It Happens in April

Four

Leaving the Hemmings' house that night felt like sneaking into a graveyard.

"Calum, wait!" Luke jogged through the same side door we entered with. Stutter stepping when his bare feet moved over the loose gravel, he slowed at the open drivers door of my car. "What's wrong?"

"Nothings wrong. My parents are expecting me home soon."

He tapped his toes against the top of his other foot, effectively balancing on one leg. He looked even younger then. "Are you mad at me? Did I do something?"

I shook my head no, turning in my seat to face him, my feet were on the rubber pieces that would seal the door shut. Luke took two quick steps to settle between my knees.

"You're rushing out though," he said at the same time that I asked, "Do you always make out with your dad?"

Luke's hand was on my knee then, he picked at a hole in my jeans. "He's not my dad and we weren't making out. We're family though, we've always been like that. Is that why you're being weird?"

"Your brothers rude." "I know, I warned you, I'm sorry. Do you have to go?"

I nodded that yes, I did need to leave. He nodded back like he understood.

He asked again if I was upset with him, I told him I'd been shocked but it wouldn't effect our friendship. He still looked at me like he was going to cry the moment I shut the car door so I lifted a hand to push a curl behind his ear and gave him the softest smile I could manage.

"So, you'll still drive me home after track tryouts right?" He asked. We'd never spoken of it before, but I had said I would check out the track team and our practices would end at roughly the same time. I decided that since I was already forcing myself to be okay with the ice cream situation I could probably do the same with anything else the little Hemmings boy had to throw at me.

I said I'd drive him. "Yay! Okay, you've gotta go now."

I turned back around in my seat, letting him close the car door for me. He practically skipped back through the gravel, waving at me from the door.

Pulling out of the Hemmings' driveway wasn't much better than pulling in. The curve was even more daunting in the dark but at least the headlights of another car might give me some warning.

I asked Luke, that next Monday in my car after the first day of tryouts, if he still had that boyfriend who bought him pretty clothes. He shrugged like he didn't know the answer himself so I didn't press the issue.

He asked me to stay for diner again, with the shock factor of their family dynamic behind me I'd had no reason to decline, so I stayed.

Michael apparently only came over on weekends. Luke complained that he'd be around more once his baseball games picked up, said Michael liked to play the 'supportive brother' role. Otherwise, he stayed on campus for the most part.

Minus Michael and the awkward arguments, Monday's dinner-with-the-Hemmings was basically identical to Friday's.

We walked through the side door of the mud room, dropping our shoes and heading towards the stairs.

"Ash, I'm home, Cal's here!" Luke called, getting a muffled 'alright!' response from the kitchen.

Luke asked me if I was allergic to anything as we climbed the stairs. I told him only peanut butter and he said he probably should've asked before dinner last time. "I'm not five, I know not to eat it." I told him.

I remember being relaxed, eerily so, in Luke's bed. We'd shifted on the California king so that we could see the television connected to our controllers. I was propped up, a bit awkwardly with my back against the off-white headboard. I had one foot flat against the bedsheets, the other stretched out completely.