record shop//lrh

chapter eleven

r e c o r d  s h o p
☽
L U K E

"Well, I live with my father and my step-brother, but they aren't very nice so if I have enough money I'll get a hotel room for a couple nights..." she trailed off.

"So, where were you before you came into my shop crying?"

The game they were playing with the popcorn seemed to be forgotten, but they only had a few pieces of popcorn left anyway.

She stalled for a moment, seeming to be avoiding the question.

"Hey, we're almost out of popcorn, I'll go wash the bowl since there's only a few pieces left."

"No, wait," he grabbed her wrist as she tried to stand up.

Moving the popcorn off of the couch and onto the coffee table in front of it, Hummingbird reluctantly sat down again. This time, closer to Luke.

"Where were you, Hummingbird?"

"At my dad's."

Her eyes were tearing up as Luke let out a shaky breath.

"Who hurt you?"

Her eyes were shut tight, and fresh, hot tears made their way down her face. Luke felt his heart skip a beat, and his anger subsided a small amount. Pulling her into his chest, he took note of how she clung onto him like a baby Koala. He didn't mind, though, it was cute.

"I think I know who hurt you, baby," her breathing started to get labored.

"But it's okay now, you're okay now. I'm here. For you. I'm here for you. Always."

She hugged him tighter, and he reciprocated, pulling her impossibly closer.

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

"But I don't have enough to stay at the hotel anymore. I have to go back. That's why I went back in the first place, but you saw what happened to me. It's not the worst it's ever been, but I don't know what to do."

Luke didn't know what to do either, he's never experienced anything like this. His family was wonderful. Liz, his mum, was absolutely perfect in raising him, as was his dad, Andrew. He had two brothers, Jack and Ben, who constantly picked on him, but they all loved each other, would die for each other. He wished everyone could've grown up with a family like his.

"We'll figure something out, okay? We will, I promise."

"Okay."

☽

She had fallen asleep, resting her head onto Luke's chest. They talked for a bit more, about small things, though. He was trying to get her mind off of the hardships she had to face everyday.

Luke figured out small things like what her favorite food is, which is sushi, to who her role model is, which is Ashton Kutcher.

Soon, they were surrounded in a comfortable silence. Luke saw the trails the tears left on the girl's face, and he felt so angry.

How could anyone hurt her? Such a pretty, smart, witty, all around wonderful, girl.

Luke hadn't realized how late it had gotten while they were talking, but it was dark outside and his phone read 23:43.

She was still wrapped around him, holding on tight. He tightened his arms around her even more as he stood up. He walked down the hall to his bedroom, pulling the covers back and placing her in the comfy bed. He figured she deserves a comfy bed, although he wished he could give her a lot more.

After tucking her in, he grabbed one out of the two pillows that were on the bed, making his way to sleep on the couch, but not before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

☽

hello everyone!

so, the plot is definitely picking up, yeah?

I hope you all are enjoying this book so far. honestly, it's been one of my favorites to write and I love it so much.

the comments, votes, and reads are also so so so wonderful, and they mean the world.

anyway, here's the chapter's question:

if you could meet one person in the world, alive or deceased, who would it be, and why?

I don't have anything else to say in this note, really, haha.

thank you so much for reading and showing support.

I love you all!

-a <3