20. Luke
CHAPTER 20
Luke
SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD
Serena
So are you going to come to the party or not?
I’m still thinking about it.
Come on, Luke. It’s been a week since we’ve hung out. I only ever see you at school. Don’t you want to have fun?
I’ll try to make it, okay?
We’ll pick you up. See you then!
Seeing my manager from the corner of my eye, I quickly shove my phone back inside the back pocket of my jeans and get back to the latte macchiato that I’m making.
“Order for Jamie is ready!” I yell.
By the time the person comes, I only give her a small smile, too busy trying to reduce the line in front of the counter.
Despite the chaos, I can’t help but be chirpy. What can I say? I’m in a good mood. It’s been a while since I’ve liked a girl. The last one was my first girlfriend—Amy Charmichaels. We dated for a few months before she lost interest in me. Although Andrew said it’s all in my head, I’m pretty sure she hated that I spent more time with Becca than I did with her. Either that, or she finally connected the dots and figured out who I was and why we moved to Kinsdale Springs from Marble Crest all those years ago. The fire was a huge source of chatter in my old town and the surrounding areas, but Serena’s family moved here a few years ago from out of state. That was one of the reasons why I liked her. When we got partnered up for chemistry, she looked at me like I was just a regular guy, not with pity in her eyes like some people or mockery like the bullies.
Humming to the tune of the song playing on the radio, I’m counting down the minutes until I’m out of here. One more hour and then it’s clock out time. It’s going to be tight, but if I hurry, I might be able to squeeze in a shower before Serena and her friends come to get me. With Becca’s care sorted for the night, I might actually make it to my first high school party.
I shoot a quick text to Andrew, feeling like a complete idiot.
You’ve started partying, yeah?
Andrew
That’s a weird question.
How often do cops actually show up and bust these things? I can’t afford to get arrested. I’m going to apply for scholarships next year. Need to be squeaky clean.
Stop watching dumb shit on TV and live it for yourself. Low chance.
As I’m wiping the counter, my phone vibrates in my pocket. It’s longer this time. I frown when I see the caller ID.
“What’s up, June?” I ask, clutching my phone using my cheek and my shoulder. “I can’t really talk right now.”
“It’s…uh…it’s your sister.”
“Dad is supposed to pick her up today. I’m working.”
“That’s the thing, Luke. Vince isn’t returning my calls and I have to go soon. Can you please get her?”
Sighing, I look at my manager who’s already glaring at me. “I’ll catch the next bus.”
“Thank you.” June hesitates, making sounds here and there on the other end, before finally letting her words out. “Happy birthday, Luke.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mumble under my breath when I see Dad’s sedan parked in front of the house.
“Another dollar for the curse jar!” Becca claps her hands, thinking she just won the lottery. God, she’s so innocent. My sister is so damn happy all the time, oblivious to the mess that is our lives. My heart aches knowing that this charade won’t last long—at least not if Dad keeps on going downhill.
The house is dark when we enter. I don’t bother flicking the light switch on, knowing what I’m going to find slumped on the dining table. Pulling out my wallet, I take out some loose change and hand it to Becca. “Go count it upstairs and put it in the jar, alright? I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Becca nods happily, her eyes transfixed on the stupid coins. She’s not even questioning why Dad’s car is out front. Ignorance really is bliss. The moment I hear her door close upstairs, I make my way to the kitchen to face the music.
I turn on the hanging lamp that’s directly on top of him. His body stirs as he groans. When he sees me leaning on the chair in front of him, he finally lifts his head up from the table, almost knocking the bottle of whisky off.
“You were supposed to pick Becca up, Dad.” Not that he actually minds when he’s not out of it. He loves my sister. It’s me he has a problem with—the son who annihilated his family. At least he said as much a few weeks ago.
“Sorry, kid. I lost track of time.” He slurs his words, so slowly and so painfully that I almost want to strangle him out of rage. When this is the stage he’s in, it’s not going to be long before he starts puking everywhere.
“Where the fuck were you?”
