Just a Little Series (Parts 1 - 4) (17 page)

“You’re leaving?”

“I can’t stay,” he threw a quick glance over
his shoulder. “Lonnie and I don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye. Grace
let me in this morning, but he doesn’t know I’m here. It’s probably
best if we keep it that way.” He rubbed his thumb across the scar
on his lip before turning back to me. “Get home safe—”

“Luke,” I stepped a little closer to
him.

He dropped his shoulders as if he didn’t
want to waste another second of his time, but I felt like—given the
fact that he’d calmed down for a few minutes—there was no better
time to tell him how I’d been feeling.

“You don’t have to respond to this, okay?” I
asked. “Just know that… I
do
understand that I’m not a cat,
and that you’re not a mouse,” I began to recycle Derek’s speech.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop chasing you. I love you,
Luke. And when you love someone the way I love you, you
don’t
give up.” I let go of a deep breath and took another
step forward. “I left the school last night because I let an idiot
make me believe that you didn’t care for me. I let Derek convince
me that you were never going to come. Up until about five seconds
ago, I might’ve believed him. But I
know
you care, despite
it all.”

I couldn’t help but think about how much I’d
chased Luke, and it was even easier to remember all the times he’d
run from me. He seemed far too determined to fight whatever it was
that he was feeling, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve the
truth.

“I don’t know what you’re running from,
Luke,” I continued, “but I’m here to help you. And if you don’t
want my help, that’s okay. I’ll wait. I’ll keep waiting… until you
tell me to stop.”

He closed his eyes, and I watched as he
struggled to find a response. He opened his mouth a few times, but
only closed it again after he couldn’t find the words.

“Jules, I….”

“One word,” I said, holding up a finger that
he couldn’t see; he still hadn’t opened his eyes. “Do you want me
to stop?”

“No,” he whispered, but it was so quiet I
barely heard it.

“Then I’ll wait,” I stepped closer again,
“until you’re ready.”

Luke’s eyes finally flittered opened, and he
watched me for a few faint moments. Without a word, he took a step
back into the room, opened his arms, and pulled me to his chest. He
wrapped me in the warmth of his hug, holding me as tightly as he
possibly could without snapping me into a hundred tiny pieces.

I closed my eyes and savored every moment
our bodies spent touching, and I took in every ounce of Luke’s
scent in those moments that were wrapped in our hug.

Luke rested his head on top of mine and
pressed a kiss to my messy hair.

And just when I thought I heard him begin to
say something, the creak at the top of the steps sounded, and I
suddenly sensed that we were no longer alone. I opened my eyes and
smiled at a red-faced Lonnie.

“Good morning,” I reluctantly pulled away
from Luke’s hug.

“Julie,” Lonnie tore his eyes away from Luke
long enough to smile at me, “Charlie’s here.”

I nodded. “Thanks, I’ll get dressed and be
right down.”

“Don’t bother,” he said. “You can take the
clothes. We don’t need ’em here.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking down at the
pajamas he’d given me the night before. “It won’t take but a
minute.”

“They belonged to my son, sweetheart,” he
threw a glance back at Luke. “He’s dead to me. Keep ’em.”

Lonnie disappeared back down the steps. I
turned back to Luke and waited for a response, but he stood still,
staring expressionlessly at the floor.

“Luke?” I tried to steal his gaze. “Luke, is
Lonnie your—”

“Yes,” he said, finally meeting my stare,
“Lonnie’s my dad.” He said, and then his eyes wandered the room.
“This is my old bedroom, and those…” He brushed my hair behind my
shoulder and smoothed a wrinkle on the shirt, “those used to be my
clothes.” He tried to mask his hurt with a failed attempt at a
smile. “Now I guess they’re yours.”

“Luke,” I lifted his chin. “Do you want to
talk about this?”

“No,” he said, standing tall. His demeanor
changed completely with his posture. His red eyes were the only
indication left that he’d had a momentary lapse into normalcy. He
was back to his fake, forced smile and unnecessarily distant
attitude. “Don’t keep Charlie waiting.”

And with that, he was gone.

