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Alana didn't receive another letter from Luke for a week. Every day she had expected to see an envelope with his writing on it, and every day she was left with flyers and other mail. It had become normal for her to find a letter two days after she would send one, and so not receiving one worried her slightly. She almost laughed at how ridiculous it was– worrying about a stranger you sent letters to. But she did worry, because she had grown fond of Luke and could tell that he was hurting, just like she was.
Instead of thinking about it, she decided to distract herself with anything and everything she could think of. She had spent extra hours at work, spent time with Calum, she had even started speaking to her neighbours more (specifically Dani as she had ended up babysitting more often now that Dani was dating someone).
Eventually, ten days after sending her last letter, one was posted to her house along with various other pieces of mail. Alana felt relieved when she saw a pink envelope and Luke's messy handwriting scrawled on the front and immediately headed up to her room to read it. She didn't have a lot of time because Calum was currently in the kitchen and would soon call her. That, and he probably wouldn't appreciate finding out that she had been exchanging letters with Luke. Calum was extremely protective over Ashton, even after his death, and Alana, and knew that Calum would immediately jump to the conclusion that Alana was dating Luke– which was not the case at all.
She had planned to tell Calum about her friendship– if you could even call it that– with Luke, but she didn't know how. Technically, it wasn't any of Calum's business who Alana befriended, but after Ashton had died, the two of them had grown extremely close and had looked out for each other (something that Ashton had made them promise each other before he died) and so she knew she had to tell him.
Frankly, Alana liked Luke. The whole idea of feeling close to someone she didn't even know was bizarre, but it made her feel better. She felt as though she could confide in Luke about a lot of things (not about Ashton, though, because that was still a very painful subject that she only spoke about with Calum) and was glad that he reciprocated this. Much like Alana, Luke also found comfort in Alana's letters and was happy that someone reciprocated his interest for once. However, Alana wasn't aware of Luke's alcohol struggle which was the reason for him not replying to her letter right away.
Dearest Alana,
I won't ever judge you– remember that.
God, Alana, you sound so much like Michael. The two of you would get on. I treat people the way I would want to be treated, I've always been told that respect is important, but your letter made me realise that perhaps this isn't the way I should be. You're right, writing is a good coping mechanism but it doesn't always help as much as I'd like. My new companion is a bottle of bourbon. I can see how that would be annoying. Are you allergic? If so, that sucks. Maybe you should consider moving. I enjoy movies, but there's so much more to books. Like Harry Potter for example– the films are way too overrated (no offence if you're a fan) I agree that certain things in life shouldn't happen, but I do believe there's a reason, whether bad or good. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think we're all entitled to our own beliefs and let's be honest, who actually knows the answer? I have heard that saying, and after thinking about it, I believe it too. It does suck that the best ones get the worst, but that's life I suppose. Sometimes we can't control it. As have I, Alana, but doesn't everyone?
