milk and cookies // ot4 // BOOK FOUR

luke.

luke has barricaded himself in his room since his birthday.

since he destroyed almost everything. his old toys, his cake, and his birthday party.

if you'd even call it that.

no one was there. not even his family. he was lonely.

his room was a greyish, earthy blue, and it was bland. not much decor, just his bed, his dresser, and an empty picture frame that had yet to be occupied.

luke stared at the ceiling, but not for long.

a knock took him out of his daze.

"luke." a woman sighed from outside the door.

it was his mother.

there was a pause of silence before she continued. "you need to come out of that room. go for a walk or something. i'm sick of your sulking. just go to the park, i'm sure you'll find someone to hang out with."

another pause of silence. she was waiting for a response, but nothing came. she continued. "what about some of the people you invited to your party? calum? or michael? they seem nice."

luke sighed. "calum is dead and michael is a cunt. no thanks."

there was what seemed to be a long, uncomfortable silence that rang in the air for a bit.

another sigh came from outside the door, before it opened abruptly. his mother stood by the door, but her hands were planted on her hips. "luke," she began. "you're not staying here. you're going for a walk, and i don't want you back without a smile on your face. got me?"

luke just blinked at her, expressionless.

"i'll give you some cash, feel free to buy yourself something nice. just go outside, damnit. you need some sunshine."

luke glanced to his window. the sun was beginning to set. he didn't feel like commenting on it, and he also didn't feel like arguing either.

he rolled out of bed and walked to his mother, who now was holding a $10 bill in her hand. she took his hand and slapped the bill into it before walking away.

luke stood there for a moment, watching his mother walk down the hallway to the stairs. he followed soon after, shoving the bill into his front pocket and trudging down the steps straight to the door.

he didn't bother to say goodbye to his mother.

he never really spoke anyway. he was just a quiet, reserved teenager.

the sky was a beautiful combination of pinks, oranges, yellows and blues. scattered white clouds stood out vibrantly from the deep rich colors of the sky. luke took in a breath of fresh air and began to walk down the street.

as he walked, the sky got a little darker. it calmed him, and the weather was perfect for walking.

maybe he should thank his mom for the little extra cash and making him go outside, it was refreshing. he felt like he never got enough of it.

as he walked, he let his thoughts roam. why did his mother ask about calum and michael? how did she even know them? where was calum? was he dead?

they never found his body. he remembers keeping up with the news stories. pronounced missing, the search party for him, the announcement of his death. calum's mother breaking down on tv. his sister doing the same. it's been two months since his disappearance, and not an ounce of evidence to indicate he was still alive.

part of luke thought he was still alive.

but another part of luke didn't care.

calum didn't go to his party. calum didn't know him. and he really didn't know calum.

turning the corner, luke spotted an ice cream truck parked on the side of the street. the street was a very secluded part of town where the senior citizens tended to live, so luke thought it was strange for an ice cream truck to drive around an area where it would get no business.

the ten dollar bill in his pocket screamed at him to be used, and he thought it would be a good idea to treat himself to a cold sweet.

though the air was getting a little chilly and the sun was getting ready to rest, luke approached the ice cream truck to get some ice cream.

there was some bustling going on inside the truck until luke cleared his throat rather loudly, gaining the attention of the ice cream guy.

when the guy turned around, he didn't look at all what luke was expecting. he was a middle-aged, rotted looking man.

"are you still open?" luke asked the man.

the man laughed a throaty cackle and responded. his voice was deep and raspy, and irish. "ye, i'm open," he paused for a second, running his eyes up and down luke's lanky body, taking in his appearance. he seemed to be taking mental notes and he then continued. "what're ya lookin' for? i've only got ice lolly's, no soft 'cream for ye."

luke pointed to a random ice pop, and the man turned and grabbed it from the freezer, handing it to luke who took it with ease.

"how much is it? here just give me the change-" luke reached for the crumpled bill but the man stopped him.

"no, it's on me. enjoy." he smiled wide; it made luke a little uncomfortable, and he went back to his business. luke thought it was sweet of the man to be so generous, so he walked away with a smile on his face back towards home.

he didn't really know how long it would take to get back home, but he savored his ice cream and let some of it drip through his fingers. the feeling made him feel like a kid again, when life was easier and he didn't have to deal with the world's shitty obstacles.

about ten minutes on his walk, he started to feel like shit. he was only somewhat done with his ice cream, the ice pop was really frozen so he took his time. he looked at his surroundings. the distant trees and houses looked fuzzy and his head began to hurt really bad from the poor vision.

he decided to find a secluded place to keep himself steady for a bit, so he could regain conscience of himself. he almost made it to the grass when he felt his legs go weak and let himself fall to the sidewalk pavement. his ice cream cut loose from his sticky hand where it landed just a tad shy right of his hand, which fell limp like the rest of his body.

he was still somewhat aware of what was going on, but he was scared. why couldn't he feel himself? why wouldn't he get up?

partly conscience, he heard the soft music of an ice cream truck play from afar. the longer he listened, the louder it got.

before he could make out the familiar truck, he blacked out.

he wasn't aware of the old irish man making an appearance again. he wasn't aware of the old man laughing at him, kicking his limp body to test if his cherry meth worked. he wasn't aware that he was getting picked up by the old man. he wasn't aware that his body was thrown into the back of the familiar truck that served him an ice pop just a few minutes ago.

he wasn't aware that he had been taken away, the ice pop melting into the earth.

no one was around to see that he was taken away.

and his mother wasn't aware that luke wouldn't be making it home tonight.