34. Luke
CHAPTER 34
Luke
“Oh come on!” Gigi rolls her eyes, grinning. “Just tell me what Kai said to you. I promise I won’t tell Zoey.”
Shaking my head, I drive through the patches of land separating the town we just passed and Marble Crest. “I’m not going to tell you, Gi. You’re asking me in her place. Don’t deny it.”
“But they need help. They’re both not communicating properly.” I sense genuine concern in her voice, but nope. I’m not going to budge.
“Be that as it may, I’m not going to betray my friend’s trust.”
“Not even for me?” Gigi turns her back toward the car door so that she’s facing me. With her arms crossed over her chest, she fake pouts. Cute .
“Not even for you.” I smile, putting a hand on her thigh.
The truth is, before we left for summer vacation, Kai told me he was going to see where his relationship goes until the end of senior year. If all goes well, he’s planning on proposing to her before he leaves Ravensfield. I didn’t need to tell him twice that his relationship is on its last legs, but the dude is a fucking romantic and he’s in love. He thinks putting a ring on it will fix whatever issues they have. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
“Your loyalty to him is irritating,” Gigi groans. “I’m just trying to help them, Luke. Our friends.”
“And the last time I checked, you’re not a therapist yet.”
“You are mean,” she says with no bite, all smiles. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.” I bark out a laugh as I make the turn to Aunt Judith and Uncle Mike’s street. “You love me, remember?”
I love you. I’m falling so hard the thought of you leaving me one day scares me.
You’re nobody’s consolation prize, Luke.
Pretty words tied together. It meant everything to me when she said that last night. A wake-up call. A promise. Proof that I’m good enough as I am.
“And you love me.” Gigi moves closer to the driver’s seat, planting a kiss on my cheek. “Which is why you’re going to help me help Kai and Zoey, by telling me what he said.”
With her mouth still on my skin, I kill the engine and turn my head around. I taste the lipstick that she put on as war paint for today and lick it off my bottom lip. “Nice try, Gigi. But the answer is still no. Now, let’s go in before they spot us like this.”
“Honey, we’ve missed you!” Aunt Judith’s arms wrap me with all the love she has to give, but barely anyone to give it to. “We haven’t seen you in a month.”
I scratch my head as I swallow the guilt that’s coming in ripples. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gigi. That, coupled with finals, I just didn’t have the fucking energy to make the drive. Four hours in total for a day trip felt too long when I could be using the time either at the library or balls deep in my girlfriend. I get it now. Why Andrew was so enamored with her. She makes you feel like every waking moment you’re not spending with her is a moment wasted.
“Hey, Aunt Judith.” Roscoe, their poodle, is already humping my right leg. “Exam week was crazy. Sorry we couldn’t make it here sooner.”
“Well, you’re here now, Lucas.” Aunt Judith’s eyes move from me to the person next to me. Gigi waves her hands as she stands, giving her an awkward smile. “Gigi, it’s been a while. How are you?” my aunt asks before pulling Gigi into a hug. Relief washes over me when I realize Gigi was probably just overthinking when she said Aunt Judith doesn’t like her. She’s all smiles and giggles.
When we find my uncle in the kitchen, I feel my throat drying. I came here with a plan—to tell them about me and Gigi. I thought for sure that everything would go well. But behind my uncle is a wall filled with pictures of their most cherished treasure. Their one and only son.
What if they think I stole Gigi from him? What if they think I’m sick in the fucking head? Nobody had a problem with her dating her step-second cousin, but her stepbrother? For fuck’s sake, they’re as religious as Jesus himself. I don’t think the Bible condones what we’re doing.
I feel like I’m getting hit by a freight train as reality hits me from all angles. Uncle Mike is proudly talking about his mission trip to Ecuador, but my brain is processing the fact that I might get disowned when I leave this house. How did you think this could possibly go well for you, Luke? Back at Ravensfield, it was so easy to pretend as if we were just two normal people falling in love. Here? I’m the guy who massacred his whole family and is dating his dead second cousin’s girlfriend. His stepsister .
The moment the coffee hits my system and all the pleasantries have been made, I take a long, deep breath.
“There is something that I need to tell you both.” Gigi looks at me in horror. Was I supposed to give her a heads-up first? Shit, it’s too late now.
“Oh?” Aunt Judith stops munching on her cheesecake. She pauses for a second before breaking out into a smile. “Did you decide to apply for a master’s degree?”
Shaking my head, I give her a tight-lipped smile. “No. Not that, I’m afraid.”
Giving Gigi one last look, I try to remember everything that makes coming clean to them worth it. I don’t want to keep her as a dirty little secret. I don’t want to cheapen what we have. My heart sinks when I realize the only person who would probably understand this, the only one who would probably support me from the get-go, would be Andrew.
“What is it then, Luke?” My uncle’s stern, but kind voice pulls me back to reality. He’s probably wondering why I brought my stepsister along with me when I usually come alone.
I’m dating your dead son’s girlfriend. I’m in a relationship with my stepsister. Mulling over what I should say, I go with the best option possible. The truth. “I’m in love with Gigi.”
“This Gigi?” Aunt Judith asks, pointing her finger to my girlfriend. Next to me, Gigi just stays quiet and meek. I’ve never seen her so still in my life. My uncle mirrors Gigi’s demeanor, except the color in his face is gone.
“Yes,” I answer with a smile. “This Gigi.”
“I…I don’t understand.” My aunt shakes her head in disbelief. “When did this happen? I thought you two weren’t even friends?”
“We started seeing each other during spring break,” I say, leaving out the details of our origin story. Knowing full well that even though Uncle Mike is known for being a cool and chill pastor, he’s not going to appreciate me admitting that I took Gigi’s virginity during a random fuck while drunk off my ass. “I understand if you two are not okay with this, but she makes me very happy.”
“You’re stepsiblings,” my aunt states the obvious.
When I realize Gigi is not going to be a willing participant in this conversation, I answer for us. “Who have never lived under the same roof.”
“Mike.” His name is an exasperated sigh. A request for her husband to take over and start giving us lectures about how wrong and sinful this is.
Just when I thought Uncle Mike was about to tell us that we are going to hell, he opens his mouth. “I’m glad you two found each other.”