Warning: this book will reference domestic violence
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Chapter One
Luke watched as the water turned red as he rubbed at the stained blood on his skin. His hands were held in front of him, the cuts becoming clearer as the water washed away the dried blood and revealed the damage.
He knew his head had took most of the damage however, a dark purple bruise already appearing below his eye and the cut by his hairline was threatening to release another load of blood. His blood curls had already been mixed with the dark red, making his hair stick together in clumps and cover his eyes as the water freely fell onto his head.
The knock at the door startled him. Maybe he had been in the shower longer than expected, he thought as his eyes drifted to the clock on the wall.
"Are you okay in there?" He gently turned the handle on the shower, stopping the water and reaching for the nearest towel. He cringed as the soft white material turned red as he wrapped it around him, while he reached for the door handle and opened it.
Lizzie smiled softly as he opened the door. She was comforting, a reminder of his own grandmother back home in Sydney.
However, this wasn't his grandmother and this wasn't Sydney.
Instead, Luke had ended up at a small coastal town in Australia, far from the city life he was used to with growing up in Sydney. It was only when he walked off the bus, hood up to cover the state of his face and hands, did he realise he had no where to stay and about fifty dollars to his name.
He had been in such a rush when leaving the house that he had managed to grab about five changes of clothes, shoving them into a backpack and a phone charger. However, when he had gone to grab his phone, it had been left smashed on the floor.
He had made sure to bring his dog, Max, too. He would rather stay in that hell than leave his dog behind.
So Max had stuck out the long bus journey with him, sat under his legs like the good boy he was while Luke avoided eye contact with any kind stranger that may have tried to take him to the hospital. Because a hospital was a bad idea, any place that brought up his identity would have been a perfect place for him to be tracked down, so fixing his own wounds was his only option.
"Im sorry." Luke suddenly remembered he wasn't alone in the room. He was at an elderly women's house that he had met approximately half an hour ago, she had seen him on the side of the road, starring helplessly as the bus departed and left him in the small town that he wasn't used to. Part of him had wanted to chase after the bus and go back to Sydney, however he knew that staying in Sydney was no longer safe. "Me and Max will leave as soon as I'm dressed-"
When she had seen his bruises and the blood covering his face, she had ushered him into her home which was only a short walk from the bus drop off. Luke couldn't help but notice how small and homely this town was, with only a few houses around and a lake with one store nearby, a lot different to Sydney.
