summer & luke // l.h. [ON HOLD]

when she tells herself to breathe

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luke.

it felt strange, and kind of rude to sit next to someone every day and not talk to them. even if she was weird - and she definitely was. every day, she got on the tram dressed like the youngest girl from a family of 17 people, who all handed down their clothes until they finally got to her, dirty, loose and filled with holes. the ride home couldn't go fast enough. luke couldn't wait to get away from not just the new girl, but everybody.

'bro, where's your colours?'

luke was trying to finish his dinner alone in his bedroom but his older brother kept on interrupting him. jack stood in the doorway, noisily eating a sausage sandwich and already dressed for the sydney fc soccer match.

'dad's almost home and we're going to be late as it is. he'll go apeshit if you're not ready.'

'hey, don't swear,' said luke's mum, walking past and flicking jack's ear. she had to reach up to do it. luke and his two brothers had their father's height genes. their mum was already a head shorter than luke.

luke didn't hate the soccer, but he'd much prefer to stay home and make some new playlist mixes. but he already fought with his dad on a regular basis, so he just went along with it. at least the stadium was so big that he never ran into aaron or someone from school.

luke changed into his sydney fc shirt and scarf, and pulled on his converse. he took his plate out to the kitchen and finished his dinner over the counter. his mum was at the sink, trying to wash a juice stain off jack's sweater with a sponge.

'liz? honey?'

that was how luke's dad came home every night, calling out his mum's name from the front door.

and every night, luke's mum would answer, 'andrew! in here!'. then luke's dad would drop his bag and come running around the doorframe, scooping his wife into his arms with one big swing. they did this every day, without fail, and then proceed to have a quick makeout session in the middle of the kitchen area, no matter who was there. luke would be grossed out, but now he was just used to it.

jack grabbed his arm and started pulling him out of the kitchen.

'come on, let's go wait in the car.'

their dad would be out quick enough, as soon as he'd changed into his sydney fc jersey and beanie.

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summer.

summer woke up and flicked on her tiny torch. it was almost 11 pm.

she sat in the dark for a while, listening to the tv in the lounge room. from the sound of clinking bottles, nick was probably home with a mate, watching some soccer match rerun. she couldn't let him know she was awake.

quietly, summer reached over and pulled open her drawer, tugging out her box and opening it. she rifled through the stationery and lined paper, sighing. ever since she had left her old home, she had been meaning to write to her old friends from her previous school, but it never felt right. she knew that she wouldn't see them again anyway.

a loud jeering cheer came from the living room and summer flinched, covering the box with her body. she had to keep it away from nick. if he found it, he'd probably smash it open and burn its contents in front of summer, just because he could.

'i hate him,' summer whispered to herself, 'i hope he gets run over by a garbage truck, and the rubbish falls out all over his dead body.'

later, she woke up again. the clock said it was almost three in the morning, and the tv was still running quietly. nick and his friend had fallen asleep in the living room with it on. summer didn't breathe on her way to the bathroom, and was too scared to flush the toilet. when she got back to her tiny room, she shut the door and leant against it.

'breathe,' she whispered to herself.

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