Chapter 4:
“You almost ready to go honey?” My mom shouted up the stairs clearly getting impatient.
“Be right down!” I uttered back. My phone vibrated. I hoped it was Luke telling me he got out of working today. I knew the Fourth of July was one of the busiest days of the year on the boardwalk but I wanted him all to myself today.
Happy Fourth baby, you’re a firework !
I giggled out loud and grabbed my sunglasses off the dresser and headed downstairs.
Gia, my mom, Ronnie and I headed out for a day at the beach. Of course, we invited Aunt Helen but she thought that was an insane idea. I texted Luke back as we sauntered to the boardwalk.
I think I could go for pizza for lunch..
Lovely choice my lady. He replied.
Everything was packed. “Aren’t you glad we left when we did? This place is a zoo.” My mom said scanning the crowd. Every single time I walked on the boardwalk and got close to the Pizza Shack my heart skipped a beat. As we got close, I squinted towards the entrance. There I saw Luke in American flag swim trunks, a black tank top, and a towel hanging around his neck.
“Surprise!” He shouted. I darted into his arms.
“How’d you get THIS day off?”I asked.
“I know the owner.” He winked. “Let’s beach it.” He added grabbing my hand and we all strolled towards the beach.
The air was salty and the waves were continuously kissing the shore. The sun was blazing and the air was humid. Every now and then, a swift breeze would rustle through. We found the perfect spot right smack in the middle, between the boardwalk and the ocean. We set up our towels, beach chairs and umbrella, and prepared for our day in the sun.
Luke gripped the edges of his tank top and carefully removed it. He was grasping a bottle of sunscreen in his hands. When I caught his eye he tossed it to me with an expectant look. I grabbed the bottle and sprayed his golden skin until it shined. I pulled off my shirt and he did the same for me. My mother lathered Gia and Ronnie in sunscreen until they were as white as ghosts. Gia immediately begged us to hop into the water. “Gia, honey, relax. We have the whole day here. Let’s hangout and get hot for a while, then we can go into the water.” My mom explained.
Gia walked over to her bag of sand toys and dumped them out into the sand. Ronnie grabbed a bucket that he had struggled to carry from the house and stumbled by me. He reached inside and pulled two small turtles out holding one in each hand.
“Let’s build a house for Theo and Penny!” Ronnie exclaimed. Luke laughed.
“You brought the turtles with us?” I questioned shaking my head and laughing.
“Of course we did.” Gia replied. “They’re family.”
After about an hour of scorching sun beating down on us we were finally ready to give in and head into the water. We raced down to the shore and leapt right in. The water was cold and refreshing and the waves were gigantic. Luke took turns plunging Gia, Ronnie and I into the water. We rode the mountainous waves back to the shore.
We took a break from our beach day and all ventured back up to the boardwalk. We headed to the pizza shack for lunch, of course. The aroma of pizza smacked us right in the face when we walked inside. The shack was swarming with people and my mouth watered from all the different smells. Somehow our lucky booth was one of the only open seats in the place. We slid inside and Luke hopped behind the counter.
He returned 15 minutes later with two gigantic pizzas, a bucket of fries and a pitcher of soda. He balanced everything in his hands then gently placed it on the table. “Bon Appetit!” Luke said rubbing his hands together, licking his lips.
“It’s nuts in here. I still can’t believe you got today off.” I said, shoving a fry into my mouth.
“It wasn’t easy.” Luke replied. “Let’s just say my Uncle doesn’t exactly know but Wendy’s got my back.” Luke looked up at the counter and winked at a middle aged woman who must’ve been the manager. We dug into our lunch and headed back to the beach.
By 4 o’clock we headed back to the house to hangout and clean up before the big Fourth of July Beach Bash. At 7 PM there was going to be a big barbecue on the beach, lots of games, a huge bonfire and fireworks. We had even convinced Aunt Helen to come along.
Luke, Gia, Ronnie and I all piled into the outdoor shower to rinse the saltwater off our sun kissed bodies. Then we headed onto the hammock to air dry and rest before changing. My mom spent an unreasonable amount of time bundling Aunt Helen up in a cardigan and a blanket, even though it was 75 degrees out. Then we headed back to the boardwalk.
