Chapter Eleven

707 49 3
                                    

Luke rolls over in his bed as someone knocks on the door. The sheets and blankets and pillows are shrew about and they are all starting to smell less and less like laundry detergent, or maybe Luke is just getting used to - and quite frankly, getting sick of the smell.

He mumbles a 'come in' because he knows it isn't Ashton and he's been sitting here in the dark for long enough to begin questioning his own sanity.

Michael walks in, clad in black-on-black-on-black clothing, and sporting hair as red and as hot as red hot candy.

Luke looks past Michael to see Calum follow in through the door. He hears tired sighs come from them both. Calum shuts the door.

"Luke. . ." Calum walks towards Luke and he looks in his friend's directions, but more through Calum than actually at him. "You need to get out of bed." Luke stays silent, trying not to think about all of the possibilities of running into his curly-haired friend if he leaves the uncomfortable shelter of his bed.

"C'mon, at least tell us what's wrong." Luke's eyes flick to Michael - to him, not through him - as he takes a seat at Luke's desk. His stomach clenches and he shakes his head frivolously. "Why n-"

"I thought your hair was purple?" Luke chokes. His voice is hoarse and choppy, having not talked in nearly three days can do that to you.

"It was lilac but I died it again, and you would've known that if you'd actually gotten out of bed t-"

"Calum said it was purple," Luke whispers. He looks at Calum who is sitting on the bed near his feet. Luke cuddles into his pillow.

"I said it was lilac. Now can you please stop changing the subject," Calum says. He sounds exasperated, and the volume of his voice is a little too much for Luke right now.

Calum must see the way Luke recoils because his voice softens, "We're really worried about you. We don't want you to do anything bad again."

Luke shakes his head and scrunches his face. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine." He sits up and looks at his two friends who look at him to look at him and Luke wants to scream. "Really," his voice is barely a whisper now, "I am."

Calum mumbles something along the lines of no you aren't and pulls Luke into his chest. Luke immediately wants to cry, but he can't and he doesn't know why.

So he nuzzles his face into Calum's collar and tries to breath in his scent because it isn't laundry detergent. Michael comes from behind and sits in the place Luke's head was previously, wrapping his arms to touch behind Calum's back.

"It's okay," the 'red head' says into Luke's ear. And Luke nods, because yes, he knows it isn't.

"I wanna go back home," Luke's cries. Although his face stays the same, Luke feels his chest writhe and pull on his throat. He knows his friends are scared for him - he's scared too - but to the point of wanting to go home. Back to that wretched place where his horrible parents live, and where every person knows exactly who he is and what he has done.

They must think he's crazy.

Or at least completely, utterly, mentally unstable enough to a point where crazy may be a way describe him, but not a legally binding term.

Luke curls into himself, and the two boys holding him hold him even tighter because now they know something terrible has happened.

----------

This is less than 600 words I'm sorry.

I'm also sorry that it is confusing af, but idrk.

Love you guys.

Voodoo Doll lhxai [discontinued]Where stories live. Discover now