Book of Luke (Book 2) (20 page)

And then I did something I never thought I’d
do. I turned to the school sluts and spat,

“You’re just jealous because she’s prettier
than you, smarter than you, and obviously gets better than you.
Maybe you should go get your Diaper Genie back, you can stuff it
with your shitty attitude!”

They leered at me.

Luke’s foot touched mine. He was breathing
heavy, and his eyes were impassioned.

“Excuse me,” I uttered, got up and hurried
out of there.

I’m not sure what came over me, but it was
so unexpected that it was freaking me out.

I didn’t expect to bump into Gino when I
turned the corner in the hall, and I didn’t expect him to grip and
hold me, either.

“Why are you crying?” he breathed, his eyes
deep.

Oddly enough, I gripped him even tighter and
inhaled his leather. “I take it you didn’t see the morning paper?”
I said, tears streaming, my head flat against his chest.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

I let him go and sat on one of the steps in
the staircase. He followed me. “I’m guessing those girls went to
the paper. I just freaked out on them.” I looked at him. “Are you
that mad, that you can’t talk to Lilly? Because now Luke won’t talk
to
me
.”

Gino looked down thoughtfully. “Honestly,
her whole story was kind of weird. For some reason, though, I never
imagined it’d be fake. I don’t know if I’m mad, or confused… It’s a
really big thing to lie about, and I think in some way I’m
permanently scarred. I’m gonna have some trust issues.”

“I’m sorry about your mom, and grandma.”

He shrugged. “They’ll get over it,
eventually. My ma’s a tough lady. My grandma’s even tougher.”

“Are you through with her?” I asked,
referring to Lilly.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Should I be?”

I shook my head no.

“Your mascara's running,” he breathed,
wiping my cheek with his heavy hand. His hand fell to my
shoulder.

I wiped my eyes. “Are you going to
lunch?”

He shook his head. “I’m actually leaving for
the day, my parents called. They need me at the restaurant.”

He shifted, about to get up. “Luke loves
you. You’re all he talks about.”

I burst into tears. “Then why won’t he
talk to me!
”

“He’s really kicking himself. I’m not even
mad about being tossed against the locker anymore. I mean if I had
a sister and some guy knocked her up, I would have done the same
thing. He didn’t know she lied, so I have no reason to hold a
grudge.”

“You looked like you wanted to beat his
ass,” I said with an awkward laugh.

He grinned. “It crossed my mind. But he’s my
friend, you know?”

“I can see why he’s mad with me, but it was
either tell him and have Lilly mad at me or keep quiet until what
happened, well, happened.” I sighed. “It’s like I’m constantly
having to choose.”

Gino looked down. “If you have to choose,
just choose the right thing.”

I hugged myself. “It’s hard to know what the
right thing is when I’m stuck in the middle.”

He squeezed my hand. “I have to go.”

“Okay,” I breathed, looking into his
eyes.

“You’ll be okay?”

I nodded.

He bit his lip. “What’s with this Troy, is
he a nice guy? I don’t talk to him much. There’s a wall there.”

I nodded again. “He’s a
really
nice
guy. Charming and sweet.”

Gino crinkled his nose. “Well that
sucks.”

~ ~ ~

Luke’s forehead was flat against his locker after
third period. He looked stressed, and I was afraid to approach him,
because I was afraid of rejection.

My heart stopped when I saw Karma. She
stopped before him and said something, fiddling with her hair.

His heart was racing—I could see it in his
stance, in his stiff posture, in his face. It’s not that he was
excited, though, it’s that he was angry. And I’m not sure what he
said to her, but her eyes widened, and she recoiled in such a way
that I knew it was really bad.

She hastened down the hall like her pride
was hurt.

He ran his hand through his hair, slammed
the locker shut and leaned against it.

It was cold out, but I was on fire. I was
raging mad and brutally embarrassed all at once. The next few
months would not be easy.

In my Jeep, I let the engine run. Heat
gushed on me full-blast. I was trembling, but it wasn’t from the
cold.

I knew it would be a long weekend, and I
wasn’t looking forward to it.
Any
time without him feels
like an eternity. He’s not the only person in my life, but he
completes
my life.

