leaked (l.h.)

11

"Hey," Luke says as I step into his car once again. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," I reply, my hoodie over my head and the sleeves pulled down to cover my hands. There is no denying that last night didn't happen with my body looking the way it does, and the amount of purple and green spots on my once soft skin is worrying. And my complexion is worse than it has ever been. My cheeks, once plump and rosy are dull and colorless. Not to mention my lips, chapped and drained of every drop of color it once had. Tyler stole that from me. "How did you sleep?"

"My Dad shit himself," he says after a pause. "And he doesn't like making my Mother clean up after him. So I spent at least three hours this morning cleaning it up."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say, frowning as I turn to him.

"It is what it is," he shrugs, turning to me. "It was just a bad night I guess."

"It was." I nod, clenching my jaw as I shift in my seat. I don't say much, partially because my chest hurts with each word I mumble. And because I don't have anything to say anymore.

"Are you hungry?" He asks, running his hands across the steering wheel as he tries to meet my eyes. "I am."

"My Mom made me breakfast, I'm okay," but truth be told, I am starving.

"Well, I guess you're just going to have two breakfasts." He looks at me. "Because I'm getting you something."

I don't fight with him. I don't have it in me to, and even if I wanted to I know that I should probably eat something today.

"Aren't you hot in that hoodie?" He adds on after a moment or two. "It's, like, ninety outside."

"It gets cold in the school."

"Right," he nods, looking at me before he turns the car into drive.

He doesn't ask for more, since he knows that I won't give him more. And I wish I could be the person he met on Monday, but sometime in between she was lost. She was taken with whatever else Tyler took. Tyler stole that from Luke.

I feel Luke hand me a water and a sandwich on my lap, and when I turn to him I raise my eyebrow. "This is a lot. I don't have enough to pay you back, Luke."

"I didn't ask for you to pay me back," he says, parking in front of the school as he brings his chair back. He pulls open his sandwich, taking a bite as he leaves the air conditioning on - probably so I don't die from overheating.

"I..." I begin, opening the wrapper to my fast food breakfast. "Thank you."

"Mhm," he nods, his face full of eggs and sausage. The car is silent as we watch hundreds of people flock through the doors to school. Calum goes first, laughing loudly as some girl I had seen once or twice walks inside with him. His smile is beautiful, and I hope he knows it.

"So why is it tonight and not Friday?" I ask, turning to Luke to try and keep the conversation going for once. I unwrap the sandwich, taking a tiny bite while holding the water in my lap. "Your show."

"I'm not sure," he shrugs. "But that's what they came up with."

I nod slowly, tugging at the tight turtleneck under my hoodie. It's suffocating, and I am already beginning to sweat. But if I take it off, anyone will notice the bruises. And I know that I am only a moment or two away from spilling.

And right on cue, I feel Luke try and get information out of me that I just can't share.

"Are you going to tell me why you decided to go back with Tyler after he made you cry yesterday? Or are we going to pretend that it didn't happen?"