@irisyuan_jello put together her favorite quotes from the first story and I'm such a fan! If anyone else has some, send them my way (@NatalieInACorner)!

Chapter 33: Dislocate

"I'd offer you more wine but..." Annika raised the empty bottles and shook it.

It was dark outside but warm candles lit up the living room. The rest of the house was silent, as his parents were fast asleep. 

Luke stood in front of us, his tired blue eyes fixing onto me. He made a subtle motion of his head and I understood. 

"I'm going up," he said, noticing that we were all drunk now.

"I'll come with you," I said, suddenly feeling a bit too tipsy for any sudden movements. So I suggested, "Maybe you can join us for a few minutes? It's not that late."

"It's 2AM."

"It's early," I agreed.

It's technically morning.

"Yeah, the evil stepmom's asleep and dad..." Jake said, resenting how much time Mr Dawson spent with his favorite son. "Well Luke, how about you tell us how dad's doing?"

"Sure," Luke said coldly, "Maybe then you'll put an arm around me too."

Oops. 

Jake had his arm around me, and Annika had her legs on Jake. 

We'd all gotten a bit relaxed with our seating arrangement, though I hadn't even realized. It was a loose arm to be fair – mostly resting on the couch behind my head.

Because of the conflict with Jake previously, I understood why Luke wasn't comfortable with this. 

And to make the situation even more awkward, I needed Jake's help getting out of this position. The couch was so soft, I had practically sunk into it over the last hour.

"We were waiting for you to come back," I told Luke, as I worked on getting up.

My boyfriend watched me and was not impressed by my struggle getting off the couch. 

"We're not all athletes," I mumbled at him.

After today's drama with Art, Kaden and his father... Luke was not patient. And dealing with the three of us tipsy, didn't help.

"Nah, we were having a good time!" Annika laughed, "A sad time at first, but then a good time."

"I won't ruin it," Luke answered bluntly, not tempted to change his mood or join us.

He was annoyed and tired. Today had been a crazy long day.

But I didn't understand why Luke had to be so cold to his brother. Why couldn't he see that Jake was hurting? His parents had failed him. Like it or not, Luke was all he had.

Talking with Jake tonight made me realize how lonely he was. And I get it. I've been lonely too.

Jake snorted, "Fine. You've made it clear you want to leave, but does your girlfriend have to do what you do? Can't she decide?"

Oh Jake. I was really trying to help you for a minute there.

"She can," Luke shrugged, not rising to the bait. 

I was relieved Luke took the mature route to diffuse the situation. But then, he added a sentence that lit a fuse on the whole conversation.

He added, "Wouldn't you like that."

Luke. Effing. Dawson. 

Kissed goodbye to a peaceful night.

Annika gasped, realizing what that meant, "Millie! Did Jake like you like you?"

I didn't answer, but the embarrassment was written all over my face. 

If I could climb a pyramid to undo everything I did wrong in the Jake-me-Luke triangle, I would. One thousand times over. Unless it was illegal, which it probably is. Convenient.

Annika's gasp got louder in my guilty silence. 

The brothers weren't on friendly terms before I came along, but I really hadn't helped the situation.

Then she whispered, "So no one in this family chose Jake over Luke... including you?"

Oh, now the guilt really set in.

"I don't get it!" she exclaimed to all of us, "Jake is a dish. He's smoking hot, he sings like a heartthrob and-"

"It's OK, Annika," Jake tried to move on from the subject.

Annika's gasp got even louder still. She was inhaling so much air she almost turned purple. 

She gasped, "Are you the girl from his English class? The one Jake's song is about?"

Sooo........ Annika's all caught up now.

One weekend with us and she knew the whole Luke-Jake family back story, our almost love triangle and probably our entire life stories as well.

For the last few minutes, Annika had been the only one talking. The three of us remained in our motionless positions, all guilty of the bad relationship vibes we'd created. 

All that we heard, was the sound of Annika slowly sliding from the couch to the floor amidst all her gasping.

"Nothing happened here," Jake told his brother, "So cut the self-righteous tone."

"Nothing happened," Luke repeated with a smirk. "Let me guess what happened tonight. You told the girls a sob story so they'd fawn over-"

"Enough," I cut Luke off.

I don't think I've ever taken this tone with him before. Both brothers were acting like kids, and I'd had enough. This is not something I can handle before coffee.

