Again ~ A Luke Brooks Love Story

Chapter 43

Two weeks later:

PAISLEY'S POV:

Despite me wanting to get everything sorted, it took a long time for me and Luke to finally move out. Rosie had been here ever since she came round but me and Luke were being held back by Gina. She forced us to stay but wouldn't tell us why she was so adamant. It was a little frustrating but after everything she's done for me, I couldn't say anything.

Beau had driven round to Sean's house, with a couple of his (bigger) mates to get Rosie's clothes and she had now moved into the living room. Me and Ava still had Beau's room and all three boys were cramped into the twins room. It wasn't ideal but it was all about to change. Today, we were moving out.

We were in the process of packing. I had packed up my clothes in about two minutes but Ava had a lot more stuff and Luke was being downright uncooperative. He was upstairs, playing on his xbox whilst I was downstairs shoving Ava's toys into boxes. He was supposed to be sorting out his own stuff, but after 18 years he had a lot of it and he didn't know where to begin. So instead, he relaxed and did nothing.

"Luke, I called up the stairs, trying not to sound angry. "Have you got another box?"

"I don't know," Luke was irritated and didn't bother hiding it. "Come check for yourself."

I sighed to myself then stormed upstairs. When I barged into his room, I realised that the only progress he had made in two hours was to pull all of the clothes out of his wardrobe. He was just sitting on his bed staring at the TV screen and furiously slamming his thumbs on his controller.

"Why aren't you packing?" I asked, a little sterner then I intended.

Don't get me wrong, I love Luke to bits but he was pissing me off just a tiny bit.

"It's just really strange," Luke said, pausing his game and looking at me. "To think I'm finally leaving home."

"It had to happen sooner or later," I said. "Unless if you were planning to stay until you were forty."

"Mum probably wanted me to," Luke grinned.

I smiled too, remembering the way Gina had reacted when we told her and how she cried when we first started packing. Luke's face turned serious.

'What if we can't do it?" he asked. "What if we're rushing things?"

"Are you trying to back out again?" I said, feeling anxious all of a sudden.

"Of course not," Luke said quickly. "I just feel so young. I always imagined Jai would be the one who left first."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he's more mature than me," Luke said. "I still act like a kid."

"And now you have one," I concluded for him.

"Exactly," Luke sighed. "What if we fail her? She's a person with her own life. What if I fuck it up?"

"You're a great dad Luke," I said truthfully. "You've managed fine so far."

"But what do we do when she's older?" he asked. "When she starts bringing home boyfriends and smoking and staying out all night?"

"Exactly what my mum did to me," I smiled at the memory. "Lock me in my room and act like I'd hurt her. That always made me feel guilty. Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Ava might not turn into a teen tearaway."

Luke smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and whispered in my ear.

"I love you Paisley Turner,"

I smiled and bent down to kiss his lips. Just before our lips met, I stopped and said softly. "I love you too,"

Luke smiled and our lips finally met.

He was a lot more accepting of packing after that. It still took a long time and I had to give him a nudge once or twice but eventually we were done and Beau's car was loaded with boxes. It was so full in fact, that Gina had to drive us. She was on the verge of tears the whole journey, as she realised her baby really was leaving.

We got to my block. Beau was already there with the boot of his car wide open. You could tell immediately that he wasn't local. Nobody from round here would dare to leave their possessions on show for fear of them being nicked. But luckily, it was pretty quiet and there didn't seem to be any threat. Beau grinned at us as we pulled up and ushered us from his Mum's car straight into the foyer.

"Aren't we going to bring some stuff up?" Luke asked as we were dragged along.

"Later," Beau said. "Let's just go tidy up a bit."

Gina had the sense to shut Beau's boot and followed after us.

Beau's excitement propelled us up all seven flights of stairs to my door.

"Who's got the key?" I asked, suddenly realizing I hadn't seen it for months.

"I have," Gina said, producing it from her back pocket.

She was grinning now too and I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

Until she opened the door and I was knocked speechless by my flat.

It looked completely different. The walls were brighter and there was new laminate flooring that made the whole room seem bigger. The old sofa was gone, replaced by a brand new modern one that complimented the bluey hue of the walls. There was even a TV!

My kitchen had changed to: it was now properly fitted with new units and over-head cabinets. The oven and fridge had been given a massive scrub and they were looking like new. There was a little four-person table witch had a checked table cloth and a vase of artificial flowers.

My old rickety chest of drawers had been replaced by a new one which now stood at the foot of the bed, leaving more room for Ava's cot. There was also shelves along the wall and a peg rack for coats screwed by the door. It looked completely different to the flat it used to be; it looked like a home.

"Oh My God," I breathed out slowly. "Did you do this? Thank you so much!"

"It was Beau's idea," Gina said. "We thought the place could do with some brightening up."

"It looks fantastic," Luke said admiringly. "This must have taken you ages."

"It wasn't too bad," Beau shrugged. "Mum did a lot of it."

"So that's where you kept going off to!" Luke laughed.

"I just thought it would make a nice surprise," Gina said. "And clearly it has."

"It's absolutely amazing, Gina," I said gratefully. "Thank you."

They helped us carry all our boxes upstairs from the car. It took a lot of trips and a lot of effort but eventually we had piles of our stuff in the flat.

They stayed to help us unpack too, just to speed up the process. Everyone got involved, even Luke though he did complain that he would have brought his Xbox if he knew there would be a TV. Gina threw a cushion at him and he laughed and dodged it.

Surprisingly, it didn't take very long and Gina and Beau left in a flurry of goodbyes and thank yous, leaving me and Luke alone in our home for the very first time.

"So this is it," he grinned at me. "It all starts here."

"It sure does," I agreed.

He smiled and pulled me closer to him. I melted into his chest and he held me tight.