After those few nail bitting episodes at the hospital, Sam was let home. The guys went on to finish their tour, but the rest of us have just about had it flying around and all we wanted was to go home. Sam recovered nicely, just in time for summer break to be over and for us to head to college. None of us felt rested enough to start yet another exhausting school year, but we handled it. Suprisingally, it flew by pretty fast. The next thing I knew, it was late into March and we only had two months left until summer. Time is so weird. It's almost like it can control itself, go faster or slower. It felt like Sam's operation was a few days ago instead of months.
"Earth to Jess." Luke snapped his fingers and I winced. He was shaking his head and smirking "You zoned out. Again. Something wrong?"
I shook my head, using my fork to roll around the food on my plate "No, just thinking."
"You've been doing too much of that these days. Better be careful or you could sprain something." he laughed.
"That doesn't even make sense." I chuckled.
"Sure it does. If you think about it." he winked and I lightly nudged him with my elbow "You're a dork."
"You dork though."
We burst out laughing and I suddenly forgot all about my previous thoughts. Now I was focused on Luke, staring at him lovingally while all of our memories came tumbling back at once. They're right when they say there will come a person to change your entire life upside down. And it happens completely spontaniously. But you just know. It's the effect they have on you, the way you feel like you've known them forever. The way you can't even think of life without them anymore. And most importantly, the way they make you a better person. I believe Luke is one of those people for me.
Sure he put me through a lot. Sure he hurt me. But in the end, everyone hurts you. You just have to find the people worth getting hurt for. Don't ever dismiss the bad memories, don't ever wish they didn't happen. Because it's the bad things that made you what you are today.
"Let's get out." I said. Luke gave me a puzzled look and I started singing "Cause this deadbeat town's only here-" I couldn't finish my sentence because we were both laughing again.
"Sure. Where should we go? To the mall for ice cream?" he suggested.
"Or we could go for ice cream on the beach!"
"Sure, as long as there's ice cream!" he smiled cheekily.
"I couldn't agree more."
---
Walking along the boardwalk, hand in hand, eating our ice cream, couldn't have been more perfect. The rustle of the calm, evening waves and the light screech each time one of us stepped over an old board. The smell of the ocean. The baby blue sky brushed into a fiery red and orange in a splash of color to create the perfect sunset. If only people would stop, not just to look at the beauty of the world around us, but to really see it, really hear it and feel it, things would be so much different.
"We should come here more often." Luke stated at one point, to which I only nodded.
We continued to walk in silence for the time it took me to conjure up an answer, before I finally spoke up "Yeah, there's beauty in anything and everything around you, whether you see it or not."
"Well that was deep." he said with a light nudge at my side and I chuckled "You know I still wonder what I'm gonna do with my life."
It was true. No matter what you do there's always going to be that fear of where you'll end up. It was even scarier for me since I never really had a plan. I had an apartment, a job and was getting an education, but I wanted there to be more to my life.
"Well since we're being deep," Luke started, a smile playing on his lips "I think you could do anything. As long as you try hard."
I nodded, chuckling at the intended pun "Thanks."
The verse of 'She looks so perfect' started playing before Luke pulled out his cell phone. I held back a laugh at how comic he looked in doing so, red cheeks because of his ringtone and clumsily almost dropping his phone. After a short exchange of words he hung up and stopped in his tracks "It was Ashton, he said he's invited everyone to a dinner at their house tonight and we can't miss it. He said something about an important announcement."
"Oh, okay. Let's head back then." I was just about to retreat my steps when Luke held me back "Wait, we can spare five more minutes."
Our eyes met and a smile quickly broke over our faces "Of course we can."
~~~~~~~
hey guys
so i'm seriously trying to make this book better and i hope i'm doing at least an okay job so far :)
love you xx
