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Chapter Two Luke starred ahead at the small harbour. The view was beautiful, a stark contrast to his bruised face and the memories in his mind. Max trailed the area in front of him, enjoying the grass and water, content with a change of scenery.
He had woke up early, due to the fact that the bright Australian sun had seeped through the gaps in Lizzie's curtains.
He had slept about two hours overall, waking up at every slight sound that would have both him and Max looking around the dark room as if someone was there. Of course, nobody was.
"Your dog is really cute!" He glanced up to see a small child a few feet away from him. She had dirty blonde hair that was tied back and styled into a plait. A pair of bright yellow converses were on her feet, and a bow in her hair to match.
She was looking at Max as if he was the greatest creature she had ever seen.
"What's his name?" She asked as she took a seat on the wall that he was sat on, legs swinging back and fourth as she did.
"Max." Luke replied simply, a small smile on his face as he watched Max jump up excitedly as the little girl reached forward and started stroking behind his ear. "He likes you."
She giggled at that, "Tell him I like him too."
Luke's thoughts were cut off by the sound of an extra voice, both him and the kid beside him turned their heads to see a boy, similar height and age to the girl beside him, starring at the blonde girl. "Olivia! You shouldn't run off..." He huffed.
The boy had soft dirty blonde curls which was swept across his forehead, covering the frown that was currently going on.
"Daddy said you're not allowed to boss me around." The girl stuck her tongue out at, who Luke figured was her brother, since they looked almost identical in appearances.
He couldn't help think of his siblings back home, being the middle child he was used to being teased but ultimately loved. Seeing the two children bicker with each other, brought back memories he wish he still had.
"I'm sorry if my sister spoilt your private time." The boy said, rather politely. "She's the worse twin." Twins, makes sense.
Luke was about to object, because of course he didn't mind, but he stopped when he noticed a guy heading in their direction. All Luke needed to do was look at the kids and then to man to know that he was the dad, they were his mini doubles. The girl however, confirmed this as she set off running and landed in the mans hold, while screaming "daddy!" happily.
"C'mon we need to-" he paused when he noticed his son stood beside Luke, the blonde awkwardly shuffling away from the boy, stranger danger and all. He patted his leg and Max came up and sat beside him. "Oh hey. You're a new face."
Luke swallowed his anxiety and managed a smile, nodding his head as he slowly figured out what the guy had said.
"Sorry, it's just not everyday we see new people here." The man chuckled, still holding his daughter in one strong grip. "Small town, and all." He moved a little closer and held his hand out to shake, "Im Ashton."
His nice name matched his nice face. His hair was curly like his children's, and a similar warm smile. "I'm Luke." He smiled.
"And this is Sophie and Jaxon." Ashton smiled and nodded towards his twins who were distracted by Max, both of them fighting over who could get closer to him. Ashton rolled his eyes shrugged, "They're five and have a shared obsession with dogs." He then motioned to Max, "Sorry about that."
"That's okay." Luke laughed, "Max will love the attention."
Ashton's smile reached his eyes as he starred back at Luke, making the blonde suddenly feel self conscious. After all, he had a purple bruise covering his eye and he imagined that wasn't the most welcoming appearance to have, especially since he was hanging around this guys kids.
However, Ashton didn't seem to be off put, he seemed to he genuinely smiling at him.
"Well, we have a appointment with the dentist to get too." Ashton started walking away, his kids giving Max one last hug before following after their father. "It was great meeting you, Luke. Hope you enjoy your stay here." Sophie and Jaxon waved a goodbye to him, before rushing ahead of Ashton and towards a nearby car.
Luke smiled as he watched them leave, only looking away when Max barked and captured his attention.
"See, the people here are not so bad. Right?" He asked Max, only getting tail movement as a response.
Luke made his way through the small town, there wasn't many houses here nor people but it was nice. Max seemed to love the nature, having a lot more freedom than he would have walking through busy streets in Sydney.
Here, nobody recognised Luke. So while he got a couple of glances, most likely focused on the state of his face, many people smiled in his direction and were overly friendly.
Lizzie was waiting for him as he walked through the front door, letting Max off his leash as he headed straight towards the bowl of water that had been left out for him. She seemed pleased that he returned, a part of him figured she thought he would have done a runner the second he woke. And Luke wouldn't deny that he hadn't thought about doing so, after all, she could have rang the police while he slept.
"Hey... sorry, i'll just grab my things and-" Luke was instantly cut off by a stern look from Lizzie.
"I have a proposition for you." she began as she leaned down and gave Max a scratch to the back of his ear. "This place is too small for the both of us, yes. And you don't even know me so i imagine you'll want your own place... I own a cafe five minutes down the road. The apartment above the cafe is empty..." she motioned towards Max before looking up, "You both are welcome to stay. First month rent is on me, and after that... well you can have a job at the cafe."
Luke didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to generosity on this level, nor was he expecting to meet someone that offered him an apartment and a job in one.
While he felt sad about leaving his life behind in Sydney, he didn't have a choice. This was his getaway card.
