Loving Luke | muke [c]

Seven

"Don't go." Luke pleaded, hand quickly reached out to grab my arm. I could see the desperation in his eyes, I could see how scared he was and I could feel from his tight grip on my arm that he really didn't want me to go. "You know I hate needles."

"I'm here." I nodded as I pulled up one of the small stools that were placed in the corner of the room. It smelled clean and everything inside was white and bright and I knew that if I were Luke, I'd be freaking out too. There was always something about hospitals and examination rooms that gave both Luke and I the creeps. I was trying my best to let him do the freaking out as I just sat there.

I cleared my throat, watching as the tall nurse walked over to where Luke was sat, telling him she would tie the strap around his arm and asking him to ball his fist. Luke did as told, taking in a deep breath as she ran a cotton ball with some strong scented alcohol solution on it before feeling around for Luke's vein. My eyes were focused on that, watching carefully as she pulled up a tray with a needle and all the tubes Luke was going to fill up with his blood. It was only then I realised Luke's hand had slid down my arm, fingers fitting themselves between my own as he held my hand. Very tightly.

"Okay, Luke, here's what we're going to do." The nurse said calmly, taking a seat on her own stool as her large hazel eyes stared back at the blond. "I'm going to take some of your blood samples now, and these are going in to get the antibodies checked out. If you are infected, the antibodies take usually between two to eight weeks to be generated, so the chances are that even if your tests come back negative, you could still HIV-positive. In either case, you'll have to take a confirmatory test. If it comes back negative, that'll be in about two months time to make sure the antibodies have time to be produced. If it comes back positive, it will be sooner. You okay with that?"

I could see Luke gulp down nervously, nodding slowly before he looked up at me with wide eyes. I could feel his hand shake as he gripped tighter and tighter, avoiding the urge to look down at the nurse as she began to get everything ready. It took Luke about three seconds to screw his eyes shut and let out a yelp when he felt the brunette woman place her finger on his vein again, making sure it was the right place before she let out a small sigh.

"Okay, I'm going in now. It's very important that you stay still so that I can get the vein." Luke let a squeak, opening his eyes and letting them meet mine. We were looking at each other so intensely, it felt almost like we were in a different world. It was almost like soulmates didn't exist, like Luke and I were meant to be and he wasn't running the risk of being infected by HIV. Everything felt perfect. Until Luke looked away and bit his lower lip.

"So, what now?" I cleared my throat, turning towards the nurse with a curious expression. Luke was still clinging to me, and I could see by the way she looked between us that she figured we were soulmates. Which we weren't. And I could see it clearly down on her as she spotted the anchor on Luke's right wrist, but not on mine.

"The tests will be ready in about half an hour but the doctor is only allowed to disclose the information with the patient and family members. Are you two partners?"

"No." Luke groaned as he sat up, hand still laced with mine as he looked down at the tiny bandaid on his arm. "But he's still family."

"Alright." The nurse nodded quickly. "The doctor will be back in about a half hour with the results."

"Thank you." Luke smiled weakly, watching as the nurse left the room.

The two of us sat in complete silence, letting the ticking of the wall clock fill in the small room. I still hadn't let go of Luke's hand, and luckily for me, neither had he. It took me a second to realise that Luke hadn't asked me not to go just because he was scared of needles. He wasn't holding my hand just because he didn't really want to get punctured in the vein. I knew deep inside that it all meant a lot more, and although Luke had left me five years ago, I knew I wouldn't leave him. Not even if he was sick; and I was pretty sure that was all he wanted. He wanted me to be there, like Ale had said he would need.