Trust Fall // l.h

Chapter 8: The Beach

A/N AT THE END PLEASE DON'T SKIP THANK YOU :)

Luke's POV

I wake up late the next morning since I don't have to get up early for work. Michael said I only had to work three days a week, which meant that I had a day off. I lie in bed replaying the conversation I shared with Brita yesterday in my mind. I hear Calum softly snoring in his bed, so I stay quiet until my stomach begins to grumble. I do my best to descend from the top bunk gracefully as to not wake him, but my sock slips on the smooth metal rung of the ladder and I fall to the floor with a thud.

At first I think Calum will sleep through the commotion as he rolls over with his eyes still shut. Suddenly his eyes open and he sees me sprawled out on the carpet next to his bed. It's visible on his face as he puts the pieces of the loud noise and my current location together like a puzzle. The result: an eruption of loud laughter. I begin laughing too, more because of how Calum looks when he laughs than my unfortunate situation.

When Calum laughs he laughs with his whole face. His eyes become nearly invisible, his nose scrunches, and his mouth takes up half of his head. It's quite a sight and has made a joke even funnier ever since I was a kid. Lily said laughing turned Calum into a cartoon character.

By the time we stopped laughing my stomach ached, which reminded me why I had gotten out of the bed in the first place.

The two of us watched reruns of the American television show, Wipeout, as we both ate toast with Vegemite. I was anxiously picking at my food hoping Calum wouldn't harass me about Brita like he had last night. A second later I heard him clear his throat, my stomach started twisting into knots in anticipation.

"I still can't believe you actually tried to have a conversation with her yesterday. She's not going to talk to you. Don't take it personally, it's just, she doesn't talk to anyone." He spoke before he let out a light chuckle. "She's attractive, don't get me wrong, but she hardly ever comes outside."

"I don't know man, it's just-- I saw her yesterday morning on my way to work writing in some notebook and the moment she looked at me she just tore out what she was working on and started up on something completely new. I'm just curious as to what it was is all." Calum seemed to be deep in thought when he nodded in response.

"Can I ask you a question?" He seemed to hesitate a little.

"Yeah, but you kind of already did."

We both laughed, but the tension in the room was still obvious. "Shoot."

"Do you think that you might be trying to like replace Lily?"

I let out a huge breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Was I trying to replace her? I couldn't be, but even I didn't know the answer. I knew I wasn't doing it on purpose, but maybe I was drawn to someone who could remind me of her. "The truth is, Cal, I have no clue. No one could ever replace Lil, but currently the only friends I have are you and Michael, if he even counts. I just want to branch out. I've moped around for almost three weeks now and if I keep it up, I'll never leave my bunk and that's the last thing she would have wanted. I'm just doing my best to keep my promise." I responded with a pitiful smile.

"Well if you're looking to branch out my friend Ashton is usually hanging out on the beach if you want to chill down there today. How's that sound?"

I could tell Calum was trying to lighten the mood, but the beach? Going to the beach just sounds like a tragedy waiting to happen now.

Brita's POV

The sun was peeking through the branches of the tree outside my window, making unique patterns of light appear on the carpet. I sat up from my pillow and rubbed my eyes. When I turned to look out the window I was overwhelmed with the urge to go outside.