Hot dogs and burgers sizzled on the grill. They were served by the dozen. A gigantic stack of firewood was seated in the center of the beach and flames were blazing. As we walked down the ramp onto the beach we felt the slightly cool air and warmth of the fire on our faces. There were at least a hundred people crowded on the sand. Gia, Luke, Ronnie and I got in the buffet line while mom and Aunt Helen waited up on the boardwalk. There were all sorts of barbecue foods. Luke gazed around with a bit of a worried look on his face.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Yeah.” He stuttered. “My uh. My uncle is normally down here grilling but um maybe he’s not feeling well.” He said uneasily rubbing the back of his neck. I didn’t have the words to make anything better but I just grabbed Luke’s hand and squeezed it.
We found our way back up to a picnic table on the boardwalk to eat with Aunt Helen and my mom. Luke carried three plates like a waiter and handed them out. “You kids could have eaten down there we would have been fine!” Aunt Helen croaked.
“No way. We wanted to eat up here where the party is!” Luke replied. His tone was upbeat but I could still sense the stress in his voice.
The fire cracked and the flames danced, lighting up the beach. Tons of people gathered around it and s’mores supplies were handed out. The glowing embers lit up Luke’s gorgeous eyes as he focused on toasting his marshmallow just right. When it was browned to perfection he blew on it and squashed it between two graham crackers with chocolate. Just as he took a bite his phone began to ring.
“Hello.” Luke said looking up towards the sky. “Ugh. Ok. Alright. I’ll get there as soon as I can.” Luke looked towards me and attempted to find the words to explain to me what was going on. I grabbed his hand, mouthed to my mom I’d be back and we hurried off the beach.
Luke jogged to his house and gripped my hand tightly pulling me behind him. When we got there I saw a police cruiser parked out front. An officer was leaning against the car facing Luke’s house.
“Hi Officer Galer. Thank you so much. I am so sorry.” Luke’s voice cracked. I watched his eyes gaze towards the lawn. There I saw a large middle aged man laying face down. Luke ran the hand that wasn’t still gripping mine through his hair.
“You know I have your back Luke.” Luke let go of my hand and looked at me with tons of hurt in his eyes. He and the officer approached the man who must’ve been Luke’s Uncle Roger.
Luke rubbed his uncle’s back and spoke to him softly. “Hey. You want to get up and go inside? I bet you’ll be more comfortable in bed.” Roger turned his body over; he was mumbling, but clearly still in a daze. The officer and Luke both put one of Roger’s arms around their necks and picked Roger up, helping him walk towards the door. Roger’s eyes were barely open. I scurried ahead of them and pushed the front door open.
The officer and Luke walked Roger over to the couch and plopped him on. I stood in the doorway unsure of whether I should go inside or not. “Thank you again.” Luke said, shaking Officer Galer’s hand.
He pulled Luke in for a hug and said “You’re a good kid.” Luke sighed really loud.
“Come in if you want Sutton.” I slowly roamed into the living room and pulled the front door closed behind me. Luke was picking up tiny pills off the coffee table and putting them back in the bottle. Tears made their way down his cheeks. When he was done picking up the pills he grabbed the bottle and wandered into the
kitchen. He came back with a knitted blanket and draped it over his uncle. He looked over at me and sat in the armchair with his face in his hands. I walked over to the chair and put my hand on his shoulder.
Luke sniffled and pulled his shirt up to wipe his face. “Okay. I’m done throwing myself a pity party.” He pulled me onto his lap.
“I’m so sorry Luke.” I muttered not knowing what else to say.
“Hey, I bet you never had a Fourth of July like this one,” he said with a laugh. “Welcome to my life.” My phone buzzed and I picked it up and looked at it. It was a text from my mom.
Where are you guys? Is everything okay? Fireworks are about to start.
Luke and I both looked down and read the text. “We can’t have a Fourth of July without Fireworks.” Luke said motioning for me to get up and follow him.
