You Will Be Found (A Lumity AU)

Blackbird

Chapter 12

Amity's Saturday consisted of doing homework and practicing for the Battle of the Bands with her friends. She texted Luz a few times, but her messages didn't go through. It was strange, but Luz did have a pretty outdated phone, it was probably just not working right. It was ten o' clock on Sunday morning when she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." Amity said. Her door opened and Emira came in, Edric following closely behind. Em sat down next to Amity on her window seat while Edric sat on the floor. Her sister placed a hand on Amity's shoulder.

"Hey, Mittens. How're you doing? You've been up here since yesterday." Out of anyone in her family, she had always felt closer to Emira. Her older sister, while kind of annoying, had always been there for her. Amity sighed shut her Spanish textbook. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Amity responded.

"Exhausted. I have no idea why I'm in Advanced Spanish, as I suck at it. Also, I just got done with a ton of Calculus homework that's due tomorrow." Ed and Em looked at each other, both of their faces held concern for their younger sister. Emira thought for a moment before her face lit up, an idea having occurred to her.

"What if we dyed your hair again? You could pick a new color, it's not like mom or dad would find out, as they're never here anymore. Also, you need a break, Mittens. You never take time to relax." Amity considered this. It would be pretty cool to be able to change things up. Also, Em was right, she did work herself too hard and needed to relax.

"Okay, let's do it."

Ed and Em led her to their room and the process began. By eleven thirty, her hair was completely changed. Amity looked in the mirror, and she grinned. It was a nice lilac color, and her siblings had cut it shorter and it looked a lot more relaxed.

"I love it! Thanks, guys!" Emira grinned, and Edric gave Amity a pat on the shoulder.

"It's no problem, Mittens." Edric said. "But, just to repay us, maybe don't tell the principal next time we put glue in Mr. Barlowe's coffee." He winked, and Amity snorted. At that moment, all of their phones buzzed. Amity saw a text from Boscha to their group chat, reminding them that practice was in two hours.

"Hey, Mittens," Em said. "Why don't you ask Luz if she wants to come to the practice? She really seems attached to you." Amity flushed, and rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Em. It's not like that, we've only known each other for a week." Emira shrugged.

"I don't know about that. I could see you two together. Also, she's pretty cute." Amity smiled a little.

"Yeah, she is." Her eyes widened. Em and Ed were sharing knowing looks with each other. "But it's not like that!" She repeated. Ed smirked.

"Not yet it's not." Amity just stood up, and walked out of the room. Her siblings were laughing as she left. Maybe she could drive by Luz's place and see if she wanted to come. Amity walked out of the house, grabbing her jacket and keys. The drive over to Luz's place was quiet. She didn't really feel like listening to any music at the moment. She pulled up to the dumpy building, and checked the plaque at the entrance to find Luz's last name.

Room 103 - Noceda

Amity entered the building. It was even worse looking on the inside than the outside. The carpet was musty and smelled terrible. The walls were cracked and the dry wall was peeling. There. Room 103. As Amity approached the door, she could hear soft music playing from inside. She softly knocked, but there was no response. Amity tried the doorknob and, to her surprise, the door was unlocked.

It creaked as she slowly opened it. Luz's apartment was not in much better condition than the rest of the building. But Amity's focus was on the beautiful music coming from one of the small rooms in the apartment. She recognized the song: Blackbird by the Beatles. Amity slowly approached the door to where the music was coming from. It was cracked open. Peering inside, her jaw dropped open. Luz was sitting on her bed, looking worse for the wear, with cuts and bruises all over her body. But that wasn't what shocked Amity. Luz was holding an old acoustic guitar, her fingers delicately, and expertly working along the strings. Then she sang.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Amity was in shock. Luz's voice was beautiful. Soft, yet powerful at the same time. She listened, mesmerized by the girl in front of her who always managed to surprise her.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

::::::::::::::::::

Pain.

Hunger.

Isolation.

This was all Luz could feel throughout the weekend. Jared and his friends had definitely cracked a couple of her ribs and given her multiple deep cuts on her arms and legs. She was feeling very dizzy and disoriented from the lack of food. The wounds had stopped bleeding, but they were still excruciatingly painful. After four years of this, she was covered with scars, whether they were physical or mental. And the pain was always worse when she didn't have any money to give them. Her phone was dead, and she couldn't find the strength to get up and put it on the charger. She desperately wanted her mom to come and take care of her, but she knew that it would only give her mom more work to do.

Tears welled in Luz's eyes. She just wanted someone to be there with her. Without the constant fear that they could get hurt, or that she was burdening them with her problems. Someone Luz could talk to without being afraid. Was it really that much to ask? As she lay there, lost in thought, her eyes drifted to her father's guitar sitting against the wall. Suddenly, Luz got a familiar tingling feeling in her hands. The want, no, the need to play. Even though it was painful, Luz sat up slowly with a groan. Her knees almost buckled under her when she stood, but it was worth it when her fingers wrapped around the neck of her instrument.

Luz sat back down on her bed and tuned the guitar. She then started to play one of her favorite songs, Blackbird. Luz sang with passion. She wanted more than anything to be able to move forward with what she had, just like the bird in the song. To be able to find the light when everything felt dark and hopeless. When the song finished, Luz sighed a little, before a voice spoke up, surprising her.

"Luz?"