I took off my ring, held it in a fist and
burst into tears. More than anything, I wished he weren’t my best
friend’s brother. Then I wouldn’t need to choose. And maybe, just
maybe, we’d have something resembling a normal relationship.

But even without Lilly, I’m not sure what we
have is normal, or ever will be. I’d never felt this way about
anyone before. Our love is so deep, so intense, so spiritual, it
almost scares me—because without him, what would I be?

He showed up in my life one day, and
transformed my very being. Either he stole my heart, or I just up
and gave it to him; either way, he has it, and he’s not giving it
back.

I was never sure what I wanted, until I met
him
.

But then, he’s the kind of guy
every
girl wants: Hot, smart, sweet, sensitive, caring. The things he
does, the things he
says
…

Luke Pawlak is every girl’s dream. And the
sad truth is, that can be a real nightmare.

Saturday was spent writing a book about the
guy I’d just lost. At least he was talking to me in
that
.

This is why I love writing—I can make anyone
do anything. I can shape them, I can hurt them, I can name them
Jenna or Karma and kill them…

And it’s all
legal
.

At around five o’ clock, Sullivan knocked on
my door. It was open, but I was too busy writing to notice him.

I laid on my bed with my laptop, my chin on
my hand. “What’s up?” I uttered.

He waved the previous day’s paper around. “I
see you’re famous!” he said with a smirk.

“Ugh!” I groaned. “I don’t even want to talk
about it!”

“Why not?” He sat Indian style on my carpet
and looked up at me like a kid at story hour. He wore denim shorts
and a florescent green shirt that gave me a headache. Or maybe it
was the smell of his socks—the soles were
filthy
.

“You may think it’s funny, but I don’t,” I
spat.

“I never said it’s funny,” he said, setting
the paper on the floor and tucking his hair behind his ears. “Luke
really dumped you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s not talking
to me anymore. He’s still sitting next to me in class, though.”

“Well that means he doesn’t
totally
hate you!”

“Thanks,” I said dryly. My head fell in my
hands and I heaved a sigh. “I don’t know what’s worse,
this
or the last time he dumped me.”

I heard Sullivan gasp, and looked up. His
eyes were wide as he looked at my hand. “You’re getting
married?!”

“
Shhh!”
I hissed. I got up in a
panic, looked into the hall and shut my bedroom door. “Don’t tell
Dad!”

He frowned. “You’re going to get married
without telling Dad?” He joined me on the edge of my bed so he can
get a closer look at my ring.

“I have time, I’m not getting married
tomorrow
,” I uttered. “Although after what’s happened, I may
not be getting married,
at all
.”

Sullivan shook his head. “Doubt it. He would
have asked for that back!”

“Really?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah. If I could afford a ring that wasn’t
from a vending machine, I wouldn’t let Megan keep it if I dumped
her. I’d want it right back.”

I knitted my eyebrows.

Sullivan crossed his arms. “She’s real,” he
assured me.

I giggled. “Did I say she isn’t?”

“Plenty of times.”

“
Tonight?”
I asked, crossing my arms
as well.

“Anyway,” he said, changing the subject.
“Wanna go to the rental store with me? We can pick up some cheesy
B-movies to watch.” He looked at my laptop. “You don’t seem very
busy tonight…”

“What’s with you and B-movies?”

He shrugged. “They’re good for a laugh.”

I bit my lip, considering it for a moment.
Then I said, “Okay,” because I knew I had nothing better to do.

I knew the odds weren’t good that I’d find
Luke in a stone-age rental store, but a girl could hope.

I put on some make-up, and in a flash we
rushed down the stairs. “We’re going out!” I announced, grabbing my
coat, shoes, and Mom’s keys.

Dad showed up in the foyer.
“Together?”
he asked in shock.

“Only ‘cause she can drive,” Sullivan said.
“I wouldn’t be caught dead with her otherwise!”

I rolled my eyes.

Dad shook his head and smiled. “How long
will you be?”

“We won’t be too long, we’re just going to
the rental store,” I said, putting my hand in my pocket. I was kind
of surprised Sullivan hadn’t told him I’m engaged yet. Usually he
jumps at the opportunity to make my life miserable, although I
suppose recently he’s gotten better.

