the record player was full blast when I entered the shop.
'you can drive all night
looking for the answers in the pouring rain
you wanna find peace of mind
looking for the answer'
the lyrics echoed in the empty space, no costumers to be found. the lights that were once all on when I drove by, now set dimly.
the door closed behind me, the same old bell ringing. I wrapped my arms around my body, the air condition on full blast.
I made sure my footsteps were as quiet as possible so I wouldn't grab his attention from where ever he was in the shop.
i knew he was here.
my eyes trailed up to the back lounge where Luke had taken me the first time we met. I decided to trail the rows and rows of records first.
the first aisle I walked down, there were records all scattered on the floor. albums of love, of money, of sex, of cheating.
I took in a deep breath kneeled down to pick up a broken record. this boy was a mess.
turning to the next aisle, Luke was no where to be found. this was the aisle where we first met. I gazed through the peeks and cracks of the shelve to get a view of the aisle next, but still no sight of the boy.
that's when I decided to head upstairs.
the steps creaked due to the fact that they were old and wooden. I placed a hand on the door knob, staring blankly at the door.
I bit down on my lower lip and brought in some air. I knew he was in here. I just had a feeling.
slowly the door swung open, the room pitch black, the only light coming from that one window.
and there he was.
his legs brought up to his check, sitting on the wooden floor. he stared mindlessly out the window, capturing the California sun. he had his headphone in his ears, obviously not hearing me enter. his head rested on his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs.
I spun and shut the door behind me, being alone in a pitch black room.
my dirty hightop blue converse skidding their way over to Luke. I tried to be as quiet as possible.
and I stopped as soon as I was right behind him. I stood there. and watched as his chest slowly lifted and fell. his droopy eyes forcing their way to stay open. his music loud enough for me to hear through the headphones.
I blew out the breath I had been saving in and put a firm grasp on his shoulder, causing him to jump at my touch.
his head flew around to face me, tearing one headphone out of his ear, the other still in.
he squinted his eyes at me, running his tongue over his lip and just stopping at the ring.
we didn't speak a word.
I made my way next to him and sat myself down. I as well brought my legs up to my chest and gazed out the sunny window.
we were like this for quite some time and it was nice. I was patient with him and waited for him to speak.
"how'd you know i'd be here?" he mumbled, his deep voice now even deeper and scratchy.
I sighed, "lucky guess."
and another pause of silence came between us except for the lyrics coming from his headphones.
"why are you here with me?" he squeezed his eyes shut as if he was in some pain.
