Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series

17. One Very Important Conversation

I found myself dialing Luke's number before I really thought about what I was doing. Even if I wanted to, I didn't get a chance to rethink my decision, because the phone only rang twice before he picked up the call.

"Daeyna? Is everything alright?" He asked as soon as he answered.

"Are you back home?" I questioned, not really giving him an answer to his inquiry.

"Yeah, we got back at about ten. Our plane was delayed because of thunderstorms in Perth. We were supposed to be back at 6 or so." He explained. I frowned slightly. So that's why Celeste knew I was going to be at the Hemmings' house. Because it was supposed to be a family dinner.

Even though I'm not technically family.

"-You still there? You're worrying me." I came back to my senses in the middle of Luke's sentence.

"What? Yeah, I'm still here. Were you really that disappointed you weren't home in time for the food?" I asked. There was a long pause, and I almost thought he had hung up on me. But then he sighed, and I came to a realization. It wasn't the food he was upset about. "It wasn't the food, was it?"

"No, it wasn't the food." He agreed. There was another moment of silence, and I decided he wasn't going to outright say anything if I didn't give him a prompt. Probably because he was tired.

"So, what was it, then?" I asked slowly, feeling butterflies erupt in my stomach. I knew what I wanted the answer to be, but I also didn't want to force him to say it.

"Well, I haven't seen everyone in a while, and I wanted to spend time with them." He answered. My heart deflated slightly. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want the whole movie-esque confession of love followed by a dramatic drive to some random beach and a slow run into each other's arms. Okay, maybe I didn't want it to be that intense, but still.

I didn't quite know what to say in response to that, so I just stayed silent, allowing the quiet to stretch between us like a tightrope. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Luke spoke again.

"Do you want to come over?" He asked. I was caught off guard by the question. Of course I wanted to go to his house! But it was also nearing eleven at night. Not that I had work in the morning. I actually had the weekend off, because Dr. Ventri was going to Adelaide with his daughters for a few days.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be over in a few." I accepted the offer, and we said our goodbyes before hanging up the phones. I turned to face the mirror. I had already changed into my pajamas. Luke was in for a surprise if he expected me to look one hundred percent put together when I arrived at his house.

-

"Daeyna? Did you forget something?" Of course it was Liz who answered the door. I opened my mouth to give her a reply, but was cut of by a very familiar voice.

"No, mum. I asked her to come back over." Moments later, Luke appeared in the doorway, running a hand through his wet hair. He must have just taken a shower. Liz looked at each of us a few times before letting a small smile form on her lips.

"Okay. It's nice to see you two getting along again." She said simply before turning and disappearing into the house somewhere. Most likely the kitchen. She loved sitting at the counter to read.

"Basement?" Luke asked. I nodded.

"Sounds good."

I hadn't been to Luke's basement in a long time. For the most part, it looked the same. Luke's old black acoustic guitar was still in the corner, right next to a tan one Calum had brought over for practices. Next to that was the electric guitar Liz had gotten Luke for his 17th birthday. I smiled at the tiny kitten sticker on the bottom of it. I had put it on there just before one of his gigs once, and he never took it off. Th couch against the wall looked a bit more worn than when I had last seen it. There was a hole in the back of it that was duct taped closed, and one cushion had a light pink stain on it. I'm sure Liz wasn't too happy about that when it happened. The largest noticeable difference, however, was the empty space in the far corner where Ashton's drum set used to be. There were still grooves in the carpet where it had been.