Luke pulled an attic staircase from the ceiling and he led me up the stairs. When we got up there he pulled a string and put the light on. It was his bedroom. He had a full sized bed, a desk, a dresser and a wall covered with superhero posters. He climbed on top of his bed and opened up the window. He grabbed the quilt off his bed and climbed out the window. I followed suit. The roof was flat and Luke laid out the blanket. He patted it so I would come sit next to him. Just as I settled down on the blanket, fireworks started to explode in front of us. The black sky was like a blank canvas being painted by these flashing lights. The aroma of gunpowder filled the air and Luke held me close. I was mesmerised. Before I knew it, it was the finale. Lots of fireworks erupted at once. I felt each single one within my body.
“Happy Fourth Baby.” Luke whispered in my ear before pulling me in for a kiss.
..
Roger stirred his coffee over and over, clinking his spoon against the side of his mug. He had big bags under his eyes and was sighing over and over. “I just don’t know what to say.” He kept his eyes low, only focusing on the steaming cup of joe that sat in front of him. Finally, he looked across the table at Luke and I.
“I said it’s okay Uncle Roger.” Luke said uncomfortably adjusting himself in the booth. Roger put his hand over his eyes and shook his head.
“No. No. It’s not okay. I’m sick of this life. That’s the way I meet my boy’s girl face down on the lawn?” Luke set his gaze out the window past his uncle.
“Thanks for breakfast. We really appreciate it.” Luke said wrapping his arm around me. I nodded in agreement.
“Why didn’t you let your uncle give us a ride?” I questioned as Luke and I strolled away from the diner down the sidewalk.
“I just need some space.” He replied, kicking a rock along the sidewalk.
“Well he sounded genuinely sorry. That’s good news right?” Luke shook his head.
“No Sutton. He says that every time. I’ve been going through this for years.” I could hear the hurt in his voice.
“What are you up to today?” I tried to change the subject.
“I’m not positive, I think I’ll go ride my bike down to see my grandma. My uncle is kissing my ass so he told me to take the day off from work.”
“Can I come?” I asked. Luke stopped dead in his tracks.
“You really would want to?” His blue eye twinkled in the sunlight.
“Of course I would. I mean as long as you want me to.”
Luke grinned his famous grin and kissed me on the cheek. “I’d love for you to meet her.”
We headed back to Luke’s house and I waited on the front stoop while he ran inside for a minute. He came out dangling a pair of keys in his hands. “Told you he’s kissing my ass.” We hopped in the ruby red truck and were on our way. We stopped by the sunflower field and Luke hopped out of the truck. An older woman was standing at the wooden stand. Luke and the woman talked as if they had known each other forever and he came back with a bouquet of sunflowers. He pulled the truck door closed behind him and pulled a single flower out of the bunch.
“Can’t forget you,” he said, starting up the truck again. “Let’s do this.” He smiled, squeezing my thigh.
Luke walked into his grandma’s room and I stood in the entryway. He gently kissed her on the cheek and spoke loudly to her. “Hi Gram! You look beautiful today, how are you feeling?”
“Oh. Oh. Hi Michael! You let your hair grow out!” She giggled.
“No grandma it’s me Luke! I must look like dad today, huh?” He grinned at her and handed her the bouquet of flowers. “I got these for you! And hey, I have someone I’d like you to meet!” He glanced over at me and motioned for me to come in. I stood by Luke’s side and his grandmother looked me up and down. “This is my girlfriend Sutton.” He said.
“Hi Cindy; it’s so nice to meet you.” A big smile came across her face and she put my hand in hers. Her hands were wrinkled. She had short white hair.
“The pleasure is mine, Sutton. Nice job Luke; she’s a gem.” She winked at him. “It’s so nice of you both to come visit me today. Are you hungry; it’s almost lunch time here? We’re having turkey dinner. It’s delicious! Oh and it’s a beautiful day out; we could go for a walk after lunch! What do you think, Jenny?” Cindy looked over at me and my heart started beating fast. Luke must’ve noticed my nerves because he chimed right in.