Jake was drunk and bitter at Luke's behavior with him. 

And Luke was looking for a fight. 

I get that he's angry by what happened today, and Kaden was too cowardly to make it a fair fight. 

Jake, on the other hand, was strong. Maybe Luke views fighting as therapy, but I did not.

"Have some compassion," I said, "How can Jake feel at home when he's living with the family that broke his? And when he has a brother like you who-"

"Who what?" Luke tested me, "Are you going to take his side in this?"

"A brother who is a complete jerk to him," I finished off.

I've created enough tension between these two brothers that if I could do anything to make this better, then I will.

"Your parents made mistakes," I told them both, "Especially yours," I mumbled to Luke, before addressing them both again, "But now you're here and neither of you have another brother. Why don't you make that count?"

I thought that was a passionate speech. My mind was a bit foggy with red wine and I waited for the boys to respond. 

"Because he's an assh*le," Jake answered, pointing at his brother, "You said so yourself."

"I called him a jerk, actually," I mumbled.

My jerk. There's a difference.

"Go ahead," Luke raised his hands, "Both of you. It's not like I carry the weight of this family. You don't do sh*t around the house Jake, and the pressure to be somebody falls on me."

Annika accidentally knocked the two bottles off the coffee table and apologized, not wanting to interrupt their argument.

"Yeah right. I could invent a time machine and dad still wouldn't look at me twice!" Jake argued back.

"What is there to look at? You came here and disrespect my mom every day-"

"Your mom is-"

"Jake," Luke snarled, getting close to the couch and very close to Jake, "If you say another word about my mother, I'll punch you."

Why did this have to escalate so quickly? We've witnessed too many arguments today.

Jake squared up to Luke, "You don't scare me, Luke. Your mom is a home wrecker."

And just like that, Luke's fist came into contact with Jake's jaw.

With a crack.

I screamed.

Jake had tried to move out of the way, since Luke had given him a warning, but wasn't quick enough. 

Jake rammed his body against Luke in retaliation and I screamed at them to stop. The sound of that first punch was all I kept hearing in my ears.

"STOP!" I tried to get between them, but they were fighting each other so aggressively, it was hard to see how I wouldn't be punched by mistake.

Luke raised his hands over his head protectively before jabbing Jake again. Jake threw all his weight behind his punches.

SMASH

The boys looked over. Annika had smashed a bottle against the coffee table and was holding the top half.

"I thought this would get your attention," she said.

"It will get their parents'..." I whistled, staring at the smashed glass pieces all around the couch and carpet.

Luke and Jake slowly, very slowly, separated. Jake nursed his jaw, holding his hand against the blood on his mouth. Luke pressed his arm against his left shoulder and rolled it back.

It was 1.30AM on a Monday and we were a complete disaster.

I faced the two boys, "One of you fools tell me where the broom cupboard is."

I had zero pity for them. Watching boys fight like zoo animals was not something to applaud. 

"We don't have a cupboard," Luke answered. He saw the anger and disappointment on my face and sighed, "We have a vacuum in the kitchen. I'll get it."

"Good idea," I said. "I'll come with you."

**

We entered the kitchen and he flicked the light on. The metallic surfaces of their kitchen appliances reflected that light. I closed the door behind us to give us some privacy.

How his parents still hadn't woken up after all that noise made me think that they were on some serious sleeping pills.

"Jake's drunk," I said. "What's your excuse?"

Luke didn't respond.

"Are you pleased with yourself now?" I asked him, crossing my hands over my chest, "You were already angry and you took it out on your brother."

"Stop calling him my brother."

"That's what he is! And no amount of punching him is going to change that!"

Luke walked towards a fruit basket on the kitchen counter and picked out a banana. I watched him peeled the banana and eat it. He winced at the pain in his shoulder.

This boy

"You're stressed and tired and that's given you anger issues," I said, reaching out to him, "You beat up Art and now Jake-"

"Insightful, Millie," he stopped me.

He put the banana down.

"Maybe you can look at it from my side for once," he suggested, "You're my girlfriend so why do I keep feeling like you're on everyone else's side but mine?"

I didn't have anything to say to that. 

Luke continued, "How do you think I feel about you and Jake? You made it clear at one point you liked him. Now you're defending him?!"

I didn't say anything. We both knew I didn't like Jake like that.

