100 | Lost boy

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Thank you @Yohari_luz for the moody poster!  And a thank you to everyone reading this chapter.  We're at ONE HUNDRED *waves invisible balloons*!!

✰ Please vote - it's chapter 100 after all :) 

Chapter 100: Lost boy

Luke Dawson lives in my mind, rent free.

He's who I think of when I try to sleep. He's who I compare every boy to. Healthy or unhealthy, my mind loops back to Luke. Always.

I ran across the street, zipping my brown jacket up to my chin. The letter was folded in my jacket pocket, and I held onto it like it was my most precious possession.

Luke's jeep wrangler was parked outside his driveway. It hadn't been there when I first came home, so he probably just got back from wherever he's been.

I reached the Dawsons' flower bushes and resisted temptation to pluck some daisies. I was here on a mission. But I didn't want to knock on the front door because I didn't want to see his parents.

They've been so rude to my family and to me, that I didn't want to put myself in a submissive position again.

I walked around the flower bushes to the side of their house and stared up at Luke's bedroom window. This would be so much easier if Luke hadn't left the bar early, if he'd come looking for me or if he would answer his damn phone.

"Luke!" I called up. He didn't hear me.

"LUKE!" I yelled louder.

No movement. I stared at the tree next to his house. Its branches extended so close to Luke's window. Should I? No. That would be a disaster. But... maybe?

I looked around. No one was here to witness this, so how bad could it go? I shuffled closer to the tree and reached out to touch it.

It didn't fall over, so that's a good sign.

I grabbed onto a low branch and tried to climb, convincing myself to just channel my inner raccoon.

**

**

I was stuck in a tree.

I didn't know how to get to the next branch, and I was scared of going back down. So I just sat there, reflecting on my life's decisions.

It's much harder to get up a tree than it is to come down. Lesson learned.

I heard Luke's voice as he walked out of his house, completely unaware of my current situation - above him. I used my new viewpoint to stare down at him. No bald spot. Just a fluffy head of hair.

"Chad, it's not difficult. Keep your mouth shut... no, not even Irvin... I'm handling it... maybe I'll take a bubble bath to relax."

Luke hung up. He walked down the front steps in the black bomber jacket he'd been wearing earlier. His left hand gripped his workout bag, and his right hand held the phone.

It rang again.

"Seriously Chad, if you call this number one more time, I'm blocking you... I don't want to talk about it... No, don't tell your therapist."

He hung up on Chad again.

Luke sounded tense and I had no idea what was going on.

I didn't know where Luke was going, but I came all this way, climbed up a tree, just to speak with him. And now he was leaving again. Part of me really wanted to hide in embarrassment until he left, but a bigger part of me was so done with us not talking.

"Luke."

Luke turned round, searching for where my voice was coming from.

Maybe he thinks it's coming from the heavens? He's never described my voice as angelic – actually he's only compared it to a dying cat, so never mind.

I gave the lost boy some help. "Up here."

Luke doesn't get surprised easily, but I saw his shock when he spotted me in the tree. His mouth opened and he squinted his eyes to make sure he was seeing me properly.

"Millie?!"

I waved.

He asked, "What are you doing?"

"Hanging out."

"In a tree?"

"I was trying to find you."

"I wouldn't be up there," he replied.

Ha.

I gave him an unamused look and said, "We should talk. I have something important to tell you."

He stood there and waited. I wondered what he was waiting for, so I waited for him to tell me.

"Millie, I'm not having a conversation with you up in a tree."

Why is he so focused on the tree part?

Since it didn't look like he was changing his mind any time soon, I had to face my fears and try to get back down.

I gripped onto the branches for dear life and waved my right foot around, trying to find something sturdy for it to latch onto it. I thought I got a foothold but as I rested more of my bodyweight on it, I slipped.

A split second later, Luke was behind me, and I felt his hand grip my ankle. He steadied me.

I looked down at him, "That scared you, didn't it?"

He shook his handsome head in disbelief, but that perfect smile of his couldn't resist coming out. "You're something, Millie Ripley."

