.

"We'll talk about this later, right now, you both need to get going if you're gonna be on time! Now go! Shoo!" I huffed and went after Mikey out the door, feeling a little more content knowing that Luke was right behind me, and I smiled knowing that if he could, he would have been holding my hand.

-

"I swear to fucking God, if Dad keeps talking about Luke that way, I'm going to fucking punch him in the fucking throat," Michael grumbled as we drove. I couldn't blame him. Dad never liked Luke, and hardly ever even said his name, just call him "that boy" or to his face "young man."

I nodded in reply, too busy thinking about the first time our parents met Luke, which certainly was not the happiest. It was around the same time last year, Mikey and I were completely wasted and high out of our skulls, and Luke had to drive us home.

"I belieive I can flyyyyy," Michael sang as Luke parked in front of our house. "I believe I can touch the skyyyyyyy." I joined in with him and we sang the song in unison, Luke trying desperately to shut us up so he could sneak us back into our own house.

"Guys! Shut the fuck up, you're going to fucking bury yourselves! Stop it, this is fucking serious! Shut the fuck up, fuckin' hell!" Luke screamed at us, finally suceeding in quieting us down.

He had to drag me out of the car, and I had helped him pull Michael out, just in time for him to just completely puke all over our drvieway. "Michael, if you get that shit on my car, I will fucking murder you," Luke had whined while I pushed Mikey's fringe out of his eyes, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"I'm sorry... Oh God, I think l'm gonna be sick," Michael had groaned, this time making it to the rose bushes that our mom loved planting. When he finally finished, his body being held upright by Luke, I put my key in the lock, opening the door as soundlessly as I could. I helped Luke carry Michael inside and shut the door behind us, just in time to hear a light being clicked on.

"Where in God's name have the both of you been? It's after 4 o'clock in the morning!" Mom yelled. "And who is this? Young man, you shouldn't be driving while under the influence of alcohol!"

Luke had blushed. "Ma'am, I am really sorry, it's my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"Yes, young man, it is your fault, don't you ever return my children this late to me again-"

"Mom! Can we just cut it out right now, Michael is sick!" I screamed, watching at how his complexion had turned from his naturally pale color to a sickly green.

"Fine, let's get him up to bed." She turned to Luke. "If you're too drunk to drive, you're welcome to stay in the guest bedroom," Mom added coldly. Luke furrowed his brow, frowning as he helped my mother and I carry/drag Michael up the stairs, assisting us in laying him donw on his bed beofre he finally turned to me.

"I'll see you in school, baby, yeah?" He asked me, having the arrogant smirk on his face that I had loved so much. He kissed my cheek even though both of our breaths probably reeked of alcohol and marijuana before he left, just to aggravate my mom, in my opinion.

"You alright, Mer?" Mikey asked me, snapping me out of my flashback. I nodded, even though I really wasn't fine at all. Deep down, I had wished everyday that I woud just wake up from this, that someone would just tell me this was all just a dream, and that I would feel Luke's arms around me again. I would have given anything just to hear his heart beat in time with mine just one more time.

"We're here, Meredith. You ready to talk about our stupid fuckin' feelings?" Mikey grinned. Luke chuckled behind me in the backseat, unbeknowest to Mikey, and the rest of the world for that matter.

"Sure." It wasn't the first lie I had ever told.

-

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Next chapter is Group Therapy! And yeah, their parent's here are crazy haha, don't forget to comment and vote!!