Dating a YouTuber?!

Chapter 38: Bad family news

I was so excited that I was going to see Luke again. I had missed him terribly and was worried about him. He had seemed so off last time we spoke and I was curious to what he needed to tell me in person.

I had picked a coffee shop, on Connor's recommendations, and arrived early to find that Luke had already arrived. That was extremely odd. Luke might have changed a lot since he stopped drinking but he had never ever been punctual. Something was definitely wrong.

I called out his name and he turned around. He looked even worse in person than on the screen. For a second, I was worried that he had relapsed and begun drinking again.

He gave me a tired smile and my worries washes away momentarily. He didn't seem drunk or hung-over, just simply worn out.

I took the seat opposite him and was surprised to see that he had ordered my favourite drink.

"What's going on, Luke? You're freaking me out!" I said in a hushed tone.

Luke started grinding his teeth, a nervous tick of his.

"I've got some bad news..."

"Are you sick?" I asked, interrupting.

He shook his head with a slight grin. "No, I'm just exhausted but thank you for noticing my poor look."

"What is it then? You're in trouble?"

"No, I mean, I guess you could say that. Or rather the family is in trouble, which affects you and Emma too."

What the hell was my brother talking about? I didn't speak but instead encouraged him to keep talking.

"Here's the short version. Our uncle made some ill-advised and risky investment with the majority of his company's money. He's done this before and it usually turned out really well but this time it didn't. He lost all of it. He is in big trouble and is pulling in all of his personal possessions to cover the loss and keep the company afloat."

I sat back in shock. I could imagine uncle doing something like that. He always had seemed peculiar to me and he was known to make rash decisions.

"So, he's sold the house here in LA and..."

"Wait," I said interrupting. I knew that I was being terribly rude but Luke was trying to move through the story fast and I was having trouble adjusting and processing the new information he threw at me.

"Where do you live now then?"

"I rented a crappy apartment but that not important."

I couldn't help but giggle. Luke looked at me like I was crazy.

"I know this is serious business but seriously, you've officially been in the US for too long! You said apartment, not flat," I said while still giggling.

"Phrases are just contagious, Abbey," he said. "But moving on, I was talking about uncle selling his properties and the thing is, he's selling the flat in London too."

I felt as if a blanket was ripped from under me. I had lived in that flat for a year and a half. It had taken me many months to finally grow comfortable with it being my home. Now I would have to say goodbye and what was worse, Emma and I would be without a place to live.

"That's okay. We'll figure something out," I said but I could feel the tears waiting to spring from my eyes. I was upset, it was stupid but I was really upset.

"Abbey, it's going to be okay," Luke said and gently touched my arm. He could probably see that I was not okay.

"When will you tell Emma?" I asked to distract myself.