Toxic - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 66

Luke's POV

After Izzy walked out, Calum laid into me with everything he had. I didn't want him to be caught in the middle of this, but it just so happened that he was there. He was going to have to deal with it, since talking to Izzy about it wasn't an option. I zoned him out for a few minutes until I heard him make a comment that actually stuck in my head.

"What happened to not fucking up anymore?" He asked, his temper calming down into plain irritation.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." I said, but it didn't stop the slight sense of guilt from washing over me. Calum just shook his head, leaning back into the couch he was on and bringing his attention back to the TV.

I just kept telling myself that very same thing, though. What Izzy didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and as long as neither of us filled her in on my dealings the last two weeks everything would be fine. While she was out with Sophie taking care of my birthday plans I was out selling, and I didn't leave her out of it for a particular reason at first, but now I had to.

Izzy's POV

When I pulled into the driveway at home I quickly turned around to make sure the bag was completely hidden, hopping out of the car right after. I looked up to see Luke standing out on the front step, watching me as I slowly approached him.

"Where'd you go?" He asked sternly, his jaw tight. I could tell he was trying to keep his temper under control, but it was still peeking through.

"My friend's house." I said, brushing passed him to get into the house. I kicked my shoes off and heard the door slam behind me, and when I turned around he was hot on my tail.

"I don't like not knowing where you are." He glared at me, and the second Calum realized what was happening he got up and made his way up to the guest room.

"You didn't bother to reach out to me while I was gone." I said, giving slightly more attitude than I had intended. I didn't want to fight with him, but when he got unreasonably territorial like this it ticked me off. Luke just flared his nostrils, storming passed me to go into the kitchen.

"So, you're what? Hanging out back home or...?" He asked, his head in the fridge as he took out a beer. I could still hear the irritation in his voice, but I made the conscious effort to drop my own attitude.

"It was a girl from high school, yeah." I said, heading over to be in the same room as him. "I don't want to fight with you about this." I sighed, reaching out to hold onto his arm. He turned to me and I saw his features soften, but the anger in his eyes was only replaced with sadness. He searched my face for I don't know what, but the longer he looked at me the sadder he got, until he finally looked away.

"What's going on with you?" I asked, holding my hand up to his cheek to turn him back to me.

"Trouble with work." He said vaguely, finally meeting my eyes after.

"I get that you don't want to get me involved with it after what happened, babe, but at least talk to me if you need to." I told him, not really asking for him to tell me right now but leaving that door open for the future.

"It's not something you need to worry about." He pulled me into his chest as I wrapped my arms around his torso, and I melted into him as we stood there for a few moments.

When we pulled away, he took his beer in one hand and my hand in his other to lead me into the living room. He dropped onto the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table, and I fell into his side and did the same. We stayed like that for a few episodes of Rick and Morty, but when I started yawning he turned the TV off.