Runaway

Chapter 27

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~Uploaded August 22nd, 2014

Needless to say, my trip to Luke's house hadn't been as uneventful as I thought it'd be. I admit to thinking Luke would be one of those assholes who didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness and he'd end up in the shadows by the end of the story, forgotten and unwanted by everyone.

But I was wrong, as this town and its people made a point to prove to me time and time again. He wasn't any of the insults I had called him in my head, and then some. He was... misunderstood. That was the only way to put it. And a bit of a child when it came to his emotions, which meant he still had some serious growing up to do. Letting emotions rule as opposed to one's head is how they ended up in trouble in the long run.

And speaking of emotions...

Cassandra Richards, I thought numbly. Dylan's ex-girlfriend. Now how did I feel about that?

I can definitely say that I didn't see that one coming. I mean, what were the odds that Dylan's ex would come back after leaving for who knows what reason? If what half of Luke had told me was true, then it would explain why Dylan had been so apprehensive when we first met. Apparently, we looked very similar.

"You have the same hair, eye colour, and face shape", Luke had said. "It's kind of crazy, actually. But you're not the same person as her."

"Now what would you know about our similarities and differences?", I had asked sarcastically. "Unless you've been stalking me too."

Really, what did he know about me? What did anyone here know about me?

Luke grinned. "Well this is only from a distant observation, but you don't seem as deceitful as Cassie could be sometimes. You seem more honest somehow."

Bullshit, I coughed mentally.

"She was always trying to win people over with materialistic objects. She didn't understand that some people just liked her for her", Luke continued. "You seem to win them over naturally. A smile, a joke and you're in. It's charming." Me? Charming? Had I heard that right?

"You're way more independent than her too. Cassie's an only child, and she was spoiled by her parents, but she falls off her rocker when she's alone. She relies on others too much. You..."

Luke had looked at me as if I were a true puzzle, one that had yet to be pieced together. "You're strong, independent, and even though you know you have friends, you won't ask them for help unless you really need it."

Damn straight, I thought. Why should I rely on others when I knew myself inside and out and therefore could depend on myself? Besides, asking for others' help would only inconvenience them. As if I hadn't been enough of one already in this lifetime. I probably set some kind of universal record.

As far as I knew, my parents hadn't wanted, much less expected, to have kids. But when my mother found out she was pregnant, she was happy that she was carrying a child, and became ecstatic when the ultrasound showed she was actually carrying two. She outright refused to abort the life growing inside of her.

Father on the other end... Well, I knew he loved her, so he tolerated the pregnancy just for her. Eight months later, he was just on the edge of receiving that well-earned promotion to general when he got the call that Mother's water had broken and she was in labor.

So what did he do? He stayed at the ceremony, saying his pregnant girlfriend could wait. His job was more important. He visited her in the hospital afterwards of course, only to find out that the woman he supposedly loved hadn't survived the delivery. And the only ones to carry on her legacy and life were the two crying little newborns he refused to call his children.