I kept moving, feeling more secure now that his hands were on me.

It took me a few seconds to come up with a reply, and just as I was about to say it, a branch smacked me in the face. My mouth received a fistful of leaves. I flayed my hands, trying to get the leaves out without falling further. Before any more mayhem happened, Luke plucked me out of the tree and lowered me to the floor.

I landed on my feet, barely, and stood up. I spat out some leaves. I'd lost my height advantage against Luke and our proximity made my heart beat faster than it had falling down the tree.

We were standing between our two houses: his home was not one I was comfortable entering and he probably felt the same way about mine.

"Where should we..." I asked, my words trailing off in mid-sentence as I looked at him.

He moved his head in the direction of the street.

Luke walked to the side of the pavement and released his grip on his gym bag. It dropped to the ground, and he sat down next to it. I guess this was neutral ground for the two of us.

I came up next to him and he raised his open palm. I pressed my hand against his and used it for support to sit down on the pavement next to him.

Where do we begin?

The grey clouds rumbled overhead.

I was so nervous speaking to him. I don't know why. He's my boyfriend. He's held me in his arms and on his bed. Why do I doubt that he'll stay?

Luke's knee pressed against mine, "You don't have to be nervous around me."

He knew me too well.

The pavement we were sitting on was cold and hard. I wrapped my arms around my raised knees and watched him. I wanted to reach out to touch him, but that felt like disturbing the perfect picture. His blue gaze was downcast. His cheekbones carved down to a hard jaw. He took his time to formulate the next words, since it was obvious I wasn't going to.

I suppose we've learned to not jump headfirst into an argument.

He started, "I know you're not happy with the way I handled Kaden. And we're still working through that."

I tried not to pull a face at the Kaden comment. I still didn't understand, what did he think violence would accomplish?

But I kept quiet. I needed to hear him out. I've learnt that.

"There's something I need to tell you too. After you left the court, Julia came up to me. She said that someone else asked her to get the jersey," he told me.

My expression dropped.

Luke and I spent so much time fighting about his actions, that I hadn't heard the reactions. He hasn't been able to tell me this because of all our arguing.

"She'd been receiving texts from some number," he continued, "They wanted to buy a jersey and asked her to get it."

"Julia confessed?" I repeated.

I was hung up over that point.

Luke's strategy - as much as I hated it and found it morally wrong – had actually given him the result he wanted. He'd gotten one of them to talk.

But I still don't believe he did it correctly. If anything, it shows just how unfair Kaden was treated by Luke. Kaden's guilty of a lot of things, but innocent of this.

"Did Julia tell you who it was?" I asked.

"She doesn't know," Luke said, "It was an unknown number but the texter called herself Deborah and said she was from another high school. I'm guessing you don't know a Deborah."

"I don't know a Deborah," I said.

"I figure it's a fake name. Julia gave me the number, but we can't trace it. It's from a burner phone. I have Officer Patel's son working on that," he finished.

Officer Patel's son?

I made a mental note to text Officer Pater later. I really enjoyed that father, daughter + me dinner and wanted to do it again soon.

"But did Julia tell you why she did it?" I asked, trying to make sense of the situation, "If someone messaged me out of the blue for a favor, I wouldn't blindly do what they say."

"It wasn't a favor," Luke replied, "Deborah paid her and said it was for a friend who really liked the basketball team. Julia didn't think that was weird," he raised a suggestive eyebrow at me.

"I get it, Luke," I nudged him. His ego definitely didn't need more flattery.

"And let me guess," I said, knowing my ex-best friend well, "Julia lied to Kaden about the reason for the jersey so she could keep the cash."

Luke nodded his head in agreement. "She didn't suspect anything was off until she heard about the cat, realized she'd been used and decided to lay low."

Either Julia was telling the truth or... she wasn't. I didn't know how I felt about either scenario.

"But how did 'Deborah' get her number?" I asked.

Why would Julia trust some random number?

"Apparently they exchanged numbers at Chad's circus party," Luke said, "Julia doesn't remember that happening but said she spoke to a lot of new people at the party."

