Alone

17~Baby Bomb~17

Luke dropped me off at my house, so that I could change into my bathing suit and get ready.

I put on my black bikini and shuttered at my body image. I wasn't going to the beach like this, especially with Luke. I slid on a tank top and a pair of short jean shorts, tied my hair in a bun, and grabbed my bag, running for the door.

Luke was already waiting outside in his car, he looked over at me and flashed a nervous smile. I squinted at him as I opened the car door and slid in.

"What's wrong?" I asked setting my bag between my feet.

"N-nothing, I'm just excited," he flashed a shaky smile. I stared at him.

"No Luke, something is wrong,"

"I'm fine, really," again he tried flashing me a reassuring smile, but I just shook my head and looked out the window. He pulled away from my house, slowly at first then moving at the speed limit. My brain had felt suddenly vacant, and cold.

What makes Luke think that he doesn't have to tell me what's wrong with him? I'm his girlfriend for goodness sakes! And he's leaving soon, and I wasn't sure how to cope.

I wasn't sure how long it had taken us to get to the beach, because my mind was on other things. I looked over at Luke, who just happened to be staring at me worriedly.

"Wha-," I cut him off by grabbing my bag, stepping out of the car and slamming the door.

"Nothing," I spat, walking towards the calming waves that washed up to the edge of the shore. Luke jogged after me.

"What is going on with you?" He asked grabbing my wrist. I gave him a cold glare.

"What's wrong with you?" I spat. I saw a tinge of hurt in his eyes, so I had to look at the sand.

"I'm just nervous," he used his fingers to pull my chin up, so I was looking at him.

"What is there to be nervous about?" I said angrily.

"A lot has happened, and I didn't want you to come back to the beach and think about Corey!" He yelled. He tried walking away to hide himself wiping his eyes, but I grabbed the back of his ATL tank, and pulled him back.

"Luke, look at me," he turned around and held a stone look to his face.

"I'm just worried about you," I smiled at him, and wrapped my arms around his torso. In that moment, I felt like a little girl, giving her biggest idol a hug. This boy meant the world to me, in fact, he was my world. He hugged me and rubbed my back.

"Thank you Luke," I said into his chest. I heard him lightly chuckle, then he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. He sprinted for the ocean and ran right in. I screamed and kicked, all playfully.

A full day at the beach brought home a tired Luke and Winny. On the way back to my house, I fell asleep in the passenger seat of Luke's car. I woke up in my bed and tucked into Luke's side. He had carried me from the car and to my bed. I sat up and scratched my head.

The house was unusually quiet. I slowly moved from under Luke's arm and tiptoed out of my room and down the stairs.

"Joy?" I whispered. There was no reply. I squinted my eyes so that they would adjust to the dark a little faster than they were. I sighed and walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bag of Cracker Chips. I sat down at the table and examined the box. I couldn't decide if I really wanted to eat or not, I shook my head and put the box back in the cabinet. I sighed and looked around.

My eyes had found their way to a faint glow from the stairs that led to the basement. My heart started pounding, as my head started reeling through the possibilities of what might be down there. Maybe it was a burglar or a hobo. Either way, I tip toed into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife that I could find and tip toed back to the top of the stairs.