Control » l.h

Chapter Thirty-Two

We were scared how Luke would react if we told him we talked to his mom and made lunch plans so instead, we just told Michael and Ashton. Calum and I had made a plan that we'd drive halfway there before bringing it up to Luke. So we all got into the car they'd picked me up in the night they got me out of the hospital and we set off to Liz's place. Luke didn't seem to notice anything familiar because he didn't say anything about it. He actually seemed pretty content as he stared out the window with one arm slung over my shoulder. Michael was sitting on my other side while Ashton drove and Calum sat shotgun.

"So why are we going on this road trip again?" Luke wondered and I looked nervously around the car, hoping someone else would tell him. "It can't just be because you all wanted to get out of the house because Michael gets car sick."

"Alright, Luke," Calum sighed, turning around in his seat. "You wanna know the truth?"

Luke scrunched his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"So, I explained to Jemma how you've been afraid to talk to your mom-"

"You talked to my mom?" he burst before Calum could even say anything else.

I put a hand on his stomach and tried to get him to relax. "Luke, Luke, listen; she wants to see you. She really misses you."

His expression softened and he looked at me with wide eyes like he was a child. "She does?"

I nodded and smiled. "We talked to her yesterday and she asked if we could take you to her house for lunch today so that's where we're headed."

He began to smile. "I'm going to see my mom? What about Jack and Ben?" Then he frowned. "Please say my dad isn't still there."

"Yes, no, and no," Calum replied all of Luke's questions. "Jack and Ben moved out and Liz kicked Andy out the night you...you know."

"But this is a big step," Ashton added in. "I'm sure eventually your brothers will want to see you too. But seeing your mom is huge, man."

Luke nodded and looked out the window. "Yeah. I'm gonna see my mom."

"Sorry to ruin the moment but did anyone pack any Tums or something?" Michael asked from next to me and I decided it would be best to scoot away from him as much as I could.

~*~

"Ready?" Ashton asked, clapping Luke on the shoulder. We were standing in front of Liz's house, waiting for Luke to give the okay.

"Yeah," he breathed with a final nod. "Let's do this."

We walked up the steps and across the porch to the door. Calum knocked like he had yesterday and then stood behind me and Luke. I intertwined our hands as he stared nervously at the door, biting his lip. When the door began to open he jumped slightly and sucked in a breath. Liz stood there and froze, taking in her son that she hadn't seen in years.

"Hi, mom." Luke choked out quietly.

"Hi, Luke." she replied, holding her hand to her chest.

Finally, she pushed passed the screen door and took Luke into her arms. They rocked back and forth slightly as they embraced and cried a little bit. I stepped back and let them have their moment that almost made me cry. It was so sweet to see Luke and Liz reunited after so long.

They pulled away after a minute, wiping their eyes and sniffing and trying to regain themselves. Liz held the screen door open again and gestured for us to go inside. "Please, come in. Lunch is almost ready."

Luke stepped inside first. I said a quick hello to Liz before following right behind him. Michael and Ashton came after me, hugging Liz and exchanging how are yous, and then Calum. We gathered at the kitchen table again and Luke looked around, mostly trying to study the photos on the walls. He'd look at one and smile for a moment before his eyes moved to another and he smiled at that one too.

"So what have you all been up to?" Liz asked as she went over to the stove that had a pan on it that was making sizzling noises. The house smelled amazing.

We all shared looks from around the table. We obviously weren't going to tell her what we were really up to - at least not now. So Michael just smiled politely and said, "We haven't really done anything lately. We all live together but nothing much happens."

"It's basically how we used to be," Ashton shrugged. "Just plus a girl, which is weird for us, isn't it?"

Liz let out a bright laugh. "Oh, you boys had girlfriends before; don't make it off like you couldn't get girls to talk to you. Although, it's still a wonder to me that you did."

"Hey, I had a girlfriend for-"

"No one cared how long you dated her because no one liked her." Michael told Luke.

I tried not to feel left out because they were catching up and it was cute. So instead, I focused on the pictures on the walls. There were a lot of Luke when he was younger with his brothers - I noticed there were none that had his dad in them. I wondered if Jack and Ben hated their father just as much as Luke and Liz.

"Alright, well I hope you're all hungry," Liz pulled me from my thoughts as she brought over a pan that contained fried chicken. "Because I have chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and biscuits."

My stomach growled loudly as I realized I hadn't had a very good home-cooked meal in ages. Sure, one of the boys would try to make something but, like I said, I hadn't had a good home-cooked meal. Besides, mostly everything was microwaved or frozen first, like the pizzas Michael would make.

Liz brought over the bowls of potatoes and corn before bringing over plates, forks, knives, and napkins for everyone. We passed them around the table as she brought over a pan of biscuits covered in honey. The boys dove in, covering their plates in food. I reached in to get food before they ate it all. Liz just sat back in her seat between her son and Ashton, and let us take what we wanted before she got anything for herself.

While we were eating, everyone made small-talk. I mostly kept quiet unless questions were directed at me because I wanted Luke and his friends to catch up with Mrs Hemmings. But when Liz set her silverware down and the air seemed to get a serious feel to it, I knew I might have to intervene.

"Luke," Liz said cautiously. "When Calum and Jemma stopped by yesterday, we talked about your...powers. And the adoption thing came up and-"

"What adoption thing?" Luke cut in.

She furrowed her eyebrows together. "You don't remember?" Luke shook his head. "But you were three, you must've remembered something from the adoption center." she said.

"At this point, I feel like I shouldn't be shocked that this is getting weird." Michael interjected, resting his chin in his hand as he rested his elbow on the table.

"Well, I started thinking," Liz continued. "And I know you probably want answers, so I found the address to the adoption center. Maybe they can help you figure out why you are the way you are."

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i'm sorry for not updating and putting this on hold but i just didn't know where i wanted the story to go. but now i do and i've decided this is going to be a two-part story and the first part ends at this chapter. the next book will be luke and jemma getting answers as to why they are the way they are and all that interesting stuff. idk when i'll start that story since i have so many others but i'll post about it here when i do. thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed it xx