never be » lrh book one

Chapter 14

S U K E
V S .
M A L U M

Sam's POV

My phone ringing jolts me awake. I groan and reach around to find it. When I take a look at my alarm clock, it says it's 12:30am. I know it's not that late, but I was knocked out cold. I stayed up really late and woke up really early yesterday. I check the name on my phone, and read Luke. Why the fuck would he be calling so late? I answer before the the call drops, and place my phone by my ear.

"Sam? Sam oh my God. I can't breathe. I... I can't breathe." He cries immediately. I jump up in bed, completely overwhelmed with worry. His breaths are shaky and I hear him crying quietly.

"What is it Luke? Do you want me to come over?" I ask quickly, becoming more and more concerned with his silence.

"I.. Ok-kay. C-Can you meet m-me on my front p-porch?" He asks in a weak voice, sniffling.

"Yes. I'll be there in a minute." I reply, getting out of bed and running out of my room. I jump down the stairs and slip on my flip flops, and open my front door. I run through my yard and Luke's and as I slow down, he steps out onto his porch. I can tell right away there's something terribly wrong.

"Luke, what happened?" I ask immediately. He shakes his head and wipes his eyes, staring at his feet. I step into the light from the porch and look at him. His head hangs and tears fall from his eyes straight to the ground.

"It's Jack and B-Ben. They g-got in an accident. M-mum and Dad left 20 minutes ago. I.. I can't lose m-my brothers." He whispers, his voice breaking with every word. His shoulders shake as he sobs and runs a hand through his hair.

I grab Luke's wrist and pull him towards me. I guide his hand around my body and I loop my arms around his lanky torso. He crashes into me, his body becoming heavier as he relaxed against me. He sobs fairly loudly into my ear, and I squeeze him as tight as I can without hurting him.

"Lukey, I know it hurts. I know it does. You haven't lost them yet though. I'm sure they're fine. They're in good hands." I reassure him, rubbing small circles on his back. He sniffles and begins to breathe heavily.

"C-can I spend t-the night at your h-house? I can't b-be alone right n-now." He croaks, moving his head from my shoulder and looking at me. His eyes are extremely bloodshot and his face is blotchy. I nod my head and interlace my fingers with his.

"You can sleep in my bed with me too, if you want." I tell him as I pull him toward my house. He nods, remaining silent. I know he's still worried about Ben and Jack, but I'm sure they'll be okay.

I lead Luke inside and guide him up the stairs. It's almost as if he doesn't have a brain, because he waddles slowly and has the most confused look on his face. It's the shock. I pull him into my room and let him lie down on the bed. Luckily he doesn't lay on the side I usually sleep on. I adjust the blanket so he's all covered up and get in bed beside him. Right away he snuggles up beside me and begins to cry again. This time it's not as intense, but I can feel the warmth of his tears on my skin. I rub soothing circles on his back and whisper things like "it's going to be okay."

Eventually his small little sobs turn into snores, and I know I can let myself fall asleep. I dare not move, but I assume it's around 1AM. I don't worry too much about it. All I do is let myself sleep again.

* * *

This time my alarm clock wakes me up. Luke groans beside me, flipping over onto his stomach and pulling his pillow over his head. I silence the clock and get up.

"Luke, wake up. We've got to go to school." I say, ripping the covers off him. I hate to be so harsh, but that's the only thing that'll make him move.

"Ugh, okay, fine." He grumbles, taking the pillow off his head and getting up. He checks his phone for messages and instantly his face lights up.

"They're okay!" He exclaims, jumping up and smiling.

"I told you so," I reply, winking at him. He pulls me into a quick hug then releases me.

"Shit, I've got to go change. My parents are in Adelaide still. Can I drive you to school?" He asks me as I walk into the bathroom.

"Sure, but I'm kinda slow so take your time." I tell him, closing the bathroom door. I hear his footsteps leave and I immediately hurry into the shower. I wash up as fast as I can and race out of the bathroom to get dressed. Then I quickly throw on my usual makeup and do my hair. I grab my phone from my nightstand and run downstairs. After grabbing my bag, I throw on my favorite pair of shoes and walk outside. Luke sits in his car in my driveway, checking himself out in the mirror.

"Tool," I say, getting into the car and placing my bag at my feet.

"Am not," Luke fires back as he pulls out of my driveway.

"Are too," I counter, giggling. Luke just laughs and turns the radio up. I don't know what it is about these Aussie boys, but they love blaring music. No matter how early or late it is.

When we reach school, Luke and I walk inside and find Michael and Calum in the cafeteria trying to do their math homework. Luke and I crack up as they write down random answers quickly. They get up and start walking with us to our lockers, which are luckily very close.

"You guys are so fucked. If you keep doing that, you're gonna be dumber than me." Luke teases them as we walk to our lockers.

"No, Luke. No one's dumber than you." Michael shoots back, causing Calum and I to burst out laughing. Luke fake outs and I throw my arm across his shoulders.

"It's okay Luke. You're smarter than me." I tell him, causing him to smile at me. This small gesture causes Michael and Calum to begin teasing Luke and I.

"Awww newly weds!" Calum cheers, smiling at us.

"#Suke!" Michael exclaims, running in front of us and making a heart with his hands.

"Shut up, Malum. At least we haven't willingly made out." Luke says, causing Michael and Calum to fall silent. Luke and I high five as we reach out lockers.

"We won that fight." I state, putting in my combination.

"Hell yeah. Did you see the look on their faces? God, that was priceless." Luke cracked up as he twisted his lock.

I look over at Luke and see him smiling to himself. Seeing that boy smile makes me realize how good the world can be sometimes. You can be torn apart by something so easily and quickly recover. With the help of people you love, you can be invincible.