Broken Home ; l.h ☹

two-

Chapter 2

It was now after school and Calum was at Luke's house working on a project for history that was due on Tuesday.

They were struggling to finish, though, since they were messing around too much and laughing at every little thing.

While they were working, Luke's stomach growled and as if on cue, his mom walked in and asked,

"Would you boys like something to eat?"

Both of them nodded saying "Yes please." and she went back down to the kitchen to get something ready for them.

"Hey Luke," Calum put down his pencil and leaned forward towards his friend a little bit, "what's that on your shoulder?" He questioned and was squinting his eyes a bit to try and focus his sight on Luke's shoulder. His flannel had slipped down and there was a dark mark that (from the looks of it) was a bruise.

Calum noticed that Luke almost immediately tensed up and stuttered out,

"Uh, n-nothing. Don't worry bout it."

Luke mentally cursed at himself for stuttering and sounding suspicious, and grew very anxious; his palms were sweating, hands shaking, and he went all around cold. He knew what Cal was thinking and that he would get the answer out of him no matter what. But he couldn't willingly tell him.

"Luke, tell me it's not what I think it is." Calum's voice was now stern and he had a serious look on his face. He knew what was going on and has been for 2 years.

Luke was frozen like a deer in the headlights with wide eyes. You could practically see the sweat on his forehead and he could've sworn Calum heard his heart beating so loud.

After a few seconds of nothing, the blonde finally spoke.

"I-It's not. Don't worry Cal, really. I'm fine."

Calum was quick to respond, "Then why did I see a bruise on your fucking shoulder?" And reached over to move his shirt and expose the mark, but Luke backed away.

Right before Cal could fully expose the bruise, Luke's mom, Liz, walked in with 2 pieces of pizza on a plate in one hand and 2 cans of sprite in the other.

"Here you boys are," she smiled. "If you need anything else then please let me know."

"Thank you." both boys responded in unison.

After she had left the room and shut the door, Calum turned his attention back on Luke and said, "I know it's a bruise and your fucking dad did it. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to bother you, okay?" Luke admitted with guilt lingering in his voice. He was on the verge of tears and couldn't look Cal in the face, or else he was sure he'd start bawling.

Calum's face suddenly softened and he didn't say anything, he just pulled the taller boy into a hug and let him cry.

"I know you want me to tell you, but I don't want to annoy you or sound like an attention seeker." Luke said truthfully. "I didn't mean to make you mad." He sniffled and continued to let the tears stream into his best friend shoulder.

"It's okay," Cal told him, "I'm not mad. I just can't keep seeing you like this. You need to do something about it, Luke. This isn't okay."

The kiwi boy himself was nearly in tears as well because he never liked seeing the ones he loves in so much pain. The situation made him feel useless because he felt like he couldn't do anything to help Luke, all he could do was talk to him- and that wasn't enough to satisfy his own feelings.

Luke continued to cry for 10 minutes and when he finally calmed down, he looked Cal in the eyes and said,

"I'm sorry Cal.. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Calum could've sworn he felt his heart breaking at the sight of his best friend like this; His bright blue eyes now dark and red, filled with need and sadness. He was in need of help and Calum knew this.

"Show me the bruises." He said calmly, not wanting to make Luke more upset.

Luke hesitated and let out a shaky sigh. He stood up from his bed, took off his flannel first and then his shirt.

Calum's heart dropped to his stomach when he saw all the bruises Luke had developed from his dad. It also angered him because he didn't deserve this- nobody does.

Luke's back, arms, neck, shoulders, and even his rib cage all had some nasty bruises scattered along them. The more recent ones were dark and purple, while the more older ones were fading into a yellow-green color. He even had a few scratches on his neck and face, but they weren't too noticeable.

"Luke..." was all that could come out of Calum's mouth. He was in shock, just like anyone else would be.

The blonde started to sob once again because he felt ashamed and embarrassed for letting his best friend see him like this, and stupid for letting this happen to him. His dad (dare he call him that) had made his life miserable and Luke really didn't see a point in trying anymore. His father had made him self-conscious of his body image and it's made him depressed. He tried to be positive, though, but sometimes that doesn't work. The only thing that can truly make Luke happy is Calum.

Calum pulled Luke in for a hug once again.

"We're gonna get through this," he told him, "together."