CHAPTER FIVE

Saturday, November 03| 4:00 p.m.

“I heard that, Carrie,” I said, and my voice
carried across the gym. “This room echoes like no other, so please
watch the name calling.”

I could only imagine that Carrie rolled her
eyes (along with every other member of the dance committee). All
morning they’d been whispering behind my back, gossiping, and
complaining. I got the message; they didn’t want to be there. None
of us did. But the decorations were still incomplete, and there
were only four hours before the Fall Ball was set to kick off.

“Julie,” Kara Bennington, the junior class
introvert—and Matt’s date to the dance—tapped me on the shoulder. I
turned and smiled, ready to help her however I could. “I have an
appointment to have my hair done in twenty minutes, and I was
wondering if I could—”

“Go,” I urged her toward the door. “You’ve
done great today. Thank you for everything.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “I’ll get back to
help as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Just get
your hair done, go home, and get ready for the dance. I’ll see you
tonight.” I turned to the rest of the committee. “All of you,” I
dropped my shoulders. “Just go home and get ready. There’s no sense
in all of us being here. I’ll take care of the rest. Have a good
afternoon, and come back ready to party.”

My classmates couldn’t have cheered louder
or moved toward the exit any faster.

After they were gone, I spent the better
part of the next hour putting the centerpieces in place. The
faux-crystal bowls were filled with water; some bowls were filled
with orange liquid, some red, and some yellow. A white leaf-shaped
candle floated in each one.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

I turned to find Derek standing at the door
on the far side of the gymnasium.

“Nope,” I turned back to adjust the final
centerpiece. “I think I’ve got it under control, thanks.”

“Okay,” he took a few reluctant steps in my
direction. “Then… do you have a minute to talk?”

“I really don’t, Derek,” I said, biting back
my frustration. “I’m almost done here, and then I’m pressed to make
an appointment at the salon.”

“I won’t take much of your time,” he said.
“I just need a minute.”

I pursed my lips and gnawed on the inside of
my cheek, “Okay.”

Derek pulled two chairs from under the
table. “Have a seat—”

“I’ll stand,” I had no intention of giving
him more than the one minute I’d promised.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his blue eyes filling
with tears. “I should’ve never said those things to you, Julie.” He
took a step closer and reached for my hand, but I kept it at my
side. “I took some time this morning, and I really thought about
what I’d said… and here’s what I came up with.” He took a deep
breath, adjusted his glasses, and swallowed hard. “I care about
you, Julie. And because I care about you, I hate to see you hurting
the way you do
because
of Luke. He toys with you, he uses
you, and he keeps you hanging on to his every word. I know it may
be hard to believe, but I don’t resent him because you have him on
a pedestal. If he’s the one you want,
great
. I only want you
to be happy. But my problem with Luke comes from the very fact that
he takes you for granted. He should worship the ground you walk on,
Julie.”

“I don’t want him to fall at my feet,” I
said. “I’ve never wanted that. I just want him
here
.”

“I get that,” he said. “I know you’re
holding on to hope, so I’m going to respect that.
Friends
support friends
…. I don’t want to lose what we have, Julie. I
was wrong last night; that was my anger talking.”

“You haven’t lost my friendship, Derek,” I
said, finally meeting his stare. “It would take a lot more than a
sharp tongue to make me angry enough to write you off.”

A faint smile crossed his lips. “Friends,
then?”

“To the very end, baby.”

Saturday, November 03 | 7:20 p.m.

I took one final look in the mirror. With
only ten minutes to go before I'd have to be out the door and on
the road, I took a step back and assessed the final ensemble. My
gown was burnt orange, strapless, and flowed freely to the floor.
My gloves, shoes, evening bag, and shawl were a dark shade of
brown—the color of Luke’s deep, dark, beautiful eyes.

The doorbell rang, and I checked the clock
above my door. Charlie was home, Matt was down the hall putting the
final touches on his outfit, and no one was expecting company.
Derek had refused my offer to tag along tonight, so there was no
chance it was my date—I didn’t have one. The only thing I could
imagine was that Charlie’s takeout had come earlier than expected;
if that was the case, he was busted for ordering junk food, and
Matt would be engaging in a nice little lecture with his father
about the importance of healthy eating.

