the bucket list | lrh

05 - murderer

"Valentine? Is that you?"

His voice seemed to shake her body completely out of the trance she had fallen into, and she stopped walking a little too suddenly. When a car whipped past her, she almost fell backwards completely. If it weren't for Luke's fast-acting, she probably would've collapsed at the sudden noise beside her. Instead, Luke's hand found the small of her back in attempts to keep her steady.

The sidewalk was narrow there, and she knew that if she'd taken one wrong step she'd end up right back with her sister. She knew better than to think that way though, so she quickly brushed herself off and removed herself from Luke's grasp.

Her face was full of confusion and concern for the strange interaction between the two of them, but she quickly shook away the negative thoughts and tore her eyes away from him.

"Don't," she mumbled, turning away and trying to hide her stained cheeks. She was crying, sure. That didn't mean she needed Luke's help. Not him. Of all people, certainly not Luke Hemmings.

He doesn't deserve to see me like this, it's his fault.

Luke wasn't having any of that, though. He quickly caught up to the girl who tried to walk faster than him, on her way home in the opposite direction of his. She could hear his footsteps gaining ground on her, but she just kept forward with no remorse for the boy who just seemed to show up in the worst moments.

"Valentine, what are you doing out right now?" He asks, a strange sense of urgency behind his words. The girl found herself wondering why the in the world he was talking to her, but instead of asking, she only delivered silence to the curious blonde man. She slowed her pace though, not wanting to be too rude. Even in moments like such, it was important that she did her best to remember the kindness her father raised her to give to the undeserving.

She couldn't possibly fathom why on earth he had such a sudden urge to keep her from going out, but it annoyed her to all ends of the earth.

"Seriously? Are you giving me the silent treatment?"

Is he joking with me right now?

"What makes you think I want to talk to you?" She whipped her body around after asking that, surprising the boy enough to have him stumbling back a few steps. His lack of preparation showed through as he had no answer to the girls rhetorical question. He had no idea why, but he felt extremely bothered by the way she was talking to him. "Will you please stop treating me like a murderer?"

Luke knew he had fucked up. He wanted to check on Valentine to make sure that she was alright, not brush over a not-so-faded scar. He didn't mean to say the words, they had just slipped past his defenses when frustration arrived. He found himself reveling in the absolute horror he felt as her face twisted. He wanted to help, not stab her right in the heart.

Luke knew he fucked up. He knew by the way Valentine stumbled back much like how he did just a second ago, only she wasn't as good at catching herself and nearly fell backwards onto her back. He knew by the way her face held nothing but pain in its features. He knew by the nearly inaudible whimper that escaped her lips involuntary. Luke knew he fucked up.

Why must you always have the worst diction? He scolded himself before finding his words over the deafening sound of shame surrounding him.

"No. I didn't mean to say that. I just mean—"

"Please don't ever talk to me again." The girl seemed so sure of her words, so adamant. Luke didn't know what to do with that. So he stayed completely silent and still as Valentine walked away, leaving him and his stupid comments to marinate in her wake. He had no clue how he let himself slip up so drastically, and as much as he wanted to apologize, it was far too late for him to chase after the girl.