“Okay grandma! That sounds great; why don’t we go find a seat in the cafeteria?” He carefully helped her stand up out of the chair and wrapped his arm around hers for the journey to get some lunch.
We got to the cafeteria and ate some mediocre turkey dinner. Cindy let us in on all the gossip of the home. For someone with memory issues, she remembered an awful lot about her peers. I knew that Michelle was rude, Danny didn’t cut his nails and Elizabeth and Walter were hooking up.
When we finished up lunch, we went out back where there was a beautiful courtyard. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining and as I looked over at Luke, he radiated happiness. Everytime he looked at Cindy, I could see the love in his eyes. There was something about him that was just so genuine and unique. After a little while, he caught me gazing at him and looked over at me with the same look in his eyes. My heart beat fast, like it was about to jump out of my chest and a feeling of warmth came over me. Luke loved his grandma, Cindy. Luke loved me.
Chapter 5:
I sat on the counter at the Pizza Shack counting the money from the cash register. That had kind of become my thing. As I counted, Luke wiped tables and stacked chairs. Music blasted through the speakers and he serenaded me. A knock on the pull down door startled us. Luke lifted it up and there stood the ice cream guy.
“Luke, dude. I figured you’d still be here. Hi Sutton.” He gave me a wave.
“Mikey!” Luke yelled back. “What’s up?”
“Fire tonight in the woods. By the bridge. You and your lady in?”
Luke licked his lips and looked over at me. “Maybe dude. I’m not sure what we’re up to tonight.”
“Hope to see you there!” He dapped Luke up and Luke pulled the door down again.
I finished counting the stack I had in front of me and looked over at Luke. “All set, everything adds up!” I said cheerfully.
“Awesome.” Luke high fived me.
“So are we going to that fire in the woods?” I asked matter of fact.
“I don’t know.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. “I don’t go out often but when I do I just kind of chill there and watch everyone else get drunk. I usually end up babysitting people too, since I don’t really drink. Do you want to go?” He asked looking over at me.
“I’ve actually never been to a party,” I replied.
Luke’s eyes got wide. “Never?”
“Never.” I replied. “They normally make me anxious and I don’t drink so it’s just not my scene.”
Luke nodded. “I get that completely. Hey it’s throwback night at the drive-in if you want to check that out.”
“Let’s go to that fire.”
“Why?” Luke gave me a confused look. “You just said parties make you anxious.”
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“Because it’s something I think I should experience with you,” I replied.
Luke’s confused look turned to a grin. “Okay baby, but we really don’t have to.”
“I know,” I said, kissing him gently.
We followed the route to get to the bridge. Once we got there, we crossed it. I immediately heard the lull of music in the distance. Luke held my hand and guided me. He was still wearing his Pizza Shack uniform, including the hat, backwards. I had on my light cut off shorts and his Nike sweatshirt.
We dodged a few tree branches and the music got louder. I could smell the fire burning and as the trees opened up, the orange embers were in front of me. There were long logs placed around the fire and a ground of about twelve people were sitting on them, surrounding it. There were also lots of people standing around nearby.
“Is that the ghost of Luke Mellows?” Mikey yelled. Luke laughed, still holding my hand leading me past the fire.
There was a plastic table with two kegs on it. Luke took a solo cup and started filling it. He set it on the table and then started filling another one. “Oh Luke, I don’t drink, remember,” I said.
Luke grinned at me. “You think I forgot already?” He asked. “Party tip number one, if you’re not going to drink at a party, grab a drink anyways and carry the cup around for the night. That way people aren’t offering you a drink every two seconds.”
“Good advice!” I said as he handed me a cup.
We found two spots on the log and sat around the fire. It was a crisp night. There was definitely a little chill in the air but the fire warmed my face. Everyone talked for an hour or so. They were all really friendly and I was happy to see Bianca wasn’t anywhere to be found.
“Hey let’s play truth or dare.”Someone called out. Before I knew it, everyone was kissing everyone. Lots of people were sloppy drunk. I was starting to get uncomfortable and Luke knew it.
“You want to get out of here?” Luke asked, placing his hand on my leg. Before I could reply I was interrupted.
Know Him Page 5