78 | Fairy Godmother

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Thank you @kani.hahaha for the adorable poster! I love Millie & Luke in this <3 

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Chapter 78: Fairy Godmother

Officer Patel took Anushka and me to dinner at an Italian restaurant. He said that tonight was 'daddy and daughter dinner', which had become a weekly tradition in their family. He then asked where my dad was, and I said:

"He could be working the kitchen here or on the other side of the moon," I said, "I really don't know."

I slurped up my creamy pasta and had a side of vegetables to boost my vitamin intake. At home, my pop tart supply was running low but that didn't have many nutrients anyway.

It's amazing what good food can do to your spirits. I felt myself come to life.

After tiramisu, Officer Patel drove me home and waited in the car with Anoushka for my 'adult supervision' to arrive. I was a bit nervous about that.

I didn't exactly call the most law abiding adult.

But it was very clear that Officer Patel cared about my wellbeing and was worried for me. I worry about me, too.

While we waited, a car drove up from around the corner and I recognized that black jeep wrangler. It slowed down as he passed by, and I knew Luke was staring at Officer Patel's suburban.

I watched Luke park his car in his driveway and get out, walking straight towards us. I wish he'd been here earlier. He was a lot smoother in these adult situations than I was. 

Luke was in his basketball uniform and just as he began crossing the street, the loud sound of a motorbike penetrated the air.

"My adult supervision," I told Officer Patel.

The motorbike sped past a red light and up to my house. It skidded to a halt on the sidewalk and a guy in a leather jacket jumped off.

The gambler announced, "I'm here for the muse."

I wish I could see Luke's reaction. But I saw officer Patel's expression instead, and it was priceless.

"Is that a concealed firearm?" Officer Patel pointed at the bulge in the gambler's jacket.

I'm glad no one commented about the 'muse' part. I was busy staring at the skid marks on our sidewalk, that I hadn't noticed the weapon.

"It's licensed," the gambler replied, "I have proof."

While Officer Patel inspected the gambler's paperwork, Luke approached me. 

Our street was not well lit at night and the taillights from the suburban and the motorbike created contrasting shadows across his athletic build.

"Hey, what's going on?" Luke asked, coming close to me, "Is that the police officer from the other night?"

"Yeah, he took me to dinner," I answered and, seeing Luke's surprised reaction, I added to it, "Have you met Anoushka?"

"Who?" he asked, looking at me with even more confusion.

**

~5 minutes later~ 

Before Officer Patel left, he told me to call him anytime I needed. "It's OK to ask for help, Millie. That does not make you weak."

"Thank you, officer," I said, watching as he returned to his car, "It's nice of you to care about a stranger like me."

"You're not a stranger," he answered, "You're a someone, and it's my job to try to make the world a safer and friendlier place."

I watched the Patels' drive off, feeling less afraid to reach out if I needed help - or more tiramisu. Could 'daddy and daughter plus Millie dinners' become a thing?

Meanwhile, Luke and the gambler were having a way less sentimental reunion behind me.

"Why are you still here?" the gambler asked Luke, "You're a tween. You should be at home."

Luke didn't bother to correct his age, since it was blatant that he'd experienced puberty. Instead, he said, "What are you doing here?"

"Are you asking me what I just asked you?" the gambler snapped, "We're not singing chorus like a f*cking high school musical."

I burst into laughter. Luke wearing his basketball uniform made the comparison extra appropriate.

But Luke didn't hesitate with his response, "No? Because you showed up dressed for a Grease remake."

The black leather jacket and black pants had a certain John Travolta vibe, I had to admit. I bit my tongue trying to avoid laughing at the gambler.

I half expected him to explode with anger. But instead, he chuckled.

"Kids these days," he mused, "You're all such *ssholes. Except you, Millie, but you already knew that."

**

~Saturday morning~

The gambler didn't stay long last night. We spent an hour catching up. I offered him ice cream that we didn't have. He then asked how I was holding up, showed me a couple skits for the comedy club, ripped on Luke a little bit more and left.

On his motorbike and off into the darkness...

My fairy godmother

I woke up the next morning feeling so much better. I had been in a dark place these last few weeks, but knowing the gambler was only a call away, Luke a house away, Officer Patel a short drive away...

It felt encouraging. It felt like I wasn't alone anymore.

And then I went downstairs to pick up my car keys for Mission Matt. 

I left the house and locked the padlock on the front door. I still can't believe we were using a padlock.

"Millie, you're early," Jake called out from across the street, slinging a massive bag of ice across his shoulder.

"Am I?" I asked, not sure what he was talking about.

Jake was usually dressed so casually, but today he was in a button-down shirt and belt. His tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve of his left arm.

