Never Enough | Luke Hemmings

Chapter 26

I hear the call of a siren from an ocean away. I feel her gaze from the lighthouse she built to find me.
- m.razon

**

"Good evening." Luke greets me quietly from the doorway, his eyes scanning me from head to toe and coming back up to my face quickly.

"Hey." I greet, taking in his appearance as well. He is in white shorts and his famous "YOU COMPLETE MEss" singlet that he has been wearing for years. His shades are around his neck like he always has them for some weird reason and the cast holding his arm is gone, replaced by a miniature version that is covering his right wrist and palm. He must have visited the doctor last night after coming by my room.

"You look...nice." He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. I search his face for a sign of pain as he does that because, after the two shows in Sydney, he had been given a sleep serum due to the pain in his hands, it had been too much for him to bear without passing out.

"Thanks." I refrain from giggling at his awkwardness and walk in to grab my satchel. I had decided to put on one of my sundresses that I brought along for Sydney beach days alone. It was a light shade of blue and faded into white at the bottom. The dress was tied together at the base of my neck with two strings.

"So, where are you taking me?" I question, slipping on my sandals.

"We're going to lunch with my mum," he looks up from his phone. "Is that okay with you?" 

"I don't know, is she gonna piss me off like you always do?" I joke even though I knew for a fact that Luke's mother was a very kind woman.

"Not really." He says slowly like he couldn't decipher if I was joking or being serious. He was way too calm and collected this morning that it actually worried me.

"Okay then." I heave a sigh and take a final look around the hotel room, it was a disaster. Addy has been with Ashton at the boys' house even though her suitcases are here so I had stayed up late, arguing with myself about doing anything with Luke and woke up just half an hour ago, rushing to get ready. I didn't know what to expect today but I promised myself that I wouldn't spare a minute to dwell on it. If I did, my common sense would kick in and Luke wouldn't be taking me to lunch with his mother, he wouldn't even be here in the first place.

"Let's go," I say, locking the door behind me. He gives me a nervous smile and we walk towards to elevators.

---

The little restaurant he takes me to overlooks Bondi beach and it was absolutely stunning, I don't think Australia ever had 'ugly' days or places anyway. The weather was amazing today too, a little hot but bearable because of the constant breeze.

"Hello dear!" Liz Hemmings gets up from her chair at a table in the corner of the restaurant to hug me as we walk up to her.

"Hello, ma'am." I hug her back as she lightly squeezes me with motherly affection. She smelled like flowers. A pang of guilt shoots through me as I think of my own mother, I haven't called or answered any of her phone calls this past week.

"None of that nonsense. Call me Liz." She pulls away and smiles at me.

"I'm Sierra." I introduce myself.

"Oh, I know. I've heard a lot about you—" Luke clears his throat from behind me, cutting Liz off midsentence and Liz finally notices that her son is there too.

"Lukey. How are your hands now? What did the doctors say?" I had asked Luke the same thing during our drive here but he had gotten a phone call from management.

"When will you stop calling me that? I'm not five, mum." Luke complains, dodging the question and looking everywhere else but at his mother like he was ashamed.