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Luke had been getting better- it had been two weeks since he had touched alcohol or drugs and he now realised how much better he was without it. He could think clearly and he had finally decided on a melody for the song he wrote but never finished recording. Michael had been checking in on him, along with Wendy, and he seemed fine, almost like his old self.
He also hadn't thought about Mia in a few days- that didn't sound like much but, to Luke, it was. He had written a letter that he intended to post to Mia's house himself, since the last time he tried to send her a letter it ended up at Alana's house, however the letter still sat on his desk. He was still going to send it, he just wasn't sure when. He still hadn't heard anything from Mia, he had just been stalking her social media to see how she was doing, and she seemed to be doing just fine- much to Luke's dismay.
Another letter had arrived for him a few days after he had sent his last one. He kind of enjoyed the situation between him and Alana, and he enjoyed speaking to someone knew. He didn't know much about her at all, but he was interested and was content with their routine of sending letters back and forth. He hadn't responded as quickly as he usually would have, because he was focusing on getting himself better, but now he was ready to write a reply.
It was now Monday afternoon and Luke was sat on his balcony, listening to the music that blared from his kitchen whilst he watched the sun slowly set on the city below him. He loved moments like that- moments where he didn't have to worry about anything else, he could just watch the city bustle below him. He held Alana's letter in his hands and began to think more about her. He wondered what she looked like. Was she tall or short? Blonde or brunette? Tan or pale? What colour were her eyes? Had she always lived in Seattle or did she move here? Luke almost wished he knew the answers so that he could put a face to the words he read.
Dear Luke,
I can't say I am- but I won't get into that.
Being kind is good, but sometimes it can ruin you. Don't be kind to those who don't deserve it, it may just come back to bite you. Writing is a form of therapy, you're doing well. It could be worse, you could be out getting yourself into trouble, so I suppose you're doing something right. Not that awesome, actually. When I first moved in there was cat fur EVERYWHERE. I still find it sometimes. I've never really been a book worm, which is ironic since I studied journalism. I prefer movies, but I've got a lot of time on my hands, so I might consider it. The only book I've ever read was Romeo and Juliet, and it's technically a play, so it doesn't really count. Certain things that have happened in my life have made me cynical of the saying 'everything happens for a reason' because I wish it didn't. There are some things that should never happen. Haven't you heard the saying 'bad things happen to good people'? Because I strongly believe in that. I've got a lot of things to be sorry for, Luke. But I guess that's life.
All the best, Alana
Luke frowned whilst reading the letter. She seemed like a rather sweet girl, and to hear that she was hurting made him sad. He seemed to find more interest in her with every letter that he received, and he seemed to feel her open up in every letter. I mean, who would confess such pain to a stranger? Luke hadn't told anyone about his pain other than Michael, his previous lovers and Wendy- and it took a lot of trust for him to open up. Luke was an open book, but he still only told the people he trusted what he was going through.
Don't be kind to those who don't deserve it.
Those words seemed to resonate with Luke. He had never really thought about it before- he had always treated people with the upmost respect and kindness because that's how he was brought up. Kindness and respect were reciprocated, and therefore if Luke treated people that way, he would be treated the same back. But the more Luke thought about it, the more he realised that people didn't, in fact, treat him the same way he treated them. People took advantage of his fame, his money, his kindness, when all Luke really did was care about them. He could name a handful of people who had done this to him.
His first girlfriend, Darcy, was one. The two started dating when Luke was almost sixteen, and they dated for a few months until she had started treating him horribly and sneaking around with other boys. Of course, Luke didn't care too much about this anymore, but at the time he was hurt and still didn't agree with what she had done.
The second was Georgia, who he had dated for a year just before his career took off. The two of them had moved in together, and were seemingly happy, but as soon as Luke became popular and scored his record deal, all she seemed to care about was money. Luke loved to spoil his girlfriends, but Georgia was out of hand and Luke often refused to do something for her, which eventually pushed her away leading to her leaving him.
There were a handful of friends who had also taken advantage of Luke, particularly for his money and fame. Constantly asking Luke for money and never paying it back- it was toxic. Hence why the only friend Luke really had was Michael, because Michael knew Luke before he was famous, and didn't care about the fame and money that came with being Luke Hemmings.
Mia, however, did. She and Luke had dated for two years, and Luke had truly loved her. It had taken a lot for him to get over Sage, and he finally did with Mia. But, the more he thought about it, the more he realised how much she took advantage of him. Of course, Luke wasn't perfect, and he often partied too much but he had always overlooked the fact that Mia had done what Darcy and Georgia did because he didn't want to lose another person. But he did. Another person had left him. Everyone seemed to leave Luke, excluding Michael and Sage, no matter how hard he tried to make them stay.
Sage was Luke's third girlfriend. The charming and beautiful Sage who still and always would remain in Luke's heart, was the only one who didn't take advantage of him. They had met on the night of Luke's twentieth birthday, about seven months after Georgia had left him. The two had clicked immediately and were dating before they knew it. And boy, did he love her. Sage seemed to bring something out of Luke that no one had seen in a long time. She made him happy, and he made her happy, and Luke genuinely believed it would all work out. Until one night, they had the worst argument that Luke had ever had with anyone. And suddenly, that was it. The two of them were over and Luke never saw Sage again. Sage had moved back home and had died in a fatal car accident- which Luke blamed himself for, as he believed that if they hadn't broken up, she wouldn't have gone back home and would still be alive.
Luke found it strange how a simple sentence in Alana's letter could make him realise so much, but also bring back so many painful memories. He re read the letter and another sentence struck out. Bad things happen to good people. In that moment, he agreed with Alana. Bad things happened to Sage, bad things happened to Luke, and bad things happened to Alana- that was evident from her letters. And in that moment, he felt Alana's pessimism and he began to understand why she felt the way she did. She saw the world from a realistic perspective. She didn't see the good like Luke did, she only saw the bad. Like Alana, he also had a lot to be sorry for. As Luke read her letter, he realised that he had wasted his time and love on so many people who didn't deserve it, and he realised that he could have done more for people like Sage.
