murder house :: hemmings au

0.3 - luke

"What happened?" I ask breathily. I had climbed into the attic in concern after hearing my mother's terrified screams coming from above my room. I am now facing both of my parents, who are standing in front of a rubber suit that's hanging on the wall.

"Holy shit." I smirk as I observe the sexual costume, taking a few steps towards it only to be stopped by mother.

"Let's get rid of it." She says, pushing my dad towards the door. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

My father stays standing and observing the suit as my mother and I climb down to the top floor, me chuckling and her scolding me for even knowing what the suit was for.

"Mom, I'm seventeen. Stop acting like I'm still a baby! I know what sex is and it's not that big of a deal. I'm pretty sure they taught us about it in health class in like..." I stop and think. "Sixth grade!"

"Listen, Alice. I'm sorry if I'm treating you like a baby but you're my only child and you've grown up so fast and I just..." She frowns dramatically and I roll my eyes. My mother is known for being a drama queen at times, and she can become so obsessed with things that people think she's mentally insane. I just hope that she doesn't get herself into any shit in the future because of that.

-

"So, Luke, these fantasies started two years ago, three years ago, when?" I overhear my dad ask his patient. I slowly tip-toe over to the doors to his office and listen in.

"Two years ago." The boy mumbles. "It's always the same. It starts the same way." I can't clearly see the boy, but through the stained glass of the door he seems around my age, if not older. He has blonde hair that's up in a slightly messy quiff and a black ring in his lip. He's sitting with his legs crossed on my dad's black leather couch wearing black skinny jeans with holes on the knees and a Nirvana shirt. I nod in approval of his music taste and continue to listen in.

"How?" My dad pushes on. "Tell me."

A smirk appears on the handsome boy's face as he leans forward, puts his hands on his knees and says, "I prepare for the noble war."

"I'm calm, I know the secret, I know what's coming, and I know no one can stop me, including myself." He explains to my father.

"Do you target people who are mean to you, or unkind?" My dad questions and Luke pauses.

"I kill people I like." He says quietly, picking at the loose threads that surround the large hole on his jeans. "Some of them beg for their life. I don't feel sad. I don't feel anything. It's a filthy world we live in. It's a filthy goddamn helpless world, and honestly, I feel like I'm helping to take them away from the shit and the piss and the vomit that run in the streets. I'm helping to take them somewhere clean... and kind. There's something about all that blood, man. I drown in it."

I see my dad look up at Luke and can only imagine the facial expression he's giving him right now. I'm thankful that I can only see the back of my father's head because Luke seems like a pretty cool guy with a lot to say and my dad will only make him feel like shit, because that's what my dad does... He ruins things.

"The Indians believed that blood holds all the bad spirits, and once a month in ceremonies they would cut themselves to let the spirits go free. There's something smart about that. Very smart. I like that." He smiles and my knees go weak. God, that smile. My father stays silent and Luke looks him in the eyes.

"You think I'm crazy?" He inquires.

"No." My dad answers quickly. "I think you're creative. And I think you have a lot of pain you're not dealing with."

"My mother's probably worried about me, right?" Luke frowns.

"I'm sure she is." My dad responds monotonously.

"She's a cocksucker." Luke laughs and my mouth drops open. "I mean, literally, a cocksucker. She used to suck the guy off next door all the time. My dad found out, and he left. He left me all alone with a cocksucker. Can you imagine? How sick is that?" He's laughing pretty hard now and I frown. It's horrible that he thinks of his mother like that, but if it's true, it's horrible that he had to deal with that as a young child.

"I've heard a lot worse." My dad says and I roll my eyes. Of course he has, his job is to listen to people's crazy stories and provide them with bullshit medications or give them fake ass advice that he probably got straight out of a book. His whole damn job is a lie.

"Cool. Could you tell me some? I like stories." Luke says and I laugh quietly at his childish behavior. Of course my dad can't tell him any stories, it's obvious that it's restricted to do so in his job.

"No. I can't." My dad says and I mentally pat myself in the back for knowing exactly what he would respond with.

"The world is a filthy place. It's a filthy goddamn horror show. There's so much pain, you know? There's so much." Luke says and I shut my eyes tight, a tear threatening to spill down my cheek. I quickly recount everything that he has said and my wrist starts to itch. This is too much.

I need to.

-

I hastily shut the bathroom door and walk over to the sink, pulling the blade out of the pocket of my cardigan as I walk. I set the blade down onto the sink and roll up the sleeves of my sweater. I let a tear escape as I pick up the blade once again and slash it across my wrist, not even wincing at the pain. I'm used to it now. It's almost become a regular routine. I do this a few more times before I'm interrupted by a familiar voice.

"You're doing it wrong." Luke says and I jump slightly. "If you're trying to kill yourself, cut vertically. They can't stitch that up."

"How'd you get in here?" I gasp, turning to face the boy. I'm taken aback as I see his face clearly, now noticing his beautiful pale blue eyes and adorable dimples. I move my thoughts away from his face and back to my anger as I wait for his answer.

"If you're trying to kill yourself," he says slyly, grabbing the doorknob and stepping back. "You might also try locking the door." He smiles and shuts the door, leaving me in awe and with hundreds of thoughts running through my mind.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?