The Lead Guitarist //Reggie Peters

Chapter 22: Luke

Ash's POV*

Alex, Reggie, Julie, and I sneakily peeked around four trees on this house's back porch. I looked inside the house, seeing an elderly couple in the kitchen while Luke was sitting on top of the counter, crying. "So, Emily's his mom?" Julie asked Alex and Reggie as Luke's mom put a chocolate cake on the counter right at Luke's feet, not even knowing that he's there.

"Yea. Luke comes here a lot." Alex told her as Julie and I looked at Alex before looking back at Luke.

"He thinks we don't know, but...we've been following him." Reggie then said to us as who I'm gonna assume is Luke's dad grabbed two plates and two mugs, bringing them over to the kitchen table. "All he does is just hang out like this and watch them. They never really do anything though." Reggie continued as Luke looked at the table and that was the first time I could get a good look at him; Luke's eyes were red and puffy and he just looked like a broken teenager.

"They're having cake. That's something." I commented as Luke's mom put the cake down on the table.

"It's a...it's a birthday cake. For Luke." Reggie told me as Julie and I both looked at him.

"Today's Luke's birthday?" I asked Reggie as he nodded.

"I never knew Luke was hurting this much." Julie then said as I looked back at Luke.

"It's even worse because when he died, he...left on bad terms. You know, his parents didn't want their 17-year-old in a rock band, so...he just left. He never got the chance to make up with them." Alex then explained to me and Julie as Luke hopped off the counter, sitting in the empty chair at the table; Luke's dad lit a single candle in the center of the cake and Luke blew it out; his parents looked around for something before Luke's dad relit the candle. 

"That's why Luke was so angry. If Trevor had given Luke credit for writing all those songs, then...his parents would've known his dream was worth chasing." Reggie continued as I continued to look at Luke and his family, seeing all three of them crying.

"They would have been so proud." Julie said as Luke's parents held hands; Julie and I kept on watching as I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Luke and his parents then blew out the newly lit candle as Emily started to cut the cake; I wiped the tear from my eye as Alex and Reggie both stood up.

"We know how bad it hurts whenever someone that should've had your back...completely lets you down. We never meant to make you two feel that way." Alex said to me and Julie as the two of us looked at him.

"Julie, Ash, we love our band, and Luke does too." Reggie then said as Julie and I looked at him. "Please give us another chance." He continued as I smiled softly at him while Julie looked back at Luke.

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Alex gave us a countdown as the four of us started playing upbeat soft rock music; Alex on drums, me and Reggie on guitar, and Julie on piano.

[Ash] 
Marching on proud, turn it up loud. 
Cause now we know what we're worth

Luke then poofed in, looking at all of us as we all stopped playing, looking back at Luke. "Woah, Julie." Luke then said, looking at her.

"Grab your guitar. We got work to do." I told Luke, smirking from my spot next to Reggie; Luke then looked at Reggie, who just shrugged. Luke looked back at me and Julie, smiling as he grabbed his guitar, walking over to Julie who stood up.

"What made you two come back?" Luke asked me and Julie as I walked over to her and Luke, standing next to Julie.

"We realized how important music is to all of us. And we've lost so much already. We can't lose this too." Julie said to him, smiling.