BLACK INK | Luke Hemmings

nine

The bell ringed above Luke's head and he smiled. The simple sound of the bell ringing made him happy because that meant he was going to see Noelle. But when he looked around the shop, he didn't see her and he immediately frowned.

Suddenly, he remembered about her little garden and decided to peak through the back door. It was cold outside and it was already night. He wouldn't had seen her if it wasn't for the light coming from her lamp.

She was lying down in the middle of the grass with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face. She looked like she was sleeping and having a pleasant dream but when he stepped outside to join her, she quickly opened her eyes.

"Lie down with me." Noelle simply said. Luke didn't do it right away. He thought it was strange, lying down with Noelle in the middle of her little garden but after thinking well about it for a while, he gave in and positioned himself right next to her.

She turned around to face him and looked at a specific tattoo on his arm and then bit her lip. This time, Luke didn't have to look at which tattoo she was staring at; he knew perfectly well which one was it.

"Do you want me to explain you the meaning of that tattoo?"

Noelle looked into his eyes trying to search for a hint of sadness, regret, anger but she found nothing. Luke still had the same expression as every day. His blank face made her wonder if he had no feelings or if he was just very good at hiding them. She knew the second option was the right one.

She finally nodded, still unsure if she had made the right decision. That tattoo seemed to represent a very important part in Luke's life and she didn't want him to think she was nosy.

The tattoo was a picture of an open cage. It seemed simple and no one would have guessed it meant so much for Luke, but Noelle knew him better than that.

"This cage was the first tattoo I've ever gotten. It represents freedom...from my old life."

"What does that mean "freedom from your old life"?" She asked.

"You know me as the guy who works in the tattoo parlour in front of your shop. You know I always have the same look on my face. You know I have a lot of tattoos and you may have noticed they're all in black and white. There's not a single tattoo on my body that has colour in it."

It was true. Noelle had already noticed that. A lot of people had colourful tattoos, but Luke's were all in only two colours: black and white.

"What you don't know" he continued "is that I have a bad past."

"We all have something in our lives that we regret doing."

"My life has been a little bit different from other people's lives." He said and then stopped.

Luke wasn't sure if he was ready to share his personal life with someone else. He had never done that, not even with his closest friends but there was something about Noelle that made Luke think she was a trustable person. She had shared her little secret garden with him so he knew she trusted him as well.

"I grew up living in a happy family. I was the typical child who lived a regular life. My parents weren't always fighting, I wasn't bullied in school, I had friends and everything was fine. But then my teenage years came and everything changed. My dad lost his job and my mother had to work very hard to pay for the bills and give me food to eat." Luke got up from the floor and stood in a sitting position. He didn't want to look at Noelle. He sighed and continued his story.

"In the beginning my father tried to search for more jobs but after finding out he wasn't suitable for anything, he started losing hope. Our lives were miserable. My father started drinking just to forget about everything which made my mother very sad. Don't get me wrong, my father was never violent to my mother. My mom wouldn't show me her wrists, but I knew she used to self-harm. She was just desperate. They both were."

Luke could feel the tears forming in his eyes and Noelle put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way. She didn't want to see him cry.

"I was 16 when my father killed himself. I got home from school and my mom was curled up in a ball in the corner of the living-room. She wasn't crying, she was shocked. Her eyes were widened and she refused to speak. Seeing her like that broke my heart and the fact that my father had died was even worse. After that I did something I regret."

Luke stopped talking and hid his face in his hands. He shook his head.

"I don't want to tell you what I did."

"Tell me." Noelle whispered and started rubbing his back. Then she took his hands away from his face and a tear rolled down Luke's cheek. She caught it with her thumb and then kissed his cheek. "I'm not going to judge you, Luke."

He sighed. "I started taking drugs and drinking just like my father used to do. I don't remember much from that time because I was always high or drunk. My mother and I started having arguments almost every day because she didn't want me to end up like my father and I used to tell her everything was fine. But nothing was fine. When I finally realized how heartbroken my mother was because of me, I left her a letter saying how sorry I was and how much I loved her and ran away."

"Do you regret running away?" Noelle asked carefully. She didn't want to hurt his feelings by making him think too much about his past.

"No." He simply answered. "I like to think I made the right decision. I miss her a lot and I'm sure she misses me too but I didn't want to break her heart and destroy her life. Running away was the best solution."

"Do you still-" Noelle started and immediately stopped talking. She was being nosy.

"You were going to ask me if I still take drugs, right?"

Her eyes widened and she immediately shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to ask that. Of course not. I-I..."

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" Luke half-smiled, amused by her reaction. "I don't take drugs anymore so there's nothing to worry about."

She slowly nodded and smiled.

Noelle was glad that he had shared his story with her. It made her happy knowing he trusted her enough to talk about his past. But at the same time, Noelle felt sad. She was sad because he was sad. She just wanted him to feel better.

"Lie down again." She said and he obeyed. She intertwined her fingers with his. "Close your eyes and simply listen to the world at night."

The silence that surrounded them was peaceful and it made Luke feel something on the inside, something different and unique. The world was quiet for once. No cars, no people talking, no noise. Luke had never felt more relaxed in his life and in that moment he understood why Noelle was smiling when he had first seen her that day.

Without realizing Luke was smiling too.

(Author's note):

So, here's Luke's past!

I've been feeling a little down lately so I'm sorry if you think this chapter wasn't good enough.

By the way, if you ever feel sad, depressed or even if you're simply having a bad day, message me and I'll talk to you! I'll do my best to make you feel happy (:

Don't forget to vote and please comment!!

Thank you x