Holy Grail (discontinued)

XII. Real

Luke stormed off and he’s been gone for almost 45 minutes. I haven’t gotten up to look for him; no one has. I can feel Michael’s eyes on me from across the table, but I won’t look at him. Because for once, this is someone else’s fault besides Luke’s.

And I know for a fact that management is gonna love this idea; there’s no doubt about that. Because as far as public relations and marketing goes, it’s brilliant. But at what cost? And how come it had to be Luke?

“Luci.” I glance up from my full plate to find Ashton’s soft eyes resting on mine. “You alright?”

“Um…” I could lie and say I’m perfectly fine. But that’s just it; it’d be a lie. And I’m sure Ashton would be able to see right through it. “Not really, no.”

But why aren’t I fine? Isn’t this only helping me? I mean, if Luke is preoccupied with someone else, than I’ll be able to leave him with ease because he won’t be able to keep close tabs on me all the time.

Because I care. But I’ve got to be smart about this; I have to start thinking about myself.

“Maybe you should talk to him about it; tell him you don’t…” but Ashton’s voice trails off, as I feel a newly familiar presence at the table. A body sits down next to me, and I don’t have to look up to know it’s him.  

He doesn’t say anything; just glancing between Ashton and I, before fixing his eyes on me. “Why aren’t you eating?” he leans down, whispering into my ear. It amazes me how he can act like what just happened didn’t happen.

I fidget with my fingers. “I’m-I’m not really hungry.”

“Bullsh-t. I know you’re hungry; you haven’t eaten in days.” Oh, so he knows I’ve been starving…but hasn’t brought any food to the tour bus. That’s great.

“I--”

“Eat.” His hand wraps around and rests on my lower side, where he squeezes the skin way too tightly.

“Ouch,” I mumble, knowing that only he will hear. Though I catch Ashton glancing up at us every so often from his conversation with Michael; he doesn’t say anything though.

“Eat the food Luci,” he harshly whispers in my ear this time. “And sh-t like that won’t happen to you.”

Giving up on fighting a losing battle, I take a bite of the chicken. And even though it’s cold at this point, it’s still delicious. And I don’t realize how hungry I actually am, until nearly my entire plate is devoured in record time. And it doesn’t help that I’m eyeing Luke’s plate from the corner of my eye as I attempt to finish off my own.

“Jeeze, Luci. Slow down. You act like you haven’t eaten in weeks,” Marty comments, and Luke stiffens next to me, his grip on my side tightening once more. “Do you want mine too?” she laughs.

“Maybe she is starving,” Michael states from across the room, looking at me with cold eyes.

My cheeks turn red, eyes meeting my practically empty plate. Luke chuckles next to me, but you can tell it’s forced. Wouldn’t want everyone to know how he treats me, right? “If you’re hungry, you can have mine,” he slides his plate over to me and I risk looking up at him. His eyes are unreadable; I feel like I’m doomed either way. But I pull the plate towards me, my overwhelming hunger outweighing every other thought.

“So Luke. Any ideas on who you want the new girlfriend to be?” Michael continues with a snicker.

I tune them out though, trying to eat a little bit slower this time, conscious of Luke’s eyes on me as he shrugs off Michael’s question. But I can’t seem to tune out the way in which his eyes remain on me during the remainder of the dinner.