Teenage Runaway (A Luke Hemmings Fanfic)

Part 14

*Luke's POV*

No, it's all wrong. I should've known this would happen. I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved with Rindy. She's just a sweet, innocent girl who doesn't know that danger follows me like a shadow everywhere. And now if she's with me, she'll be completely exposed to it. I thought that as long as she was with her parents she'd be mostly protected. But now there was nothing I could do. One slip and it's game over for the both of us.

Knowing sleep wasn't an option at the given moment, I decided to call Calum. I hoped he'd have some type of idea on how I could possibly fix this mess. I dug a lot of shitholes in the past, but he was a master excavator. I could always depend on him to get me out of bad situations. And this was a terrible situation. Eventually, I fell asleep. I'd worry about this tomorrow

That morning it hit me, I couldn't call Calum. He'd cut me off. Before, Calum could chase away any type of trouble coming my way. But now I was hopelessly alone. I was more vulnerable than ever and that scared me to death. Sure, I could stand my own in a fight. But without Calum as a barrier, who knew what kind of shit would come my way.

I'd been awake for an hour when I started to pace the living room. Footsteps from upstairs brought me out of my troubled state. Rindy was awake. I couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked as she shuffled down the stairs. She donned fuzzy pjs with sheep and slippers to match. Her hair was in disarray and yesterday's makeup was smudged all over her face. But she still looked perfect. She is perfect.

"Good morning sleeping beauty" I chirped. She groaned in reply.

"I don't trust anyone who smiles before 9 am." She grumbled.

"But my lovely, it is 9:01. Therefore I am deemed trustworthy by default." That statement earned a little smile. "There's the smile I've been looking forward to seeing since I went to sleep last night."

"You're an idiot." She said with her arms wrapped loosely around my neck.

"Yes, but I'm your idiot" I slapped her butt as she walked away, which resulted in a nasty glare.

"How do you like your coffee?" She asked as she prepped the coffee maker.

"Black with a teaspoon of you." Another glare. But I could see a glimmer of something in her eyes. She secretly liked my cheekiness.

"Oh Lucas, always the cheeky one. What will we do with you?"

"Simple. You learn to love and accept me flaws -or in my opinion, qualities- and all. So what are your plans for today?"

"Job hunting." She said with an exasperated sigh.

"Rindy, I told you I'd take care of everything."

"I can't just sit around letting you put in all the effort! We entered this as a team and that's how it'll stay."

"What did you have in mind?" I asked in defeat. She was right.

"A clerk in the art store downtown."

"So you're going to sell art instead of making it."

"For now, yes. This is going to require 24/7 effort. There will be no messing around until we have a place to live and we're financially stable." Once again, she was right.

"Well after you're done with that, I want to take you somewhere."

"Luke, I don't know."

"Please?" I put on my best puppy dog face.

"Fine. I'll be back around 6"

"Can't wait." I winked and watched in awe as she ascended the stairs to get ready. Damn, she was beautiful.

*Zorinda's POV*

As I opened the door to the shop a bell dinged and I was immediately greeted by the scent of paint and paper. It was a smell I was all too familiar with but had missed so much. I walked around the shop looking at all the artwork. Some pieces were breathtaking, others left me wondering how they'd even gotten here in the first place. I suppose everyone sees art differently.

"How can I help you?" A petite girl with cropped, blonde hair asked. She resembled a pixie.

"I came here to apply for a job. I noticed your ad in the newspaper" I replied with fake confidence.

"Yes! Let me get the paperwork for you. I'm Ella." She shook my hand

"Hi Ella, I'm Rindy. Um..is there a studio here?"

"Yes, we have a studio in the backroom that's open to employees after hours or during breaks. Are you an artist?" She asked sweetly

"I'd like to say I am." I smiled warmly.

"Well maybe one day we'll be selling your work in our store."

That's the goal I thought

"Get that filled out and we'll look it over and get back to you as soon as we can." She said, handing me a stack of papers.

"Thank you so much Ella."

"No problem. I look forward to hearing from you!"

I stopped by a few restaurants and a bookstore to gather applications and decided to head home. I needed to get ready for my date with Luke. I had no idea what he was planning but he seemed excited about it. That made me excited and a little anxious to see what he had in store for me.

"How'd the job hunt go?" Luke asked when I walked in the door.

"Good. Get this. The art shop I wanted to apply at has a studio open to the employees!"

"Babe, that's awesome! I knew you'd find somewhere you could continue painting."

"That's if I get the job though."

"As an artist yourself, I'm pretty sure you're more than qualified. Now go get ready. Wear something nice."

"Yessir." I saluted him as I walked up the stairs.