SOS

Eighteen

Luke takes one last glance at his phone, sighing as he tucks it back into his pocket, twenty-seven missed calls from Amy today, but those can wait. Pushing through the door he holds his breath, hoping but somewhat doubting that Elodie will be there. They played three shows in three days and this was the only night they were spending in a hotel in Mexico with time to actually spend on the roof. She may have simply fallen asleep once back from the night's show though, and he wouldn't blame her honestly.

"Hi, stranger." He can't help the smile that splits his face as her voice reaches him.

"Long time no talk." He chuckles, joining her quickly on the blanket she has laid out.

"Something you brought with you smells amazing." She eyes the brown paper bag in his hand.

"Tacos!" Luke grins, "I bought extra too, so there is plenty for you to have some."

"I think I might just love you, Luke Hemmings." She chuckles, "I've been in Mexico for multiple days and haven't had time to get tacos once."

"Saved by the hungry singer." He grins, handing over a wrapped taco.

"So," She starts as she unwraps the food, "How nervous are you to head back to LA again tomorrow?"

"Not as nervous as I was when we got home from Paris, but still nervous."

"How did that go anyway?" Elodie asks carefully, her eyes watching Luke with concern.

"Not great." He sighs, buying himself some time by taking a bite of his own taco. "She um, she attacked me when I got home."

"Luke..?"

"Ya..." He sighs, "It was really bad. I got out though, and Michael picked me up from a park. He and Crystal got me cleaned up and then I stayed with them until we came to Mexico. When I go home Ashton is planning to go with me to the house, and if Amy is still there we have a plan for what to do to make sure she is removed from my life."

"What– what do you mean by really bad?" Elodie's voice cracks ever so slightly as she asks.

Elodie watches as Luke sets his taco back on the bag, cocking an eyebrow in confusion as he reaches to pull his shirt over his head, exposing his torso to her. "Holy shit! Luke?" She frowns, rolling forward to sit on her knees, her fingers ghosting over the healing cut down the middle of his chest, before her palm rests gently over the warm purple bruise on his stomach.

"You should have seen it a few days ago." Luke chuckles humorlessly, "My whole chest was red and raw and covered in scratches from her nasty claws, and the bruise has shrunk by a bit." He shrugs, "My house was a disaster, and she basically admitted to having at least one orgie there while I was gone."

"Wow, you can really pick them can't you?" She tries not to make the joke, but it slips out.

"Ya..." He sighs, pulling his shirt back on, "I need to figure out how to not do that again."

"A word of advice, and one you may not want to hear." Elodie offers, "Listen to your friends, they can see through the red flags you can't when first starting a relationship. They know you better than anyone and have seen it twice now when you've started seeing girls with that kind of personality."

"Ya, they have been saying things for months, and I kept defending her."

"When you meet the right girl, your friends aren't going to have to warn you about her. Instead they are going to be overjoyed for you, and they are going to support you in that relationship. Trust me."

"Is that how it was when you met Sadie? Did everyone support you two?" Luke asks.

"Sadie?" Elodie frowns, looking up quickly to meet his eyes, her brows knit together tightly.

"The photo you posted on Instagram, wait... did I read that wrong? I guess I just assumed the way you were hugging her, and the caption..."

"You read that wrong." She laughs, "Sadie is my sister, well my foster sister technically. We lived together for about nine years, and went through hell together. When everything in our life came to a head, and the system finally pulled us out of the shitshow that our foster family was, we lost track of each other. We were both minors and everyone got split up and sent to different ends of the state. She found me on Instagram about six weeks ago, actually thanks to your fans' obsession with me, and we met up when I was home in St. Louis. I'm straight, Luke."

"Sorry, I am so embarrassed now." Luke laughs.

"Don't be, Sadie is amazing, and the song I stole the lyric from for my caption was about lovers. It's an honest mistake, and an open minded one, I can respect that."

"I shouldn't have assumed." He shrugs, "How was your time at home actually?"

"Great, seeing Sadie was the best part, it's been seven years since we left hell, so it was long overdue. Plus, being fed until I actually fell into a food coma by Rebecca was not too shabby either, she's a great cook, and it's always nice to be back in the apartment. That apartment is so safe for me, and after being on the road, despite how accommodating the tour environment has been for me, it was nice to land back in that soft spot for a few days."

"You're making me miss my mum and her cooking back home in Australia." Luke chuckles, laying himself down after he finishes eating.

"How long has it been since you saw her?"

"She came to California in December, which was nice. My brother came for work too, so I saw both of them then, but my other brother, and my dad... it's been since February 2020, and it has really sucked to not be able to go home and spend time with my family there. I miss Australia too, my life is in LA, and I love that, but I really look forward to my trips back to Sydney, they give me a chance to land in a soft place again, different from going home to LA does."

"I can't wait to see how relaxed you get when we get to Sydney at the end of the year then."

"I think I'm going to go back early. We play shows at the end of November and into early December there, but I'd like to spend a few weeks there with my family before all of that."

"Can't blame you for that. I can't wait to see Australia this winter. Europe was more than I could have ever imagined, I can only assume Australia will be the same."

"Tour was your first trip to Europe?"

"Tour was the first time I ever needed a passport." She laughs, sliding backwards until she's sat against the wall behind them as she does, "I grew up in the foster system, Luke. The farthest I'd traveled before this tour was Indianapolis, Rebecca and I drove out there a few years ago to surprise Peter at a gig he was working, before he worked for you guys."

"Well, I'm glad we provided the opportunity for you to see the world then."

"Me too. It's everything I ever wanted it to be, and so much more."

"Do you have plans while we are in LA for the next couple weeks? Before festivals and tour start up again?"

"I'm staying with Peter in LA for this break, so I'm sure he will be making plans to show me around the city. Nothing crazy, but it's me so I'm sure you're shocked by that."

"Maybe try one crazy thing." Luke laughs.

"I'll think about it. Call me if your crazy ex makes life hell again, I gave you my number for a reason."

"I'll think about it." He jests, letting silence fall between them. After a minute or two it dawns on him that as much as he had missed talking to Elodie, he also missed the silence shared between them on the rooftops in Europe, and makes a mental note to make sure they do this at times during the North American tour dates as well.

—------------------------------
Back to LA again, what will be waiting?

Vote and comment!

I love you guys!!!

~M =)