Purgatory (Luke Hemmings)

0.9

We drove in silence, listening to The Ramones music that blared out of the radio. I had always found them fascinating, and had been addicted to listening to them ever since I was around 12 years old. Or when I figured out what Youtube was.

We finally got the the record store, and I parked sloppily, feeling to lazy to do it correctly. If I got a ticket, I got a ticket. My parents would just pay for it anyway. "Hm," Luke started. " thought you would be in a better mood after this morning," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck nervously. I ignored him, mostly because I didn't want all the people around us to think I was crazier than I was by talking to what they could only see: Nothing.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me! This motherfucker is everywhere!" I heard Luke yell behind me, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw him.

"Meredith? Hey!" Ashton chirped, the grin that I was starting to adore on his face. Luke scoffed and folded his arms, mumbling obscenities under his breath while Ashton pulled me into a tight hug.

I hugged him back, trying to pretend like I didn't feel Luke's glare on us. If looks could kill, Ashton would have been slaughter. Painfully.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" I asked him, his smile infectious.

"I work here for the summer actually," he explained. "Let me know if you need any help finding anything, are you looking for anything in particular?' He chirped at me. I glanced at Luke quickly and saw he was the most furious I had ever seen him.

I had no clue where anything I was looking for was, but I turned down his help for Luke's sake. "No, I'll be fine, thanks though," I tried to brush him off casually, but it was hard from the way Luke was staring us down. I wondered if Ashton could feel his eyes boring into us, even though he couldn't see him. Ashton nodded and walked back behind the registering, picking up a book and pretending to read it, even though I could see his eyes staying glued to one spot on the page.

"I can't stand this fucking boy," Luke muttered under his breath. When we were out of earshot and view I hissed back, "Luke, you don't even know him, leave him alone!"

"I don't fucking like him! He's just trying to replace me!" I frowned at how he was starting to raise his voice at me. I knew that only I could hear him, but I still didn't appreciate being disrespected like that.

"He is not trying to replace you, he doesn't even know about you! Now shut the fuck up about it, drop it and leave it alone!" I whispered back to him, trying not to yell. I did not want to know what the outcome would be if Ashton caught me yelling at the stack of CD's beside me.

Luke folded his arms beside me. "Fine. Do whatever you fucking wanna, see if I fucking care. You're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

I frowned."What the hell are you talking about? You're not going anywhere, you're too much of a asshole to leave me alone," I muttered the last part under my breath.

"You think so?" He muttered back to me, standing bhind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Let's see how much of an asshole I am then," he whispered again, kissing my ear softly before turning and leaving, walking straight out the front door just as another person was walking in.

I just sighed under my breath. He'll be back, I thought to myself. Even though a little voice in the back of my mind told me differently.

I did find what I was looking for though: The 1975's latest album, and old Elton John CD, and The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour record, since I knew Luke would want to listen to that once he came back. I sighed and stole a quick look around me, making sure Luke hadn't come back. He hadn't. I was missing him a little bit already, even though he was even more annoying as a ghost and acted like an asshole whenever Ashton was concerned.

"You alright, Mer? You seem a little preoccupied," Ashton noted as I put my stuff up on to the register. I forced a smile on my face.

"Yeah, I'm alright, I'm fine." I muttered, running my fingers through my short hair., forgetting about my scars for a moment. I watched in horror as he caught a glimpse of them and his eyes widened. I quickly pulled my sleeves down and tried to change the subject. "Um, I love your umm, dimples, they're so cute," I blurted out instantly, almost wishing I hadn't.

He blushed a deep shade of red and grinned again, flashing me the dimples I was just doting on. "Thank you, I get that a lot. I don't like them much, to be honest. This is gonna be $47:98, by the way," he added, putting my newly bought items in a bag. I swiped my mom's credit cards and grabbed the bag, a smile growing on my face.

"Don't, they're adorable. I'll see you later tonight, right?" I asked as I made my way to the door.

"What? Oh, um, yeah, that's right, of course," he stuttered, again looking down anxiously at the wristbands he wore. I felt the smile flutter from my lips. The way he looked at his wrists was the same way I looked at mine. I forced the same back on my face, for his sake. If he wanted to tell me why he did what I thought he did, he would tell me on his own, when he's good and ready. Trying to force secrets out of someone only makes it worse. I would know.

"Bye, Ashton. Hopefully Flin doesn't make us all want to kick his ass tonight," I said, wishing I hadn't. My jokes were never funny, but he laughed anyway.

"Yeah. Yeah, I hope so too," He muttered back, but some of the light was gone from his eyes. And that night I relapsed again because I thought it was my fault.

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Hey there, sugar nuggets! New chapter for Heaven Knows is up now, as well as the final chapter of Fading! And go check out my new story if you haven't already, it's called Sex Addict!