before the pain | luke (JATP)

XII

As the car parked outside the garage Alex and Reggie hadn't spoken a word, they looked at each other before stepping out of the car. They didn't want to admit they both had begun to care about the curly-haired girl. As they walked into the garage, Bobby and Luke were sitting on the couch with their guitars, strumming gently as Luke tried to teach him the new song they had written that day.

"Why did it take you so long?" Bobby asked as he noticed the two other boys entering the garage. "We drove Mila home," Reggie said, Luke responded to this with a smile while Bobby didn't seem impressed.

"I thought you guys told me, you wouldn't befriend her, she is now eating lunch with us and now she is also driving with you guys?" Bobby asked, his voice is cold. "What's your problem with her anyway?" Alex asked, placing himself behind his drums as he took his drumsticks, he wanted to hit Bobby with them for not liking Mila, yet he didn't.... but he did think about it.

"I just don't like her that much" He answered, this of course wasn't the answer the boys were hoping for. Luke rolled his eyes as he looked back in his notebook, he couldn't help but smile at her handwriting, she wrote her i's with a circle on the top.

"Well I think she is cute," Reggie said, this made Luke snap out of the thought of the circle over the i's and look at Reggie. "You like her?" He asked out of the blue, all the boys' focus landed on Reggie who laughed awkwardly. "No... no, I don't"

"Why do you then always talk about her?" Bobby asked with a small smirk and an eyebrow lifted. "Because she is my friend? " This didn't sound convincing, but he did really mean it. Of course, he had noticed that Mila was pretty, she was funny and she was cute, but his heart belonged to someone else.

"Sure mate," Bobby said laughing, Alex and Luke didn't say anything, their eyes met but they kept quiet, as they all stood in silence for a bit before Luke began strumming the melody of their song on the guitar.

In the Garcia house, things were a little more chaotic. Mila had walked into a living room looking like it hadn't changed for 3 years like her mom never moved out and like the divorce never happened. To make it worse was her mom in the middle of decorating for Halloween, even though it was just September, but like when she lived at home, she would do everything too early.

"Mom... what are you doing?" Mila asked as she saw her mom hanging up the pumpkin lanterns in the doorway. "Decorating for Halloween of course, are you going to throw a movie night with Aera the 31th?" Her mom asked, not noticing that when she said it, Mila's face turned down and almost went pale.

"No... we're not" Mila whispered back, this however made her mom curious. "Why not? You do that every year?" Mila sighed as she leaned against the doorway. "Not this one... " Her mom didn't answer this, as she could feel how her daughter felt unpleasant by the whole talk that they were having.

After some silence, Mila spoke up. "Are you really moving in?" She asked, her mom nodded with a bright smile, even though this made Mila sick to her stomach, the whole idea of having her mom around wasn't the most pleasant thought in Mila's mind.

"Yes isn't it great, we're going to be a family again," Mila's mom said finishing her work with the lanterns and placing herself beside her daughter, she tried to put a piece of her hair behind her ear, yet Mila stopped her, she looked into her mother's eyes, she knew she would regret what she was going to say, yet she had to say it.

"Just because you move in, does not make us a family" Mila answered, her stomach turned and the juice and sandwich she had eaten for lunch now were on their way up. She gulped and walked to her room locking the door, not even hearing her mother's response, as she left her frozen and heartbroken in the living room.