the neighbor | lrh

fifteen

                                mia

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" I exclaim as my safari app crashes once again as I try to register for a parking pass.

Considering this is the third time it's crashed in the last twenty minutes, I think I have a right to be frustrated. Typing your drivers license number three times is borderline torture, and at this point, I can almost recite it.

I try one more time, knowing that there's probably just too much traffic from the thousand-student body that is also trying to register. If this attempt flops, I'll just wait until open house to get one, even though the lines are always super long. 

I get all my information typed in and press submit, and it actually goes through.

"Finally," I mumble to myself, screenshotting my receipt to show when I pick it up.

I set my phone down as Luke walks into the kitchen, sending me a smile before opening the fridge. He's wearing a cream hoodie and black gym shorts, the hood pulled over his sun-bleached hair.

"Good morning," Luke says to me with his voice still cracking from sleep. I chuckle at him while shaking my head, seeing as the time is nearly one pm.

"How do you sleep so late?" I ask as he takes a seat beside me at the bar. He places a warm hand on my thigh while sipping the coffee he retreated from the fridge, raising his eyebrows at me

"I stay up late," he says to me, setting his cup down.

"Well maybe you should put your phone down," I joke, sending him a wink

Luke furrows his eyebrows a bit at me and squeezes my thigh gently, "No like, I can't sleep. I can't fall asleep."

"Oh."

I lay my head on Luke's shoulder and he lays his on mine.

"Well... you could wake me up? To lay with you and stuff," I suggest

"I don't want to make you lose sleep, Mia." Luke retorts

"Well... I could just lay with you. Even if I'm asleep, maybe...it might help you fall asleep." I stumble through my words as Luke rubs small circles on my thigh.

"Maybe." he answers

My phone begins to vibrate, buzzing loud against the counter. I pick it up, and slide to answer my mom's facetime call.

"Hey sweetie!" my mom's sweet voice rings through the speaker. I smile as she brings my dad into frame, both of them waving at me.

"Hey guys!"

We y'all about everything going on in our lives. My mom shares that she started a garden in their new backyard, and my dad explains that he started the garden while my mom danced around to music.

Their lighthearted banter makes my heart bittersweet, missing living with them. I grow quiet, mainly just listening to them talk, and Luke notices my shift in mood. He moves his hand from my thigh to my lower back and rubs it comfortingly, then rests his head on my shoulder.

"Oh! Is that Luke?" my dad exclaims, pulling himself closer to the camera with a smile across his face.

I move my phone so that Luke is in frame, and he mirrors my dad's enthusiasm as he speaks to him.

"So," my dad says, lowering his glasses, "are you taking care of my Mia?"

Luke chuckles and crosses his hands, "Well, I'm trying."

He smiles at me and I feel my cheeks grow pink, so I turn the camera more to Luke.

We talk for a while longer with my parents, but eventually they have to go. They tell my how nice it was to get to see me, and we end the call.