Scarlet Hearts♡ T.H

73: Real Life

"I fucking hate him, Luke! I hate him, but i love him so much. God, he's such an asshole! Why- why would we throw us away like that?"

"And he just, he has the cheek to act like he deserves my time of day! I deserve a happy relationship, you know? Not a boy who goes behind my back and kisses other girls."

Rachel sat on the Hemmings' couch, tissues and wrappers scattered around her as Luke sat comforting her. They'd only landed a few hours ago, meaning she hadn't seen anyone yet. She told him about Tom's attempt to talk to her through Harrison, which made her even more upset in her attempt to temporarily forget about him.

"Maybe he's right, though. Maybe he does have an explanation?" Luke's statement came out like a question, almost as if he was unsure of it himself. Part of him wanted to beat Tom up for hurting his best friend - the other three dorks agreeing - but the other part of him argued that there's always two sides to a story.

She rolled her eyes. "I know, and I hate that everyone who's said that is right. But I'm angry! I want him to feel frustrated and upset, just like I do. It's petty, but I'm a petty person."

Calum laughed as he exited the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn and 3 beers. "We're all a little petty. But Luke's right. As much as you don't want to talk to him, you should. There could be a perfectly logical reason behind the photo."

The girl groaned, throwing her head back. "I don't know what to do."

Luke reached over her body and grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl on Calum's lap, earning a playful slap on the hand from the Kiwi boy. "Talk to him before the press tour. Make things civil. The last thing you want to do is be touring while you're not on speaking terms, making it awkward for everybody."

"I hate it when you guys are right."

The front door opened and a familiar head of blonde hair walked in with shopping bags.

"Liz!" Rachel cheered, hopping up from the couch and making her way over to her second mum.

"Rachel my baby, how are you?" Liz pulled her into a tight hug, rocking her side to side. Rachel couldn't help but close her eyes at the comforting feeling of the woman who'd been her mother figure for the majority of her life.

Luke rolled his eyes at the two, getting up and taking the shopping bags from his mums hands. "I swear you love her more than me."

The two woman laughed, Liz shooting a smile at the tanned boy on the couch who was tucking into the popcorn and scrolling through his phone.

Liz hurriedly put the shopping ingredients away as the young girl sat on the counter. "You know, I went to see the Civil War movie with Jack and Ben the other evening. It's wonderful! You were so good in it, darling."

The word darling sent a sharp pain through her heart as she sent Liz a small smile. "Thanks, Liz."

The older woman seemed to know something was up as her smile turned into a frown and she stopped what she was doing. "What's wrong?"

Rachel shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes as she tried to look anywhere but the woman in front of her. Her lips trembled as Liz sighed.

"Is it that boy? What's his name, Thomas? I read about it in the magazines the other day. I'm sorry, honey."

"It's fine, honestly. I just miss him, a lot." She looked down at her lap, her fingers dancing with each other in an attempt to distract herself from crying again.

"Do you love him?"

Rachel looked up in an instant. "Yes."

There was no hesitation, no clouded answers or quick second thoughts, making Liz smile.

The woman placed a hand on Rach's knee. "Then fight for it. Don't be the one to let your relationship fall."