"Kate?" He is as surprised to see me as I am to see him. "What are you doing here?" He asks.
"I live here. What are you doing here?"
"You live with Michael?" He asks, eyes wide.
"No! No," I laugh. "We live in the same building, I- are you here to see Michael?" I ask.
"Yeah," Luke looks uncomfortable before he changes his mind. "No, not really."
What the hell?
"I'm, um... here to see you." He lies. It's quite obvious, especially seeing as ten seconds ago he didn't know that I lived here. There is something in his voice that warns me not to call him on it, though I want to. Badly.
"Okay..." I say.
"Here, let me help you with that," he offers, taking some of the bags from my arms. I walk further down the hallway and unlock my door, for once praying that Michael is not inside. I have no idea how I would explain Luke's presence. I doubt Luke could even explain Luke's presence.
I let out a breath of relief when I see that the apartment is empty, and I am suddenly glad that Luke is here. Last time I came home to an empty apartment, it wasn't empty. I shiver.
Luke follows me into the kitchen awkwardly, and I have no idea what to do. He clearly did not come here to see me, but that means that he was here to see Michael. And why the hell would he be? Does Michael know?
"Do you want dinner?" I ask Luke. It takes all I have not to laugh, this is the most bizarre possible thing that could be happening. "I have an extra burger," I hold up the food that I intended for Michael. He won't miss it.
"Sure," Luke laughs. I put our food on a plate and we sit at the table, which feels weird. I've gotten used to the barstools with Michael.
"So..." I say awkwardly.
"I'm so sorry," Luke blurts, blushing. "This is so weird. I didn't even know you lived here."
"Right," I laugh. "So do you want to tell me what you were really doing here?"
"I had to... drop something off at Michael's place. From his dad." He is not telling the truth, I can tell. He does it much smoother than the last one, but I've always been good at detecting lies. I decide to let it slide, nodding my head. I will get to the bottom of this.
"Was Michael home?" I ask.
Luke shrugs. "Yeah. I only stayed a minute. We don't really hang out." He flashes me an amused smile and I laugh for real, for the first time since we sat down.
"So I've noticed. Is he mean to you?"
Luke rolls his eyes. "He's not mean to me."
"He totally is. I'll make him stop."
"Kate, this isn't elementary school," Luke laughs. "You don't need to be on bully duty. It's fine, it's always been like this."
"It's not really fair though, from what I know."
"Yeah, but you don't know everything," he points out. I am about to ask him to tell me everything when I hear the telltale sound of the lock clicking and the door opening.
"Kate?" Michael calls down the hallway. Luke's eyes go wide before they meet mine. He tries, but he can't hide the fear.
"In here," I call, attempting to sound nonchalant.
"Something smells-" Michael stops midsentence when he enters the kitchen and sees us sitting at the table, shock registering on his face. "What the hell?" He snarls, starting forward in an aggressive movement. I jump up from my chair and stand in front of him, placing my hand on his chest.
"Michael, stop," I say quietly, trying to talk him down before he gets too riled up.
"What are you doing here?" He barks at Luke.
"Eating dinner," Luke rolls his eyes. It is actually kind of funny the way that he isn't afraid to sass Michael, but I wish he wouldn't. I am trying to stop whatever is happening, and Luke pushing Michael isn't helping.
"You-" Michael starts forward again but I move with him, pushing him back.
"Michael, stop it, I-"
"Get off me," he takes my hand from his chest and pushes it down to my side. "What is he doing here, Kate? In your apartment?" His eyes are fiery, like the emeralds are about to be cut down and placed as gemstones.
"We just ran into each other," Luke stands from his place at the table. I wish he wouldn't, I wish he would just sit back down. "Calm down, man."
"Don't talk to me like we're friends," Michael sneers. There is something behind his voice, something beyond the usual malice that is there when he speaks to Luke. It makes me curious.
"I'm gonna go," Luke mumbles, stepping toward me. "Are you going to be okay?" He asks, glancing at Michael. Michael literally growls, his fingers clenching.
"I'll be fine," I say. "I'm sorry about him, he's just-"
"I'm right here!" Michael yells, waving his arms.
Luke rolls his eyes again and leans in, pressing his lips swiftly to my temple before dodging around us both and walking to the hallway. It is a sweet gesture, but I know that he just did it to set Michael off. And it worked.
Michael lunges after him, and I grab the back of his shirt, stopping him. I am not prepared to break up a fight in my apartment. "He's a dick!" Michael yells, struggling to get out of my grip.
"Michael! Stop it!" I yell, holding tightly to the fabric. The door clicks closed and Michael's body relaxes slightly. He wrenches himself out of my grip and turns to face me, and I step back at the look of anger on his face. "Why are you so mean to him?" I am curious, but my voice comes out as an accusatory yell.
"Don't you even talk!" Michael yells back. "Just this morning you're agreeing to be my girlfriend and then tonight you bring another guy home with you? And it's him? What the hell, Kate?"
"I didn't bring him home!" I shout. "I ran into him in the hallway, and you know that's true because he was here to see you!" I am hoping that Michael will shed some light on the reason Luke was seeing him, but he dismisses my argument.
"It doesn't matter," he says. "It doesn't matter Kate, you shouldn't have brought him here."
"He's my friend," I fire back, my hand on my hip.
"No he's not," Michael seethes, his hands running over his hair. "Don't say that, he is nothing to you."
"I'm sorry that you dislike him for some juvenile reason, but I have no problem with him, Michael. And you don't get to tell me who to stay away from," I spit.
"No, Kate, you will stay away from him," Michael growls at me. "I don't care what you think, you're not going near him."
My blood boils. "Get the fuck out, Michael!" I yell. "Get out of my apartment, don't you ever speak to me that way!"
"Fine!" He shouts back. "Damn it, fine! Whatever, Kate! You're not worth the trouble."
His words cut into my skin like a steak knife and leave me doubled over, breathless as he turns on his heel and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I hear a little tinkle of metal, and I suspect that my poor door can't handle all of the slamming that has occurred recently.
Maybe I am coming off my hinges, too.
