Seventeen | muke

Four

Luke tried very hard to hide the tears that welled up in his eyes as he stepped into his mother's house. He dropped his school bag on the floor, barely taking any mind to the iPad he could've broken in the process and slipped his shoes off, kicking them to the corner. The sound of paws clicking against the hardwood floor was the only thing that seemed to make Luke's heart a little lighter, smiling to himself as the small Pug rushed to greet him at the door.

"Mum?" The blond called, holding his breath as he waited for some sort of reply. Nothing. "Ben? Jack?" 

Silence. The small blond sighed, kicking the front door closed as he stepped further into the house. He smiled sadly as his black pug jumped up his leg, begging for attention. Smiling hurt this face. Bending down to pick up the dog hurt his back. Everything hurt. But he did so anyways, cradling the dog like a baby and peppering it with kisses. He could feel Mia's breath on his face as he carried her further into the house and up the stairs into his bedroom before plopping her on the bed.

Luke was grateful for an empty house. The day had been hard enough on him and he was glad he got to avoid the questions he knew he would be bombarded with as soon as his mother walked through the door. He began unbuttoning his school shirt in front of the mirror, finally letting the tears roll down his cheek as he fumbled with the buttons. Every single movement of his muscles hurt and his wrist throbbed non-stop but the blond ignored it. He had to ignore it before he burst out into tears. As he pulled his shirt back, a small gasp escaped his lips. 

Staring back at him was a large bruise, covering the entirety of his left ribcage, colours black, purple and yellow fading into his light pink skin. The tip of his fingers ran over the bruise, wincing slightly as he slowly added more pressure to it. It was hard to breathe. The blond sucked in a sharp breath, stepping closer to the mirror and taking a look at his face. His eyes fixed on the other bruise on his jaw before flicking over to the small cut on his forehead and the dried blood that dripped down his face. He couldn't stand to look at it any longer.

Sniffling and angrily wiping his tears away, Luke stormed into the bathroom, stripping his school shorts off and stepping into the shower. 

"Crap." He whispered to himself as he let the water trickle down his injured body. He had forgotten to allow the water to warm up, and his small frame shivered lightly under the ice cold water. 

With his hair stuck to his forehead, Luke let the water cascade down his body, feeling it warm up as it ran down his back. He had no idea what he was going to do, or how he was going to hide the marks on his body from his family. And Michael. He was terrified of his boyfriend's reaction. With pure rage running through his veins, Luke turned off the shower and stepped out, yanking a towel from the rack without even checking if it was his or one of his brother's. It didn't matter at this point. He had only one thing in mind.

-

The way Luke knocked on the door non-stop hurt his knuckles. He was angry and in a rush. Glancing over his shoulder the boy's eyes searched for his mother's car approaching, but luckily it never came. It took way to long for Luke's liking before the door swung open. The blond's blue eyes shot up in surprise, the tall, toned Kiwi frowning down at him.

"Luke?" Calum asked in confusion, taking a step forward and leaning against the door frame.

"I need to come in," he announced quickly. "I need to see Mali."

Calum looked over his shoulder and his eyes skimmed his deadly silent house, almost as to confirm his sister was in fact not there. He knew she wasn't. She was never home when he arrived from school.

"She's not here," he shrugged. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No," Luke pouted. "I need Mali. When will she be home?"

"She usually gets home around six." Calum stated, glancing at his watch to check the time. It was only four-thirty.

"Can I wait for her here?"

"You live next door," the Kiwi said, almost blankly. "why can't you wait for her there?"

Luke pointed at the bruise on his jaw, almost as if it was an obvious answer. "In case you haven't noticed, your friends hit me today and I need to cover it up."

The brunet looked down and embarrassment flashed through his eyes. Luke wasn't going to pretend Calum didn't treat him decently every so often, but it was also true that the Kiwi was an enabler. Of course Calum had noticed his friends ganged up on the poor blond boy who very clearly could not defend himself. Of course Calum had sat with them during lunch break, listening to them make jokes about Luke's whimpers and pleas for help. He knew. He let it happen. 

"Fine," Calum signed, stepping aside so Luke could walk into the house. The blond stomped in, holding his breath as he heard Calum close the door behind him. "I'm sorry about my friends, by the way." He muttered almost shyly.

Luke glanced over his shoulder momentarily, tearing his eyes away from his neighbour quickly as soon as he felt the tears sting the back of his eyes. He didn't respond, simply making his way up the stairs to Mali's room where he knew she would help him cover up the bruises from earlier in the day. People are always sorry until it's time to hold themselves accountable, Luke thought to himself as he wiped away a single stray tear. Hopefully Mali could help him up.