Flashlight {Luke}

1. Stereotypical

Chapter One

The dog tugs on his leash, dragging me along the street. I huff in frustration and grip the tether tighter than before. You'd think that the german shepherd would be used to this, especially since it's our nightly ritual, but no. Jake continues to pull and even barks at the occasional squirrel. I sigh and lean on my left foot when he finally finds a spot to do his business. My eyes move over to watch the rest of the houses. Jake doesn't like it when I watch him take a shit. I don't particularly enjoy it, either.

Two children play across the street from us, passing the soccer ball back and forth. The little one, a girl about eight-years-old, sees me and waves. I return it with a smile. I move on to the next house. Miss Linda has lived in the blue dilapidated home ever since I was born, about nineteen years. She still resides there, even today, with her three blind cats. Adjacent to her is the foreclosed house with an overgrown yard. The people who used to live there stopped paying the mortgage and the house was taken from them as a result.

The entire neighborhood believes there is a curse on the house because no one has lived there since. No one wants to buy a fixer upper of that sort, anyway. The front porch sags from years of neglect and the side windows are boarded up, patched like a patchwork quilt. The yard is full of holes and weeds cover the back yard. There are so many that even Cheech and Chong couldn't smoke it all.

A cold and wet lick to my calf brings me back to Jake. I scrunch my nose. Bending down, I gather his feces in a garbage bag, trying not to gag from the God awful stench. "I need to tell mom to stop feeding you eggs," I speak, tying the garbage bag into a knot. The dog just stares at me with a blank expression, probably only dreaming of steak bones and chasing cats.

I turn back around and continue down the street. Where I live isn't what you would call lavish. We live in a small town in the Middle of Nowhere ,Florida. Most of the residents here are working class, blue-collar people. We worked hard to make a living and most of the time we just continued to work hard until we die. We don't go up on the social ladder and we don't go down. We just kind of exist; that's what terrifies me the most.

Walking up the drive way to my house, I make a mental note to water the yard. The grass is brown and dried up, sticking out like a sore thumb among the green shrubbery of the neighbors. My mom is a school teacher and my dad works for a phone company, therefore they aren't left with much time to complete trivial tasks such as watering the lawn.

The dog pushes past me to get through the door and I am immediately met with cold air. The Florida humidity gets to my mother easily, so she always has the house thermostat turned down low. I don't blame her, though. Florida only has two weather patterns: hurricanes and stifling heat. I open the refrigerator and grab a water bottle, chugging down its contents.

"How'd your walk go?" My mother speaks from the living room.

"Good, hot as hell, though."

My mother laughs and enters the room. Her grey hairs cling to her forehead and she smiles. Crowfeet accent her eyes instead of the make-up she gave up years ago. Yet, she's still beautiful to me in her own aging maternal way. "Isn't it always?" she teases. I nod, pulling my dark hair up into a ponytail.

"Darlene, would you mind doing me a favor?" she questions, grabbing a notepad from the kitchen drawer. I nod, already anticipating what's to come. "Would you mind running up to the Dollar General and picking up a few things?"

I quickly agree, not having anything better to do since I finished my coursework early. She scribbles down a few things and passes the notepad to me. I read over it and realize that none of the items are cold or frozen. This time I would be able to walk. I found walks to be relaxing, even in the heat. They give me time to myself and a time to think. Living in a household with four other people, that alone time could be hard to come by.

Grabbing my wallet and my bottle of water, I head back out into the humidity and begin my trek toward the store.

***

I'm trudging down my street an hour later with an arm full of groceries. The night lights now illuminate our dead end street. The sun set not too long ago and the lights are the only things to see by; except for my phone, of course. The Killers softly play as I walk down the street humming to the tune of "Andy, You're a Star". The children that played outside only a few hours before have disappeared into their home. They're probably getting ready for bed and excited to start another fun-filled day in the morning.

Miss Linda is probably curled up on her couch with her three cats, lackadaisically petting them while watching reruns of Wheel of Fortune, a normal Thursday night for her. I readjust the bags in my hands and look toward the abandoned house. Just like always, an eerie presence lingers around it. Even though there is nothing to be scared of, the solemness of the house is terrifying in a way. No one has lived there for years.

I continue to walk, not thinking much of the house until I come to a stop. I cast a glance back at the house and my breath hitches in my throat. My eyes don't tear away from the window because I can almost swear, for a split second, that I saw a light inside.

*Author's Note*

Hi guys! I am so excited for this. I was actually on a walk today and I was struck with this idea. It's going to be a Luke story and he'll be introduced soon so please be patient. I am very excited for this. Yes, there will be smut later on so if you aren't comfortable with that you have been warned.

ILY

- Sx