outlines ✰ l.h.

chapter twenty-three

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Everything was dark. There was a gentle buzzing coming from under my pillow. It sounded like the vibrations from a phone call. I lifted my head up from my feathered pillow and struggled to find my phone. I expected to be hearing from my dad, he lost track of timezones and calls me whenever he pleases. I squinted at the bright screen. It was Luke.

I slid my thumb over my screen and answered.

"Hey," I softly said. 

It was just a couple minutes after 5am on a Sunday morning. It had been a week since I stayed at Luke's house. He hadn't ignored a single text or phone call from me. I was seeing him around school more than I ever had. We skipped lunch together and spent the half hour of freedom making out in his car and blasting music. We were on a 70s kick at the moment. 

"Ands, hey." Luke replied. He sounded awake, dare I even say...perky? "I'm sorry that I'm calling you this early. Can you come meet me somewhere?"

This struck a nerve with me for some reason. It sent my anxiety into overdrive. Was there something wrong? Was he in trouble?

"Yeah, where? Are you okay?" I sat up in my bed and threw my covers off. I placed my hand over my chest and felt my heart rate nearly pounding it's way out. 

Luke let out a chuckle of some sort. He sounded nervous, too. "I'm fine. I just wanted to see you and talk to you."

"Okay." I replied.

"Meet me at Settler's bridge. It's right by the school. Can you be there in 20 minutes?" He asked. 

"Uh," I paused, staring at my reflection in my mirror. Messy bed-head, big t-shirt, paint stained shorts. My insecurity had me look away quickly. "Yeah, of course."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

We exchanged our goodbyes and hung up. Luke made me nervous too often. Sometimes coming from his hands on my legs or from late nights texts. Or in this case, vague early morning calls. 

My bathroom lights turned my warm toned skin even more yellow. The shadows that were drawn onto me didn't help my appearance, whichever direction I chose to turn my head. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth before I headed downstairs. 

I redid my bun as I stepped down my stairs and towards the laundry room. I opened the dryer and pulled out the first pair of jeans I could find. I grabbed my go to crew neck as well and threw it on. My outfit was holding in the heat from the dryer and it reminded me of how I felt sleeping at Luke's house.

I had a few minutes to spare and made myself a cup of coffee. It wasn't often I was up this early, especially on Sundays. I typically liked to sleep in and normally even take a nap during the day too. So caffeine was required

I brought my cup of coffee with me upstairs to grab my phone and keys and such. As I passed my mirror, I stopped again. I placed my mug down on my desk next to my mirror and begin pulling wispies from my hair to frame my face. I removed my white t-shirt from under my crew neck to keep me from looking bulky. My go to shoes were in the corner of my room and I slid them on with ease. 

I grabbed my keys from the hook and went back into my bathroom for my phone. My reflection, again, caught my eye and not in my favorite of ways. I stared down at my toothpaste, Did I need to brush my teeth again? I just drank coffee. What if Luke wants to make out with me or something? Will he think that's gross?

Instead of pondering on what Luke thought, I flipped the light off. I grabbed my white t-shirt from my floor and put it back on. My goosebumps had gone away and I was feeling much more comfortable in my own skin.