I was forgetting something. Something in the back of my mind was nagging me. Wasn't there something I was meant to do today?

Jake lowered the bag of ice on the pavement and smirked. He pulled out his e-cigarette from his back pocket and inhaled.

"You forgot it was Luke's college acceptance party today," he exhaled knowingly.

Oh mushrooms! I forgot!

"No, no, not at all, never," I lied, backing up to my padlocked door, "I just came out to check on gnomey here, but he seems to be doing well. Now I'm going right back in to change for this important and unforgettable event."

"Right," Jake chuckled, not buying it for a second.

**

I snuck into Flora's bedroom to peer into her closet. I don't know why I was sneaking around since I was now the only one who lived here, but I knew she'd kill me if she ever found out.

My closet held 0 viable outfits for Luke's party and I really wanted to look nice. Flora's clothes were mostly too small for me, but surely, I could find at least one nice top to fit into.

I found a creamy peplum blouse in the back of her closet and tried that on. It fit surprisingly well, and I realized that, with all the stress of the last few weeks, I must've lost weight.

I was putting on black pants when I heard a motorbike roaring outside.

I texted Jake: Abandoning the party already?

There were only two people I knew who rode motorbikes, and only one of them lived on this street.

Then I texted him again: Jake's Escape. How's that for a song title? Doesn't even matter what the song's about, the title works

I watched the three dots appear in our conversation before receiving his response: Millie, there's a scary guy with a sweet bike outside your house. And no, it isn't me

I put my phone down and went to peer outside my window. Sure enough, a motorbike was parked there – and the gambler was on it.

He waved me down.

**

It was a sunny and crisp day and I stumbled out the front door for the second time today.

"How's it going, my muse?" the gambler greeted me outside, kicking his bike's side stand down. "Have you met my guy?"

There was a guy with a pickup truck nearby. He was pulling out blocks of wood from the back of his truck.

"Uh... no," I said.

"He's going to fix your broken window," the gambler told me, "Just don't ask him any questions. Especially not his name."

"OK," I said, speechless.

I watched the guy walk past with a saw.

"You don't have any beers, do you?" the gambler asked and waved his own comment away, "Nah, you're underage."

"Tequila's behind the empty pop tart box in the cupboard," I answered automatically, "And vodka in the fridge."

Courtesy of mama dearest.

I then remembered the pound of weed my mom's boyfriend left in the kitchen and said, "Don't look in the breadbasket and I won't ask you any questions. Deal?"

"Deal," the gambler's guy replied.

"OK. Thank you," I said, still not fully understanding the situation, "I'll be back this afternoon. Thank you again, this is really kind."

I wondered what had prompted him to come back and fix my window. He'd noticed it last night when he saw how cold the house was. But I never expected him to come back with a plan.

**

~Luke's party~

I walked across the street from my house to the Dawson's. 

I kept turning my head to see if the gambler and his guy were OK. I could hear the sound of a saw in the backyard as they cut wood to barricade the second-floor window.

Meanwhile, the front door to Luke's house was open. Pale blue balloons had been attached to the entrance, something I'm sure Luke hated.

I could hear the faint chitter chatter of polite conversation and glasses tinkling as I walked in. Luke and I had such different lifestyles.

Even the paper napkins had little basketballs on them. I picked one up, not sure what else to do. There were so many adults here, all dressed up for this event. 

I texted my boyfriend: You draw a mature crowd

I awkwardly stood in a room of strangers. I spotted Mr Dawson nearby, talking to a man in a navy suit. I overheard them discussing the stock market and tried to listen in:

"I became bearish and had to pull out. That was two days before the CEO's announcement, so I didn't lose my shirt in that one."

"It can rebound though. The premiumization of their products is really-" Mr Dawson looked at me, after he realized I was obviously eavesdropping. He ignored me and continued, "It's boosting their margins."

I flapped the paper napkin in my hand and looked down at my phone. I texted Luke again: Wild party

So dull. Luke would hate the low energy. What do I even do here?

I ventured into the kitchen where there was more bustle. Food was overflowing across the countertops, in various stages of preparation. The Dawsons had hired a couple people to help serve the food and they were flurrying in and out.

I tried to stay out of their way until I spotted Nicole and Charlotte. Nicole was sitting on a bar stool by the kitchen top, watching Charlotte as they chatted.

Luke's sister had her long hair tied up in a fashionable clip, with loose strands framing her face. She was pulling out a tray of baked brie bites from the oven.

"Millie," Charlotte exclaimed, noticing me as she set the hot tray on a rack to cool, "Here to support the golden boy?"

Nicole spun round on the bar stool, wearing the sharpest high heels I've seen. Silver spikes were all over it, matching her newly died silver hair.