“Drive safe,” Dad said, and he saw us
out.

The rental store is called Bernie’s. It
makes me think of that 80’s movie in which those two guys
masqueraded a corpse around all weekend, because finding him dead
and calling the cops would have ruined their vacation.

The place was small and nearly deserted, as
it was almost every time we went in there. It made me wonder how
they were even in business with that kind of traffic, or lack
thereof. I figured the only way it was possible was for them to own
the building, all the movies, have no debt, and maybe live in the
basement.

“How about this one?” Sullivan asked,
handing me a DVD.
Royal Pain
was about a queen of England
who found out she was switched at birth and wasn’t really the queen
after all. The rightful heir to the throne was blackmailing and
harassing her, and threatening her corgis.

“This looks cheesy enough,” I said, tossing
it on the pile he held.

“Awesome!” He walked to the register and set
six DVDs on the counter. It promised to be a busy night—maybe I’d
even get my mind off of Luke.

“Can I get some cotton candy, and
lollipops?” Sullivan asked, looking at me.

“Sure, why not?” I assumed from his tone
that I’d be paying for it.

“I’ll have six bags of cotton candy,” he
told the clerk. “Give me a box of lollipops, too.”

“There are forty-eight in a box,” the geeky
clerk said.

Sullivan shrugged. “So?”

“Done,” the clerk said, setting everything
in front of him. “That’ll be forty-eight dollars.”

Sullivan pulled the wrapper off a root beer
float lollipop, stuck it in his mouth and looked at me.

I dug into my wallet and pulled out one of
Dad’s hundreds. Luke had paid for just about everything in
Switzerland, so I was able to cover it. Not that I wanted to.

“Whoa!” Sullivan said, eyeing the bucks in
my wallet. “We’re going for
pizza
next!”

~ ~ ~

By Sunday afternoon, it had gotten to be too much,
and I decided to go looking for him. Maybe if I got a peek at him,
I could, you know,
function
.

“Where are you going, sweetie?” Dad asked
from the couch. For once I was glad he reads
Writer’s Digest
more than he reads the newspaper.

“I’m going to Lilly’s,” I said. “Is that
okay?”

Dad looked at me over his magazine. “Will
her parents be there?”

“Mrs. Jacobson’s a housewife,” I reminded
him. “What are the odds she’s not?”

He flipped a page and turned his attention
back to reading.

“So can I?” I asked through the silence. I
thought having to ask for permission to visit my friend in the
middle of the day was ridiculous, but then, so was my dad.

“Fine,” he mumbled. “But it’s a school
night. Be home by nine.”

“Okay.” I put my shoes on and walked out the
door.

It was a warm, sunny day, about thirty
degrees out. I loved the freshness of the air, and the warmth of
the sun on my hair. Chirping birds fluttered about. Surely that
meant spring was just weeks away; even if sometimes it snows in
June.

I was at Luke’s door ten minutes later. Or
should I say I was at
Lilly’s
door, since I had to pretend I
was there for her!

“Hi, honey!” Mrs. Jacobson wiped her hands
on her apron and gave me a warm hug. “How are you?”

“Miserable,” I wanted to say, but I stuck
with,

“Okay.” I hung up my coat.

She wore a cheery yellow housedress and
white apron, and her hair was tight in a bun. The necklace Luke
bought her hung around her neck. “Good! Lukasz is not here right
now. He went to give some ski lessons this morning, and he just
called and said he is at the Barone’s restaurant.”

“Oh. I was actually here for Lilly.”

Mrs. Jacobson smiled. Of course she knew I
was lying, I could see it in her eyes. “Lilly is out with Troy. She
should be back any minute!”

“Troy…?” I asked, perplexed.

She nodded and led me into their living
room. “Yes, would you like to sit and wait?”

I sat beside her on the cool leather couch.
The room was bright and cheerful, of course smelling of potpourri.
I watched the fish swim about in their fish tank coffee table.

“Those are adorable,” I said, wishing my
parents allowed pets. My parents are so anti-pet, I can’t even have
a fish.

“They are beautiful,” she said of the black
and red bubble-eyed goldfish.

“So how are you and Lukasz?” she asked,
pouring me some coffee and adding a few cubes of sugar.