Toxic - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 67

Izzy's POV

After coming up empty handed in the ideas department, I decided on avoiding that confrontation for a little while. I also just wanted to see how long Luke was going to keep up the front, and much to my disappointment it was another whole week. The days went by painfully slow, but it was finally Thursday, and Sophie, Ashton, and Mike were all coming back tonight.

Sophie texted me the minute the guitar was delivered to her house, so I knew they'd all be here within the next couple of hours. I asked if she could pick up wrapping paper on the way since I planned on wrapping the box it was shipped in, and she said yes without question. She was filling in Mike and Ashton in the car, just so that they knew exactly what they had to do.

We didn't want to look like we were intentionally keeping him out of the house, so we decided on getting breakfast in the morning to begin with. I didn't know what the guys were going to do to get him out, but I was assuming they were brainstorming with Sophie on the way. The second he was gone, I was going to have to run around and get him a cake and some more balloons. I also realized I forgot to grab party hats, which were obviously necessities for such an event.

After this week and last I made well over $2,000, so I was probably going a little trigger happy with the spending when it came to the party. I just wanted it to be perfect for him, no matter what was going on between us. He was completely unaware that I knew he'd been keeping his selling a secret, and I still couldn't figure why. I just didn't want to ruin his birthday by pressing him on it, and even risking it turning into a full-blown argument.

I didn't even talk to Sophie yet, but I figured what better time to than when we were stuck blowing up a hundred balloons in my living room. Luke and Calum were out again today, which was the fourth time this week that they left without really explaining where they were going. I felt like I already knew, though, which was what hurt the most.

Luke wasn't acting all secretive anymore, but he still didn't tell me much. I think he just figured out the best way to be vague without sounding suspicious, and the thought of that broke my heart. I tried my best to go along with it, but it took every last bit of energy that I had to not call him out when I knew he was bullshitting me. Like today, when he said he had to go drop a bag off at one of his guy's houses, for the fourth time in the last six days.

I just needed Sophie here before I lost it, and sitting alone in the living room was only making it harder. I texted the group chat to see how far out they were, and when they said an hour I nearly broke down right then and there. It just hurt all the way around, and that was probably just because my mind was racing with all the possible reasons he'd hide this from me. The more that I thought about it, though, the more I put the pieces together a little.

Calum had been distant from both me and Luke the last two weeks, and now I knew that Luke was having him lie for him, too. He's been backing up everything Luke told me, and I had a feeling that wasn't enjoyable for him. It'd explain why he didn't really want to talk to me, and why he gave Luke the cold shoulder most of the time. It was really the only explanation that made sense.

I put my headphones in and blasted music to drown out all those thoughts, and I laid back on the couch to wait the hour for them to get here. I didn't know when Luke and Calum would be home, but I was assuming it wouldn't be until after that. Every time they've gone out it's been for a handful of hours.

I didn't even bother using that time to sell for myself, I just sat at home and minded my own business until they got back. Just to prove a point, I'd go out after they got home. It was putting a noticeable strain on our relationship, but neither of us said anything. We just acted like nothing was wrong, considering we both knew we were hiding things from each other.