"Welcome back from Dubai," she said, "We heard the trip was eventful."

"Thank you so much for lending me your clothes. I hope you got my note?" I asked, having left a thank you note in the bag I gave Charlotte.

"Yes, Char gave it to me," Nicole nodded, "Along with the clothes."

Suddenly, I felt the mood in the room change and anticipated Luke's presence. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and I felt his body behind me. Finally.

"There you are, Minnie," he whispered, his lips kissing my cheek.

How does he make a crowded room feel like it was just the two of us?

I turned around and stared up at Luke. He looked incredibly handsome in a shirt and tie. The tie rested below his adam's apple and framed his incredible jaw line. I was so tempted to kiss him all over, but knowing his sister was behind me... I restrained myself.

She was watching us.

His blue eyes flickered up from mine and over to Charlotte and Nicole. He mentioned, "Thanks for helping out."

Nicole deflected the compliment. "Hey, it's all your sister. I'm just sitting here, looking pretty."

Charlotte glared back at him and flicked the oven mitt aggressively onto the counter.

Luke didn't say anything, but he grabbed a brie bite from the tray beside her and then nodded his head at me towards the exit.

I didn't move. "I think your sister isn't happy with you."

Luke sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get off easily.

"No, and you want to know why, Millie?" Charlotte asked me, though she was clearly speaking to her brother, "Because Luke has decided to act like my father instead of my little brother and banned my boyfriend from coming today."

"We don't need to drag everyone down with this," Luke commented, "you know why."

"You're a hypocrite," Charlotte insulted him, "You complain about how our family treats your girlfriend and you do the same to mine."

"It's not the same," Luke replied, getting irritated now that she brought me into the mix. "You know why I don't like him. If you can't respect yourself, I'll respect you for you."

I tried to recap what this was about in my mind. I remembered her boyfriend yelling at her for cheating on him and then aggressively talking to Luke and Jake... 

Charlotte freaked out at that, "YOU'RE SUCH A F-"

"Stop!" Mrs Dawson called out, walking into the kitchen just in time, "Whatever you're about to do, stop it right now! We have a house full of people here to celebrate Luke's achievements and we are not going to derail that. Now both of you come to the living room right now. Your father is about to make an announcement."

**

We all traipsed into the living room like scorned children. The guests were already facing the fireplace, waiting for Luke's father to speak. His son and daughter joined him and a polite applause accompanied them.

I stood next to the window and glanced at my house across the street. I couldn't see any flying pieces of wood, so I guess that's a good sign the gambler's work was going well.

From the front, Luke's dad cracked a joke and the crowd politely laughed. He started his speech.

That's when I spotted Austin. He was eating appetizers by the buffet while his mom tried to swipe his hand away from the food. It looked like a fun game.

Roland Chadwick the Second was on a business call in the hallway, until Chad convinced him to end it. They looked like a matching set in their expensive three-piece suits with pocket scarves.

The only person I couldn't see was Jake, until he found me.

"Hey," he said, brushing shoulders with me as he joined the audience.

"Shouldn't you be up front?" I asked, pointing at his charismatic family.

He laughed, "No. I think they'd prefer if I wasn't even in the room."

"I'm sure that's not true," I said.

Jake didn't reply. We stared at his family, smiling perfectly like they had been created for a movie. 

My attention was on Luke, like it always was. He was scratching the back of his neck, looking somewhat reluctant to be the center of attention today.

"No one can step out of his shadow," Jake said unexpectedly about Luke.

I wondered if that was true. Was I in his shadow too? People only knew me now as Luke's girlfriend.

The two of us watched Luke get praised for his college acceptance and basketball scholarship. There was a cake with the Kentucky Wildcats logo on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

I couldn't help but think how Luke's dream was going to take him very far away from here.

His father said, "I grew up watching basketball games from my couch and I never expected to have an NBA prospect as a son. Since he was a little boy, he's had an energy that shocked my wife and I. The kid has nerves of steel."

I was standing next to the window and the sound of a car on the street outside caught my attention. I thought it was a guest running late to the party, until I saw the car park outside my house. I turned my head to look at it properly.

The door opened and a woman stepped out.

Not just any woman. It was my mom.

A/N: And the mystery is coming - where has Millie's family been??  Please remember to vote - takes 1 second (maybe even less)!

From super relaxed in the last chapter to super stressed in this one, I'm getting crushed today but it's OK haha! Hope you're all well <3

INSTAGRAM POLL RESULTS *drum roll*: 75% think #Austerra is endgame!!  That's more than I thought :)  Vote to have your say! 

And see ya Tuesday!

<3 Natalie
IG: NatalieInACorner


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