the hating game ; lrh

forty-two

THE REMAINDER OF THE week flies by without much more drama, with the school seemingly forgetting about the accident after the novelty of the news wore off. As such, the weekend approaches relatively quickly, and it feels like I have only blinked by the time Saturday -- and the Hemmings family lunch -- comes around.

Calum, mum and I arrive at Luke's house at around midday, juggling the plates of food we have brought skilfully as we climb out of the car and approach the front door. The doorbell seems to ring for only a second before the front door swings open, revealing a beaming Liz.

"Joy!" Luke's mother exclaims happily, throwing her arms around my own mother. They laugh together, embracing for a moment, before Liz pulls away and plucks the salad bowl from my mother's hands to lighten her load. Next, she turns to Calum. "Calum!"

"Hey, Liz," Calum doesn't flinch away when Liz leans forward and presses a sloppy-looking kiss to his cheek, simply smiling gratefully and returning the favour.

Finally, Liz turns to me, a great big smile adorning her face. "And Rory!" She hugs me as well, and I try my best not to drop the plate of brownies I am balancing in one hand as I reach around to hug her. When she pulls away, Liz fiddles with my hair for a moment, looking me up and down proudly. I had always felt like the daughter she never had. "Gosh, you get more and more beautiful every day."

I feel redness creep up my cheeks almost instantly at the comment, but thankfully Liz is too busy ushering us inside the house to notice. We round the corner to the kitchen, revealing not only the entire Hemmings family, but an array of dishes strewn across the marble kitchen counter. My mouth waters at the sight, my stomach rumbling as a reminder of just how hungry I am, and I can't think about much more than what food I am about to devour until Luke approaches us.

"Joy, how are you?" He asks politely, pressing a kiss to my mother's cheek. Prior to our relationship, I had always resented how charming Luke appeared in front of adults -- in particular, my mother. Joy Hood had always had a soft spot for Luke, despite the stories I would tell her about the horrible things he'd done to me, insisting that he was 'such a nice boy'.

"I'm well, Luke, and you?" My mother responds politely, smiling up at the much taller boy.

"I'm great," he responds, returning her smile before turning to Calum. Luke claps my brother on the back in that strange man-hug that all boys seem to do, beaming as they pull away. Finally, Luke turns to me. "Rory."

"Luke," I respond, unable to hide the smile on my face at his presence.

Although I always enjoy the Hemmings lunches, I find myself longing for Luke and I to be alone together once again — an occurrence that is becoming increasingly rare, particularly since the accident. I am relieved when Calum is dragged away from us by Nanna Mae, who is gushing over how "tall and grown-up" he is, and take a step closer to Luke.

"You look beautiful," he tells me, voice lowered enough that nobody else will hear, a proud grin on his face.

I feel that blush creep back up my cheeks and I am unable to hide my smile. "Thank you," I respond, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "I—"

"Rory!" I hear my name called happily from across the room, and in a moment Ben and Jack appear before me, throwing their arms around me in a tight but gentle embrace. Despite feeling somewhat crushed by them, I let out a soft laugh and hug them back.

"We've missed you!" Ben gushes once we break apart, smiling happily at me. The oldest of the Hemmings boys, he has always felt like another older brother to me, and we've always gotten along swimmingly.

"How have you been?" Jack asks, turning my attention to him. He has always been the spitting image of Luke, only older and a little less scrawny. "Recovered from the hospital trip our stupid brother caused yet?"