"My necklace was stolen there too," I said, "We know for sure the blackmailer was there."

Bianca was there.

I sighed out loud, feeling exhausted by this situation, "It's so much unnecessary hassle. I wish the blackmailer came to me. You're on the basketball team. I can take as many jerseys from you as I want."

His lips curled into a smirk, "Please don't though. I'm running out of clothes."

"I don't trust Julia."

"Neither do I," Luke agreed, "but I saw the texts. Deborah could've paid anyone at our school for the jersey, but I think she targeted Julia to distract us."

It makes sense that, if the blackmailer was willing to murder a cat, they would be smart about covering their tracks.

Poor Winnifred. An innocent life caught in the crossfire.

"Luke," I whispered, stuffing my hand into my jacket pocket and feeling sick at the thought of Winnifred's fate. "I think I know who Deborah is."

Thunder rumbled in the skies overhead, adding a very melodramatic touch to the moment. We didn't have much time before it would start raining.

I pulled out the blue envelope and gave it to him. I ignored the tingle I felt as his hands brushed mine. He accepted the letter, glancing at me.

"This was the first letter I received from the blackmailer," I explained, "And I think Bianca wrote it."

"Bianca?" Luke frowned, taking the letter from my hands. He opened it and read it. "What makes you think it's her?"

"Puppy love," I said, pointing to the second verse, "Bianca said that about us recently. Have you seen the comment on-"

"I heard about it," he replied, reading.

The sky rumbled again, and I felt a raindrop land on my hand.

I shivered. The blackmailer knew so much about my life, had entered my home and... I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched right now.

"Are you cold?" Luke asked, looking over at me in concern.

Before I could respond, he took his jacket off and draped it over me. I felt the layer of warmth and the comfort of his scent. He was left in a white shirt, and it must've made him cold left wearing only that.

"Are you sure?" I argued, now wrapped in two jackets, "You'll be cold."

"I'm sure," he replied, handing me back the letter. He was focusing on the blackmail, "When I read how bad these rhymes are, I'm starting to think it could be Jake."

**

It suddenly started to pour. I watched one droplet land on his cheek, followed by a bucket of rain. In the space of a few seconds, we were soaked.

I gasped, glancing over at Luke in his wet t-shirt. He looked back at me, his blue eyes sparkling in the rain and strands of loose hair falling over his beautiful eyes.

"You're going to freeze!" I exclaimed.

"Let's go to my car," he told me, making sure his jacket covered me as we got up.

He grabbed his bag and we rushed to his car under the heavy flow of rain. He opened the passenger door for me first and I jumped into the dry, warmth.

Back when we first met, Luke didn't let me touch anything in his jeep wrangler. Now, here I was, getting the seat drenched.

He was still out in the rain, and I watched him cross to his side. When he opened the door, he threw the bag into the back seat. It was unzipped and I spotted my own sweater in there. Since we first started dating, I've left clothes in Luke's bedroom. Why did he pack them all up now?

Was he here to return them to me?

And, if so, does that mean he's breaking up with me?

Luke slammed the door shut. He shook his head and droplets fell from his hair. The sound of rain became a faint tapping on the windows.

"Come here," he said, pulling me towards him.

I didn't realize what he meant until he pushed his seat back. He expected me to climb over the shift stick and onto his lap.

What am I, an acrobat?

I didn't resist. I've wanted to kiss him so badly since the minute we started arguing. It's hard to stay mad at him when he smiles like that. When he looks like that. When he talks like that.

I pushed aside my insecurities, though the mystery bag lingered in my mind.

I stumbled over the shift stick and he helped my leg over, placing it between his. Then he placed his hand over the back of my head, expecting me to bump my head against the roof.

I bumped it. But his hand absorbed the impact, and he smoothly lowered his hand down my hair and against the cape of my neck, where he drew me closer to him for a drawn-out kiss. My eyes fluttered shut, feeling the warmth flow through me. His kiss was loving, passionate and tender. I've missed him.

