I Fell Again - Luke Patterson

Chapter 22

ADIRA'S POV

All of us poofed into the living room where Julie was studying. " Hey, do you... do you got a second" I asked Julie. But she ignored me and continued to study. " Oh my gosh. She can't see us anymore!" We all turned to him and gave him a look. "Oh, right. Yep" the guys sat on each side of her, while I stood in the middle.

" Julie, please" Alex begged. She finally looked up. " I already told you that I'm done with the band" she said. " We know, all right? But before you decide that forever, we just.." Alex trailed off, not finding the right words to say.

" We wanted you to know that Luke isn't as selfish as you think" I finished for him. Julie looked at me. " Yea, you've got him all wrong" Reggie agreed. Julie scoffed and went back to studying. I sighed, I knew what I had to do to show Julie that Luke really isn't selfish.

" You remember that song about a girl named Emily? Can we at least show you who that's actually about?" Julie looked up confused but, nonetheless agreed.

We all hid behind bushes outside of Luke's parents house. We watched as Luke sat on the countertop watching his parents with tears streaming down his face. " So, Emily's his mom?" Julie asked as she peaked out from behind the bushes. " Yea. Luke comes here a lot" Alex said.

" He thinks we don't know, but... we've been following" Reggie added. "All he ever does is just sits there and watches them" I said. "They never do anything though" Alex added. We all watched as their parents set down the cake on the table.

" They're having cake. That's something" but I shook my head. " It's a... it's a birthday cake. For Luke" Reggie explained. It was hard to see Luke sad. He was usually laughing and smiling. " I never knew Luke was hurting this much" Julie realized.

" It's even worse because when he died, he... left on bad terms. You know, his parents did want their 17-year-old in a rock band, so... he just left" I looked over Luke got off the counter and sat with his parents.

" He never got the chance to make up with them" Alex added. His dad lit the candle the first time and Luke leaned down to blow it out, trying to let his parents know that he was there. His mom and dad looked at each other as he re-lit the candle.

" That's why Luke was so angry" I said. " If Trevor had given Luke credit for writing all the songs, then... his parents would've know his dreams were worth chasing" Reggie said.

I looked to Julie who had her eyes closed as she quickly opened them. " They would've been so proud" she looked at me as I stared at Luke. His parents joined hands as Luke hovered his over theirs as they blew out the candle together.

" We know how bad it hurts whenever someone that should've had your back completely let's you down" Alex and the rest of us stood up. "We never meant to make you feel that way" Alex said sincerely.

" Julie, we love our band, and Luke does too. Please give us another chance" Reggie begged. Julie looked towards me, silently asking if it was ok. I nodded. She looked one last time at Luke and agreed.

"Well, we can't forget about me, can we?" I tried to joke once Julie joined back. I probably sounded weird, but I was trying to hold back the tears. Alex and Reggie brought me in for a hug.

" You guys go ahead" I said. "You ok?" Alex asked. "Yea, I'll just stay here, make sure he's ok" they gave me a wave and started walking home.

Once Luke came out, he was surprised to see me. "Hey, what're you doing here?" He asked as he quickly wiped his tears away. "You didn't think I forgot what today was, did you?" I questioned with a small smile as we stood in his parents drive way. "Luke, you know Julie didn't mean it. She just doesn't know you like that" I said as I grabbed his hand. Instantly feeling some warmth. "Thank you" he whispered. I smiled and kissed his cheek. Luke looked at me with wide eyes. "Think of it like a birthday gift" I said.

Luke suddenly pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms tightly around him as I could feel him do the same. "Let's go home" as we were getting ready to poof out, my dad came walking up the driveway. "Do you want to stay?" Luke asked me. "Do you want to see me cry?" I retorted with a sad laugh. He shook his head no and we poofed back to the garage.

"Woah, Julie" Luke said surprised as he quickly stood up from the chair he sat in. I smiled and sent a wink Julie's way. It felt good to be back.

" Grab your guys' guitars. We've got work to do" I smiled as I handed Luke his guitar as I pulled my strap over my shoulder. " What made you both come back?" He asked curiously. Julie snuck a glance at me then back at Luke.

" I realized how important music is to all of us. And we've lost so much already. We can't lose this too" she said wholeheartedly. " Thanks" Julie smiled at him. " Alright, where we at?" Luke asked with a smile as Julie sat back down. " Oh, and by the way, happy birthday" Luke quickly nodded as he turned back to me. I shrugged my shoulders innocently as I looked away.

"You didn't think I would stay away forever, did you?" I said with a smile.

" Let's go from the pre-chorus" Julie instructed. Alex hit his drum sticks together, counting us in.

I pushed Reggie forward to knock on Julie's door. " What are you guys doing?" I could hear her voice. " We're being classy" I grabbed him and walked through the door first. " Reggie, be quiet" I shushed him.

" Why are you still here? We're going in, like, 20 minutes" Luke asked her. " I lied to my dad, so... now I'm stuck in my room all night" she sighed as she looked up at us. "Yea, but we were just at the venue" Reggie said. " It's packed. Like, VIPs, managers. It's kind of crazy" Alex explained. " What are we gonna do about my aunt? She's right downstairs." Julie asked us.

I laughed a little as I nudged Luke. " Your aunt" he laughed as I walked towards the window and opened it. " You're not taking the stairs" he said. Julie looked over at us with a shocked expression, but soon turned to a smile. "Get dressed. We'll see you there" I said before all of us poofed out.

I poofed into the garage, I need to change. I was just sliding the shirt over my head when I heard somebody clearing their throat. "Luke, hey. What do you need?" I asked him. "Me? Oh, nothing. I was just coming back to check on you" he stuttered with a slight blush on his face. "I'm ok. I just needed to change is all" I held up my clothes. "Ok, sorry. You ready to go?" He held out his hand for me to take.

"A bit pushy today, are we?" I teased as I slipped on different shoes. "Well, it is my birthday. So, I think I deserve a few presents" I laughed and took his hand. "Oh, really? And what do you want?" I asked him. Luke shrugged his shoulders and looked around. "I'll know in the moment" before we poofed out he kissed my cheek. I could feel myself smiling. I couldn't be falling for Luke again, could I?