Luke anxiously walked towards me and quickly grabbed my wrist, tugging me out the rink's door.
"Are you okay? Did he hit you again?" He frantically asked placing his hands all over my face, he had to hunch due to how short I was compared to how tall he was.
"Luke-Luke I'm fine." I laughed and wrapped my fingers around his hand.
"Come on, let's go home and get your eye cleaned up."
"No, Luke,"I laughed to myself while he looked confused and worried all at once,"I-I'm going home with Ashton." I looked into his crystal eyes. He stared at me for a minute before laughing.
"You actually got me there for a second." My face remained the same, not understanding his joke.
"Oh come on Josie, you can't be serious."
"I am..." I trailed and he let go of me.
"Well, where is he?" He turned and I stood beside him, scanning the parking lot for his large car or even him. But he was nowhere.
"He'll be back." I said, mainly to hear it from someone.
"I'm not letting you wait here by yourself." I huffed and sat on the bench in front of the large building. Luke sat a close distance next to me, resting his elbows on his knees and leaving forward.
-
We sat for at least twenty minutes in silence, waiting for one sign of Ashton, but he never showed. He couldn't have just left, he told me he was going to start over and take me home. He wouldn't just leave.
"I'm telling you, that Ashton guy is a jerk. You deserve better than any guy who would punch you and then ditch you. You do realize that is abusive, right?" I moved my feet together and pressed my lips in, staring at my ankles.
"Has he done anything else to you?" Luke turned his head to face me, but I didn't dare to look up at him.
"Oh god, no."
"H-he just slapped me. But that's because we were arguing and he said he wasn't thinking."
"Come here." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. I rested my tired head on his shoulder and yawned.
"Luke," he hummed,"what time is it?" He jolted before standing, making me stumble.
"I gotta get you home." He took my hand from my lap and pulled me up. Luke then ran, he bolted across the parking lot, dragging me behind and I tried to keep up as best as I could, but my shorter legs preventing me from keeping up to his speed.
"Hurry!" I quickly opened my door and slid in as he started the car.
"All buckled?"
"Luke! Just drive!" I laughed and he turned towards the road in front of him, and accelerated.
-
We were constantly driving until we stopped, it was 10:55. I knew I was in for it if I was one minute late.
"Luke-"
"It's a wreck." His fingers shook.
"God, your dad is gonna kill me." He covered his lips with his fingers and pulled them between his fingers.
I sat back into my seat, playing with my fingers, just hoping I could take the blame for what Rob would say. But hearing Luke calling him 'my dad' made me hope that Rob would actually be considered my dad someday.
A knocking on the window pulled me out of my hopeful thoughts. I rolled it down to be exposed to a bright flashlight in my eyes.
"Yes officer?" Luke said, squinting in the harsh light as I covered my eyes.
"There's a horrific wreck just a few hundred feet in front of you, this traffic isn't moving for about two to three hours." My heart stopped and Luke and I both stared at each other.
"Thank you officer." Luke weakly spoke before I rolled up the window, and the light disappeared.
"We're dead." I whispered.
"This is ridiculous." I turned back to the windshield before pulling out my phone and going under the home phone for my foster house and pressing call.
The ringing on the line felt endless. I felt no one was going to pick up and I would be kicked out. But the eternal beeps finally ended and I heard a high voice.
"Curtis residence, Kendall speaking."
"Kendall, hi, can you put your dad on the phone." I heard a few mumbles before the phone was heard to be passed off.
"Hello?"
"Hi, this is Josie."
"Oh Josie, it's Quinn."
"Quinn, can you put Rob on the phone." I saw Luke look over at me in the corner of my eye.
"Josie?"
"Hi, Rob. There's a horrible accident where I am. And Luke and I are gonna be stuck in this traffic for two to three more hours." Luke made some hand gestures to me, trying to explain something. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to think of what to say next before I put the phone to my shoulder.
"What?" I whisper yelled.
"I literally live right there. You could just stay at my house tonight." My eyes never blinked as I heard his words. I was shocked.
"Hello?" I heard a muffle from my phone and Luke put it back up to my ear.
"Hi."
"There you are. How far away is the wreck?"
"Far."
"Is there any way you can take a long way?"
"No sir. But, Luke lives right here, he suggests that I stay there tonight." The other line went silent. I've never been in this situation before, I don't know if I said that right or if I even should've made he suggestion.
More muffles were heard from the other line for two minutes before Rob's voice came back to my speaker.
"Josie."
"Yes, sir?"
"You may stay at Luke's. But, here are my conditions, you sleep in separate rooms-"
"Okay that's an obvious."
"Josie listen, and you are back tomorrow morning by nine thirty. Do you hear me?"
"Yes sir. Of course."
"Be safe. Goodnight." He hung up. I slowly peeled the phone from my ear.
"What did he say?"
"He said I can stay," Luke put the car in gear quickly. I say further back in my seat, becoming terrified of what tonight might bring.
But with only one question still on my mind as to why Ashton left...
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--I'm just happy to have passed my path test y'all...
-dee
