Living With Luke // 5SOS (Punk Luke Hemmings)

3. Cinderella and Apologies

Luke's POV

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That night at dinner, Mia and I sat across each other, not saying a word. Delilah sat next to her and munched on some peas, twisting her fork and staring at it.

Mom raised her eyebrow. "Mia? Luke? You two haven't said anything. Is something wrong?"

Mia looked up. "Hm? Oh, no. Everything's okay." I nodded and stabbed my fork through a carrot.

"Luke? Did you say something-"

"No. Leave me alone." I snapped, dropping my fork and standing up, scraping my chair back.

"Luke Robert Hemmings! Sit back down this instant." My dad gave me a hard look.

I clenched my jaw. "No. I'm going to my room."

Delilah's eyes widened as she looked up at me. "But Luke, you always play with me after we eat. If you go upstairs, you'll leave me alone again."

I saw Mia's face turn into a look of guilt as I took a deep breath. "I-not today, Delilah."

Her eyes shone with tears and she put her fork down. "But Luke we always play. And then you read me a bedtime story and then you give me a kiss and I go to sleep."

I gulped, looking away and sitting back down. Why the fuck was she so sensitive?

I noticed Mia look down at her plate and coughed. "Um, excuse me for a second." She stood up quickly and jogged upstairs.

Mom frowned. "Is she alright?"

Dad nodded and put a hand on my mom's shoulder. "She'll be fine."

I sighed and smiled a little at Delilah while she giggled and touched my hand. "Thank you!"

Fifteen minutes passed and Mia didn't come back down. We finished eating as my mom picked up our plates and ran the tap, placing them in the sink. My dad sat down to watch some TV and Delilah held my hand, leading me upstairs to her room.

She hopped onto her bed and pointed to a book. "I'm tired. Can you read me a story, Luke? Pleaseee?"

I picked up the book and read the title. Cinderella was her favorite book and I read it to her every night before she went to bed.

"Okay. Get changed first, though." I picked out some small pink pyjamas with hearts dotted all over them and left the room. I waited for her and she called me back in. I closed the door and shut off her main light and turned on the butterfly shaped lamp, sitting at the edge of her bed.

I opened the book and began reading. "Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Cinderella. She lived with her father because her mother died a long time ago. Cinderella always played with her father before he married again." I turned the page as Delilah closed her eyes.

"Cinderella's father married a woman with two daughters already. A few months later, her father was sick and not long after, died. Cinderella was heartbroken. After that, her stepmother made her do all the work in the house and she turned into a servant in her own home. Cinderella's step sisters also treated her badly. They always called her names and laughed at her. She felt so alone."

I paused for a few seconds and Delilah's eyes shot open again. "Luke! Why'd you stop?"

I raised my eyebrows. "I thought you were asleep." I continued, flipping the page again.

"One day, the mail carrier arrived and handed Cinderella an envelope. She went upstairs and gave it to her stepmother. Her eyes widened as she read what the letter said. "It's an invitation! To the Prince's ball tomorrow night!" The step sisters got excited and started yelling at each other. "He's going to marry me!" Cinderella couldn't believe it. "May I come?" She asked. They all paused and the step sisters burst out laughing. "Maybe. If you finish all your work in time." The stepmother said. So Cinderella set to work the next day and scrubbed the floor clean, dusted the plates and cleaned the entire house. But there was one problem. She didn't have a dress."