I left my room and moved toward the front
steps, stopping dead on the landing when I heard Charlie greet the
visitor.

“Hey, Trigger,” he said. “Lookin’ dapper,
kid. Come on in.”

“Chief,” Luke replied, and his tone was
nothing but formal.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked.
“Everything okay?”

“Yes sir,” Luke said. “I only dropped by
because I need to steal a minute of your time.”

“Well, come on in,” Charlie said, his voice
moving farther away. “The kids are upstairs getting ready for the
dance. I just ordered some Chinese—
don't tell Matt
— so
you're more than welcome to stick around for dinner.”

The men moved through the house, and from
what I could tell were now in the kitchen. I shot across the
upstairs hallway as quietly as I could, stopping short on the
landing at the back stairway. I tiptoed down the first three steps
and took a seat on the fourth, just out of sight, but in perfect
earshot.

“Are you sure?” Charlie asked. “I ordered
more than enough.”

I was glad to hear that all I'd missed was
Luke declining a dinner invitation.

“Thanks, but I can't stay long. I just
stopped by to have a quick heart-to-heart.”

Silence lingered on the floor below.

“Well?” Charlie asked after a few long
beats. “What can I do for you?”

“Can we sit?” Luke asked. For the first time
since Charlie let him in, I sensed a bit of nervousness in his
voice.

“You’re serious,” Charlie observed. “Yeah,
go ahead. Have a seat.”

I leaned closer, hoping to hear a little
better.

“I came here tonight to talk to you about
Julie,” Luke said, barely masking the sound of the chair sliding
out from under the table.

“Julie?” Charlie asked, but his question
wasn’t followed by a chair. I could only assume he remained
standing. “Why? What’d she do?”

“Nothing, sir,” Luke said. “I came because I
believe there are some things you should know.”

“Bad things?”

“That’s debatable…”

“Well?” Charlie asked, and I could hear the
agitation in his voice.

He wanted Luke to be upfront and direct;
quite frankly, so did I. What could he possibly have come to tell
my uncle that he didn’t already know? I’d never lied about
anything. I’d never kept anything from him. If Luke had some reason
to rat me out for something I couldn’t even figure out, I thought
it was incredibly petty of him to do it right before I was about to
leave for the Fall Ball. Charlie had only given me a little
leniency with the whole
leaving the school and nearly dying
stunt I pulled last night. I didn’t need any more heat from him; I
was already on thin ice.

“When you brought Julie to the station a
couple of months back, you didn't force her on me,” Luke brought my
attention back to the room below. “You asked me if I'd consider
taking her on patrol, and I respected you for taking my feelings
into consideration.”

“I do my best to keep everyone happy—”

“Which is why I feel like I owe you the
same, sir,” Luke said, but then he paused. “I was amused by Julie
the moment I met her. Granted, I thought she was way out of her
league. She was outspoken, feisty, and a little too immature to get
any kind of take-away from the project. Still, something about her
intrigued me.”

“Julie's a good kid,” Charlie said, and that
brought a smile to my face. “She's just been through a lot—”

“And I failed to recognize that right away,”
Luke admitted. “But as I got to know her…things started to change.
I saw her for who she really was. But I'm afraid my admiration for
her character started to show through, and I felt guilty about
that. She ended up developing somewhat of a little crush on
me.”

“Didn't check your ego at the door, did
you?” Charlie teased, but I didn’t think Luke’s statement had much
to do with his ego. He knew, as well as I did, that my feelings for
him were anything but little.

I imagined Luke smiling at Charlie’s joke,
but it was simply impossible to tell. I could’ve moved down another
step or two, but not without the risk of being seen.

“I overheard a conversation she had with
Matt at the bistro shortly after she started the shadowing
project,” Luke continued. “She openly admitted to having feelings
for me, but even
she
was still unsure as to what those
feelings were.”

“Oh boy,” Charlie mumbled, but Luke didn’t
give him time to say much else.