“I got fired.” Fuck my life . “So I was busy looking for a new job,” he says as he gestures toward the laptop on the table. Untouched and closed, still inside the sleeve.
“How did you get fired?” I already have an idea, but let’s hear it from him. Let’s see what fantasy he comes up with.
Dad has the audacity to unscrew the cap of his bottle and take another pull. “She said I was unfocused and tardy. The higher-ups never know what they’re talking about.” Never have I ever sympathized with middle management more than I do right now. The amount of patience his manager must have had to let my dad continue his job as a bus driver instructor for this long… How he has never gotten a DUI is a miracle.
“What’s your plan?”
“I’ll take a few weeks off. Maybe clean this place up a bit. Move around a few things.”
I scoff at his stupid fucking idea. “You don’t have a few weeks, Dad. We’re barely making it as it is. In fact, we’re in minus with all the credit card debt.”
“What do you suggest I do, hm?” Another sip . “There is only one training facility in the area.”
“We can sell Grandma’s house.” My heart breaks hearing my own words. She left it to me. Grandparents aren’t supposed to have favorites, but she did. Lucas Palmer.
“Not until you finish college.” For all his horribleness, at least Dad loved his mom enough to remember her wish when she announced that I was going to inherit the place. Grandma was old-school and didn’t trust teenagers with a big sum of money. She made my parents and me swear up and down that I wouldn’t sell the house the first chance I got and blow through the money for a gap year or something stupid. “Besides, the bills aren’t paid not because we don’t have money. They’re not paid because I forgot. We still have some left from all the other houses we sold. You know, when your goddamn party killed everyone.” His chuckles pierce right through my chest. “I guess there’s an upside to everything. Isn’t that right, Luke?”
“Just give me the bills and your card details. I’ll handle it.” I don’t believe for a bit we haven’t plowed through our savings.
“Fine,” he grunts.
“What about the offer from Ross’s dad? He was asking whether you knew anybody who’d want to drive tour buses.”
“I took the instructor job for a reason, Luke,” he says, still slurring. “It’s so I don’t have to do long-haul trips anymore and be there for you two.”
My eyes are rolling so hard. I’m about to tell him to go fuck himself, but then the doorbell rings.
Serena Taylor is standing on my porch wearing the shortest dress I have ever seen someone wear.
Fuck, I forgot about her , I think to myself as I scrub my face, my grip still on the door handle.
Serena frowns when she sees me still in my Yellow Bird Coffee Shop T-shirt. “You’re not ready?”
“I can’t come, I’m sorry.”
“But you said you would!”
“I said I’d try, but my sister is upstairs. I can’t leave her alone.” Not with him like that.
Serena quickly looks to the back, to her friends in the car, before giving me a cheeky smile. “What if I ditched them?” she asks in a whisper. “I can hang out with you guys.”
I would love nothing more than to have her over and act like my house is not a stinking mess where my father is not three seconds away from dying of alcohol poisoning right there in the kitchen, but I don’t want Serena to see me like this. What would she even think of me? When we hooked up, I saw how she lived. I saw the framed pictures on the wall. Serena Taylor would march right out if she saw the state my family is in.
“It’s not a good idea.” I’m at a loss with what I can tell this girl. Sorry my life sucks? Sorry I can’t do what other normal teenagers do? This will probably not go anywhere?
“But it’s your birthday,” she whines.
I’m about to thank her for remembering, but the words are lodged in my throat the moment I hear a thud coming from inside the house. Panic takes over when footsteps come toward us.
“Who’s your friend, Luke?”
Serena grins, probably thinking she’s about to meet the parents. Fuck, if I don’t do something, she probably will. “Serena, you have to go. I’ll see you at school.”
“But I j?—”
“I don’t have time for this, Serena.”
“Who is it?” Dad asks again.
Before he can walk past me, I make a split-second decision and shout, “Just some friend. She’s leaving.”
Kinsdale Springs and the bordering areas are a tight-knit community. A lot of the locals already know why we moved here. They don’t need to know that, on top of the doom and gloom surrounding our family, Vincent Palmer turned into a disgusting slob of an alcoholic.