I was straddling him in his own car, and I secretly enjoyed being on top, looking down at him with his body trapped between my legs. Our lips were inches apart.

"I thought we were fighting," I whispered, my lips brushing his.

"I told you, Minnie," he answered, "I'm tired of fighting."

I smiled and leaned down to kiss him again. His hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me down onto him. Both soaked from the rain, my tongue slipped into his mouth as his hands slid down to my ass and a heavy rap against the window made us both jump.

The window had fogged up a bit from the heat inside the car, but we could clearly make out a stick of some kind. It was tapping against the window.

I brushed the hair out of my face while Luke used his sleeve to wipe the window.

"AHH!" I screamed like I was in a horror movie.

An old lady's face stared back at us, peering into the window.

It was the old lady who lived with Winnifred. The same old lady who accused me of trying to kill her. I put a hand to my heart, feeling it slow down from the race it was on. And that stick was her cane.

Luke rolled the window down, even though I thought that was a very bad idea.

"YOU'RE BLOCKING THE RAMP!" she yelled, waving her cane, "I carry my shopping in this cart and I need to use the ramp to get to my side of the pavement! You've parked-"

"We'll move out of your way," Luke answered.

"And what are you two doing on top of each other like that? What's wrong with the back seat?"

I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Did the old lady just tell us to use the backseat?

"We'll get out of your way," Luke repeated, not wanting to address why I was straddling him. He turned the engine on.

I lowered my head on his shoulder so he could see ahead, and I felt his arm rest softly on my back. His other hand was on the steering wheel, and he slowly pressed the gas to move the car a few feet ahead.

Resting on him in a moving car was so soothing and I haven't slept in so long, but he washed away my fears. I could fall asleep like this. 

We heard the old lady still going in the background until her voice disappeared, "In my day, we weren't as bold as you. Parked in the middle of the street..."

Luke stopped the car. I sat upright and faced him. The moment we made eye contact, we burst out laughing.

Luke then opened the door and I shifted to one side of the seat, raising my leg off him so he could get out. He walked into the rain, and I watched him help the lady with her cart.

Luke dodged her cane a couple times and after he helped her up the step, he returned, drenched, a few seconds later. The rain continued to pour heavily on the car.

"I'm surprised Winnifred survived that long with her," he muttered.

"Hey," I lightly slapped him, trying to roll gracefully back into my seat.

It was ungraceful - and I accidentally knocked the shift stick in reverse. Luke reacted and his hand quickly readjusted it to its former position, turning round to make sure the car hadn't moved back towards the old lady.

"At least I was just making a comment. You were about to knock her out," he said.

"It was an accident."

"Who's going to believe that?"

The boy has a point. First the cat, then the rock cookies that Luke thinks would've killed her and her publicly calling me a murderer...

It didn't look good for me.

I was suddenly conscious of our laughter. It was that familiar feeling of happiness when we just hung out in each other's company. The jokes we were sharing made me reminisce about how we used to be. More carefree, more making out and it saddened me to think of all the drama that had led us to change.

I got quieter as those sad thoughts crossed my mind. I stared down at my hands in my lap and forced myself to look at him. I don't know where his head is at. Does he think we need time apart to grow?

"Luke," I said nervously, "Were you planning to break up with me?"

My own heart nervously waited his response. I felt it slow down and speed up, like it had a mind of his own. He took a minute to respond.

Why was he taking so long to respond?

"Why would you ask that?"

I stared straight ahead, "Because you've been avoiding me and you packed a bag of all my clothes..."

Luke turned around and saw his gym bag was open and my sweater was on top. He said, "I packed a bag because I want to take you out of here."

I tilted my head. That didn't sound like a break-up to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We're suspended," he answered, "We might as well leave until we can come back."

A/N: Where are they going?? And no, I haven't forgotten the subscription bottle! It's coming up next...

SURPRISE!  

Since we made it so far, aaall the way to chapter 100, I thought I'd share something: Gnomey! I posted a photo of REAL-LIFE gnomey on IG (@natalieinacorner) as a way

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