He said, "My parents made a big mistake and my mom is paying for it. It was her idea for Jake to come live with us, and he keeps disrespecting her. You heard what he said to her at dinner on Saturday. He makes these digs at her and no one will tell him to stop because they don't want to hurt his sensitive feelings."

Luke turned away from me and exhaled. He stared up at the ceiling.

For a well-known person, Luke had so much about him that no one knew. 

I suppose that's how life is. We never know what people are going through, even those closest to us. 

That being said, Luke's my boyfriend and I was trying very hard to learn.

I stayed quiet. I wanted him to let this out, to release all the tension. Finally he was opening up to me.

Luke looked at me. "Do you think I like being the kid that my parents hound every second of the day? Charlotte f*cked off in her typically outlandish way and Jake refuses to do anything our parents ask. I can't complain because everything in my life is meant to be so f*cking perfect."

"Nothing is perfect," I said, "No one is perfect."

I guess even Luke Dawson needed to hear that.

I ventured further, "But that shouldn't make you a bully."

"Someone threatened you by killing a cat and drenching a jersey in its blood. I am not going to apologize for beating up a guy who was involved in that."

"Was he?" I asked. 

Kaden didn't do it.

"The issues between Kelly, Julia and you started with him. He is responsible and he doesn't get to walk away from this."

I'll admit there was some truth to that. We girls have been fighting each other while Kaden's been living life as usual. That is, until today, when Luke intervened.

Luke and I have never been this open before. It was the kind of honesty where the good, the bad and the ugly come out.

"I never wanted to make you feel alone Luke," I told him, "I'm sorry for not seeing what you've been going through, but you also need to feel remorse for punching your own brother."

Luke pressed his hands against the marble counter as he leaned back against it. He looked down.

My tone was softer and I approached him, running my hand through his soft hair. "You feel like you're signing up for a life your parents prescribed for you. And it's a life that requires a lot of discipline and stress."

Pressure to succeed can eat at a person. The fear of disappointing those around you, of being close to achieving your dreams, of not knowing which dream to choose... were all big decisions that weigh heavily on any person.

Do you live for the happiness of those you love or for yourself?

"I can be with you every day and still not understand what you're going through," I said, "Your life is very different from mine and it's taking me time to understand it. I'll get there, but we need to be open with each other. How can I know how you feel if you don't tell me?"

Luke nodded, leaning against the counter. He folded his strong arms over his chest.

"I should've told you sooner," he said.

I nodded, "That would be nice. You know, I still don't know what college you've chosen. You talked to Chris and your dad about it. Maybe you could've talked to me too?"

He tilted his head in a subtle gesture for me to step closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me and lowered his head onto my shoulder, "I don't open up easily."

"You can to me," I replied, breathing in his familiar scent. I stepped back so I could look him in his blue eyes.

"I know," he answered, "I've said since we first became us, that I like how you're not afraid to tell me what I don't want to hear."

"I'm not going to let go about you punching people," I said, wanting to convince him to go down more peaceful routes in the future, "I really can't handle the idea of you being a bully."

It's odd how arguments never go as planned.  What I came in angry about, was not what Luke wanted to talk about. 

I guess we should listen to each other - listen to both problems. Luke wanted me to understand him more and I wanted him to be less aggressive to people. 

He nodded and opened his arms for us to hug and make peace. When I felt his arms circle around my back, and I pressed my head against his warm chest, I felt warm inside.

I leaned my head against his chest, "Before you came, Jake told us his story. I don't know if you've heard it before or heard it from his side, but it's heavy. He's gone through a lot in his life and he doesn't have a lot of support. You guys have issues but maybe you can be real brothers, not just by blood."

"Maybe," Luke shrugged, "And how's the relationship with your sister going?"

Oh, he knew how to-

There was a knock at the door.

Annika's head poked round, "Phew. You're wearing clothes. I thought you two were making out in here."

She swung the door wide open and walked in, "Whenever you're done, we should probably go to the hospital. In case you dislocated Jake's jaw."

A/N: A tense chapter that went deeper into Millie&Luke's relationship and family dynamics. I feel like they're all maturing here (sort of). 

How do you think Luke and Millie handled their argument?

Do you think Millie's right to be angry at Luke? Should Luke try to make more of an effort with his half-brother?

AAAAND I just FINISHED my other book - Don't Give Up On Me!! I got a little emotional at the end haha but go check it out!! I'd love to know what you think - maybe some of you have read it already :)