by Frankie Rose
Hi Avery,
Looks like your mom’s going to be busy this holiday. Want to come and join me in my non-celebrations? You know how I don’t go in for that sort of thing anymore, but it would be great to see you. We can burn some pumpkin pie and smoke some crack just like the good old days. Let me know if you need anything, kid. I’m only on the other end of a telephone.
Love Brandon
I’ve never smoked crack in my life, let alone with my Uncle Brandon, but he has a wicked sense of humor and he’s convinced the college monitors our emails. He thinks it’s funny to set off some ‘red flags’ every now and then. I have no idea if the college does monitor our emails, or if smoking crack would actually even be a red flag, but it still makes me smile. I miss him. But not enough to ever head back to Breakwater. I am never going back there again.
I’m shutting down my computer, promising myself that I’ll reply to Brandon tomorrow, when the door knocks. Morgan’s too lazy to walk up to my apartment usually, and so any visitors we get are usually for Leslie. My roommate’s headphones block out the interruption, though, so it’s left to me to answer. I’m really not expecting the person on the other side of the door.
“Luke? What are you doing here?”
Luke’s out of uniform and wearing a plain black t-shirt and faded-out jeans. His look still carries a little of the skater style he used to rep in high school, although there’s a rocky, harder edge to him now. It’s always a surprise to see him in his casual clothes. Right now I’m surprised to see him period. He shoves his hands in his pockets, drawing my attention to the fact that he’s gotten some fresh ink. Black swirling lines peek out from below his shirtsleeves. Nowhere near low enough to ever be visible in his uniform, but still low enough for me to see them when he hunches his shoulders.
“Sorry, I know I should have called but I got this feeling yesterday that you were gonna blow me off, and—”
Leslie yanks the door open wider behind me, tugging her headphones out of her ears. “Hi!” she says, her voice all easy breezy. “Are you a friend of Avery’s?”
Luke smiles back cautiously—a rueful expression. “Yeah, I’m a friend of Avery’s.”
This is only second time he’s ever said my name. It sounds strained coming out of his mouth. I stare at him, trying to figure out what the hell he is doing here. What he is doing inside my apartment building.
“Are you going to invite your friend in, Avery?” Leslie asks. I can hear the suggestion in her voice: I can leave if you need me to. I sigh and give Luke a look I hope isn’t too difficult to read. Morgan always says I’m pretty transparent with my emotions, so there’s a good chance he’ll be able to tell I am seriously pissed.
“No. We’re going out for coffee.” I head into my room to collect my jacket and my purse and when I return to the living room, Leslie is still standing by the doorway, twirling her short hair around her finger. It’s embarrassing to watch her devour him with her eyes. I’m used to it, though. Unlike Luke, who, despite how often this happens, never seems to get over the embarrassment factor of being the cause of such predatory looks in women.
I storm past him into the hallway and set off walking without checking to see if he’s following me. After all the times I’ve met with him and all the weirdly awkward conversations we’ve shared, I still don’t know him well enough to be openly mad at him. He must sense the fact that I need some space because it isn’t until we get to the exit of the building that he says anything.
“Hey, I’m sorry, okay? I know I’ve messed up here. Avery? Hey, Avery!” He grabs hold of my arm and spins me around. I’m grinding my jaw together to keep from saying anything I’ll regret later. “Listen, this…I wouldn’t usually do this, but I wanted to talk to you. There’s something you should know. I wanted to tell you when I went back to Break in September but you were already gone. It’s important.”
I stand there with my jacket still in my hand, contemplating putting it on so I can stop shivering, but I’m too hyper-aware of him staring at me to move. I huff out a deep breath and stare at my shoes. Luke’s hand brushes mine for a second as he takes my jacket and leans forward so he can put it over my shoulders.
“It’s November, Avery,” he whispers. “You’re gonna get hypothermia.”
I shrug it off so I can thread my arms into it properly and sigh. “Okay. So you want to tell me something? You should probably do that so I can get back to studying. I have those midterms I told you about last night, remember?”
“Can we go grab some food? I came straight over after I finished my shift. I’m starving.”
I fold my arms across my chest and glare at him. “How did you even know which was my apartment?”
A guilty look flashes across his face and he cups his hand to the back of his neck, avoiding my eyes. “I uh…I slipped some chick in the hall a fifty and she told me.”
This would be another great time for an eye roll. “Great. Now people are gonna think I have random guys coming up here at all hours.”
“Avery, please…” Smoke billows on his breath when he speaks. He shoves his hands into his pockets again, tensing his shoulders against the cold. Having just told me off about not wearing my jacket, it is kind of ironic that he doesn’t have one.
I shake my head and scowl. “Where’s your car?”
“In the ProPark.” He nods his head up the street and starts walking slowly, making sure I’m following. I ball up my fists in my pockets, contemplating just turning around and going back inside. But I can’t. I trail after him, seething the whole way.